All in the Family - The Complete Eighth Season

Category: DVD

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1 reviews

Format: Ntsc

ASIN: B000TD0PVW

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5 out of 5 stars

Farewell,Mike and Gloria September 27, 2007
andy8047 (Nokomis,Florida)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

CBS's ALL IN THE FAMILY Season 8 is likely,the most memorable of all. Archie Bunker(the late great Carroll O'Connor),a former loading dock foreman,invests the Bunkers' savings into his longtime local hangout,Kelsey's Bar. He reopens the pub as Archie's Place,thus inpiring the spinoff ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE. ABP wouldn't happen until September 1979,though. Tommy Kelsey,portrayed recurringly by Bob Hastings,became too ill to continue operating the pub. So I guess Archie wanted to save the pub from closing down. Another episode has Archie and his son-in-law Mike "Meathead" Stivic(Rob Reiner) locked in Archie's Place's storeroom by a thief. Archie even hosts a Super Bowl party in the pub. During the party,two guys come in and hold up the joint and everyone else present,hostage. Edith's(Jean Stapleton) aunt Iola(guest star Nedra Volz) visits the Bunkers and the Stivics. The worst moment of Edith's life occurs this season. She is raped by an intruder on her 50th birthday. The intruder,portrayed by guest star the late David Dukes,even talked about that episode on THE E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY-ALL IN THE FAMILY. Mike,who has been tutoring,accepts a teaching job at a California college. So this is the most touching situation of all. Mike and Gloria(Sally Struthers) prepare to move to California,with their young son Joey in tow,of course and against Archie's preference(he labels California as "the land of fruits and nuts"). The Stivics' home is still owned by former resident George Jefferson. In one episode,George(guest star Sherman Hemsley,now a star of the AITF spinoff THE JEFFERSONS) visits the Stivics with news that he found someone interested in purchasing the home. In the two-part season finale,Gloria and Mike are back with Archie and Edith like old times,but for only a few days because the Stivics had already found their new California home. Edith prepares a farewell dinner for Gloria and Mike but Edith has hurt by the Stivics' plan of going out to dinner with one of Mike's new colleagues. For Edith's sake,Mike calls the colleague and cancels. Like old times,Archie,Edith,Mike and Gloria are all together for the last time at the Bunkers' dining room table. And of course,Archie and Mike exchange heated words. Mike is so infuriated that he refused to never speak to Archie again. The next morning,with heavy persuasion from Edith,Archie and Mike make up. The foursome renew their respective wedding vows just before the big departure. This mediocre ceremony was performed by an Oriental minister. Then Mike thanks Archie for letting him live under the Bunkers' roof,the free meals,despite the frequent differences between them. Archie calmly states to Mike,"You take care of yourself,and Joseph and most of all,my "little goil". The episode ends with Archie and Edith in silence in their living room chairs with the camera lens zooming out. For the last time,the original closing theme plays with Reiner saying "ALL IN THE FAMILY was recorded before a live audience.". Reiner and Struthers decided to quit AITF after the end of season 8 for their own ventures. The other episodes are great. Reiner wanted to act less and concentrate more on producing and directing.