ABC to recreate “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” eps for special

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Too close to home. I didn't laugh either. This isn't slapstick.

 

I thought they all tried too hard to imitate the original cast, that they came across as caricatures.

 

I loved it. Marisa Tomei and Marla Gibbs were just terrific.

 

I remember in the early 90's the cast of The Jeffersons reunited to do episodes on stage. Here's an old story about it ''The Jeffersons'' take the stage I really wanted to go when they were in my area. I think it was either cancelled or changed but for some reason I wasn't able to go.

 

Woody Harrelson was definitely the weak link, but he was really up against it.

 

But, the original Archie Bunker and George Jefferson characters were caricatures.

 

It was an attempt to recreate the episodes, down to the exact sets, so, yeah, they’re caricatures. That’s what they were supposed to do. They do their own thing and I guarantee you people are bitching very loud about it be ‘irreverent’.

This was okay, but once is enough. Fun for nostalgia’s sake.

 

I adore Woody, but I honestly would have cast Michael Rapaport as Archie.

 

Ugh! Rapaport is such a power down for me. I think Harrelson was chosen for his star power. As I said, nobody is going to fare well as Archie Bunker. The role is too iconic.

 

I got a kick watching this and thinking about Millennials watching saying: Huh, who, what!?

 

And: “why is this supposed to be good or funny”?

The world is slowly turning into “Idiocracy”. I swear that movie is prophetic.

 

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Finally saw the show(s) tonight, and we actually enjoyed them. I think they recaptured a lot of the spirit of the original 1970s sitcoms, and they were funny and did a pretty faithful job.

One of the few things I didn't like was that the shows were dark, which was very apparent in the after-show documentary where they showed the original 1970s scenes... which were very bright. I think they should've gone for a brighter, less moody look. I also don't think the 24-frame film look helped them; I think going back to the original 30-frame "live TV" look would've been totally appropriate for the show.

True, the actors were kind of doing an impression of the original actors, but I could forgive this to a point and just enjoy the jokes and the timing. Nobody gave Will Ferrell much props, but I thought he was excellent in his thankless role as Tom Willis, and was as good or better than the original actor.

The reviews were (for the most part) stellar:

Famous cast sticks live-TV landing in Norman Lear's 'All in the Family,' 'The Jeffersons'

‘All In The Family’ & ‘The Jeffersons’ Live Review: Way More Than Nostalgia – Deadline

TV Review: ABC’s Live ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’

‘All in the Family’ and ‘Jeffersons’ Reboots: What They Got Wrong – Rolling Stone

I agree with the Rolling Stone reviewer: the shows were good, but I think it might have been just as effective (even more so) if the actors weren't trying to imitate the original actors but instead tried to give it their own spin. I think Wanda Sykes actually felt more "real" than anybody else, because she wasn't doing an impression of Isobel Sanford.

If I had one piece of direction (like I could tell the actual director, James Burrows, what to do), I would've used the George Lucas line faster and more intense. I felt like the show dragged a couple of times and could've used more energy. Again, if you look at the 1970s shows, they hit you on the head with that approach. On the other hand: funny is funny, and these shows were funny. And the sets and costumes were tremendous, really well done.

Anybody surprised that they shot this thing at Sony Pictures Culver City? WTF? I think ABC and Disney (and now Fox) have a few soundstages available at reasonable prices... (Though I know that technically, Sony owns the rights to the old shows.)

 

No, the syndication and rights to the original shows were owned by Norman Lear's Tandem Productions and later sold to Sony Pictures TV in 1985. CBS only got dibs for the initial network airings.

 

I thought it was my set going wonky. Noticed that about 1/4 way through. Even changed settings. Figured I was the only noticing.

 

The main thing I thought about while watching it and especially the special after the live event was how the pretty Hollywood people could never make a show like this work as well as the original cast. I never expected myself to find Mrs. Bunker such a fox! Overall, it was fun but kind of upset when Jamie Foxx had to come on and pretty much feel like he had to be the one to ruin his line when everyone else was doing pretty good up to that point.

 

this should be an ongoing thing, rotating cast redoing classic sitcoms, im in

 

Naaa, the wide shots especially were like 25% dark. Commercials were fine, and the documentary afterwards was fine, and this is on a calibrated Rec709 display, so it ain't me. I think (as we say) "bad creative choices were made." Dark doesn't make a show funnier.

 

If you missed it, it is being shown again on Saturday.

ABC To Repeat Performance Of Norman Lear Sitcoms ‘All In The Family,’ ‘The Jeffersons’ – Deadline

As much as we're criticizing it here, I'm looking forward to seeing it again. And I missed the doc after so I definitely will be watching that.

 

I think it is On Demand as well now -at least on Xfinity.

 

I thought Woody came across as mean whereas Carroll played it as grumpy.
Marisa, well Jean owned the character.
Both Jean and Carroll brought nuances and humanity to the characters that a single episode couldn't replicate.

I do think the revisit to The Jeffersons played better. It was interesting to note that Florence's character (played both times by Marla Gibbs) lacked the sass in her introduction.

 

I agree with everyone who said that the Jeffersons episode came off much better. This surprises me, because Woody Harrelson is one of my favorite actors. To me, his performance came off as if it were a rehearsal. He wasn't inside of the character at all and was still trying to get it down. The fact that he is much much thinner than Archie didn't help either, even with that oversized shirt. The other main thing that I thought wasp missing was how Archie had this aura of fear whenever he spoke, like you are always wondering if something bad was gonna happen, with all that anger lurking underneath the surface. This made the show more exciting and gave it an edge. Woody had absolutely none of that in his performance. And he didn't command the room at all in the way that Carol Connor did. I'm surprised I'm saying this but his performance was the worst of both shows.

 

It was there a bit with the "oh you have cook too? " and her last line regarding being overcame. George never would've hired her if she acted like she did once she became their maid as she was the bane of his existance. I cannot believe she never got an Emmy for that role. She really should get an honorary one at this point.
I follow Marla on Instagram as she is super active on there. She was so happy to be part of that reboot and she said she wants to do more work per a video she posted (at 88 years old!)

 

I hope no one tries a Gilligan's Island reboot.

 

All-New Gilligan's Island (2018 television reboot)
The Cast Members

• Jim Parsons as Gilligan (replacing the late Bob Denver respectively)
• John Goodman as the Skipper (replacing the late Alan Hale Jr. respectively)
• Sofia Vergara as Ginger (replacing Tina Louise respectively)
• Drew Barrymore as Mary Ann (replacing Dawn Wells respectively)
• Steve Martin as Thurston Howell (replacing the late Jim Backus respecitvely)
• Emily Thompson as Lovey Hale (replacing the late Natalie Schafer respectively)
• Hugh Jackman as the Professor (replacing the late Russell Johnson respectively)

?? fiction ??