One of the groundbreaking aspects of All in the Family was how a situation comedy treated relationships and explained them, when it was taboo previously to do so. Viewers may have, for instance, seen many programs where two women lived together, but it was assumed the relationship was platonic and they were just close friends or, in the very least, young/just out of college and living together to save expenses until they could afford bigger and better things.
Never did a situation comedy feature a homosexual relationship. Until AItF ... when a legendary episode aired about a cousin of Edith's was found, post-mortem, to be a lesbian, and her grieving partner is trying to pick up the pieces. Reactions, of course, vary on "Cousin Liz," both in-show and in real life.
And so it was, with "Cousin Liz".
The Bunkers have gotten a call that another of Edith's batty cousins — Elizabeth Baines — has passed away suddenly. The two have traveled to New Jersey and are checking into a hotel, where this episode's action picks up. It's shortly before the service for Liz, and greeting them at the door is her roommate and best friend, Veronica Cartwright. Both were school teachers and, because of their relatively low pay, had decided about 25 years earlier to rent an apartment together.
OK so far, but then we get into the meat of the episode. Archie, as always, has his eye on extra income and speculates how much Edith — as Liz's closest living relative — will inherit. Edith doesn't think the amount will be high, and suggests that she maybe will get a silver tea service that had been in the family for more than 100 years. Archie initially scoffs at the service until Edith advises him that it is worth at least $2,000.
Veronica happens to catch the conversation and pulls Edith aside to talk privately. And then this is what viewers have paid their two bits to see.
Veronica asks to keep the service. She further explains: She and Liz had spent an hour every afternoon "over tea." Edith's confused and understandably so, so fumbling for the right words Veronica reveals her relationship — it was "like a marriage." In other words, they were lesbians and considered each other partners. It takes a little bit for the shocking news to register with Edith, but she immediately accepts Veronica and Liz's relationship and agrees to give Veronica the tea set.
Archie, meanwhile, has been pacing the floor impatiently as usual, with his usual line of conversation not going over with the other guests. But that's just Archie. Then Edith and Veronica emege from the room. Archie finally is relieved it's time to go ... wait, Edith, be sure to tell Veronica to box up the tea set and we'll be out the door.
Not so fast, says Edith. She explains that she had given the tea service to Veronica, and when Archie asks why, Edith explains that the two were in a same-sex relationship. As you can imagine, Archie's eyebrows raise up, then turn sharply downward. No way, he says in essence, "I'm not giving up that tea set, and I'm going to tell Veronica to give it to us!"
When Veronica stands her ground, Archie then threatens to sue her, and continues to make the threat even as Edith says that her sexual orientation will surely be exposed in court and destroy her career. When Archie makes a remark that it is God's business that Veronica and Liz were lesbians in a relationship with each other, Edith reminds him that he then had better leave it to God and then insists that the tea service remain with Veronica.
Finally, Archie relents ... but expressing his distaste for Veronica's sexuality and suggesting that she find herself a man.
Critically, reaction was positive. Writers Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, Harve Brosten and Barry Harman received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and — unusual for the time from a Chrisitan organization — The Christian Science Monitor noted the episode was compassionate" and Veronica's coming out to Edith as "one of the most delicately handled sequences of the entire series."
Harman, one of the show's writers, noted that when "Cousin Liz" was repeated the night before voters decided on the 1978 Briggs Initiative, a voter referendum to repeal anti-discrimination laws against teachers who were homosexual, the show's message resonated enough with voters to defeat the initiative.
Other critics were not as kind. In addition to Briggs Initiative supporters, pop singer and Christian activist Anita Bryant and her "Save Our Children" coalition had negative reaction to the episode and its message, and were hoping to put their spin on the show by sponsoring pro-discrimination legislation, none of which succeeded.
Tropes associated with this episode:
- Get Back in the Closet: When Archie concedes that Veronica is a lesbian and the surviving partner in her relationship with the now-deceased Liz, Archie does fire a parting shot — that she needs to find a real man to settle down with.
