Holidays never seemed to be a very happy occasion for anybody in the Bunker or Stivic families. Just take a look at all the hardships they endure at Christmas, and even Thanksgivings aren't always happy. But, maybe that's all about to change. Maybe this year will find both families in better spirits, because this year, Mike and Gloria, along with little Joey, will be spending the holiday with the Bunkers in Queens. As you know, they had split up last Christmas, but have since reconciled, so with the family together again, maybe this Thanksgiving will be a very special one. Oh, yes it will be. As Archie was looking forward to a nice, quiet Thanksgiving with just he, Edith, and Stephanie, he soon discovers that there will be a few additional guests coming to dine with them. Edith had done her best to keep the identity of their guests a secret, and to her credit, she succeeded. So when the bell rings and Archie goes to open the door, he finds none other than Dollar Store Groucho Marx. Don't quit your day job, Mike. Actually, he doesn't have a day job, or ANY job anymore, but more on that later. For now, the Stivics are back, and setting foot in the Bunkers' living room for the first time since Season 8. Well, technically, back when the show was still called All in the Family. Right off the bat, we see that Joey has grown into a BRAT. I say that because he deliberately took the knobs off the TV set and hid them and refuses to say where they are. Not only that, but he lets it slip how his daddy got his picture in the paper, which immediately makes Mike and Gloria uncomfortable. As for Archie, he wondered why he wasn't sent a copy of it. Oh believe me, Arch, you wouldn't want to see this. In case you missed the conversation between Edith and Stephanie earlier, Mike was fired from his teaching job after he participated in a nude protest. That's definitely the sort of thing he would do... in his younger days. Come on, Mike, you're a grown man and you have a family to support. But then, the guy was always a few bricks shy of a load. As far as Joey and the TV, you'd think Mike would tell his son to hand over the knobs so Grandpa Archie could watch the Turkey Day football game, but he doesn't, because in addition to being a lazy parent, he also believes football is a violent sport and he'd rather not subject his son to it lest he grow up to be violent. Furthermore, when Archie sees Joey playing with a Raggedy Ann doll, he worries that his grandson will grow up to be gay. Glad to see both men are still stuck in the 1950s.
After Archie shares his limited knowledge about the history of Thanksgiving with the kids, it's finally time to eat, and if you've been following this franchise for eight years, you'd know dinner time is always a huge deal in the Bunker house, everyone sits down, passes around the dishes, and has a good, old fashioned argument. Before they begin to chow down, they go around the table to hear what everybody is thankful for, and Archie almost deliberately puts Mike on the spot by trying to make him be thankful to God for the feast, forgetting that the Meathead is an atheist. He goes on to shame Mike for not being thankful for his house, or even his job. The way he's pushing, it's as if Archie knows the truth, but as we're all aware, he does not. So why is he trying to practically coax a confession out of him? If you ask me, this was a very clunky way to get Mike to come clean. Naturally, his pressing causes Gloria to blow like a geyser. After wondering what he said, Arch comes to the conclusion that maybe Mike lost his job. No, ya think?! He's very understanding about it, saying he'll find another job and that it ain't the end of the world. Okay, good, now with that settled, do they finally get to eat? No, of course not, Archie just couldn't let well enough alone and asked Mike directly if that were the reason he was terminated, because of Herbert H. Jarvis and "Preparation 13". I went ahead and Googled it, and PROPOSITION 13, which passed in 1978, mostly had to do with property taxes. What would've made Archie happy about it is because that proposition was believed to have lead to Reagan winning the presidency in 1980, but I digress. Prop 13, which I assume is what Archie was talking about, would have had nothing to do with Mike getting fired. But even if it weren't, he could have at least said it was, so Arch would shut up and they could all eat their Thanksgiving dinner, which was probably stone cold at this point. Eh, the Meathead would still gobble it up. Anyway, a full blown argument ensues as Archie feels he has a right to know exactly why Mike lost his job, and because the Stivics know ZIP about subterfuge. So FINALLY, the truth gets out: they were planning the construction of a nuclear power plant on the site of a nude beach, so Mike took it upon himself to join them in his birthday suit. With that lovely image in his brain, I'm not sure Archie will want to eat now. Will this little incident divide the family? Will Mike be able to live with himself after the immoral, burning shame he's brought upon his family? Will Mike and Gloria's relationship be able to withstand this latest blow? Will Archie ever get to watch TV? Tune in for Part 2, same Bunker time, same Bunker channel.
