Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983) User Reviews (27)

Too mellow....and a sad, sad shadow of its former self.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 29 March 2016]

"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.

On too Long like MASH

[bugsmoran29 · 7/10 · 17 September 2016]

I did watch all of the episodes of "Archie Bunker's" and I did enjoy it for the most part. However, the series puts me in mind of the slow vanishing of MASH from the television. Both shows probably had run their courses by 1979, but the networks kept them running because they were still major draws and they also were still head and shoulders above 90% of the other programs being aired. I also think the show ran right as the American economy dived into a decade-long recession. The nation had become a sadder and darker place and the sadness and darker atmosphere permeated this program. Archie never stopped missing Edith and the life they had in the Seventies. The Eighties was a lonelier and less funny place. I did think Stephanie, Harry, Murray and the rest of the cast were all just fine in their roles. "Archie Bunker's Place" was the end of an epoch.

A mediocre continuation

[mikeschr · 5/10 · 21 October 2018]

This shouldn't be listed as a separate series. They simply re-titled "All in the Family". If you were to watch the final season of "All in the Family" and the first season under the title "Archie Bunker's Place", they wouldn't seem like two different series. A lot of scenes were set at the bar toward the end of "All in the Family", Mike and Gloria were already long gone, and a lot of scenes in "Archie Bunker's Place" were set at 704 Hauser Street.

As the show went on the quality declined, but that was also true under the original title.

What People Just Don't Get

[midnight-460-446218 · 2 September 2016]

This wasn't suppose to be a knock off,of the All In The Family series but a personal look at the final creation of a man. The show isn't All In The Family. It's not just about a lovable bigot married to a saintly housewife with a grown daughter and liberal son-in-law that pushes the envelope just as much as the main character but in the opposite of ways. This show deals with evolution of a character. You see, when Archie started out you got to learn how and why he was the way he was and little by little you got to see him learn new ways. There was always an Dingbat, Meat head, or Coloured boy neighbor around for him to bounce his ways off of and he came off looking pretty crass but he was learning step by step how to be a better person. This show may not have been as ground-breaking to some because it didn't tackle the social issues like the former but it did wonders if you'd look at it not as a spin off but as putting to use all he has learned. His wife has passed, his child moved away, and he still has people he doesn't quite understand. He learns and he loves and is loved even though he says things from time to time people now know that that he's not just some bigot. You never got to see his true heart with the others around and he never really amounted to much until he learned to make it on his own and become invaluable to other people. He learned to forgive, love, accept and understand people from all walks of life. It's a show about a man that finally grows up and becomes a real man.

Better than All in the Family...

[isabellacatgirl · 7/10 · 1 April 2022]

In All in the Family,Archie was just some couch potato humorous bigot,constantly arguing with his daughter's hippie boyfriend. In this he seems more matured,maybe still conservative,but very reflective and more in tune with world views.

Disappointed Edith got written out,and neither Sally Struthers nor the Meathead are even mentioned or appear. However we also see Archie in a cooler setting than just his own home. His own pub bar complete with interesting patrons and even a pinball machine. I love the actress who plays the waitress too. Took me a few viewing,but I think I like this better than All in the Family. Archie still acts like a curmudgeon here,but the character goes much deeper in this series.

An insult to All in the Family

[goddessofluck · 1/10 · 7 May 2006]

I never realized how great All in the Family was until I watched Archie Bunker's Place... which was horrible. It made me realize what was missing - everything! It's apples & oranges - apples & zebras is more accurate. It is a depressing sequel/spin off in a sad lonely bar with flat lines & flatter jokes. Too much effort in trying to clean up Archie's act - tried to hard in my opinion, a bit unbelievable. I am disappointed that O'Connor even liked it enough to do it. Without Edith, the Bunkers don't exist to me. Gloria & Mike's absence is painfully obvious - Archie Bunker's Place story lines are manufactured, not natural, as with All in the Family. I don't know how this lasted FOUR years!

It was never the same as the original but still worth watching anyway!

[Sylviastel · 9/10 · 30 May 2006]

Carroll O'Connor's character Archie Bunker was so popular that the network could not let him go so easily. Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, and Sally Struthers were eager to move away from their television personalities. But let's face it, they were on one of the most popular sitcoms ever and for them, it is both a blessing and curse as well. Archie Bunker's Place had a girl, Danielle Brisebois as the Jewish girl from Edith's side of the family. I remember watching Anne Meara, Liz Torres, and others who try to recreate the magic that was All in the Family but the show is still superior to anything on television today so I'm being a little more liberal because the character of ARchie Bunker became an American icon and part of the fabric of American culture that we would miss him too much. THis show allowed us to slowly move on. We love Archie Bunker and the actor who played him, Carroll O'Connor. For most of us, we'll always think of him as Archie.

It Has It's Moments..

