Boy, was Mike a true "Meathead"in the end.

[ThomasE]

In the Episode entitled,"Gloria's homecoming", she moves back to NYC to start over when Mike decides to join a commune. The commune only takes couples and since Gloria refused, he took one of his puplis:The homecoming queen. This episode was from the 1981-1982 season of "Archie Bunker's Place"

[cp]

Too bad Rob Reiner never appeared in the episode. I always wish he would of.

[Richard]

-and the last telecast episode of the spinoff show,"Gloria,"which only lasted a year,had her getting official divorce papers from Mike and adjusting to the realization that she and Mike were divorced and that she was a single mother.

ARCHIE:All her life,she waits for Mr.Right- and then gets Mr.Wrongski!

------------------
Richard Ranke

[callmetootie]

I never liked Mike. He was a total slob. Mike wasn't right for Gloria at all. Anyways, I kind of liked the sitcom, "Gloria". It's kind of nice seeing her without the "meathead.

------------------
Andrew Carden

[luvinjuan1980]

Mike was a real hothead too. I know Archie said alot of really hurtful things to him but I think Mike shoulda just went for a walk or gone upstairs or something. I think that Archie got great satisfaction in making Mike lose his temper.

In my opinion, he was Major Meathead on two
occasions

1. Playing that board game with Lionel Jefferson, Edith, Gloria and Frank and Irene Lorenzo: He was very quick to lose his temper and he was really being a jerk.

2. The last night before moving to California, Edith planned that nice dinner for the four of them and Mike made plans last minute to meet his new boss, withouth thinking of how it would make his mother-in-law feel

------------------
Epstein: I refuse to speak on the grounds it may incinerate me.

Squiggy: We wanna be
like Ginger Rogers.
Lenny: And Fred Upstairs.

Jessica: Did the Devil make Chester disappear?
Mary: No, fear made Chester disappear.

[corwayn2]

On last night's episode, where The Bunkers stayed at Mike and Gloria's, because the furnace was broke, Mike was holding a grudge against Archie for baptizing Joey, and when they both fought, Mike seemed to be the louder one

[Devastation26]

You now, when I first watched AITF back about a year ago, Mike was my favorite character, Now, ArchieTalk about a 180. Now, i understand why Archie called Meathead Meathead.

[boodaghost]

Archie should have been more specific about the "meat" in Meathead. Something referencing, say, part of the male anatomy.

[mstewart]

I thought Mike was a total jerk to Archie. Given that Archie was not kind and was very mean to him but he did put a roof over his head and food in his gut while in school. Popping off while living under someone elses roof is a good way of getting kicked out. In real life that would have happened

[FactsofLifeRulz]

In last night's episode when it's Christmas and Archie and Edith go to California, I thought Mike was being a real 'meathead'.

I never really liked him that much.

[DarleneIllyria]

Originally posted by FactsofLifeRulz
In last night's episode when it's Christmas and Archie and Edith go to California, I thought Mike was being a real 'meathead'.

I never really liked him that much.

Hey, in last night's episode I would've said he was more of a pompous @ss. I was kind of glad when Gloria slapped him after he made the "Since I moved out...you got fat" comment.

[FactsofLifeRulz]

I woulda kicked him. :D

[Crimson and Clover]

2. The last night before moving to California, Edith planned that nice dinner for the four of them and Mike made plans last minute to meet his new boss, withouth thinking of how it would make his mother-in-law feel

this i agree with. i started to hate mike when i saw this episode. that was so mean and rude what he did.

[Johnny_Fever]

I couldn't stand her crying jags....the overacting made me cringe. Now that I think of it, it's no wonder everyone liked Archie.

My favorite part is when Lionel would come over and verbally mop the floor with Archie, and Archie couldn't catch on.

[Carmen_Epstein]

this one is directed more towards Rob Reiner. I was watching Hollywood Squares on the Gameshow Network. Peter Marshall asked him a question that had to do with the oldest Police Officer on the force. Anyway Rob Reiner said False. The guy agreed with him. The answer was True (There was a cop who was 76 at the time in San Diego). Rob Reiner goes off on the guy "YOU'RE A COP AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT!" Peter Marshall told him to calm down. I was like Oh my god. Neither contestant chose him after that scene. Did anybody else see that. This was Tuesday Night I believe at 8:30.