Archie Bunker's Place was not so much a spin-off of All in the Family as it was a continuation that was treated as a separate show. Similarly to how Little House on the Prairie became Little House: A New Beginning in 1982 and focused attention more on the citizens of Walnut Grove rather than the Ingalls family. However, that wasn't its own series and was just relegated to Season 9 of Little House, which makes me wonder why Archie Bunker's Place wasn't just Season 10 and beyond. While it wasn't nearly as successful or beloved as All in the Family, Archie Bunker's Place still had good writing and decent performances, so if you want an example of a continuation done the RIGHT way, along with Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour which succeeded I Love Lucy, this would be the example to follow. The WRONG way to do a continuation was AfterMASH! But as for this episode, I guess it was nice seeing Mike and Gloria again, even though there wasn't much more for these characters to do. They were only brought back because of declining ratings and both Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers were offered big bucks to return full time, but Rob made the right call and chose to go into directing instead, and he went on to make some very memorable movies like This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, and Stand by Me to name a few. As for Sally, she was given her own spin-off: Gloria. Because, yeah, everyone was begging for a show all about Gloria, a female character who represented everything wrong with woman's lib. At least that series co-starred Burgess Meredith, and he was always fun to watch. I'll be covering part 2 of Thanksgiving Reunion next, and I don't really think this needed to be a two-parter, because there's a lot of padding to get it out to an hour length, and most of it is just Mike whining about his actions. You should've thought of that before you protested au natural, Meathead! So this Thanksgiving, I'd say give this episode a watch, but be prepared for the mental image of a turkey WITHOUT dressing.
After Archie shares his limited knowledge about the history of Thanksgiving with the kids, it's finally time to eat, and if you've been following this franchise for eight years, you'd know dinner time is always a huge deal in the Bunker house, everyone sits down, passes around the dishes, and has a good, old fashioned argument. Before they begin to chow down, they go around the table to hear what everybody is thankful for, and Archie almost deliberately puts Mike on the spot by trying to make him be thankful to God for the feast, forgetting that the Meathead is an atheist. He goes on to shame Mike for not being thankful for his house, or even his job. The way he's pushing, it's as if Archie knows the truth, but as we're all aware, he does not. So why is he trying to practically coax a confession out of him? If you ask me, this was a very clunky way to get Mike to come clean. Naturally, his pressing causes Gloria to blow like a geyser. After wondering what he said, Arch comes to the conclusion that maybe Mike lost his job. No, ya think?! He's very understanding about it, saying he'll find another job and that it ain't the end of the world. Okay, good, now with that settled, do they finally get to eat? No, of course not, Archie just couldn't let well enough alone and asked Mike directly if that were the reason he was terminated, because of Herbert H. Jarvis and "Preparation 13". I went ahead and Googled it, and PROPOSITION 13, which passed in 1978, mostly had to do with property taxes. What would've made Archie happy about it is because that proposition was believed to have lead to Reagan winning the presidency in 1980, but I digress. Prop 13, which I assume is what Archie was talking about, would have had nothing to do with Mike getting fired. But even if it weren't, he could have at least said it was, so Arch would shut up and they could all eat their Thanksgiving dinner, which was probably stone cold at this point. Eh, the Meathead would still gobble it up. Anyway, a full blown argument ensues as Archie feels he has a right to know exactly why Mike lost his job, and because the Stivics know ZIP about subterfuge. So FINALLY, the truth gets out: they were planning the construction of a nuclear power plant on the site of a nude beach, so Mike took it upon himself to join them in his birthday suit. With that lovely image in his brain, I'm not sure Archie will want to eat now. Will this little incident divide the family? Will Mike be able to live with himself after the immoral, burning shame he's brought upon his family? Will Mike and Gloria's relationship be able to withstand this latest blow? Will Archie ever get to watch TV? Tune in for Part 2, same Bunker time, same Bunker channel.
Archie Bunker's Place was not so much a spin-off of All in the Family as it was a continuation that was treated as a separate show. Similarly to how Little House on the Prairie became Little House: A New Beginning in 1982 and focused attention more on the citizens of Walnut Grove rather than the Ingalls family. However, that wasn't its own series and was just relegated to Season 9 of Little House, which makes me wonder why Archie Bunker's Place wasn't just Season 10 and beyond. While it wasn't nearly as successful or beloved as All in the Family, Archie Bunker's Place still had good writing and decent performances, so if you want an example of a continuation done the RIGHT way, along with Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour which succeeded I Love Lucy, this would be the example to follow. The WRONG way to do a continuation was AfterMASH! But as for this episode, I guess it was nice seeing Mike and Gloria again, even though there wasn't much more for these characters to do. They were only brought back because of declining ratings and both Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers were offered big bucks to return full time, but Rob made the right call and chose to go into directing instead, and he went on to make some very memorable movies like This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, and Stand by Me to name a few. As for Sally, she was given her own spin-off: Gloria. Because, yeah, everyone was begging for a show all about Gloria, a female character who represented everything wrong with woman's lib. At least that series co-starred Burgess Meredith, and he was always fun to watch. I'll be covering part 2 of Thanksgiving Reunion next, and I don't really think this needed to be a two-parter, because there's a lot of padding to get it out to an hour length, and most of it is just Mike whining about his actions. You should've thought of that before you protested au natural, Meathead! So this Thanksgiving, I'd say give this episode a watch, but be prepared for the mental image of a turkey WITHOUT dressing.
