Archie Bunker's Place: The Complete First Season

An extensively revamped continuation of All in the Family, this sitcom had a respectable four-year run (1979-83) but failed to duplicate the original's phenomenal success. The dynamic is shifted here, with the Bunker home receding into the background and Archie's Place, a neighborhood watering hole and short-order restaurant, becoming the focal point for its owner's verbal jousts with new business partner Murray Klein (Martin Balsam). Daughter Gloria and son-in-law Meathead weren't around (although they made guest-star appearances in the first season's hour-long Thanksgiving episode) and Archie's niece Stephanie (Danielle Brisebois) took up way too much time with her cutesy-poo antics. Comedienne Anne Meara contributed some laughs as the restaurant's cook, Veronica Rooney, but the humor seems forced and, to be honest, Archie's lovable-bigot routine had also worn rather thin. While there is some entertainment to be gleaned from the 24 episodes collected in this extra-less three-disc boxed set—which includes standouts such as the aforementioned Thanksgiving two-parter and “The Return of Sammy,” featuring legendary entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. playing himself—it's just not Archie at his best. Optional. (E. Hulse)