[SOAPDYNASTY]

I never like the Meathead.:smash:

[PPatters]

Mike was truly a meathead. An overly liberal 70s hippy that didn't even care enough about his family to stick with them. He cared about himself, himself, himself.

[PPatters]

Nevermind.

[Robert Tilton]

And the man would eat like a horse. It made you wonder how Archie and Edith kept the fridge full.

[ricardo/mertz]

Mike was supposed to be this liberal passivist.(sp?) I think he was anything but that. He always seemed so hostile.

[PPatters]

Here's another thing, if you're an adult living under someone's roof and you're not paying a dime for it, you are therefore a guest in the house of the person you are staying, and you always treat your host with kindness, no matter how much you disagree, and no matter if he's your father-in-law or not. It's called being kind, Meathead needed to learn that.

[TV Guy]

Originally posted by Robert Tilton
And the man would eat like a horse. It made you wonder how Archie and Edith kept the fridge full.

Hey, Bob, don't forget that they actually had an episode where Gloria served horsemeat (without telling Archie what it was) to save money!

[jon123]

The main reason I hate the "Gloria" sitcom is because of the way they had Mike and Gloria split up, with Mike running off to a commune with the homecoming queen. When Mike and Gloria left for California, Archie told him to take care of Gloria and Joey. Mike told Archie "those are two things you will never have to worry about". This touching moment was ruined by what Mike did three years later.

Rob Reiner never made another guest appearance on ABP (after he split up with Gloria) but if he had it would have been tainted by what his character did. What made the scenes between Archie and Mike so funny was how Archie was always wrong, and how Mike stuck by Gloria and Joey, and now this was no longer the case. Archie calling him "meathead" would no longer be funny because Mike really did turn into a meathead.

[DarleneIllyria]

Originally posted by jon123
The main reason I hate the "Gloria" sitcom is because of the way they had Mike and Gloria split up, with Mike running off to a commune with the homecoming queen. When Mike and Gloria left for California, Archie told him to take care of Gloria and Joey. Mike told Archie "those are two things you will never have to worry about". This touching moment was ruined by what Mike did three years later.

Rob Reiner never made another guest appearance on ABP (after he split up with Gloria) but if he had it would have been tainted by what his character did. What made the scenes between Archie and Mike so funny was how Archie was always wrong, and how Mike stuck by Gloria and Joey, and now this was no longer the case. Archie calling him "meathead" would no longer be funny because Mike really did turn into a meathead.

You do have a point. You just mentioned a very good point. If I imagine it in my mind correctly, I'm sure Gloria and Joey could still depend on Mike somewhat in the Gloria show. If had to had to come to and Gloria needed money or something, I'm sure she could've asked Mike. With Edith gone, and if Archie had died and Gloria had nobody else to turn to...I guess that she would have to go to Mike for help. After all, Mike had an obligation to Gloria and Joey. Joey is his son and Gloria is still the mother to Joey. He couldn't exactly turn them away.

Then again, the episode of Gloria that I have seen before it did made Gloria out to be her own person.

[PPatters]

Originally posted by jon123
The main reason I hate the "Gloria" sitcom is because of the way they had Mike and Gloria split up, with Mike running off to a commune with the homecoming queen. When Mike and Gloria left for California, Archie told him to take care of Gloria and Joey. Mike told Archie "those are two things you will never have to worry about". This touching moment was ruined by what Mike did three years later.

Rob Reiner never made another guest appearance on ABP (after he split up with Gloria) but if he had it would have been tainted by what his character did. What made the scenes between Archie and Mike so funny was how Archie was always wrong, and how Mike stuck by Gloria and Joey, and now this was no longer the case. Archie calling him "meathead" would no longer be funny because Mike really did turn into a meathead.

Mike did not turn into a meathead. He was ALWAYS a meathead. He was rude and arrogant and had no respect for his father-in-law. What he did was absolutely wrong, and he was a meathead in every sense of the word. Your arguement is flawed because you assume that he wasn't already a meathead, and, undoubtably, he WAS a meathead, from the first episode until the last, he was a meathead.

