For those who say that ”All in the Family” would never be made today — Carroll O’Connor agrees with you
An opinion from Archie Bunker himself.
All in the Family was ahead of its time when it first premiered in 1971. However, long-standing fans who still tune in to watch the series today love the show because it was the first of its kind to push boundaries in a television program. But some viewers seem to believe that there will also never be another show like All in the Family again.
Sure, arguments have been made in previous decades that a show like All in the Family deserves a reboot, but no network has ever taken a creator up on it. The closest we’ve come is ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience, where famous actors reunited to recreate episodes of All in the Family.
While some fans saw it as a welcome surprise to see the Bunker family on their screens again, there’s another camp of fans securely in the “Don’t even think about it” category when it comes to an All in the Family reboot. In fact, given the subject matter that the series tackled, there’s even some debate over whether a reboot would get an honest and fair depiction, true to the frankness that made the original series so special.
For those in that camp, you’re in good company. According to an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Carroll O’Connor explained his personal belief that All in the Family could never be made in the present day — with the present day of the interview being 1977 when All in the Family was still on the air.air. O’Connor said, “I think the people who say you couldn’t start an All in the Family today because of network caution are absolutely right.”
He also explained that not only were television’s standards for new series becoming stricter, but the rules were also applied to existing series like All in the Family. O’Connor complaining about an influx of censorship from the higher-ups of the series who were attempting to sanitize the show.
Playing a lovable bigot is no easy task, but Carroll O’Connor was able to do it for nine seasons on All In the Family, and then some. While O’Connor has expressed in several interviews that he was nothing like Archie Bunker, when speaking to The Columbia Record, he confessed of playing Archie, “It’s the hardest work I’ve ever done as an actor.”
O’Connor continued, “Working in movies first has helped, but most of it’s been developed in the last year or so. This is like being on stage, but there’s more pressure to it.”
The other issue with O’Connor’s creative process was that he didn’t allow himself much preparation when getting ready to act as the Bunker patriarch. For example, of the character’s facial expressions, he said, “I can’t work on ’em. It’s an acting problem. I have to feel the reaction very strongly. I have to be in character constantly.”
He explained, “I can’t ever lose ‘Archie.’ I have to make myself be ‘Bunker’ when I react, and the reaction must be natural. The expressions can either set up the next line or just be a pure reaction. Occasionally they aren’t real because my concentration is off, and if it happens often, I’m in trouble. It’s quite a problem.”
