Gloria

I remember watching this show back in the early 80's, I recall it being on in the Sunday evening rotation on CBS, Thats Channel 2 here in NYC. If I recall correctly the show didn't last too long, I only remember seeing this show maybe one time, so that might actually be the reason for that.I bet if they wanted-they could do a 3 disc set of this show for like 20 bucks.I mean with all the shows that are coming out on DVD that don't warrant release, Gloria should be out as its the final spin off of the All in the Family franchise.

Remember you had All in The Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Archie Bunkers Place and finally Gloria. Thats 5 shows that came from one show, thats fascination in the annals of television history, what other shows can be credited with that many spin-offs?

Ill-conceived spin-off from "All In the Family" that should never have existed. Archie & Edith's "little girl" Gloria is now a struggling single mom, split from husband Mike. That the show wasn't particularly funny was bad enough; what I really object to is the way it ruined our memories of the Stivics. Mike and Gloria were so much in love, I don't believe for a minute they would split up. The spin-off left a bad taste in my mouth before it even aired. So did "Archie Bunker's Place", the mutation of "All In the Family" that had the widowed Archie running a tavern and raising his niece. It's a shame those two shows had to come from an all time favorite-the best way to enjoy those characters is in the original. Edith completes Archie, Mike completes Gloria. The proof? Nobody remembers this spin-off, and nobody wants to remember "Archie Bunker's Place".

Someone here asked if anyone knows why Gloria was canceled. I worked on the show as Burgess Merefith's assistant. The show was canceled because Sally Struthers blew off an interview with TV Guide. Also, Carroll O'Connor was a producer and lost control of his vision for the show which included plans for Archie and Gloria to appear on each other's show on occasion. Though the ratings were healthy, the writing was sub-par. O'Connor and Meredith were best friends and they both were fed up with the show and it's many deficiencies. So, it was canceled for political reasons and artistic shortcomings.

Television can milk a good thing and beat a dead horse better than Hollywood can in the movies. All in the Family was television gold that broke new ground and will be just as funny two generations from now as it was when it originally aired. Obviously Gloria was yet another attempt to capitalize upon the success of the original. I suppose it can be considered an excellent example of the law of diminishing returns. Even the most in depth reviews of this show consist of vague memories of catching one of the 22 episodes around 35+ years ago, so it's probably best this show is totally forgotten. With a classic like All in the Family it's best to use your imagination to envision the future of everybody's favorite Queens, New York family. I don't think any fan's fantasy consists of Gloria being a struggling single mom. For that reason this show is best left in obscurity to be completely forgotten.

Although you'd think a series like this would have taught television a lesson, it did not. Nor was it the last attempt at a spin off. Take a moment to look up a show from the early 1990s which took place at Archie's old address called 704 Hauser Street.

When I acquired a box set of All in the Family, one of the DVD extras was the pilot episode of the Gloria series. Had it not been for this special feature, I would never have known that Gloria ever existed. I don't remember this show ever being on network TV. I watched the pilot episode, out of curiosity. Wasn't impressed. Sally Struthers looked pretty, but that in itself is not enough to carry a show. Carroll O'Connor makes a guest appearance, also to no avail. When Mike and Gloria departed All in the Family, that was not good. Having Gloria as a single mother, supposedly separated permanently from Mike, only gives plausibility to the bad decision which was made in the first place. As I said, Sally looks pretty here, but that doesn't cut it. She also looks pretty on All in the Family, the far superior show.