Every season of All in the Family ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of All in the Family!

It's Edith and Archie Bunker's wedding anniversary. Edith manages to drag Archie to church. Daughter Gloria and her husband Mike try to whip up a party atmosphere for the parents.

Meet the Bunkers

Mike writes a letter to President Nixon, protesting everything that's wrong with America, including the state of the environment and the nation's involvement in Vietnam. Archie finds out, and to refute his son-in-law's claims he decides he too will write a letter praising the nation's chief and attempting to explain the Meathead as an ignorant. While penning the letter, Archie pictures the family all standing behind him, dressed in his Sunday best, all supporting his positions.

Writing the President

Archie is convinced he'll collect a large settlement from a petty traffic accident if a Jewish lawyer handles the case.

The stylistic minimalism of the Bunkers' sparsely furnished set is on full display in this early episode. According to director John Rich, who grew up not far from Archie's neighbood, the Spartan look of the Bunkers' living room deco was achieved as a result of painstaking efforts. The director remembers personally supervising the cracking of windows and repainting of walls to give the place a run-down, lived-in look. "I told the set designers to take all the color out of it," remembers Rich. "Norman  and I wanted to do the show in black and white, but CBS nearly went into a coma. So we decided to do the next best thing and shoot the entire show in muted sepia tones."

Oh, My Aching Back (aka Archie's Aching Back)

Archie refuses to donate blood because he's afraid that his vital fluids might get mixed in with those of a different race.

Archie Gives Blood

Archie scorns one of Mike's effeminate friends, unaware that one of his own beer-drinking buddies is a well-adjusted gay man.

Judging Books by Covers

Archie's dream of becoming a grandfather is dashed when Gloria suffers a sudden miscarriage.

Gloria's Pregnancy (aka Gloria Has a Belly Full)

Mike invites one of his hippie friends to spend the night in his living room, despite Archie's strenous ojections.

Mike's Hippie Friends Come to Visit

Louise Jefferson makes her first appearance, through husband George will remain an offscreen character for another two seasons. Their son, Lionel, had been a regular visitor to the Bunkers since the pilot episode, when the writers discovered how effective the street-smart black youth was at gently letting the air out of Archie's sails.

Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood

Edith abandons the kitchen for the courtroom when she is chosen for jury duty, leaving Archie to fend for himself.

Edith Has Jury Duty

No one in the family gets any sleep when Archie spends the night worring that he might lose his job.

Archie Is Worried About His Job

Gloria leaves the house in a rage after Mike refuses to recognize her as an equal partner in their marriage.

Gloria Discovers Women's Lib

Archie reevaluates his definition of success after he meets an old army buddy who's become wealthy in the used-car trade.

Success Story

The Jeffersons arrive for dinner at the Bunkers'--minus husband George, who refuses to socialize with his white neighbors.

The First and Last Supper

Archie is incensed when his sponging cousin Oscar has the nerve to drop dead in the upstairs bedroom.

The Saga of Cousin Oscar

Mike has second thoughts after he agrees to let Gloria pose as a nude model for one of his artist friends.

Gloria Poses in the Nude

Archie suffers his ultimate indignity when he's arrested along with a group of radicals at a protest rally.

Archie and the Lock-Up

Archie buys a gun to protect his family, but a pair of burglars hold the family at bay with Archie's own pistol.

Edith Writes a Song

On the Stivic's first wedding anniversary, the family recalls the day Archie and Michael met.

Flashback: Mike Meets Archie

Mike and Gloria campaign for the liberal candidate in a local election, while Archie places himself in the opposing camp.

The Election Story

A priest pays a call to reward Edith's honesty for leaving a note on his car after she accidentally dents it with a large can of clind peaches.

Edith's Accident

An unscrupulous black real-estate salesman tempts Archie to sell his house to a black family at an inflated price.

The Blockbuster

Gloria is upset when Mike's nervousness over his grades causes him to become temporarily impotent.

Mike's Problem

Archie lays off a Puerto Rican worker during a cut back at the dock; and his homeowner's policy is canceled when his neighborhood is redlined as a bad risk.

The Insurance is Canceled

Archie Bunker is the voice of the American working man when his man-on-the-street interview is scheduled to appear on Walter Cronkite's Evening News.

The Man in the Street

Everyone in the family is sick, so Edith calls Cousin Maude to help out.

Cousin Maude's Visit

Archie casts a pall on the family's Yuletide spirit when he complains that he was passed over for this year's Christmas bonus.

Christmas Day at the Bunkers'

Archie gets caught in an elevator, along with a pregant Puerto Rican and her husband, an aging hippie, and an erudite black businessman.

The Elevator Story

Edith is suddenly moody and irritable with the approach of menopause.

Edith's Problem

Archie's paranoia during a mysterious government investigation drives him to betray a long-standing friendship.

Archie and the FBI

An old girlfriend of Mike's suddenly arrives at the Bunkers' with a four-year-old boy who she claims is his son.

Mike's Mysterious Son

Archie refuses to get involed with the police, even though he's the only witness to a neighborhood mugging.

