Maude

"Maude" was a chance for the people of "All in the Family" to tackle the female side of the issues... by creating a powerful, subtle and humorous woman that had just as strong views as Archie Bunker.

Bea Arthur has since become well known for her humor and the looks at the camera... she was the perfect choice for Maude... noone else could have pulled it off.

Throughout the years "Maude" tackled many issues and caused controversial uproars, just as it's parent show "All in the Family" did.

When naming a list of the most memorable shows, "Maude" should be listed at the top... although it hasn't earned the respect as it should have now.

If you get a chance to watch this series... do it...

This show centered around Bea Arthur's Maude character. This is without a doubt the highlight of Bea's career. She took Maude & developed her into a larger than life liberated woman.

Bill Macy & Adrienne Barbeau are strong support, & this show dealt with women's liberation which was taboo on TV until this show. People forget that even in the early 1970's, employers still discriminated against women in the workplace. The major ones try to cover it up now, but those women who lived then know better.

This show was not always as well done as All in the Family, but was very socially relevant in its time. Another well produced Norman Lear sit-com.

Maude is one of my favorite sitcoms off all time. Even though it's pretty dated stuff, it still is uproariously funny. I think the older comedies are funny because they mixed social content with humour better than today's sex-drenched drek.

I read somewhere that Maude Findlay was supposed to be Edith's sister in this spin-off. Although the two are as different as night and day, Maude does sound like Edith when she's irked. Beatrice Arthur plays Maude, a feminist who has been married 4 times and is looking to make her mark in the world. She lives with her 4th husband, Walter (Bill Macy), a man who can deal with her manic depression and mood swings, and her divorced daughter (played by the buxom Adrienne Barbeau) and her son. Also, there are the Harmons, played by Conrad Bain(Arthur) and Rue McClanahan(Vivian).

Maude was always funny because the cast worked brilliantly together, the script-writers had consultation from the great Bobs Weiskopf and Schiller(of I Love Lucy fame), and the shows of the 70's didn't have to worry about being PC, because at the time, people weren't so sensitive about their stereotypes then. It was truly zany, with too many great moments to mention; mine was when The Harmons were having trouble in their young marriage and were relying on sex games to liven it up. One night the Findlay's go out to visit the Harmons, and Vivian is naked, but wrapped up in Saran Wrap. She opened the door thinking it's Arthur, but when its Maude and Walter, she screams and slams the door, and The Findlay's are standing with their backs to the camera for 40 seconds. It was gut-bustingly funny, waiting for their take on what just happened. A true comedy hit of the past.

Of course, who can't forget Maude's trademark line: "God will get you for that!" when Walter or someone else took a good verbal shot at her.

I love Bea Arthur and this show is the only one that tops "The Golden Girls." The show was controversial, but greatly written, and carried it off with fantastic acting! Norman Lear is a television dynasty within himself. I wish I could have been old enough in the seventies to appreciate the first run of these episodes...however, I can deal with the re-runs just fine!

I really want to like this forward-thinking show from legendary TV creator Normal Lear, but the more episodes I've consumed in syndication lately, the more irritated I am getting. There's so much bickering and yelling over one another on this show that it's giving me mad anxiety.

I've barely made it through the 4th season and I am just about ready to tap out. Their British maid Mrs. Naugatuck is especially unbearable and quite possibly one of the worst casting decisions in all of television. Most shows tend to get better in their 3rd and 4th seasons as they continue to hone their craft, but this show appears to have gotten worse as it goes on. At least Adrienne Barbeau's career was launched with this series, but even here she's given little to do and reduced to jokes about her ample bosoms. Mind you, they are real and they are spectacular, but I doubt that's enough to keep me watching.

Maybe if I keep the headache medicine handy I can hang in there and finish the series, but it seems unlikely. There's plenty of other programming out there that won't drive me batty from marital bickering.