All in the Family

All in the Family is different from, a modern, contemporary family-based television show (for example, Modern Family) because based on that one episode, every aspect of each episode seems to be a lot simpler. For example, the plot for each episode seems to be very centered on one story. Shows like Modern Family nowadays have several stories going on simultaneously, and they are all somehow linked. Also, there are much fewer characters in All in the Family. Total, there are 4 characters in the family. In Modern Family, there are 11 family members; even in the TV show from the 90s, Full House, there were 9 family members, plus a dog. (Perhaps families are getting bigger as time goes on!) In addition, the children in the family of All in the Family are not really children; they are adults, whereas Modern Family contains teenagers and younger. Lastly, the situation of the episode is based on trying to repair a mistake or attempting to accomplish something nowadays; however, for All in the Family, it was based a lot more strongly on belief systems.

However, the outline of characters is still generally the same: Fathers are usually silly, the "screwball" of the family; mothers are usually rational, but at the same time, hilariously overprotective. The children, of course, are still trying to get away from their parents' grip. The only difference in that now is that there is the existence of teenagers and pre-teenagers in the family now, rather than full-grown adults.

The issues All in the Family dealt with are much more controversial and serious (although they didn't make it seem serious) than ones dealt with in television shows now; if issues like that were handled on TV now, there would be arguments and possibly lawsuits. The issues that people deal with now on television are much more shallow and unimportant, probably to avoid controversy. If issues like that are mentioned in television episodes today, it would be handled in a much more serious light.