Archie Sees a Mugging

The Bunkers are alone for eight days while Mike and Gloria are spending a week at a commune.

Archie and Edith Alone

Archie is too proud to let Edith accept a mink stolen from her cousin Amelia, until he sees a chance to make a three-hundred-dollar profit.

Edith Gets a Mink

One of the classic episodes in the series, Sammy Davis Jr. plays himself, a passenger in Archie's taxi cab who has inadvertently left his briefcase behind. Arrangements are made to retrieve the briefcase at the Bunker house. As usual, Archie displays his ignorance and bigotry, but Sammy plays along. Before Sammy has to leave, Munson decides to have the two pose for a picture. HE KISSES ARCHIE!!! Archie is too astonished to say anything.

Sammy's Visit

Edith arbitrates a dispute between Archie and the irate proprietor of a laundromat.

Edith, the Judge

Archie is disturbed to discover Edith once spent an entire weekend with an old beau.

Archie is Jealous

Archie and Edith visit Maude's house for Carol's wedding to David Green, a Jewish man. Archie doesn't want to go, and Carol doesn't want him there. Archie is invited to the bachelor party, but declines the invitation, and ends up staying at the hotel, where the bachelor party is held (which he doesn't know). Archie calls the police because the party is too loud. Edith stays for the bridal shower. After David and Walter return from the bachelor party, David and Carol fight over their differences in opinion regarding women's roles. The wedding is off, much to Maude's dismay.

Maude

After he rails against gun control in a TV editorial. Archie meets his two biggest supporters -a pair of stickup artist who rob him at gunpoint.

Archie and the Editorial

Archie is audited by the IRS after he fails to report income he made driving Munson's taxicab.

Archie's Fraud

Archie can barely contain himself when the attractive young wife of an old army buddy spends an eventful night in the Bunker's household.

The Threat

Gloria tests Mike and Archie's male chauvinism with a riddle that stumps the men but is easily answer by Edith.

Gloria and the Riddle

Archie is aghast to find out that his visiting niece plans to go out dancing with Lionel Jefferson.

Lionel Steps Out

Edith is worried she may be a kleptomaniac after she absent-mindedly takes a wig from a department store.

Edith Flips Her Wig

Edith unwillingly invites a pair of wife-swapping swingers to dinner when she responds to a newspaper ad for pen pals.

The Bunkers and the Swingers

Mike sparks the latest family feud when he donates two hundred dollars to George McGovern's presidential campaign instead of paying Archie for room and board.

Mike Comes Into Money

On the Stivics' second anniversary, the family recalls the comedy of errors that transpired on their wedding day.

Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding (1)

The Stivics' wedding is jeopardized when Michael's uncle insists, over Archie's virulent objections, that the marriage be performed by a Catholic priest.

Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding (2)

Mike's emergency appendectomy precipitates an argument between Archie and Gloria regarding the proficiency of women doctors.

Mike's Appendix

When Edith finds some old lottery tickets that she has totally forgotten about, Archie hits the roof, claiming she was wasting money. However, Archie's attitude quickly changes when the family discovers one of the tickets is a winner; but there is a catch; Edith claims the tickets don't belong to her.

Edith's Winning Ticket

Archie is ecstatic when, after waiting six years, there finally is an opening on the most prestigious bowling team, the Cannonballers, and he is asked to try out.

Archie and the Bowling Team

Edith's antique locket is missing and Archie sees it as a way to collect from the insurance company to buy a new television set. Confident of getting the insurance money, Archie orders a new color set, only to have an insurance adjuster arrive at the house to question the claim.

The Locket

Archie befriends the other patient in his semiprivate room, unaware that he's black.

Archie in the Hospital (aka Archie Goes to the Hospital)

Middle-aged Archie can only envy the eternally youthful outlook of his friend and contemporary Bill Mulholern. He is especially impressed that the toupeed, flashily garbed Bill has managed to attract a sexy young bedmate named Tina. But by episode's end, Archie is made to realize how lucky he is to be spending his declining years with a loving wife like Edith.

Oh Say Can You See

Edith and Gloria end the latest family brawl when they storm out of the house to spend the night on their own.

Archie Goes Too Far

Archie refuses to tag along to Edith's thirtieth high school reunion-- until he finds out that one of her beaus will be attending.

Class Reunion

Archie buys an expensive watch of dubious pedigree and soon becomes paranoid that it's stolen.  When it breaks, he has to find a jeweler who'll fix it with no questions asked.

Hot Watch

Archie wakes up to find a swastika painted on his front door.

Archie is Branded

It's -Rashomon-Bunker-style when the family recounts vastly different versions of the same disastrous encounter with a pair of handyman in the Bunker kitchen.

Everybody Tells the Truth

Archie attends night-school classes to qualify for a high school diploma

Archie Learns His Lesson

After an attempted sexual assault. Gloria turns to the family for guidance as she suffers through the legal aftermath of reporting the crime.

Gloria, the Victim

In a foul mood, Gloria lambastes Edith for her constant acquiescence to Archie's whims.

