For both 1974 and 1975's top-rated TV show, I had All in the Family on tap with its fifth and sixth seasons, so I'm catching it at the end of a remarkable run as the top TV show for five years running. I made selections of episodes as I didn't have time to watch both seasons all the way through, and was treated to a fortuitously-timed 100th episode retrospective during season five.
I can't recall having ever watched it before, but I knew its reputation as a progressive, issue-laden show created by like-minded people packaged within a family arguing over those issues. I wouldn't expect anybody who truly believes in the backwards things brought up for laughs is going to watch the show and think "Gee, I should change my way of thinking," and a cynical side of me wonders if presenting both sides was simply a way to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, but at least it was doing something with its air time and was committed to putting stuff out there for people to think and talk about. Not every show has to be pushing social issues, but not every show has to be Two and a Half Men, either.
One of the most jarring things about watching it was just taking in a sitcom again. So much of the format was familiar to me, even if I wouldn't have been able to describe it ahead of time: the feeling of watching a filmed stageplay; the pauses for laughter; and the built-in moments for applause in response to something noble or sweet (a tribute to the format's legacy here: https://youtu.be/QfaUdwmegQk?t=119).
I got to see the pilot for The Jeffersons in there, too, as one episode took a break to follow them to their new apartment - that was a nice bonus. Plenty of familiar faces show up, too, but none as surprising to me as a fresh-faced James Cromwell.
I enjoyed watching it and, even without watching full seasons, I was with these characters and really starting to care about them. I'll file this one as something to come back around to later.
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