MovieChat Forums > All in the Family (1971) Discussion > This was the Seinfeld of it's day

This was the Seinfeld of it's day

posted 5 years ago by ebhaynz (3525)
11 replies | jump to latest

#1 in the ratings for five straight years. All in the Family was even #4 in it's 8th season, which is unbelievable.
I remember as a kid in the summer of 1978 they would show All in the Family in syndication during the afternoon and it was a special treat every day Mon-Fri!
TV Guide ranks this the #4 best TV show of all time, just behind The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, and Seinfeld. I think All in the Family should be #3 because it's certainly better than The Honeymooners!

[–] zaq123 (2389) 5 years ago

Have you seen the Honeymooners? Because it's pretty funny.

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

And they pulled it off with almost zero editing in a live show. The HMs is like watching a play, and the actors have to do it right the first time. AITF was quite a while ago, but I'm pretty sure they had laugh tracks and re-shoots.
Maybe the HMs did too, but it has that raw, early film quality that makes it look like they had to get it right the first time.

[–] zaq123 (2389) 5 years ago

I would bet that the Honeymooners had no laugh track.

[–] [email protected] (5497) 5 years ago

The "classic 39" Honeymooners is great. I never tire of it. Every once in a while I watch of few of the episodes on DVD. I don't think they did re-takes. You'll notice that they left in the flubs!

Jackie Gleason was notorious for not wanting to rehearse. He thought it ruined the spontaneity of comedy. The cast rehearsed without him. Luckily he had a superb memory. But he did make a few flubs.

There was another instance when they were at a Raccoon Lodge meeting and the actor playing the "Head Raccoon" forgot a bit of dialogue. He stuttered over it and Jackie Gleason came to his aid with the correct word. The mistakes lend an air of realism to the show. Everyone forgets a word now and then or searches to find the right way to say something. I know I do.

[–] ProductionNow (1072) 4 years ago

That doesn't mean they didn't edit AFTER they taped (and they did re-takes) WE are not watching it live.
The Honeymooners was more lenient (low-budget) with Gleason walking around the room as he pleased with seemingly much improv, while Meadows just waited in placed until he returned to her.; it may be why Gleason was never awarded an Emmy (but I am guessing with that)

[–] PaladinNJ (20308) 5 years ago

Far superior to Seinfeld

[–] brux (14666) 5 years ago

I really hated The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy, both just irritated the hell out of me.

All In The Family was great, something all people could relate to.
Seinfeld was great too, but not very real or something that people could personally relate to.

[–] nyctc7 (41195) 5 years ago

Loved it when it originally aired and for quite a number of years afterword...

But now I can't watch for more than a few seconds. Archie still makes me laugh, but the rest of the cast just irritate the hell out of me. Mike is a big self-righteous baby. Edith's extreme stupidity is so tiresome.

I don't deny that it is a landmark show, though.

[–] hoosiergirl (209) 5 years ago

I find Edith in the first season really annoying. Jean later settled into the way she portrayed Edith, but in the beginning she was too flat with the delivery and made Edith seem really dumb.

[–] ebhaynz (3525) 5 years ago

It was a hard role to play and you're right after the first season she nailed it.

[–] brux (14666) 4 years ago

All In The Family is something that our whole family watched together and laughed about. It was fun and all these years later I still look at it as a really great show. It's sad there is nothing like this on TV today. I never cared for the Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, but I did love Seinfeld ... but it was not as good as All In The Family because it was just not real. Then there as the Jeffersons, and some other shows that came from All In The Family too that were quite funny and good. Not as good as AITF.