"I'm a klepper!" - Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) after inadvertently taking merchandise from a department store in "Edith Flips Her Wig"
All in the Family: The Complete Third Season DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
When Norman Lear's All in the Family returned for its third season in September 1972, the show's creative team had a firm grasp on the series' characters. Throughout season three, the show's characters - hot-headed bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), his kindhearted (but simple-minded) wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), their feminist daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and their liberal college student son-in-law Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner) - behave with a consistency that was only hinted at in the sitcom's initial two seasons. The result is an extremely funny collection of episodes, albeit one that stresses consistency (and formula) a bit too heavily.
A prime example is "Archie and the Editorial," the first episode of the season. When Archie hears an editorial strongly supporting gun control on the evening news, he is so angry that he decides to visit the station and issue a rebuttal. Much of the episode is filled with crackling dialogue that manages to be simultaneously funny and insightful about early 1970s economic woes. The writing also perfectly defines the characters and their points of view:
Archie: Aw, look at this, will you? Meat prices up again by 8%.
Gloria: Maybe we ought to turn vegetarian. It'd be cheaper. And healthier.
Archie: Well I ain't turnin' that, 'cause it ain't natural. Man was put on this earth to eat meat.
Mike: Who says so?
Archie: Who says so? The Bible says so, dumbbell.
Mike: Where does it say that?
Archie: Oh come on, will ya? I mean, look it up. Jeez! All them old Bible people, they was always eating meat, as soon as they found out eating apples was wrong. That's true, on special occasions - goats, lambs.who the hell ever heard of sacrificing a head of lettuce?
The argument between Archie, Mike, and Gloria about the Constitutional right to bear arms is equally amusing. The entire first act of the episode is extremely well written. The terrific beginning to the episode is muted somewhat, however, by a clichéd "twist" ending: after delivering his moronic on-air response to the editorial, Archie meets a pair of fans in Kelsey's Bar who saw the broadcast and agree 100% with Archie's views. Archie is thrilled.until it turns out that his "fans" are actually armed robbers who mug the Bunkers and Stivics at gunpoint.
The writers fall back on this type of sub-Twilight Zone trick ending far too often during the third season. Similar gimmicks are employed in episodes like "Mike's Appendix," "Archie is Branded," "Archie in the Hospital," and "Archie Learns His Lesson." The pattern in each is the same. Archie settles on an extremely wrongheaded point of view that is in direct conflict with the other members of his family. He refuses to listen to reason, stubbornly sticking to his position even in the face of evidence undermining his beliefs. This continues until the last few minutes of the episodes, when an event occurs that pulls the rug out from under Archie, forcibly proving once and for all that his opinion is entirely wrong. This isn't necessarily a bad storytelling technique - it's been used for thousands of years, after all - but season three's writers use it far too often for it to retain its punch.
Still, even the most predictable episodes manage to be entertaining. This is due in part to the strong character work by the show's stars. Stapleton is incredibly hilarious in "Edith Flips Her Wig," an episode in which Edith accidentally steals from a local department store. The episode's ending is lame, but Stapleton's performance redeems it, making "Edith Flips Her Wig" a must-see. Reiner, Struthers, and O'Connor continue to give typically strong performances throughout the season.
In season two, the series featured a flashback episode that recounted the time when "Mike Meets Archie." Season three includes another flashback episode, this time to "Mike & Gloria's Wedding." Set on the night of Mike and Gloria's second anniversary, this two-part episode is a bit long (too much time is devoted to Hill Street Blues' Michael Conrad as Mike's strong willed uncle), but it does feature some classic All in the Family moments: Gloria giving herself a talk on the birds and the bees when Edith proves too tongue-tied, Archie relating the story of the time Gloria went to sleepaway camp. All in the Family excells at such tender, sweet scenes. The episode is also outrageously funny. Notice how much angrier Archie was only two years ago, and how much he has mellowed over the years.
One puzzling episode is "Gloria, the Victim." Through the years, All in the Family tackled serious subjects with a grace and effortlessness rarely found in "very special episodes" of other sitcoms. In "Gloria, the Victim," the writers take on sexual assault when Gloria is attacked at an abandoned construction site. Guest star Charles Durning appears as a police detective who gives Gloria a taste of the treatment she is likely to receive from the lawyers for the defense should her case ever come to trial. The theme of the episode seems to be that women who are victimized by crime will also be victimized by the legal process. The episode sends a mixed message, however, when an ambiguous ending suggests that the best way to solve this problem is to simply ignore it. This doesn't seem very forward thinking for a Norman Lear sitcom.
Familiar faces that pop up in season three include Sorrell Brooke (The Dukes of Hazzard), Allan Melvin (The Brady Bunch), Barnard Hughes (Mr. Merlin), Vincent Gardenia (Little Shop of Horrors), Rue McClanahan (The Golden Girls), Roscoe Lee Browne, Priscilla Morrill (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Larry Storch (F-Troop), Arlene Golonka, Harvey Lembeck, Gregory Sierra (Barney Miller), and Ron Glass (Barney Miller).
Season three of All in the Family won two Emmy Awards: Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy Series: Michael Ross, Bernie West, and Lee Kalcheim, "The Bunkers and the Swingers."
The twenty-four episodes that make up The Complete Third Season are divided onto three discs. The three discs are housed in a cardboard digipak decorated with production stills. A folder panel holds a booklet that serves as an episode guide. The digipak slides into a cardboard outer sleeve. The menus are a no-frills affair. Although there are no scene selection menus, the episodes are, for the first time, divided into chapters.
