Justice for All

Fifty-seven years later, this hidden gem has hardly aged!

The audience is introduced to the series' dynamic in this pilot (as any good pilot is supposed to do). The miserable patriarch of the Bunker family, Archie, struggles to find value in a changing world, & longs for days gone by where he fit in. His primary source of tension is his daughter's boyfriend, whom he allows to live in his house on Long Island. A progressive activist, he clashes with Archie over almost everything. Archie's wife, Edith, functions as a referee.

As an experimental pilot, only Carroll O'Connor & Jean Stapleton remained when the series kicked off for real. Having seen this, I think I now would have preferred Kelly Jean Peters over Sally Struthers in the role of Gloria, & Tim McIntire over Rob Reiner. Oh well.

Given what a nauseating, break-neck decade it's been at the time of writing, I am thankful that Archie wouldn't live to see the way things are nowadays.