As we navigate Batty season and prepare for the Season 12 Batty Awards, we will run a series of posts reminding you of this year's episodes and speculating on how they could fare at The Biggest Night in Retro TV Podcasting. First up: Our Season 12 premiere!
We began our most recent season with one of the most iconic sitcoms of the entire medium's history, let alone the BOTNS era: All in the Family. After talking about the Learverse on previous podcasts and dissecting spinoffs like The Jeffersons and Maude, we finally got to the flagship.
We talked about our own relationships with the show and the point of view the producers and creative team took. We discussed the dim visual aesthetic. However, I think we were most impressed with the performances, although we were of course delighted to bring bowling back to the podcast with "Archie and the Bowling Team."
Anonymous Batty insider says: Anytime you have a series that won 22 Emmys, it's gonna be a threat to win multiple Battys. Rick and Mike may not have embraced the show as it was on, but you can tell they were impressed by All in the Family, and I think the main acting categories could be dominated by this one, even though it wasn't a big showcase for Gloria and Mike. Expect AITF to be a big or maybe even the big winner.
When we prepared to talk about All in the Family for our season opener this year, I sampled a bit of Archie Bunker's Place, a series I was aware of back in the day but never focused on much. It really feels like a different show, especially when you get to the fourth and final season, which is the source for this Christmas episode Sony posted on YouTube:
Archie Bunker is the heart of All in the Family, but in this setting, I find myself asking, who are these people? It's like, OK, I came to terms with Archie playing off a little girl named Stephanie. In this episode, she seems much older. And just when you are used to her, here comes Billie. Wait, who's Billie? And who's this nebbish who is dating her (No offense meant, and none taken, I would assume, given that Barry Gordon made a great living playing nebbishes).
And those are just the regulars! "Father Christmas" brings us another Bunker relative--Archie's brother, Fred. He's Billie's dad, and she doesn't want to see him, so much so she is willing to go on a ski trip with Barry Gordon (just kidding) to avoid spending the holiday with her father.
The story goes for emotion, but it's a little clumsy in parts. There's a side plot in which Stephanie laments not hearing from HER dad, and Archie handles that in a sweet but predictable fashion. What really gets me is when they have a tense family dinner and start talking about Fred abandoning Billie years earlier. At one point, Billie makes a cutting remark about Fred's serial divorcing, and Archie puts down his fork and says, "Well, gee, this suddenly stopped being funny."
For some reason, that remark really hits me the wrong way. It's true enough in that Billie has finally killed Arch's attempts to maintain light conversation and inject some humor. But it feels too obvious and like something Archie shouldn't say--not because he's Archie, but because he's the main character. At least I think he is, but it's hard to tell in this episode. This is the kind of line the sidekick blurts out loud. Allen Melvin as Barney could sell that line and make it seem right, but he's in a minor subplot about playing Santa Claus.
So while I appreciate the effort and enjoy the novelty of a series I am not familiar with, Archie Bunker's Place just seems strange to me. "Father Christmas," despite great intentions, is no exception.
This week's podcast talked about All in the Family and the Sport of Kings: Bowling! Archie Bunker loves bowling, we love bowling--Everyone loves bowling. That is, everyone used to love bowling, or you might well think that if you watched a lot of TV back in the day.
We are including the Fifties and Sixties for our All in the Family edition of the Power Rankings as we look at the greatest TV bowlers of all time (if time stopped at about 1990 or so). These rankings are not necessarily based on pure skill talent, but on a combination of love of the game, commitment to the craft, and mastery of "bowling culture." The ultimate standard is, who would win if these people rolled 10 frames in an alley in my backyard in Pueblo, Colorado?
1) Ernest Borgnine: There can be none higher. As we discussed in our Celebrity Bowling episode, Borgnine IS bowling in our world. If Ernie didn't show up at all the matches on that show just due to a love of the game, we don't want to hear about it.
2) Hazel Burke: The eponymous 1960s sitcom established many times that Hazel was a championship-level bowler--almost to a ridiculous level sometimes until you realize she was a championship-level cook, cleaner, shopper, surrogate parent, and advice giver as well.
3) Earl Anthony: He was really good! He dominated the sport back when it was a real "thing" on network television.
4) Fred Flintstone/Barney Rubble: Hard not to rank these as a pair. The fact is, Fred earns major style points--Pete Weber may have gotten some of his showmanship from the Twinkletoes of 10-Pin--but his game is inconsistent, which might keep him from being ranked higher.
(I hope I didn't botch that Pete Weber reference.)
5) Ralph Kramden/Ed Norton: Similar to the previous entry. Hey, did you ever notice The Flintstones has a lot in common with The Honeymooners? Anyway, the quality of Ralph's bowling seems to fluctuate a bit, but he is an anchor on his team, willing to compete even when injured, and clearly sees the pastime as a lifestyle, not just a game.
6) Diane Chambers: Saved the day when Woody couldn't go by walking out out onto the lanes with nerves of steel in a key contest with Gary's Olde Towne Tavern. 'Nuff said.
7) Al Bundy: Yes, Peggy was the one who rolled a perfect game, but that happened in 1990.
8) Howard Sprague: When we see his methodical style in The Andy Griffith Show's "Howard the Bowler," he has only recently taken up bowling, or at least he has just started working on it. Yet he is able to jump in and replace a missing team member in a key confrontation and carry the night. When a freak occurrence interrupts the match, he then resumes his pursuit of a 300 game! Despite getting the yips, Howard shows overall mastery of the lanes in an almost Zen-like manner.
9) Laverne Difazio: One of Laverne & Shirley's earliest episodes, "Bowling for Razzberries," shows Laverne is someone who bowls a lot, is willing to use the sport as a way to settle disputes, and is confident enough in her game to teach/criticize the games of others.
