All in the Family - The Complete Ninth Season

Category: DVD

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1 reviews

Format: Ntsc

ASIN: B000TD2KY2

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5 out of 5 stars

Hello Danielle! September 27, 2007
andy8047 (Nokomis,Florida)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This ninth and final season of CBS's legendary All In The Family is very much different than the previous ones. Danielle Brisebois(briz bwah) joins remaining original cast members the late Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton as Stephanie Mills,a distant niece of Edith Bunker's(Stapleton) who had been abandoned by her widowed alcoholic father. Brisebois was brought in to fill the vacancies left by other original AITF cast members Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers who had departed in early 1978. Again,there's a new version of Archie(O'Connor) and Edith performing THOSE WERE THE DAYS by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse and a new version of the instrumental REMEMBERING YOU by O'Connor and Roger Kellaway. Also,O'Connor delivers his own closing announcement,"All In The Family was played to a studio audience for live responses." This is because unlike the previous seasons,there was no audience present while filming. Pre-recorded audience reactions were added to these episodes. This season premiered on September 24,1978 and a distant cousin brings Stephanie to the Bunkers' Queens,New York household. Archie and Edith even locate Stephanie's father(guest star Ben Slack) at a motel where he is staying. To avoid certain heartbreak,Edith books a flight for herself and Archie to California to spend Christmas with their daughter Gloria Bunker Stivic(special guest star Struthers) and her husband Michael(special guest star Reiner). Michael,enjoying his job as a college professor is separated from Gloria but they reunite at their Santa Barbara,CA apartment for 5 days for the sake of her parents. The Stivics were unable to come to New York since Mike was "hurting"(he was actually faking a bad back and claims he hurt it by lifting a heavy hibachi). Of course,Stephanie flew to California with the Bunkers and found a new playmate in the Stivics' son Joey. Mike's working too much resulted in the Stivics' separation and verge of divorce. In another episode,Archie and Edith spend a weekend at a cabin with Archie's buddy Barney Hefner(recurringly played by the recently departed Allen Melvoin) and Barney's wife Blanche(Estelle Parsons). AITF's spinoff The Jeffersons star Isabel Sanford reprises her character Louise Jefferson telling her former next door neighbors the Bunkers that someone finally bought the Jeffersons' old house which was subsequently rented by the Stivics. Edith lost her job at the Sunshine Home at the demand of a man whose resident mother just died. Edith let the woman die as she requested(she wanted no more treatment or life support). There was also a St. Patrick's Party at Archie's Place in the series finale. In the series' final scene,Edith tells Archie in their bed,"You're a pip,a real pip!". The camera zooms out from inside the bedroom to a view of the closed door. CBS aired AITF regularly for the final time on September 16,1979 and the following Sunday,the four-season spinoff ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE premiered. Norman Lear,who had Americanized the British-based TILL DEATH DO US PART making it AITF,had turned over his title of executive in charge of production to Alan Horn. Like Lear did,Horn assumed the duties for Lear's other created series like TJ and GOOD TIMES,the latter which ended in 1979 as well. Interestingly,like NBC's The Cosby Show would do later,AITF held the #1 Nielsen spot for 5 consecutive seasons.