[jon123]

B]You do have a point. You just mentioned a very good point. If I imagine it in my mind correctly, I'm sure Gloria and Joey could still depend on Mike somewhat in the Gloria show. If had to had to come to and Gloria needed money or something, I'm sure she could've asked Mike. With Edith gone, and if Archie had died and Gloria had nobody else to turn to...I guess that she would have to go to Mike for help. After all, Mike had an obligation to Gloria and Joey. Joey is his son and Gloria is still the mother to Joey. He couldn't exactly turn them away. [/B]

Then again, if Mike was living on a commune, he wouldn't be making much money-actually none at all, and since he went to commune to escape society he probably had already left all their assets with Gloria anyway. In the commune they would renounce all material possessions.

[DarleneIllyria]

Originally posted by jon123
B]

Then again, if Mike was living on a commune, he wouldn't be making much money-actually none at all, and since he went to commune to escape society he probably had already left all their assets with Gloria anyway. In the commune they would renounce all material possessions.

Oh okay, thanks for clearing that up for me. :wave:

[jon123]

Glad to clear that up. The point I'm trying to make is that the commune idea was rediculous. Why didn't they just have Gloria decided she needed to be on her own without turning Mike into a real meathead?

[Dr. John Becker]

bump

[GeeBee]

I tend to think of those very late Archie Bunker's Place episodes (which, according to the rules, we're not even supposed to be talking about here) as apocryphal. I don't think the writers originally had any intention of things ending as they did; they just kind of evolved that way. The series lasted too long and they got desperate for ideas or possible spin-offs. I've seen several episodes of Gloria and, for whatever reason, that show simply did not work and was hardly worth a divorce for Mike and Gloria.

I really did not care for how Mike's character seemed to evolve after he moved next door. He seemed less sure of himself, more silly, and did not remain as consistent to his principles.

On the other hand, I think Archie's character became much more tolerable as the show went on and his bigotry seemed less like hate, but just innocent stupidity.

Speaking of divorces, some may not know that an episode in the last season of The Jeffersons, had Lionel and Jenny in the process of divorcing. I think the Norman Lear writers had a cynical streak when it came to younger couples living happily ever after.

[TVgen62]

Originally posted by GeeBee
...I don't think the writers originally had any intention of things ending as they did; they just kind of evolved that way. The series lasted too long and they got desperate for ideas or possible spin-offs...

You hit the nail on the head! The character didn't evolve - the writer's deserted the original essence of the character in order to wrap it up quickly. In doing so, a great disservice was done to the creators, actors and fans of the show.

Originally posted by GeeBee
...Speaking of divorces, some may not know that an episode in the last season of The Jeffersons, had Lionel and Jenny in the process of divorcing. I think the Norman Lear writers had a cynical streak when it came to younger couples living happily ever after.

Considering the divorce rate in America (then and now), I think he was pretty realistic (and accurate)!

[ConservativeBalla]

Originally posted by luvinjuan1980
Mike was a real hothead too. I know Archie said alot of really hurtful things to him but I think Mike shoulda just went for a walk or gone upstairs or something. I think that Archie got great satisfaction in making Mike lose his temper.

In my opinion, he was Major Meathead on two
occasions

1. Playing that board game with Lionel Jefferson, Edith, Gloria and Frank and Irene Lorenzo: He was very quick to lose his temper and he was really being a jerk.

2. The last night before moving to California, Edith planned that nice dinner for the four of them and Mike made plans last minute to meet his new boss, withouth thinking of how it would make his mother-in-law feel

------------------
Epstein: I refuse to speak on the grounds it may incinerate me.

Squiggy: We wanna be
like Ginger Rogers.
Lenny: And Fred Upstairs.

Jessica: Did the Devil make Chester disappear?
Mary: No, fear made Chester disappear.

It's just a matter of time until a dictionary has this:

"Liberal - A person associated with double standards."

My response to your examples, luvinjuan1980:

1. Meathead gets mad at a board game, while in the episode "Archie Gives Blood", he gripes at Archie while the four were playing "Monopoly".