[Falconeer · 5/10 · 18 May 2020]

It was obvious that audiences hadn't had enough of that iconic character, "Archie Bunker," so fans were happy to see his return in "Archie Bunkers Place." The show is regrettably, not as good as the classic, iconic "All In the Family." As expected this show has it's shining moments, and those moments are the ones that most resemble the "All In the Family" years. The first season still features Jean Stapleton as Edith, but she soon leaves, and the show does suffer from her absence. New characters like the cute "Billie," and the likable Danielle Brisebois inject the show with youthful life, and the character of Ellen Canby, the maid is funny, and a decent replacement for Edith. Unfortunately the show is sunk by it's unwise emphasis on the character Barney Heffner, one of the most unlikable and annoying characters ever created for television. Strangely, about 75 percent of this show focuses on this drunken barfly, and those episodes are flops because of it. Another thing to dislike about the show, is it's racism against Latinos. While "All In the Family" was wall to wall racism, the jokes were always made to show Archie Bunker as patently wrong in his stereotypes, with minorities constantly outsmarting him and proving him wrong in his beliefs. That requires intelligent writing, which ABP lacks. Puerto Ricans here are portrayed as the stupid, bumbling clowns that Archie always said they were. The way his illegal kitchen help is portrayed is both stupid and offensive, in the way "Amos & Andy" was offensive to blacks, forcing them to become the most extreme examples of the typical stereotype. I'm sure this alienated a large part of it's audience. This, combined with the fake canned laughter, helps to do this show in.

Archie bunker season 2 episode 1 & 2

[lynda-18 · 10/10 · 5 June 2022]

I have been searching for the DVDs with season 2 but don't see it anywhere. Would like to add it to my collection. Anyone know where it can be bought? Loved watching All in the Family and Archie Bunkers Place.

Yuk!

[drstallxx · 1/10 · 18 March 2021]

Archie Bunker's Place is about as far away from All in the Family as you can get. It absolutely pales in comparison. I don't know why Jean Stapleton left the series but if it was because of terrible writing, I wouldn't be surprised. This show was a waste of Carol O'Connor's acting talent

A damn good Ending for "All In The Family

[Swampthing316 · 11 October 2002]

A very damn good show.

Archie Bunker's place was disliked by so many probably because Mike and Gloria weren't arguing with Archie in it and Edith died at the beginning of season 2.

During season 1 a Thanksgiving Reunion Episode was made reuniting Mike Gloria, Edith and Archie. Sadly, this was the final episode that they would all be together. This episode is often overlooked due to the fact that Archie Bunkers Place is rarely seen on any network.

TVland just started showing episodes of Archie Bunker's Place every night at Midnight. I don't know if they are going to show the entire series or not, I sure hope they do.

In this series we see an older much wiser Archie, we see him flashback to many episodes of All In The Family regretting many of the mistakes he made.

Archie changes a great deal during this series, he makes up for everything he did wrong in the past. This show cleans up after All In The Family. This show is there as sort of an Anchor for All In The Family. It sends out a message to all its viewers saying no Bigotry is not Okay, sure we passed Bigotry off as being okay in All In The Family but now your are seeing what happens to a bigot late in life, this bigot begins to see the error of his ways.

This show was ironically canceled after 4 seasons somewhere in between 1982 and 1983.

I believe a full marathon of Archie Bunkers Place starting with the episodes of All In The Family in which Archie Buys the bar, should have ran for four days straight after Carroll O'Connors death, this would have been a fitting tribute to the veteran actor. At least an airing of the actual pilot of All in the Family followed by some land mark episodes of that show than episodes of Archie Bunkers Place should've been aired.

May Archie rest in peace!

Depressing

[john-05455 · 5/10 · 31 December 2023]

Imagine if Lucille Ball decided to continue the Lucy Ricardo character after the I Love Lucy show/Lucy-Desi Comedy hour concluded and the character had divorced Ricky on the show and Fred had died. That's what Archie Bunker's Place feels like. The dynamic is gone and you feel it more acutely because the characters you grew to love are missing.

I understand the perspective that the Archie character "evolved" in this series but he evolved into something kinder and gentler and consequently less funny. To keep O'Connor and the production staff at CBS working, they should have developed a new series, like "The Lucy Show." You could have had a curmudgeonly grandfather character, obviously similar to Archie, but a fresh storyline where you're not in the living room of the characters you're missing. Alas, if only Norman or Carroll had taken my telephone call in 1979....

Very good

[octoberrust67 · 9/10 · 28 August 2018]

Don't listen to the negative reviews. This is a quality production with great acting. Mybe not as good as All In The Family but very close. The new characters are a delightful and most of the old ones return or pay a visit. Martin Balsam is avery good addition. Very satisfied overall

Why

[maxinerogers-23553 · 10/10 · 22 November 2021]

I love Archie Bunker. People always say, he's prejudice. And I say, So is George Jefferson. They don't say nothing. What I want to know. Is why in the Hell is the maid. Sitting at the dinner table. She is to watch stephanie and cook, then leave. I would also like to say. Why in the hell, they put Stephanie in . She's nothin but a pain in the A**. When her grandmother went to court. Their going to rule fir Archie to keep her. We all know that's. BS.

