All in the Family - The Complete Second Season (1971)

#1 In The Ratings, and funnier than the first season too!

All In The Family's second season was the first to top the US TV ratings, with around 21.1 million households tuned in to CBS on Saturday nights. In this season (1971/72), Norman Lear's second comedy would premiere, NBC's Sanford and Son, which ranked #6.

Anyways, to the episodes (NOTE - episodes are in airdate order).

1. The Saga Of Cousin Oscar (18/9/71): Archie's Cousin Oscar has come to stay at the Bunker house and is driving Archie mad by hogging the facilities. Archie goes to kick Oscar out.... when he finds out Oscar's dead. 9/10

2. Gloria Poses In The Nude (25/9/71): Mike's artist friend Szabo comes over, who Archie is against for two reasons:
1. He's Hungarian
2. He does nude paintings
Szabo offers Gloria to pose in the nude, which causes quite a stir between Archie and Mike. 8.5/10

3. Archie And The Lock-Up (2/10/71): Mike and Lionel are planning a demonstration at the United Nations. The rally gets out of hand and Gloria, after seeing it on TV makes Archie go down to look for Lionel and Mike. Unfortunately, Archie is mistaken for a protester and is locked up. 9/10

4. Edith Writes A song (9/10/71): The family is at odds on how to spend the money in the family pot: Archie wants a gun, while Edith wants to set her song lyrics to music. Archie buys the gun anyway, even though the decision was for the song. Before Archie can return the gun, two black robbers break in and hold the Bunkers at gunpoint. 9.5/10
Special Note: One of the burglars was played by Demond Wilson, best known for his role as Lamont Sanford on Sanford and Son.

5. Flashback: Mike Meets Archie (16/10/71): It's Mike and Gloria's first wedding anniversary and an argument is brought up over dinner about the time when Mike and Archie first met. Enough said. 9/10

6. The Election Story (30/10/71): It's the local election, and the Democratic candidate happens to be a woman, which Archie is against. However, it's a little bit too late for him to vote... 8/10

7. Edith's Accident (6/11/71): At the grocery store, Edith accidentally crashes her shopping cart into a car, and leaves a not with her name and number. Archie is boggled, and just wants to get out of paying for damages. 9/10

8. The Blockbuster (13/11/71): The Bunker furnace isn't working to well, which makes Archie want to move to California, and Archie is convinced by a "blockbuster" to sell his home, even though Mike warns him. 8/10

9. Mike's Problem (20/11/71): Mike is stressed about his exams, and won't let anyone help him. Eventually Archie tries to help, but this make matters worse. 7.5/10

10. The Insurance Is Cancelled (27/11/71): Archie comes home one day with a tough decision to make: Which worker to fire? The hard-working Hispanic or the lazy White? Archie fires the Hispanic man, which leads to an interesting visit. Oh, on top of this the insurance gets cancelled. 9/10

11. The Man In The Street (4/12/71): Archie comes home in ecstasy because he's going to be on TV! Archie was interviewed by CBS News about Richard Nixon which becomes impossible to watch when the TV breaks down... 9/10

12. Cousin Maude's Visit (11/12/71): Archie, Gloria and Mike all have the flu and Edith is running herself down from looking after everyone. So she decides to call her cousin Maude (Beatrice Arthur) to help out, which infuriates Archie. 9/10

13. Christmas Day at the Bunkers' (18/12/71): Archie's in a slump because he didn't get his Christmas bonus, Mike and Gloria ask him what's wrong but that fails, also the Jeffersons' Christmas wishes fail, especially with Henry dressed up as Santa. 8.5/10

14. The Elevator Story (1/1/72): It's Edith's birthday and the family are at an Italian restaurant to celebrate when Archie just realizes Edith forgot to make a payment to the insurance company, which leads him to run over and drop it off. Unfortunately, Archie is stuck in an elevator with several people he does not like. 10/10

15. Edith's Problem (8/1/72): Archie, Mike and Gloria are shocked by Edith's rapid mood swings, happy one minute, cross the next. Gloria tells Edith she's going through menopause, which worries Edith that Archie doesn't love her anymore. 9.5/10

16. Archie And The FBI (15/1/72): A man shows up at the Bunker house one day and asks Archie about his neighbour Larry Grundy (Graham Jarvis). When Archie gets a phonecall from another neighbour about the investigation, he starts worrying the house is bugged. 9/10