2. Missed a dinner for Edith, eh? Hmm, well I guess his griping at Archie in "The Insurance is Canceled" for not being the best guest for a dinner honoring Edith doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

I guess the peace-loving, all-caring, sensitive liberal does not apply to Mike. Of course, all Liberals really have burning and seething rage for anyone that doesn't agree with them. Pray that Al Franken will get some new glasses and get some anger management everyone.

[GeeBee]

Originally posted by ConservativeBaller
It's just a matter of time until a dictionary has this:

"Liberal - A person associated with double standards."

My response to your examples, luvinjuan1980:

1. Meathead gets mad at a board game, while in the episode "Archie Gives Blood", he gripes at Archie while the four were playing "Monopoly".

2. Missed a dinner for Edith, eh? Hmm, well I guess his griping at Archie in "The Insurance is Canceled" for not being the best guest for a dinner honoring Edith doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

I guess the peace-loving, all-caring, sensitive liberal does not apply to Mike. Of course, all Liberals really have burning and seething rage for anyone that doesn't agree with them. Pray that Al Franken will get some new glasses and get some anger management everyone.


Well, that's what I liked about the character of Archie Bunker, the classic conservative; no double standards. Just good old fashioned consistency of values. Like when he thought that a mugger in his cab should be punished until a lawyer bribed him. Or when Archie claimed to believe in God, but he was willing to steal from the insurance company, from his job, from Uncle Sam, or anyone else as long as he couldn't get caught. He was also the man who said that he would raise his grandson as a Christian even if he had to break every Commandment to do it. Archie could have probably taught Mike a thing or two about anger management (as long as it had nothing to do with African Americans living next door or dancing with his niece).



To be a conservative: You must believe that racial prejudice is a normal human characteristic and that belief in racial equality is a Communist plot.

[pilotguy]

Originally posted by TVgen62
You hit the nail on the head! The character didn't evolve - the writer's deserted the original essence of the character in order to wrap it up quickly. In doing so, a great disservice was done to the creators, actors and fans of the show.



Considering the divorce rate in America (then and now), I think he was pretty realistic (and accurate)!

To me, the episode of "All In The Family" where Mike, Gloria and Joey leave for California is the REAL "Finale" episode of the series....any episodes made after that are merely overkill.

[TVgen62]

Originally posted by pilotguy
To me, the episode of "All In The Family" where Mike, Gloria and Joey leave for California is the REAL "Finale" episode of the series....any episodes made after that are merely overkill.
:yeahthat

[keithrobbins]

Originally posted by pilotguy
To me, the episode of "All In The Family" where Mike, Gloria and Joey leave for California is the REAL "Finale" episode of the series....any episodes made after that are merely overkill.

agreed

[jon123]

I think AITF is the only series that actually ran five more years (including ABP) after its final episode (when Mike, Gloria, and Joey take off).

[ricardo/mertz]

Originally posted by jon123
I think AITF is the only series that actually ran five more years (including ABP) after its final episode (when Mike, Gloria, and Joey take off).

I agree. The show was just not the same w/o Mike and Gloria.
Had they ended then , Edith would not have had to die. That is the saddest ep. When Archie is up in their room hugging her slipper. I about can't watch. So sad.

[MistyBlue]

I think the show went out with a wimper. They should have quite while they were ahead. The last few years were terrible imo.

[jon123]

Carroll O'Connor was raking in big bucks the final few years to continue in his role as Archie and CBS very much wanted to show to continue (in any form necessary) so that it why it lingered on. And yes, Edith's death was one of the saddest episodes in TV sitcom history. I often imagine that ABP should had ended with Edith's death just being a dream (but this was two years before that technique was first used with Bobby on "Dallas").

[mstewart]

Episode #157 - Mike and Gloria Spilt. That episode Mike was somewhat verbally abusive towards Gloria as though she is stupid when playing Scrabble. He had a thing about talking down to Gloria on several occasions. Gloria is quite smart especially since she is the one who worked while Mike was in school not earning any money. He definitely was pompous and arrogant in that episode. Gloria called him a meathead.