Archie Bunker's Place

"Archie Bunker's Place" is a TV series that probably never should have been made. It's a strange, neutered version of "All in the Family" with almost all of the edge and political message stripped away. What you have, essentially, is a nicer, more grandfatherly Archie supporting a show of mostly uninteresting characters...all set to an invasive and unwelcome laugh track.

Early in the series, they killed off Edith...as Jean Stapleton was apparently tired after nine seasons of the previous series--plus the turn the new show took probably didn't please her. They'd already taken Mike and Gloria and the usual neighbors off the series* and now they replaced them with folks like of Barney Hefner (whose 'I am a big loser since my wife, Blanche, left me' routine wore thin very quickly...and continued throughout most of the series), countless soulless and faceless employees (it was obvious that the producers were trying in vain to find one who would work into the show properly), a cute kid who was simply annoying most of the time and later a niece who is essentially an older version of the unnecessary little girl.

The show limped along for four seasons...which is inexplicable considering the high turnover of many of the characters and insipid scripts. But they weren't all bad. I recall one with Ann Meara struggling with alcoholism and it was exceptional...but the rare exception...and soon Meara was off the show as well!

Overall, this is a bland and mostly inoffensive series...a show you'd NEVER expect from something that used to be "All in the Family".

*With failing ratings, the producers brought back a divorced Gloria to move back in with Archie. Rarely have I seen a series that jumped the shark as many times as this one did!!

UPDATE: Since my review, I've seen quite a few episodes of "Archie Bunker's Place". While I STILL maintain that it's a pale imitation of its predecessor and a real disappointment, the shows are decent time-passers. Mediocre in every way but tolerable if nothing better is on TV.

Unfortunately I only saw a few episodes when in it orginially aired and have been watching repeats on TV land. I seriously wonder if Archie Bunker's place was staged before a live audience. The laughter in the series seemed almost forced. In my opinion the only memorable episode is when Archie Bunker visits Reggie Jackson and shows off his hidden racist views. Archie Bunker seems to have mellowed from his previous "All in Family" series and is a mere chuckle than a rip roaring laugh.

With Archie Bunker's place, Carroll O'Connor had much more creative control than he did on All in the Family... too bad he didn't have Jean, Sally and Rob to back him up, with the exception of a 2 part episode. Rob Reiner was supposedly reluctant to return, but being newly divorced, he needed the money.

The post-Edith episodes are much more maudlin than the first season, and it's depressing to see a sadder Archie. We saw much less of 704 Hauser St., and when it was shown, it looked a lot darker and emptier.

About a year before it was cancelled, Sally Struthers, who really had nothing better lined up, was talked into doing a spin off featuring her Gloria character, now separated from Mike Stivic.

Before the show was cancelled, there was talk of possibly having Rob Reiner return occasionally as Mike, but Rob had become an established director and had no desire to reprise Meathead.

Gloria was now a veterinary assistant, and the trainer from Rocky was the veterinarian that let her sleep in an extra room in his house where his practice was.

Unfortunately, not enough people were interested in seeing a single Gloria, who had matured since the original series. I saw the first show, and thought the show was awkward. It was an attempt to show a single woman struggling to make it on her own (and that's been done before, what, at least a couple times...Mary Tyler Moore, That Girl)

Archie Bunker's Place is a wonderful series filled with interesting and endearing characters. We see Archie's sensitive side as he cares for Stepahnie, a young, Jewish, teenager left abandoned by her father. Archie Bunker's Place, a bar owned by Archie, becomes her second home surround by people who love and look out for her. Along with Carroll O'Connor and Danielle Brisebois as Stephanie, veteran character actors such as Martin Balsam as Murry, Bill Quinn as Mr. Van R., and Anne Meara, as Veronica give wonderful performances. Archie Bunkers place was a wonderful series and a worthy spin off of All In The Family. You can see reruns now on TV Land.

Like you, I also enjoy watching the re-runs of All In The Family and Archie Bunker's Place. You are right about it not being a spin-off of the original show. If you will listen, it says at the end of Archie Bunker's Place it says it was played before a studio audience for Live Responses. They changed it from being taped before a studio audience to this at the request of Carroll O'Connor. As I recall, the reason was that it because the studio audiences' laughter made O'Connor very nervous. By the way, a spin off is when one or more characters has another show written around them. The two big spin-offs from All In The Family were The Jeffersons and Maude. Maude spun-off another show, Good Times.