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All In The Family - The Complete 5th. Season

All In The Family

All In The Family - The Complete 5th. Season

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Jan 12, 1975)
DVD
NR (Not Rated)
043396119789
TV Series | TV Shows
USA | English | Color | 10:21

Expecting anything resembling growth from Archie Bunker is like asking the sun to rise in the west: it ain't gonna happen. Accordingly, the most unrepentantly incorrigible character in TV sit-com history is his old self throughout this three-disc box set, which includes all 24 episodes from the fifth season of producer Norman Lear's All in the Family. Which is to say that Archie (played brilliantly as always by Carroll O'Connor) is an irascible, intolerant, sexist, ignorant, cheap misanthrope. Funny, too.

Still, a few subtle changes are apparent. For one thing, this was the mid-'70s, the Gerald Ford era, and after the tumultuous Richard Nixon years, things were a little mellower? sometimes even Archie. Sure, he's still a guy with a blue collar and red state politics (on Nixon and Watergate: "He did not lie. He forgot to tell the truth"), a bigot ("the whole place is locked up tighter than a Jew's purse") and a master of malapropisms ("that's the crotch of the problem"). But Archie's political arguments with son-in-law Mike "Meathead" Stivic (Rob Reiner) are fewer and farther between; in fact, the overall tone of the show seems a bit lighter, with more outright slapstick humor, and the almost constant bickering is less shrill than before. That's a welcome development, as are the occasional moments when Archie reveals that he might even have a heart.

Season Five also finds George and Louise Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford) and son Lionel (Mike Evans) moving out of the neighborhood (the pilot for The Jeffersons is one of the episodes here), while daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and Meathead move into the Jeffersons' house next door at season's end. But perhaps the most notable change is Edith's gradual willingness to stand up to her husband. She's still a dingbat, but her assertiveness and confidence show through from time to time, especially in the hilarious episode 18 ("All's Fair"), in which Edith, coached by Mike and Gloria, learns how to engage Archie in a fair fight.

Although the box set contains no bonus material, it does include a "Best Of" episode with highlights from the first 100 shows, hosted by Henry Fonda, of all people. And look for future Oscar winner James Cromwell in the recurring role of Stretch Cunningham, one of Archie's co-workers. --Sam Graham


Episodes View details

1 The Bunkers and Inflation: Part 1 25 min | Sep 14, 1974

Archie's union calls a strike, leaving the family to begin adjusting to not having a steady income.

2 The Bunkers and Inflation: Part 2 25 min | Sep 21, 1974

The strike continues to drag and Archie is left to sit home and complain. The household budget, meanwhile, begins to take a beating with the high cost of meat and gasoline. Finally, Louise Jefferson offers the family some stew. Archie doesn't want to accept charity, but Edith persuades him to take the helping hand.

3 The Bunkers and Inflation: Part 3 25 min | Sep 28, 1974

Three weeks into the strike, there seems to be no progress between Archie's union and company representatives; in fact, negotiations on both sides seem to be getting worse. With Mike's tutoring jobs only bringing in very little money, Edith decides the Bunkers need some real income, and does so by getting a cashier's job at Jefferson Cleaners.

4 The Bunkers and Inflation: Part 4 24 min | Oct 05, 1974

As Edith receives her first paycheck from Jefferson Cleaners, Archie's strike finally comes to an end. But what Archie doesn't realize is that in everyone's desperation to finally reach an agreement, Archie and all his co-workers agreed to a deal which will ultimately leave them in worse economic shape than before the strike began.

5 Lionel, the Live-In 25 min | Oct 12, 1974

When Lionel Jefferson has another fight with his father over his fiance's biracial parents, Lionel spends a few days at the Bunker house.

6 Archie's Helping Hand 25 min | Oct 19, 1974

Archie persuades his boss to hire Irene as a bookkeeper. While she'd undoubtedly do a good job in that job, the boss thinks she'd do even better as a forklift operator. It isn't long before Archie finds himself working alongside Irene!

7 Gloria's Shock 25 min | Oct 26, 1974

Four years into the Stivic marriage, Mike and Gloria still have no children. That's just fine by Mike, and his wishes cause yet another argument between him and Gloria.

8 Where's Archie? 25 min | Nov 02, 1974

Archie mysteriously disappears while traveling to a union convention in Buffalo, leaving Edith fraught with worry.

9 Archie Is Missing 25 min | Nov 09, 1974

After fearing the worst when Archie fails to contact the family for 48 hours, Edith, Mike and Gloria begin speculating about his whereabouts.