Archie Bunker's Place

[ciecie · 4 September 2005]

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.

Thanks, Antenna TV

[iloveseaotters · 8/10 · 31 August 2023]

Thanks to Antenna TV, I've seen every episode of this show at least twice. I'd never really watched it before, but I really like it. Carroll O'Connor was an amazing actor and I love the rest of the cast, especially Danielle Brisboi, who played Stephanie. In some ways I like it better than "All in the Family", but I do love the earlier episodes with Jean Stapleton. This show makes me laugh and while every episode isn't great, they're all worth watching. I like that it's not a "reboot" of "All In The Family ", but rather a "sequel ".

I like the "new" characters like Billie and the patrons and staff of "Archie Bunker's Place "

Not All in the Family

[yonko · 16 December 2002]

This show never measured up to All in the Family. I was too young to really remember this show, but I have been watching it in TVland. It' not bad, but you can really see the Archie's jokes coming a mile away. I think this show lacked the emotion that All in the Family had. Archie's Place became your basic sitcom and it didn't have anything that really set it off from anything else. It had it's moments, though. But I think Murray Klein (Martin Balsam) was the best character on the show.

The Last Remains of "All in the Family".

[tfrizzell · 5 June 2004]

Archie Bunker ("Carroll O'Connor) moved up in the world by 1979 with this fair follow-up to "All in the Family". He decides to buy the bar down the street that always served as his second home and hilarious situations followed for another 96 episodes over a four-year run from 1979 through 1983. O'Connor though made the transition alone as Jean Stapleton passed away on the show and O'Connor found solace with a young orphan (Danielle Brisebois) who he started to rear as the previous series ended. The comedic timing of O'Connor and Brisebois (an adolescent at the time) was impressive for the most part, but honestly O'Connor thrived on old colleagues like Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers much better. Good performers like Anne Meara and old movie character actor Martin Balsam were high-lighted as the series ran its course. Just always lacked the edginess and creativity of its predecessor. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Only one memorable episode

[Baldach · 23 February 2003]

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.

Not as good as All in the Family

[mkaiser-3 · 24 June 2006]

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)

The sequel

[raysond · 19 December 2002]

THANK YOU TVLAND!

After the huge success of "All In The Family",the spinoff to this series was titled "Archie Bunker's Place",which ran on CBS-TV for four seasons(from 1979-1982). In this installment,the series picks up where one of the most influential series in the history of television left off which to some was not the last we will see of the controversial character Archie Bunker(played by Carroll O'Connor). First off,Archie becomes a widow after his beloved wife Edith passes away and also brings back the last time that fellow actors Jean Stapleton,Sally Struthers,and Rob Reiner would be together in which it was to be the show's final episode,but it wasn't(and this was from the first season of Archie Bunker's Place and the last go round of All In The Family is where this series begins). However,Archie and Edith by the way,adopts a little girl named Stephanie(played by Danielle Brisbois) and after the tragedy of Edith Bunker,Archie leaves his job at the plant,and opens up his own bar in the Queens section of New York(where the setting of the show is shown). Here we get to see a side of Archie Bunker that was never shown before,only this time around that here is a bigot who will see the error of his ways and then all of a sudden repent and Carroll O'Connor pulls this one off brilliantly. Still you may have the same controversial issues that reflect the day,but in all it was a wonderful series that needs to be seen again after two decades sitting on a studio shelf never to be heard from again.

However,TV Land has brought back these classic episodes and what they should have done was after the passing of actor Carroll O'Connor,they should have did a marathon of both "All In The Family",and this series. Let's hope they do.

An awesome sequel

[TORONI · 19 March 2002]

I think that Archie Bunker's place was a great sequel to my favorite show, All In The Family. though it wasn't as funny, it still entertained me. I really hope that it will come back to television soon in reruns.

TVLand has brought Archie Bunker's Place back in reruns

[Swampthing316 · 24 October 2002]

TVland finally brought Archie Bunker's Place back in reruns.

Every episode will be aired. Set your VCR'S sunday thru thursday for midnight.

It is a shame that this show got canceled after only 4 seasons. The show at least should have gotten a series finale.

Rest in peace Carrol O'Connor!

This Show Should Never Have Been Made

[Sargebri · 30 March 2003]

I would like to know who came up with the bright idea to keep the All In the Family franchise going. To me the show should have ended when Mike and Gloria left and moved to California. Without the dynamic between Archie and Mike, there was no way that this show would ever be as funny as it was. Also, for the most part, you know a show is in trouble when they decide to bring the cute kid in. This is just another case of a network trying to milk a show for everything its worth.