17. Mike's Mysterious Son (22/1/72): Edith answers the door one day to a strange woman who ditches her 4 year old son, who supposedly is Mike's, off at the door. This infuriates Gloria as it appears that Mike may have loved another woman more than her. 8.5/10

18. Archie Sees A Mugging (29/1/72): Archie and Mike go down to the store to buy some things and on the way home, Archie witnesses a mugging. Although he doesn't want to get involved, Archie is eventually forced to by the police. 9/10

19. Archie and Edith Alone (5/2/72): Mike and Gloria have gone to a commune for a week, leaving Archie and Edith to spend some quality time together. The two begin playing cards but when Edith lets Archie win, he feels offended and a big fight begins. 9/10

20. Edith Gets A Mink (12/2/72): Edith's Cousin Amelia sends her a mink as a thank you gift for looking after her in surgery. Archie takes it the wrong way and tells her to give it back, which is when he realizes he can make a $300 profit. 9/10

21. Sammy's Visit (19/2/72): Archie takes up a taxi driver job to earn some extra cash, when one of his passengers is THE Sammy Davis Jr., and Sammy accidentally leaves his suitcases back at the Bunkers, Archie gets really nervous. 10/10

22. Edith, The Judge (26/2/72): Archie comes back from the laundromat one day angry as it seems he overloaded one of the machines, causing it to eat his clothes and cause a flood. The owner of the laundromat tries to make Archie pay for the damages, but he refuses. Edith is called to judge and see who is at fault. 9.5/10

23. Archie Is Jealous (4/3/72): Gloria is reading one of Mike's old love letters, which is when Edith tells Gloria about an innocent weekend she had with another man before meeting Archie. Archie overhears and demand Edith that she keep no secrets from him. 10/10

24. Maude (11/3/72): In the pilot for Norman Lear's third hit comedy (and first All In The Family spin-off), Maude, Archie and Edith travel to upstate New York for the wedding of Maude's daughter, Carol (Marcia Rodd, Adrienne Barbeau would play Carol in the actual Maude series). Carol and Maude are not looking forward to seeing Archie, as Carol's to-be-husband happens to be Jewish. 10/10

Cast:
Archie Bunker: Carroll O'Connor (RIP)
Edith Bunker: Jean Stapleton
Gloria Stivic: Sally Struthers
Mike Stivic: Rob Reiner
Lionel Jefferson: Mike Evans
Louise Jefferson: Isabel Sanford (RIP)
Henry Jefferson: Mel Stewart (RIP)

Overall, the second season easily beats the first, and it just gets better.
Highly recommend for those who loved the first season and want more.
Also check out Norman Lear's other shows, like Sanford and Son and Good Times.

LONG LIVE THE BUNKERS! July 18, 2008

Great TV Show and Hilarious Too!

This is truly a classic season of a classic TV show. Archie is the a real racist and sexist to boot. Nixon is the president for him and he is a loyal patriotic American who backs up the national anthem without knowing the words himself or voting for 30 years. The Jeffersons are still in this season and Maude is introduced. I think that the beginning of the season is funnier than the end. Archie the racist is funnier than Archie the sexist and Jean Stapleton is the perfect foil for Archie. Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers are great as the young married couple who introduce Archie to different ideas and values. A great series that is just as relevant today as it was 35 years ago. It's amazing how so many issues are current and with us today. Life never really changes all that much. July 12, 2008

All in the MPI Home Video

Sony Pictures, selling All in the Family to MPI Home Video would be a perfect idea for the fans, who have waited 7 years to collect all 9 Seasons of the series on DVD. Please do not say no to my suggestion. MPI Home Video will be willing to re-release the first 6 seasons, and release the 3 remaining seasons with no problems. Please sell All in the Family to MPI Home Video! June 25, 2008

Love this Show

One of the best shows in the history of television - it's sad that a show like this could never be made today because of "Political Correctness". The storyline of each episode is still relevant today - nothing changes in thirty-plus years.

If you're too young to remember this show it may take you by surprise with the use of language. It's also a relief to have actors that aren't the typical beauty standard that infests Hollywood now. If you vaguely remember the show, get it and relive what was great TV. May 7, 2008

All In The Family Season 2

This is a great season. You can't beat Archie in rare form along with Edith, Gloria and have course, Meathead! There are so many classics lines and episodes in this set. Definitely worth buying! January 10, 2008

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