latimes.com

Rarely has a show changed the face of television as much as producer Norman Lear's adaptation (for CBS) of a British comedy.

Carroll O'Connor's unapologetically bigoted Archie Bunker became one of the medium's iconic characters, frequently mixing it up with "meathead" son-in-law Mike (Rob Reiner) and scoffing at "dingbat" wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) ... and sometimes getting some big surprises, as with a highly memorable visit from Sammy Davis Jr. The series, which spun off "Maude" and "The Jeffersons," also stars Sally Struthers as Archie and Edith's often-reduced-to-tears daughter, Gloria. **** (Not rated: AS, P)

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HUSFTS/ref=nosim/?tag=zap2it07-20"><b>Buy 'All in the Family: The Complete Series' on DVD</b></a>.