The Battle of the Month

Henry Jeffersons joins Archie in trying to prevent a Hispanic from moving into the neighborhood.

We're Having a Heat Wave

As the Lorenzos settle in, Archie grows jealous of Edith's friendship with Irene.

We're Still Having a Heat Wave

Edith befriends a lonely old man,through Archie is less than thrilled to have a constant reminder of his own advancing years hanging around the house.

Edith Finds an Old Man

Gloria brings home a Rodin replica for the living room, but the erotic sculpture makes Archie cringe.

Archie and the Kiss

Edith is deeply disturbed to find out Archie's been playing the horses  after he promised never to gamble again.

Archie, the Gambler

Archie finally meets George Jefferson at Henry's going away party.

Henry's Farewell

Edith receives a small fortune in quarters as a result of a computer error.  Then another computer informs Archie that he's been officially declared dead.

Archie and the Computer

Mike childishly refuses to accept criticism during an informal group-therapy game.

The Games Bunkers Play

Archie thinks Irene Lorenzo is trying to convert Edith to Catholicism.

Edith's Conversion

Locked in his cellar with a bottle of vodka,Archie spends a long night contemplating his life through the haze of a drunken stupor.

Archie in the Cellar

Gloria is insulted when Michael's ardor is removed after she dons a cheap dime-store wig.

Black is the Color of My True Love's Wig

Archie and Edith rekindle their romance during a second honeymoon in Atlantic City.

Second Honeymoon

An influential politician attempts to dissuade Archie from pressure charges against his son after the boy robs Archie in Munson's cab.

The Taxi Caper

Irene challenges Archie to a pool match, but he begs off, complaining of a sore back.

Archie is Cursed

During the Christmas holidays, Edith tries to hide the fact that she may have breast cancer.

Edith's Christmas Story

The stiyics' love life reaches another imprasses when Michael is put off by Gloria's romantic aggressiveness.

Mike and Gloria Mix it Up

Archie refuses to attend his own birthday party.

Archie Feels Left Out

Archie sabotages an old friend's efforts to land a job at the loading dock because he's afraid the man might be in line for his position.

Et Tu, Archie?

Archie's misconceptions run amok when Gloria befriends the retarded box boy from the local market.

Gloria's Boyfriend

The family attends Lionel's engagement party, where his parents discover that one of his fiancé's parents is white.

Lionel's Engagement

The Bunkers are in a panic after Archie eats a stew made from mushrooms that might have been contaminated.

Archie Eats and Runs

Gloria is bewildered after she falls temporarily out of life with Michael, until she discovers her mother went through the same thing with Archie.

Gloria Sings the Blues

Archie unwillingly passes George Jefferson a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill.

Pay the Twenty Dollars

Archie's spirit soars on Mike's graduation day, until he discovers that his meat-head son-in-law has accepted a fellowship and won't be moving out for another year.

Mike's Graduation

The Bunker's breadwinner tries to avoid breaking the news that his union has called a strike.

The Bunkers and Inflation (1)

Tempers flare in the Bunker household when Archie finds himself with nothing to do but sit around the house.

The Bunkers and Inflation (2) (aka Archie Underfoot)

When strike negotiations bog down, Archie grudgingly trades places with Edith and allows her to take a job at Jefferson's dry cleaners.

The Bunkers and Inflation (3) (aka Edith the Job Hunter)

Archie's union settles the strike,but under terms that effectively leave him worse off than he was before the walkout.

The Bunkers and Inflation (4) (aka Archie's Raise)

Lionel has a fight with his parents and moves into the Bunkers house for a night.

Lionel the Live-In

The rising tide of feminism confronts Archie on all sides when Edith joins a women's group and Irene lands a job alongside him on the loading dock.

Archie's Helping Hand

Gloria is shocked when Mike announces that he doesn't plan on having children.

Gloria's Shock

Edith holds her first Tupperware party under a cloud of worry when Archie disappears on his way to a union convention in Buffalo.

Where's Archie? (1)

With no word from Archie after twenty-four hours, the family faces the possibility that he might've run off with another woman.

Where's Archie? (2) (aka Archie is Missing)

Archie returns from his sorry adventure -he get the sidetracked to a podiatrists' convention in Rochester- to find his friends and family celebrating his return with kissing contests,Hula Hoops, and ballroom dancing.

The Longest Kiss

After an accident on the loading dock brings Archie within inches of his life,he suddenly becomes a devout-if somewhat hypocritical- churchgoer.

Archie and the Miracle

George Jefferson seeks Archie's help when he runs for local political office.

George and Archie Make a Deal

Irene and the Jeffersons bail the Bunkers out after Archie buys two thousand dollars worth of aluminum siding from a fast-talking salesman.

Archie's Contract

Gloria is made to feel like an intellectual outcast when she spends the evening with Mike and his graduate-school friends.

Mike's Friend

A look back at the first five seasons of all in the family with flashbacks, this episode was hosted by Henry Fonda.

The Best Seasons of All in the Family

The Best Seasons of All in the Family

Season 9

Season 1

Season 3

Season 4

Season 8

Season 6

Season 7

Season 5

Season 2