Justice For All (TV pilot)
Encyclopedia
'Justice For All' was a television pilot shot in 1968 for the ABC
network. This was Norman Lear
's first attempt at what would eventually become All in the Family
. The script, written by Lear, was based on the British show, Till Death Us Do Part. The lead character of Archie Justice
was based on the character of Alf Garnett
, a white, working class reactionary
with racist and anti-social views. Archie's wife, Edith
was a kind, naive woman devoted to her husband. They had a daughter, Gloria
, who was married to Richard, a young, Irish liberal hippie whom Archie despised. Richard had a black friend, Lionel
, who was played by D'Urville Martin
.
There were some differences between this pilot and the show that would eventually become All in the Family, aside from the actors. By the time the series made it to air, the Justice family's last name had been changed to "Bunker." The "Richard" character was replaced by Michael "Meathead" Stivic
, a Polish liberal hippie with long hair. The Gloria character in the pilot more closely resembled her parents' appearance with her short, curly, red hair, as opposed to the long blonde hair worn by Sally Struthers
, who portrayed Gloria in the series.
This pilot never aired as ABC did not pick up Justice For All, but in 1969 Norman Lear shot another pilot called Those Were The Days
with two different actors for Gloria and Richard. The Justice For All pilot was considered lost for many years until Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
released it on DVD in the "Norman Lear TV Collection" box set in 2009.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network. This was Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
's first attempt at what would eventually become All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
. The script, written by Lear, was based on the British show, Till Death Us Do Part. The lead character of Archie Justice
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
was based on the character of Alf Garnett
Alf Garnett
Alf Garnett is a fictional character in the British sitcoms Till Death Us Do Part, Till Death... and In Sickness and in Health, and chat show The Thoughts of Chairman Alf. He was created by Johnny Speight and played by Warren Mitchell....
, a white, working class reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
with racist and anti-social views. Archie's wife, Edith
Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker is a fictional 1970s sitcom character on All in the Family , played by Jean Stapleton. She was the wife of Archie Bunker , mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and, after 1975, grandmother of Joey Stivic...
was a kind, naive woman devoted to her husband. They had a daughter, Gloria
Gloria Stivic
Gloria Stivic , is the name of the supporting character played by Sally Struthers on the American situation comedy All in the Family, which aired on the CBS television network from 1971 until 1979...
, who was married to Richard, a young, Irish liberal hippie whom Archie despised. Richard had a black friend, Lionel
Lionel Jefferson
Lionel Jefferson is a supporting character from the hit sitcoms All in the Family and The Jeffersons. He is the son of George and Louise Jefferson. He was originally portrayed by D'Urville Martin for two unaired episodes of All in the Family before the role was recast with Mike Evans taking over...
, who was played by D'Urville Martin
D'Urville Martin
D'Urville Martin was an American actor and director in both film and television. He appeared with regularity in numerous 1970s movies in the blaxploitation genre of films. He also appeared in the first two pilots of what would become All in the Family as Lionel, the role later played by Mike Evans...
.
There were some differences between this pilot and the show that would eventually become All in the Family, aside from the actors. By the time the series made it to air, the Justice family's last name had been changed to "Bunker." The "Richard" character was replaced by Michael "Meathead" Stivic
Michael Stivic
Michael Casimir Stivic is a fictional character on the long running American television sitcom of the 1970s, All in the Family. He was the live-in son-in-law of the series's lead character, the bigoted and undereducated Archie Bunker, who frequently called him "Meathead". Michael was the husband...
, a Polish liberal hippie with long hair. The Gloria character in the pilot more closely resembled her parents' appearance with her short, curly, red hair, as opposed to the long blonde hair worn by Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers
Sally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
, who portrayed Gloria in the series.
This pilot never aired as ABC did not pick up Justice For All, but in 1969 Norman Lear shot another pilot called Those Were The Days
Those Were The Days (TV pilot)
Those Were The Days was the second of three pilots shot by creator Norman Lear in what would eventually become All in the Family. The first pilot, Justice For All was rejected by ABC in 1968, so Norman Lear changed the script slightly from the original pilot as well as some of the actors...
with two different actors for Gloria and Richard. The Justice For All pilot was considered lost for many years until Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
released it on DVD in the "Norman Lear TV Collection" box set in 2009.