Text size:

Swap Edith? Are youse crazy?

ANDY EDELSTEIN

June 5, 2008

Swingers in the 1970s? On CBS?

Been there, done that.

WHAT: The Oct. 28, 1972 episode of "All in the Family," titled "The Bunkers and the Swingers."

RECAP: To expand her social life, Edith (Jean Stapleton) answers an ad in the "swap section" of a magazine (she found it on the subway) seeking a pair of "fun pen pals." Soon, the Bunkers are visited by Mr. and Mrs. Rempley ( Rue McClanahan and Vincent Gardenia), middle-aged "swingers" who invite them to swap partners. Eventually neighbor Louise Jefferson (Isabel Sanford) pops in unexpectedly and enlightens Archie and Edith what the Rempleys are really up to.

BEST LINE: Archie ( Carroll O'Connor) at first doesn't get the swingers' intent: "So youse don't smoke, youse don't drink.... What do youse do for fun?"

THE VERDICT: One of the show's most memorable episodes.

AVAILABLE ON DVD: "All in the Family: The Complete Third Season" (list price: $29.95)