They were Hollywood poor. Which in no way compares to real-world poor.
They weren’t poor at all. But I don’t think they were supposed to be. They are working class–the upper lower class or lower middle class. They actually remind me a lot of people I know. They just mix-and-match: their personalities were mostly on the lower end, while their house and personality were mostly higher up.
It was like my uncle’s family living in my grandparents’ house.
I always liked that one, but one thing that kind of rankled about it was–apparently Mike had invited his friends over without consulting Archie. Mike–it’s NOT YOUR HOUSE and you shouldn’t invite people overnight without consulting Archie and Edith.
I agree that the couple was ridiculous in refusing to bend–again, it was someone else’s house and it’s only polite to follow your host’s rules. Even when Archie (generously) offered them money for a motel, the girl didn’t want to because it was “wrong” for Archie to “bribe” them into spending the night apart, which was “immoral” and “unnatural” for two people in love, and that it would be “self-defeating” for them to leave. Jeez, get over yourselves!
I agree. Mike should have been kissing Archie’s feet for free room and board (did you see how much he ate?) while he was in college. Instead he repays Archie by constantly arguing with him, bringing his friends over, and worse - sitting in Archies chair!
Mike is not a freeloader. Their deal is that Archie will support him until he finishes school, moves out and can afford to pay Archie back for the room and board. It’s Archie who often reminds Mike of the arrangement because he knows it’s an easy way to push Mikes buttons.
I could see it happening, reboot the show with a Red-State Tea-Party 2nd-Amendment dad, and a Occupy-Wallstreet Black-Lives-Matter kid (throw in non-cis-gender if you really want to). A lot of the same topics are still hot buttons, they have just drifted along a bit.
What would be the challenge is who would air it. I think it would have trouble getting on the big 3 networks. They just aren’t as adventurous.
Back when it originally aired, there were (mostly) only the big 3 networks. So a show in prime time was at some level important just by the fact that it was on the air. Nowadays there are so many avenues that is wouldn’t have the same cultural cachet even if it were on a big 3, or HBO, etc. The market is just too diverse now.
Which for Hollywood means that the Roseanne writers occasionally mentioned money, and talked about struggling to get by. Compare that to other sitcoms of the same generation, where money was never an issue, either because the characters were wealthy (Frasier, Fresh Prince of Bel Air), or somehow magically always had enough to get by, even if they were under- or even unemployed (cough, cough, Joey, Phoebe and Rachel, cough, Kramer).
BTW, this question only has to do with trivia but was the name of college Mike attended ever mentioned in the show? I keep thinking Mike went to NYU but I’m probably wrong.
All in the Family pushed a lot of envelopes in a TV environment where most other shows were trying to mantain the status quo. As lots of current TV shows are about meth dealers, serial adulterers, spree killer/cannibals and sex crime detectives, I shudder to think what would be really groundbreaking now.
NDP According to IMDB “The exact name of the college Mike attended was never mentioned or clearly indicated.”
And to answer the OP’s Question… No. I don’t think All in the Family’s like will ever been seen again.
And, when Mike finished his schooling, he did, indeed, move out. Though I don’t know if they ever mentioned him paying him back.
There was an ep. in 1972 where Mike inherited some money and donated it to the McGovern campaign. Archie was displeased and Mike took a night job pumping gas to give Archie the cash equivalent.
Much later, George Jefferson moved out of Queens and, out of pure assholery, offered Mike and Gloria such a break on the rent that they pretty much had to move in next door, staying in Archie’s grille for a few more years.
I don’t recall it ever being specifically mentioned, but I dunno.
Mike is not the kind of guy who could tolerate being indebted to a man like Archie, but then again, he did wind up divorcing Gloria and abandoning Joey to live on a commune, if we’re counting continuity from the Gloria spinoff.
Forgive me for nitpicking this episode again but I find it odd that Gloria, the super feminist, has no problem with the woman being labeled as “my old lady” plus being ok with her silent and subservient act.
It’s probably because you’re misremembering her character as a super feminist. She’s for equal rights for women, but she’s rarely- if ever- portrayed as a super feminist.
The other woman isn’t being subservient, talking just ain’t her bag.
In a way, Family Guy sort of mimicked the show in that the opening sequence had a husband and wife singing at the piano. Also Major Dad was sort of like this with the conservative Dad and the role of Meathead being an alien.
- struggling but eventually famous actor who was covered by his rich roommate in the lean years
- lived with her grandmother
- lived in a rent-controlled apartment before becoming a high-salaried executive
- lived off various get-rich schemes that actually made him temporarily rich at times
You can not like either show, but it was never magic. Also, there could easily be another All in the Family today. Blazing Saddles too while I’m thinking of it.
I remember Archie once complained that Mike attended a public college supported by his tax dollars when criticizing Mike for something related to his studies, which precludes NYU.
It probably wouldn’t have been a plausible story line for Mike to ask first and have Archie say yes without asking any questions about the friends and thus finding out something that would make him say no. My guess is that the omission was a judgement call on the part of the writers, not a reflection on Mike’s manners.