Welcome to another Wildcard Wednesday! Today’s post looks at the best from the final two seasons of Archie Bunker’s Place (1979-1983, CBS), the continuation of Norman Lear’s groundbreaking All In The Family (1971-1979, CBS) starring Carroll O’Connor as the titular Archie Bunker . The third season is the first without Martin Balsam as Archie’s Jewish partner, Murray Klein, who left the series at the end of the previous year due to dissatisfaction with his material. His presence is missed, for although he was never a great boon to the show’s comedy, the character served as a fine foil to Archie Bunker, helping to give gravitas to the bar environment and the stories set therein. His replacement is Denise Miller as Billie, Archie’s niece, who moves in with him in the season premiere and takes a job as a waitress at the bar. Although she’s used a lot in the home stories, her existence is meant to help bridge the gap between Archie’s personal and professional lives — and as a narrative tool, she works. Unfortunately, despite Miller’s above average playing, the character is, like Balsam, not a humorous counterpoint to Archie.
Billie’s presence at home as quasi big sister to Stephanie (Danielle Brisebois) eliminates the need for the housekeeper, Ellen Canby (Barbara Meek), another humorless character that was established in Season Two — primarily to illustrate Archie’s growth from being overtly prejudiced to simply ignorant and insensitive (something that the third season struggles with; you’ll notice in some episodes that Archie’s more bigoted than he was in the year before). Meek leaves the series about two-thirds of the way through the season, along with Anne Meara’s Veronica Rooney, the cook, who disappears after a dramatic episode entitled “Relapse,” in which she falls back off the wagon (in a clear bid to score another Emmy nomination). Meara was at least a funny figure, so her loss is felt, but not storywise, since she was rarely used organically in the narrative. The same goes for the other characters at the bar: Allan Melvin’s Barney, Bill Quinn’s Mr. Van Ranseleer, Abraham Alvarez’s Jose, Jose Perez’s Raoul, and the late Jason Wingreen’s Harry. They all get about one or two episodes per season of meat, but otherwise serve as set dressing for the rest of the season.
Of interest to All In The Family fans is the return of Sally Struthers as Gloria, who appears in a two-parter that establishes her separation from Mike and her permanent move to the East Coast. It’s an obvious plan to set her up for a spin-off, which lasted the entirety of the 1982-83 season and received fairly good ratings. In addition to the unaired pilot (which features a cameo from Archie, and was retooled before the show actually went to series, but nevertheless included in ABP’s syndication package), I’ve seen a bit of Gloria. It’s not good, and O’Connor, following some drama at CBS over the spin-off’s creative team, does not appear at all in the episodes that made it to air. Yet Struthers’ scenes with Archie in her hour-long return help give some closure to the original series, and it’s at least worth mentioning.
However, Season Three does do a few things right; the show is more laugh-geared than it was in the dark Edith-less second season. Also, a fine addition to the cast is made in Barry Gordon as Gary Rabinowitz, Archie’s lawyer and business manager, who begins a relationship near the end of the year with Billie. Gordon is an amusing performer, and although certainly less combative than Mike, he’s a better designed foil than both Murray and Billie (whose conflicts with Archie are more surface). Additionally, there’s a wonderful arc this season in which Archie has his first serious post-Edith relationship with Katherine Logan, played by Yvonne Wilder. She’s an actress with a healthy dose of realism, and while most of her material lacks explicit comedy, she does help contribute to several memorable installments. So Season Three is actually a pretty interesting year — and while not better than the first season (which is on par with All In The Family‘s last), it’s the one that I watch most often.
On the other hand, Season Four, is a big disappointment. Archie has less to do. The show is unfunny. The ensemble is inadequate. Katherine is gone. The Billie/Gary relationship monopolizes the show, and their on-again/off-again dynamic (perhaps a response to the season’s other bar series, the recently premiered Cheers? No . . . nobody has been watching yet — despite its great reviews) hampers both characters. There’s little to recommend here, and thus, it’s difficult to feel disappointed that Archie Bunker’s Place was canceled without warning. Yes, I’ve heard all the arguments in favor of giving the characters a proper finale, but really, All In The Family was long gone, and this show had nothing of great substance to contain . . . unfortunately.
