Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

All 24 episodes (there is no bonus material or extra features) from the '72-'73 season of executive producer Norman Lear's sitcom are contained here, and those unfamiliar with the show may well find them a bit startling. The language is part of it; Archie's frequent use of terms like "gook" and "fag" would never pass muster in these politically correct times. Yet even more striking is All in the Family's subject matter. Again and again, serious themes like politics (the '72 presidential race, pitting Richard Nixon against George McGovern, is mentioned frequently), racism ("Archie in the Hospital" is just one episode dealing with that issue), the death penalty and violence in the name of religion ("Archie Is Branded"), sexual assault ("Gloria, the Victim"), and gun control ("Archie and the Editorial") are handled with remarkable frankness. At the center of it all, of course, is Carroll O'Connor's Archie, who remains belligerent, boorish, and downright mean to the bitter end. Whether he's bribing an IRS agent, cheating an insurance company, or just being pig-headed in general, Archie is utterly unrepentant; basically, he never does the right thing, a trait that's somehow both irritating and refreshing.

All in the Family is hardly perfect; the dysfunctional family's ceaseless squabbling and shouting--usually involving Archie and liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner), although wife Edith (the brilliant Jean Stapleton) and daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) aren't immune--eventually becomes tiresome and shrill. But for the most part, the show's acting, writing (which manages to be very funny as well as incisive), and point of view make this set a must-have. --Sam Graham

Average Customer Rating:

they'll never grow old !	Customer Rating:
Like an old pair of shoes these shows will stay comfortable and popular for years to come. The acting (after the first few shows of Season 1) is great, the writing and jokes still funny and "right on" !

Those Were the Days!

Customer Rating:

"All in the Family" was, without a doubt, the best sitcom of all time. It tackled issues never before discussed on TV such as bigotry, race relations, Watergate, the Vietnam War, homosexuality, rape, menopause, menstruation, inter-racial marriage and so many others. It won Emmy's for Best Comedy Series as well as acting awards for it's four stars - Carroll O'Connor (Archie), Jean Stapleton (Edith), Rob Reiner (Mike) and Sally Struthers (Gloria). I always felt that Seasons 2, 3 and 4 were the best of the show and Season 3 was a real standout with episodes like "Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding", "Class Reunion", "Archie is Branded", "Mike's Appendix" and my personal favorite - "The Battle of the Month". What I liked best about Season 3 is the growth of the characters of both Edith and Gloria. "All in the Family" was the first sitcom I remember watching as a little kid and, to this day, it is the funniest show I've ever seen!

Classic!!!	Customer Rating:
This is classic TV at it's best. My only complaint about this set would be the packaging. All of the DVD's are in one case, stacked on top of each other. That's just a minor inconvenience. Would recommend to any AITF fan.

Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again..

Customer Rating:

This show is pure genious. There are two reasons I like watching it so much. One is that it's almost a study of the times, with women's issues, racism, politics and social values coming under the microscope of the writers with different characters representing different viewpoints. Michael looks a little like David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills and Nash) and more or less represents the Woodstock generation. Lionel is a good additional character (and was a lot more interesting than the Lionel they used in "The Jefferson's" series that spun off this), with Gloria juxtaposing nicely against her mom (Edith!), and Archie as anti-hero (anti-Christ?). It's amazing to see where we are now in relation to what was seen as revolutionary then. The second and MAIN reason I watch this show is that it just cracks me up. One thing I will say about Season 3 is that it starts out kind of frenetically in the opening episodes with characters seeming to be a bit more high-strung or edgy than they were in Season 2 - not to worry, it quickly hits its stride, with Archie mellowing out a bit more in places. And the acting is still pitch perfect. Unlike a lot of sit-coms that followed, the characters in AITF always show a real acting range - that due in large part to the diverse and complex issues the show always loved to tackle. These are no mere sit-com actors - they are REAL actors. It's comedy, but it's drama too in a way, and it was the ability of the show to stretch its genre and go beyond the bounds of what 'sit-com' usually meant that almost put it in the category of art. OK, I better not over-analyze it. Suffice to say it is a hilarious and intelligently made show that reflects an era in American history well-worth catching again, especially in hindsight. And for the laughs. Oh, man!

Buyer Beware!!!

Customer Rating:

I just received my new season three set. I couldn't believe what they did to this set. In place of the nice box set, they sent a snap case that is usually used for just one movie. All three discs are setting "ON TOP" of each other. Their is absolutely no partition. This is going to be extremely easy to scratch the discs. Now it would have been nice if they had sent these in slim-line cases, but these are 'piled' on top of each other. Cheap all the way! I also discovered that these discs do not play in my computer, (like every set I've ever purchased does). This set is going back tomorrow. Sony really did a number on their customers.