For anyone who is a fan of 'All In The Family', this episode has to rank among the top 5 most hilarious episodes, at least it does for me. If you know anything about the character of Archie Bunker, this episode is one of the best for a slap in the face of reality of his bigotry, albeit a drunken slap. Such a funny episode. This episode won't be as funny for those who have just watched scattered episodes of the show, but hysterical for those who watch from the beginning of the series.
4 Reviews
Carroll O'Connor shows his talents
vitoscotti28 December 2021
Amazing performance by CC. Brilliant superimposing the family. Then, of course a black god. Silly but script necessary lock on the cellar door. How the cellar door going outside lines up to the living room I remember how off it was even seeing this as a kid.
Great solo spot for Carroll O Connor
Jimmy_the_Gent430 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Edith, Mike and Gloria are going away for the weekend leaving Archie home alone. He ends up accidentally locked in the cellar.
Carroll O'Connor gets a lot of solo time in this episode and he is terrific, he gets to show off some of his physical comedy skills. Later episodes tried to give him similar solo comedy sequences but this one is the best. Archie has a bottle of Polish vodka to keep him warm and ends up very drunk. There is an unusual surrealistic scene where we see Edith, Mike and Gloria as phantoms in Archie's imagination. The biggest laugh is when we meet a oil man that drunken Archie believes is God. We only hear his voice at first but when we find out he is a black man, the audience goes wild. Archie's reaction is hilarious "Forgive me Lord! The Jeffersons was right!"
Carroll O'Connor gets a lot of solo time in this episode and he is terrific, he gets to show off some of his physical comedy skills. Later episodes tried to give him similar solo comedy sequences but this one is the best. Archie has a bottle of Polish vodka to keep him warm and ends up very drunk. There is an unusual surrealistic scene where we see Edith, Mike and Gloria as phantoms in Archie's imagination. The biggest laugh is when we meet a oil man that drunken Archie believes is God. We only hear his voice at first but when we find out he is a black man, the audience goes wild. Archie's reaction is hilarious "Forgive me Lord! The Jeffersons was right!"
I'm in the 'Minorority'
janet-conant5 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I remember this from way back as not really that funny. I was right as I kept wondering why the audience was laughing at ever gesture and every sentence O'Connor muttered. I wasn't laughing as he slurred his words and wasn't even convinced he was drunk as he downed the vodka. Give me Foster Brooks any day.
It was around this time in O'Connor's career where his ego took over his Archie Bunker character and thought everything he said was hilarious. Many of the early episodes were hilarious like Edith's Accident, Edith The Judge, Archie at Night School, The Swingers and Sammy Davis and the writing was tops with O'Connor's deadpan delivery.
O'Connor simply can't carry the whole show himself and needs at least the brilliant acting of Stapleton, the funniest in the series. So while the live audience is laughing uproariously I was thinking what am I missing? Of course we all know Bunker will get locked in the cellar but he forgets why he went there. This episode might have worked better without all the laughter. Less is more.
I found Archie in seasons 1-3 very funny but once he knew he created a unique character he stopped being original. Talking to the visions of Edith, Gloria and Mike didn't work for me and even thinking God was black and his last line was a letdown. Give me Woody Allen trying to rob the bank with a badly printed note in Take The Money and Run any day.
It was around this time in O'Connor's career where his ego took over his Archie Bunker character and thought everything he said was hilarious. Many of the early episodes were hilarious like Edith's Accident, Edith The Judge, Archie at Night School, The Swingers and Sammy Davis and the writing was tops with O'Connor's deadpan delivery.
O'Connor simply can't carry the whole show himself and needs at least the brilliant acting of Stapleton, the funniest in the series. So while the live audience is laughing uproariously I was thinking what am I missing? Of course we all know Bunker will get locked in the cellar but he forgets why he went there. This episode might have worked better without all the laughter. Less is more.
I found Archie in seasons 1-3 very funny but once he knew he created a unique character he stopped being original. Talking to the visions of Edith, Gloria and Mike didn't work for me and even thinking God was black and his last line was a letdown. Give me Woody Allen trying to rob the bank with a badly printed note in Take The Money and Run any day.
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