Television was changed forever the night of Jan. 12, 1971, with the premiere episode of "All in the Family." The show's central character, Archie Bunker, was a working-class family man who held bigoted, conservative views of the world. His viewpoints clash with nearly everyone he comes into contact with especially his liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic (or, as Archie delights in calling him, "Meathead"). The two disagree about nearly everything politics, minorities, sex, religion, economics, war, gun control, crime, free speech, women's rights, morality, philosophy and (so it seemed) life in general. Archie's daughter, Gloria, often (but not always) sided with Mike, while his saintly wife, Edith, was the rock that held the family together. Edith was as friendly, reserved, considerate and open-minded as Archie was bigoted, loud, rude and closed-minded; however, the love and faithfulness between them was undeniable. The characters changed through the years Mike graduated from college and got a job as a college professor; Gloria gave birth to a son, Joey (whom Archie adored); the Bunkers' next-door neighbor, the Jeffersons, "moved on up" upon George's successful dry-cleaning business; the Stivics moved to California when Mike took a teaching job at a major university; and the Bunkers took in their niece, Stephanie. Archie and Mike even grew to appreciate each other's company in later years. The show broke ground for the way it discussed often controversial topics (with humor, no less) and dealt with bigotry and politics; some of the shows topics were definitely not intended for younger audiences. The show became "Archie Bunker's Place" in 1979 and ran four more years; numerous spin-off series resulted from "All in the Family" (including "The Jeffersons" and "Gloria"). "All in the Family" remains one of televisions most influential programs.

Starring:

Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers

Genre:

Comedy