10) Paul Drake: One of Perry Mason's oddest episodes is in its eighth season. "The Case of the Bullied Bowler" does not have Raymond Burr, who is replaced by Mike Connors as a vacationing lawyer visiting Paul and Della. Drake gives a cool bordering on pretentious (But it's bowling, so come on) speech about how to bowl before being interrupted. Connors' character upstages him at the alley at the end of the episode, but it could be a lucky shot. We know Paul Drake cares about and works on his form, though.
Also receiving votes:
Archie Bunker was considered, but he couldn't come through in the biggest game of his life and seemed to consider bowling as a means to an end more than a pursuit in itself.
Sam Franklin: It's tempting to pick partner Alice Nelson--After all, they both advance to the finals in the big tournament mentioned in the episode--but she thought a bowling ball was a ridiculous wedding gift, and Sam rightly pushed back. However, I get the sense Alice is the better bowler but always lets Sam win.
One of the most intriguing clips in our YouTube playlist for All in the Family is this one, an appearance star Carroll O'Connor made on The Vin Scully Show. Who even knew there WAS a show Vin hosted? This daytime chat show has a cool theme song, an opening joke by Vin, and even some short comedy segments!
The heart of it is this amusing and relaxed (Maybe too relaxed; do they really need to be sitting that close to each other?) conversation. I enjoy this clip and admire Scully's work in this format. The series only lasted about 50 episodes on CBS' daytime lineup, though (airing weekdays at 4:00 PM from January to March), so maybe Scully wasn't as good as a fit as it seems to me. The humor snippets seem forced, but Vin seems game!
*Welcome (back) to Battle of the Network Shows! After a lengthy break, we are here each Thursday for our 12th season, bringing you discussion about the TV of the Seventies and Eighties!
*If you are new here, thanks for joining us! Wednesdays, we post a teaser for each episode, and Thursday is the big day around here with the episode release and this Show Notes post, plus the activation of a video playlist devoted to the episode.
*All in the Family, one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, is an appropriate way to kick things off. We have discussed several other Norman Lear shows, but not the Grandaddy of Them All until this week.
*Among the sources that proved useful for this episode: The TV Guide I mention at the beginning (September 3, 1983), Dynamite #7 from 1974, LIFE Magazine's All in the Family special, and Donna McCrohan's book Archie & Edith & Mike & Gloria.
*AITF ran on CBS for 9 seasons and 205 episodes (plus several pilots). We are counting follow-up Archie Bunker's Place (4 seasons, 97 episodes) as a distinct program although some might treat it as an extension of the original.
*It was number one on prime time broadcast TV for 5 straight seasons. 57 Emmy nominations and 21 wins, and it was the first show to have its 4 leads each win one of the major acting awards.
*Hoibert Hoover, AKA Herbert, was the 31st U.S. President and is name-checked by Edith Bunker in the series' opening theme, "Those Were the Days." The song is written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse.
*Skipping ahead, closing theme "Remembering You" is written by star Carroll O'Connor along with Roger Kellaway.
*The Story of Us, directed by Rob Reiner, is a 1999 Castle Rock dramedy starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer.
*Senator Sam Ervin from North Carolina was famous for leading the Senate Watergate Committee.
*Till Death Us Do Part, the British show that inspired AITF, stars Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett, patriarch of a working-class family in London's East End. It had over 50 episodes (many missing) from 1965 to 1975 and got a reboot and a spin-off.
*The episode we discuss, "Archie and the Bowling Team" premiered December 16, 1972 as the 13th of the show's third season. I mention the rest of the night's TV lineup on the pod, but I did find that Bridge Over Troubled Water is a 1970 short focusing on a Jewish philanthropy's efforts to fight poverty in New Yorck City.
*Barney is a recurring character on AITF and ABP and is played by Allan Melvin, known as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, Henshaw on Sgt. Bilko, and Magilla Gorilla on The Magilla Gorilla Show.
*Moose is played by Brad Logan, who was a recurring player on Red Skelton's show and who popped up in other shows later, like Remington Steele and Punky Brewster.
*The Bowling Theory I mention on the podcast started back in 1995 with Harvard's Robert Putman, who wrote Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of Community in America. I should mention not everyone went along with Putnam's stats and findings.
*The complete series is on DVD, and as of now the series is available on Freevee (all 9 seasons) and Pluto (2 seasons at a time).
Other specific episodes we mention on the podcast: *Mike breaks Archie's chair: "Archie's Chair" S7 E17
*Maude's first appearance: "Cousin Maude's Visit" S2 E12
*Archie is arrested during a U.N. protest: "Archie in the Lock-Up" S2 E3
*The one where Mike brings home a board game called "Group Therapy": "The Games Bunkers Play" S4 E8
*And here is this week's video playlist! Click below for promos, award wins, commercials, music, and more!
*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!
To open season 12, we finally turn to the foundation of the Lear-verse, the controversial, groundbreaking, list-making, terlet-flushing all-time great All in the Family. We've got Archie, we've got Edith, we've got Gloria, and, yes, we have Meathead...with a purse! Plus one of our favorite sports as Archie tries out for an "exclusive" bowling team and learns a thing or two about the way of the world.
40 years ago on this day, Archie Bunker dealt with the off-camera death of his beloved wife Edith:
The two-part season premiere of Archie Bunker's Place featured this scene and more as the show dealt with the absence of Jean Stapleton. The actress expressed the desire to quit playing Edith several years earlier, but appeared in a handful of episodes of this series' first season before the character was killed off before the next.
This episode is the clear highlight of Sunday, November 2, 1980, as the networks still dug out from the delays caused by the strike (as we discussed here). ABC had the 1976 movie A Star Is Born while ABC had The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Gauntlet.
