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Review: Five Decades Later, The Jeffersons and All in the Family prove why they are timeless classics

By Raymond

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For one-night only, ABC aired a live reenactment of a pair of Norman Lear’s classic American sitcoms,  All in the Family and The Jefferson 50 years in the making.

Norman Lear, who was one of the first people to be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame for his contribution to television in the United States, developed a number of hit shows during the 1970s. During that decade, Lear developed five out of the top nine television shows in a single year, with All in the Family and one of its spin-offs, The Jeffersons, being his two longest reigning series.

In 1971, All in the Family premiered on CBS, and four years later, The Jeffersons followed, and here we are, nearly five decades later, these two shows are just as relevant today as ever. Norman Lear has partnered with host Jimmy Kimmel to present a live episode of each show that uses the original sets and scripts. Clocking in at 90 minutes, the older show was reenacted first with its spin-off following second.

All in the Family: Season 4, Episode 6 – Henry’s Farewell

Before the episode started, Norman Lear stated that the Bunkers represented the average lower-income blue-collar American worker at the time. America was in a different place back then, as the country wasn’t that far removed from the Civil Rights movement. Choosing not to alter the scripts proved to be a risk worth taking because it magnified how decades have passed but certain things remain stagnant.

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This wouldn’t be All in the Family without Archie (Woody Harrelson) and Edith Bunker (Marisa Tomei) singing the show’s iconic theme to start things off. Tomei nails the out of pitch singing that the original Edith (Jean Stapleton) was famous for. Harrelson and Tomei also stayed true to the thick accents given to Archie and Edith during their 1970s run, and combined with the old set pieces, their performances radiated nostalgia like an unearthed time capsule.

Kimmel and Lear picked an episode that was topical and a perfect introduction for those that are not familiar with All in the Family. The episode starts out with Archie and Edith,  eating breakfast and discussing politics with their daughter Gloria Stivic (Ellie Kemper) and their son-in-law Mike ‘Meathead’ Stivic (Ike Barinholtz). Meathead made an off-hand remark about President Richard Nixon that Archie did not take kindly. If the script was updated with current names then it would be easy to think this show was written yesterday.

Once Lionel Jefferson (Jovan Adepo) arrives at the Bunkers’ home, Archie makes those crude remarks that he’s known for. Harrelson and Adepo have good chemistry together, and when Mr. Lorenzo (Sean Hayes) shows up, he brings the same energy that creates an infectious laugh from the audience that was in attendance. You can tell that the cast was having fun with these characters and that added to the experience of the show. If possible, Tomei’s Edith needs an Emmy nomination because her performance was on the money, yet she somehow made the character her own.

Unlike the rest of his family, Archie doesn’t want to host a going away party for his neighbor Henry Jefferson (Anthony Anderson), and that’s the catalyst for the episode. Archie doesn’t want black people inside his home, and even though his family disapproves of his views, he spends a majority of the episode trying to get his way, he even says, it’s his home so whatever he says goes. He also has no interest in meeting  a man who is just as bigoted as he is, Henry’s brother/Lionel’s father, George Jefferson (Jamie Foxx). Archie was going to go as far as leaving his own home, so he didn’t have to meet George, however, when George’s wife Louise (Wanda Sykes) says that George isn’t coming, Archie calls him a chicken.

Towards the end of the episode, there was more social commentary about Shirley Temple, women in politics, tokenism, and race in America during that time. Kemper shines as Gloria when she tells Henry that women will overcome. Edith’s passive attitude just wants to keep everyone together and directs everyone’s attention to the kitchen, which is the opposite of what Gloria said.  Again, after all these years, the messages from this show are ever-so relevant.

George Jefferson arrives and it is jarring to see him taller than his wife Louise at first, the short jokes were a staple on The Jeffersons. Jamie Foxx did his best impersonation of  the man who originally portrayed the character Sherman Hemsley. Foxx had the same mannerisms as Sherman from the strut to the hand movements. Foxx even had the iconic hair of Hemsley which caused levels of nostalgia to move on up. There was a moment where Foxx flubbed a line and you could see his castmates react to it but anything can happen during live television!

The Jeffersons: Season 1, Episode 1 – A Friend in Need

The longest running of the two shows, The Jeffersons, started out with Jennifer Hudson singing the show’s iconic intro theme and she put her own spin on things that created something unique. She walked through different set pieces and had the crowd interact with her as they clapped with the theme.

Like All in the Family, the original set pieces and script were used when recreating this episode of The Jefferson, and seeing the episode open up in the original hallway with the elevator was a welcoming sight. Louise talks to her friend Diane (Jackee Harry) and they get interrupted by the ever so awkward Harry Bentley (Stephen Tobolowsky). Tobolowsky was another great casting choice because he picked up the Bentley character right were Paul Benedict left off.  Tobolowsky’s interactions with Harry and Sykes were charming, weird and funny, and that’s exactly what the Bentley character brought to the show during the original run.

The Jeffersons have moved on up to the deluxe apartment in the sky and Diane works as a maid in their building, and she’s shocked to find out that the Jeffersons can afford an apartment inside the building. This is somewhat meta because the Jeffersons are one of the earliest examples of an African-American family being a well-off successful business owner and educated on broadcast television. Foxx and Sykes have chemistry that is comparable to Hemsley and Isabel Sanford. Sykes has always been quick-witted with comebacks or smart comment, so portraying a character such as Louise is right at home. There was a moment where Sykes flubbed on her lines but it wasn’t as noticeable as Foxx’s was earlier.

The casting of Helen (Kerry Washington) and Tom Willis (Will Ferrell) were perfect choices. Will Ferrell gets an opportunity to show off his singing chops in front of a live studio audience. Kerry Washington shows her range during a pivotal scene after things between Helen and Tom get serious. Helen calls Tom a name and she’s not proud of the words that she used, but Washington really makes this the most powerful scene of the night. When certain words were used during today’s episodes they were censored, however during the show’s original run this was not the case. Between both these shows and their reenactments, this experiment is worth doing again in the not so distant future.

Last but certainly not least, the best moment of the night was when Marla Gibbs revived her role as Florence Johnston. The pilot episode of the series is about the Jeffersons finding a maid and seeing Gibbs portray the role she starred in, nearly 50 years later, is something that made this whole experiment worth it. She’s even wearing the same clothing that she wore during the original airing of this episode. A perfect ending to the episode with things coming to a close full circle.

Back in 2016, Norman Lear said that these shows wouldn’t air on network television in today’s world, but maybe after tonight’s event, there might be a chance.

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Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons aired on ABC on May 22, 2019.

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