ALL IN THE FAMILY-We're Having A Heat Wave, We're Still Having A Heat Wave, Edith Finds An Old Man, The Games Bunkers Play

 

ALL IN THE FAMILY

We’re Having A Heat Wave

We’re Still Having A Heat Wave

Edith Finds An Old Man

The Games Bunkers Play

 

Okay, four good episodes, mostly. I have to categorically state that I found Frank Lorenzo like no Italian I’ve ever met…and I met lots of them. He’s very annoying, not even marginally funny, and I realize why he only stuck around one season. Irene fares a bit better and she stays until season 6, sort of. I never found them particularly funny or even interesting but I think they were a way to spice and shake things up but it only partially worked. The rapport with everyone rises above the past seasons. HEAT WAVE and STILL have a good idea behind them: a heat wave and Archie’s prejudices against women doing mechanical things and men doing the cooking, with expected jokes and results, some of these shocking by today’s standards (Archie once more gives us his thoughts, as he AND Henry Jefferson collude with each other to keep a Puerto Rican husband and wife from moving next door to Archie!). Archie mentions Chinks, Japs, coloreds (and particularly wonders if Jefferson was cheating him and telling Mike you can’t tell if they blush or turn pale!), fags (calling Frank one to Irene), Catholics, and more. I don’t know if the AC ever gets fixed. Edith mixes well with both Frank and Irene, though her scenes with Frank fall flat but her scenes with Irene REALLY work in a way that she hasn’t really worked with any other friend presented on the show (with the possible exception of Louise but Louise hasn’t been in many episodes at all and when she is, she’s rarely with Edith or with Edith for a long time).

 

Mike is particularly annoying in HEAT by constantly following Archie around, yelling at him about Watergate and Nixon, throwing insults wherever he can and making comments after the fight has died down. He’s as bad as Archie as we shall see in the excellent THE GAMES BUNKERS PLAY. Mike becomes even more unlikable as he does not want to get up to greet his wife when she comes home from work and sticks his head in the refrigerator looking for food right before dinner and refuses to shut the door…Archie’s right, the meathead is letting out the cold air.  He also reads over Archie’s shoulder again.

 

Not that Archie doesn’t get Mike back. Best of all, “…and take the Pollack Mark Spitz wid yewe.”

 

In a rare reference backward, Mike mentions Archie, “…starting this up again,” with the “petition” letter to keep colored off the block. This refers back to an earlier episode in the earlier years.

 

 

 

OLD MAN tries to teach Archie ---and US!—a lesson about old people, elderly people. We get it. While Quiggley is a charming character and actor, this episode is just not all that funny. In addition, while it’s nice to see the elderly portrayed so well, it does seem a bit of a downer in that we all age and it’s not all that funny…both the episode and the aging. This also showcases Edith’s quality of helping others…

 

Best of all in this episode is Edith’s realization and love that Archie missed her.

 

THE GAMES BUNKERS PLAY stands out as one of the best episodes of the entire series, which is ironic as Archie is mostly missing from it. What scenes he does appear in are wildly funny. It’s clear early on Mike is as bad as Archie, maybe worse. He even uses phrases like Archie, “Keep away from me!” and others. Edith’s character steps up again (and in the WE’RE STILL ep she smacks Archie a bit) as she explains Mike’s behavior toward Archie and Archie’s behavior toward Mike so well, it can make you well up. This is a crucial episode toward understanding the characters of Mike and Archie as well as Edith. And maybe even Gloria, though Gloria might not have picked Edith over Mike.

 

I also LOVE Lionel all the time. Here, he excels. The actor is quite natural and quite good. He comes off well and makes Mike look foolish and as bad as Archie. Lionel also, in a way sticks up for Archie… “He’s not even here!” and “Yeah, but doesn’t know any better.” And More. BUT his scene to Edith where he feels he’s late in telling her how much he and his family were afraid when they moved onto the block…and that they always saw comfort in that they knew they had one friend…her…is totally touching and one of the best scenes of the entire series. Edith kisses him.

 

When Mike hugs Archie it is both hysterical and touching, too. “I understand.”

 

A superior episode.

 

On another note: the copies used for both HEAT WAVE episodes look terrible. Yellow lines, grainy, washed out. I guess that the company didn’t put these on HD? Most episodes look bad in quality of picture but these look terrible. OLD MAN and GAMES are a bit better but maybe it’s just because the old videos were used to make the DVDs? I also wonder if some of these are missing the end 30 seconds? Are these syndicated versions?