All In The Family

Up until the early 1970s network TV consisted of powder puff comedies that were silly, sanitary and safe.

CBS was the king of late night comedies with such shows as The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction and other soft-pedal pabulum.

All that changed in the1971 when, in a bold move, CBS introduced a TV series that knocked traditional TV comedy on its collective rear end.

That show was All In The Family, created by Norman Lear.

I remember vividly watching the first episodes and was shocked by the racial jabs, colorful language and verbal tit for tat among the cast of characters.

All In The Family was inspired by and adapted from a British TV series. Its creator Norman Lear pushed creativity, social taboos and the CBS Network to the edge.

The show was instantly popular when it premiered and stayed so throughout its entire run.

Subjects never touched upon before on TV were fair game and, while it was a comedy, it was not afraid to get its hands and feet dirty depicting real life social, political, religious and family life.

It’s characters were flawed, often at odds with each other and happy endings didn’t always happen.

And yet, it was obvious that members of the Archie Bunker household loved each other.

The show became so popular that many of the guest characters spotlighted in its many episodes branched off into their own series such as The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude.

The show ran nine seasons ending with Edith’s death. Carol O’Conner (Archie Bunker) would go on to star in his own spin-off: Archie Bunker’s Place, for several more years.

The gorgeous, hardbound book contains key episode spotlights, script excerpts, cast interviews and so much more complemented by full-color photos.

It’s all here. It’s All In The Family, by Norman Lear and published by Rizzoli/Universal.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28