A Televisual Feast

This episode might be the first of the affecting “All in the Family” episodes. Gloria gets pregnant, complications ensue and Archie experiences an actual emotional reaction. It’s also the first episode I can remember with background music (it just feels wrong, like a soundtrack going during a play). It’s a good episode, a sure-footed one too–when Gloria’s friend comes to visit, for instance, an outside presence (save Lionel) in the Bunker house doesn’t feel off.

While the easy best part of the episode is the end, the strongest comedic parts come from Lionel (big surprise) and the initial pregnancy news. Archie gets confused, thinking Edith is pregnant. The eventual tonal shift of the episode is swift–a moment before, it’s a comedic scene–and that swiftness really plays well for the episode, which flexes the show’s potential for mixing comedy and drama quite well.

It’s too bad, then, the last couple scenes are problematic. The pre-end credit closer is a misfire, just because there’s no real way to end the episode on a funny note, but they try anyway and fail. The scene with Archie and Gloria suffers from bad direction. John Rich’s setups remind of old soap opera clips–not even new ones–and it’s clear he didn’t know how to shoot the scene. But even with the problems, the episode’s excellent.

3.5