Archie Bunker's Place

When All in the Family originally aired, despite the fact that it was based on a UK series, it was quickly seen as the quintessential American sitcom. It spun-off countless other series, most of which went on to big success, but when a series of cast changes and a drying up of material saw things slow down, All in the Family spun-off itself. Retooled as Archie Bunker’s Place, the show was now not based in Bunker’s (Carol O’Connor) living room but in his bar. By the time the second season opened, Edith (Jean Stapleton) was dead, Gloria (Sally Sturthers) and Meathead (Rob Reiner) had moved cross country, Maude had her own show, as did The Jeffersons, so it was basically down to Archie and his newly adopted niece, Stephanie (Danielle Brisebois) to conjure laughs. While they did admirably well, the show had lost its bite and become just another sitcom, taking its last bow, after nearly 100 episodes, in 1983. Archie and Edith’s easy chairs remain to this day on display at the Smithsonian Institute.