10 The Longest Kiss 25 min | Nov 16, 1974

The family is relieved to learn that Archie is safe and sound - he had been sidetracked at a podiatrist's convention. But Archie's reaction is priceless when he arrives home to find plenty of wackiness going on - hula hoops, ballroom dancing, and Mike trying to make good on Gloria's dare that they hold a kiss for hours and hours.

11 Archie and the Miracle 25 min | Nov 23, 1974

Archie claims to have had a religious awakening and thinks he has been the "victim of a miracle", after he narrowly misses being crushed by a falling crate.

12 George and Archie Make a Deal 25 min | Nov 30, 1974

Archie becomes suspicious when political office-seeker George is suddenly very nice to him.

13 Archie's Contract 25 min | Dec 07, 1974

Archie falls for a scheme from a shady aluminum siding salesman when the man makes Archie think that he must install the siding on his brick house due to a loss of heat.

14 Mike's Friend 25 min | Dec 14, 1974

Mike's college friend Stu comes to the house to play chess. However, Mike's intellectual conversation leaves Gloria feeling inferior.

15 The Best of All in the Family 51 min | Dec 21, 1974

A special one-hour retrospective, celebrating the 100th episode of the groundbreaking sitcom. Host Henry Fonda narrates and shares clips from the series' most memorable episodes up to this point in the series.

16 Prisoner in the House 25 min | Jan 04, 1975

Archie can't help but feel uncomfortable - and uneasy - when a plumber's apprentice is a convict on a work furlough from prison.

17 The Jeffersons Move on Up 25 min | Jan 11, 1975

The pilot episode for The Jeffersons (1975), where George and Louise move to "a deluxe apartment in the sky."

18 All's Fair 25 min | Jan 18, 1975

Mike and Gloria are dumbfounded by Edith's continual submissiveness to Archie. Gloria finally decides it's time to give her mother a long-overdue lesson in how to become more assertive in her marriage.

19 Amelia's Divorce 25 min | Jan 25, 1975

The Bunkers are shocked when the seemingly happy marriage of Edith's favorite cousin is anything but.

20 Everybody Does It 25 min | Feb 08, 1975

Archie's sense of morality is questioned when he borrows tools and equipment from work in order to complete a home repair project.

21 Archie and the Quiz 25 min | Feb 15, 1975

Out of curiosity, Archie takes a magazine test about his health habits. When he scores the test, he learns he might die at age 57. Rather than take the test for what it is worth (or heed the advice of the accompanying article), Archie fumes about his apparent fate.

22 Edith's Friend 25 min | Feb 22, 1975

Edith attends a wedding in her hometown of Scranton and runs into her childhood sweetheart, who is interested in rekindling the old romance

23 No Smoking 25 min | Mar 01, 1975

A contest between Archie and Mike, to see who can abstain from his favorite indulgence (Archie's being smoking cigars, Mike's eating everything in sight) becomes a battle of wills. Who will win this 48-hour contest?

24 Mike Makes His Move 25 min | Mar 08, 1975

Mike accepts a job, which pleases Archie because it means that Mike and Gloria will be moving. Finding a new home proves difficult. George Jefferson schemes to rent his old house next door to them cheap, just to annoy Archie.

Cast View all

Rob Reiner Michael 'Meathead' Stivic
Sally Struthers Gloria Bunker-Stivic
Jean Stapleton Edith Bunker
Carroll O'Connor Archie Bunker
Sherman Hemsley George
Isabel Sanford Louise
Betty Garrett Irene
Mike Evans Lionel
James Cromwell Stretch Cunningham
Bob Hastings Kelsey
Billy Halop Mr. Munson
Henry Fonda Host - Narrator
Elizabeth Wilson Amelia
Paul Benedict Harry Bentley
Sorrell Booke Mr. Sanders
Ed Peck Officer
Burt Mustin Justin Quigley
Charlotte Rae Miss Henderson
Ruth McDevitt Jo Nelson
Hector Elias Alfredo Estrada
Berlinda Tolbert Jenny Willis
Franklin Cover Tom Willis
Tim O'Connor Roy Johnson
Sidney Clute Mr. Strinski
Cliff Osmond Nick Howard

Edition details

Packaging Custom Case
Nr Discs 3
Screen Ratios Standard 1.33:1 Color
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo [CC]
Subtitles English (Closed Captioned)
Distributor Sony Pictures
Layers Single side, Dual layer
Edition Release Date Jan 03, 2006
Regions Region 1

Personal

Purchased For $ 29.95
Index 759
Added Date Dec 12, 2012 01:15:21
Modified Date Nov 14, 2019 01:45:28