Gloria

'Gloria' as a somewhat cheesy but family-friendly 80's sitcom could have worked, if not for that tragedy in the background. Knowing that main character Gloria Bunker-Stivic is in fact THAT Gloria from All in the Family, whose ex-husband Mike is now apparently working with fifty naked hippies growing vegetables at some nutbar commune, it simply doesn't work - and it's too bad, because 'Gloria' had some genuinely decent plot ideas, some excellent acting and a solid premise, if only it hadn't been connected to AITF. If it had simply been another woman totally unconnected to AITF, a struggling single parent at a ramshackle vet clinic, I could see it having two strong legs to stand on as far as sitcoms go. It's cute, it's harmless, but it has a bit of depth when it needs it. The constant reinforcement, however, that Gloria is a mom whose socialist husband dumped her only dredges up sad memories that these deep, profound characters on AITF have been reduced to fodder based purely on their worst attributes.

All of this being said, every episode of 'Gloria' was up on CTV's Rewind service on its main website, so I watched them all in succession, and it's not bad. Burgess Meredith gives it his all and steals the show as Dr. Willard Adams, Jo de Winter as the frigid, no-nonsense Maggie is a lot of fun, and Lou Richards as the dorky but lovable Clarke really grew on me as the series progressed. It's unfortunate that this had to be written as an AITF spin-off and not as its own standalone sitcom. The idea that the legacy of AITF became this series where the first episode has Gloria slipping in animal droppings and getting it all up the seat of her pants is just sad, when considering that this was the girl who brought America to tears when she had a miscarriage, who caught the world's attention when she had Joey, who brought up all kinds of important issues like sexual assault, unequal pay, being an uneducated woman in today's competitive world, and more. 'Gloria' was doomed from the beginning.

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.

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?

The complete summary of the well-read viewer who says this is the sixth spin off is forgetting (understandably) the Jeffersons spin off, "Checking In," which lasted about four episodes. Marla Gibbs as the star--Florence gets a job at a hotel--was perhaps the smartest spun-off actress in TV land... she reportedly had it in her contract that if the show failed she could return to "The Jeffersons."

I loved "Gloria" though wished it could have had a closer connection with AITF/Archie Bunker's Place, but I guess that was nixed by Carroll O'Connor. One idea floating was to have Gloria meet a woman (played by Jean Stapleton) who reminded her of her mother.

Sally Struthers was a gifted actress and had lots of appeal, and it was a fun cast. These short-run series are hard to find, and, if you like them, harder to forget.