"God'll get you for that, Walter." - Beatrice Arthur as Maude
Maude: The Complete First Season DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
"Cousin Maude's Visit," a second season episode of All in the Family, introduced Beatrice Arthur (The Golden Girls) as Edith Bunker's cousin Maude, a liberal version of Edith's husband, conservative crank Archie. Sure, she was the polar opposite of Archie, but Maude was just as much of a blowhard. Sparks flew, and eager CBS execs ordered a pilot featuring the liberal firebrand. The final All in the Family episode of the season served as a pilot for the spin-off, and in the 1972-73 season, Maude joined the CBS schedule.
Maude Findlay has finally found happiness with her fourth husband, Walter (Bill Macy), the owner of Findlay's Friendly Appliances. Married for five years, the couple lives in Maude's large house in Tuckahoe, New York. They share their home with Maude's recently divorced 27 year-old daughter, Carol (Adrienne Barbeau, Carnivale), and Carol's 8 year-old son Phillip (Brian Morrison). Walter's best friend, the conservative Dr. Arthur Harmon (Conrad Bain, Diff'rent Strokes), lives next door. (Rue McClanahan, who plays Maude's best friend Vivian, appears several times in season one but is not yet a series regular.) Florida (Esther Rolle, Good Times), is the Findlays' housekeeper, although Maude is so politically correct that she barely lets her do any work.
Season one includes one of the most notorious TV plotlines ever filmed. In the two-part "Maude's Dilemma," Maude discovers that she is pregnant. Or, as she puts it, "the rabbit died. Probably laughing." Maude and Walter have to decide whether or not they want to become parents at 47 and 49 respectively. Carol encourages her mother to at least consider an abortion, but while Maude is an abortion rights supporter, she doesn't know whether she wants one herself. She and Walter dance around the subject because each is sure that the other wants to have the baby. When they finally make their choice, Walter observes that "for you, Maude, for me, in the privacy of our own lives, you're doing the right thing." These two episodes are indeed groundbreaking, but they are also highly entertaining.
Another groundbreaking episode - but for completely different reasons - is "Maude's Night Out." This episode is unique because of its simplicity: Maude and Walter get ready for a party in real time. All of the action takes place in their bedroom and bathroom. They fight and make up many times over the course of the episode. "Maude's Night Out" is by no means perfect, but it shows the writers' willingness to play with the traditional sitcom form.
Other episodes reveal that Maude holds conflicting views. She is a staunch feminist, but she thinks that a woman needs a man to complete herself. She is disappointed when her formerly homely high school pal shows up as a successful vice president of Avon and looking gorgeous. Maude is headstrong, but head doesn't always allow her to stick with her beliefs.
Maude is definitely smarter than Archie Bunker, but as far as laughs go, in a competition between Maude and All in the Family Archie would come out on top. Maude is often funny, but mostly in fits and starts. All in the Family derives laughs in a variety of ways: Archie's stupidity, Edith's naiveté, Meathead's epic arguments with his father-in-law. Maude mostly relies on its star for laughs.
Luckily, Beatrice Arthur is a master of timing and the slow-burn. In "The Convention," Maude is finally able to attend an appliance dealers' convention with Walter, but when they end up in a crummy no-tell motel, Maude tries to explain to Walter why she feels her life has no meaning or purpose. She is even upset by the fact that her name badge reads "Mrs. Walter Findlay," taking away even more of her identity. Walter doesn't understand Maude's complaints, leading to a huge argument.
Walter: I have to get up early in the morning for a seminar - "What To Do With Your Microwave Oven."
(Maude glares at Walter. The audience laughs in anticipation.)
Maude: Do I have a suggestion for you...
The star pauses for just the right amount of time before delivering her line. At first, it seems as if she's going to hold back the line too long, but then she wields it like a dull, rusty knife. Over and over, she gets laughs with her sardonic, deadpan style. But the show would just be more interesting if Maude had stronger foils. Maude might be a force of nature, but at times she's simply raging in a vacuum.
Familiar faces in season one include Ed Begley, Jr. (St. Elsewhere), Patsy Garrett (Room 222), Vincent Gardenia (All in the Family), Van Johnson, Robert Mandan (Soap), Elisabeth Fraser (The Phil Silvers Show), Frank Campanella (Quincy, M.E.), John Amos (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), and Tom Bosley (Happy Days).
The twenty-two episodes that make up the first season are divided onto three discs. The discs are housed in two slim, clear plastic keepcases, one of which holds two discs. The fronts of the cases are decorated with production photos and publicity stills of Arthur and the rest of the cast. Episode titles and brief synopses begin on the backs of the cases and continue to the interiors. This makes it difficult to read all of the synopses when the DVDs are in the cases. The keepcases slide into a cardboard outer sleeve.
The static DVD menus are simple and easy to navigate. Viewers can play all of the disc's episodes or choose them individually. The episodes are divided into chapters, but there are no scene selection menus.
