flakrat said:
Archie Bunker was an amazing character!
You know, I was about five when that show started and maybe 13 when it went off the air. I can remember it being on TV at night and a lot of it going over my head, especially the political stuff. But I still remember thinking Archie was funny. Edith was brilliant, and the constant bickering between him and meathead worked well. Even though Rob Reiner became such a putz in later life, but I certainly don't wish him dead.
His father Carl Reiner, who just died a few years ago, played Alan Brady on the Dick Van Dyke show. The show was originally supposed to be with him as the star, but it didn't test well.
A lot of people hated Archie's character, but if you really look back on it now it's brilliant. Because they weren't portraying him as being a really smart guy or being in the right they were making fun of him, but Carol Connor did the role so well that even though sometimes he said things that both right and wrong it was done in such a good way.
I have a lot more appreciation for it now.
I actually liked the Jeffersons spinoff on it. I thought George Jefferson was funny. Again a lot of it went over my head. I even remember in the early years the woman that played his mother was hilarious.
Fun fact. The woman that played Helen Willis on the Jeffersons was Lenny Kravitz' mother.
Now that I'm recalling all this, I feel pretty damn old.
“Some people bring joy wherever they go, and some people bring joy whenever they go.” ~ Mark Twain