Technically speaking, this was the 199th episode of All in the Family. But because the earlier one-hour episode "California Here We Are" was conceived as two half-hour installments, "The Best of All in the Family" was heralded as the series' 200th program. Hosted by producer Norman Lear, this 90-minute offering featured innumerable highlights from the series' eight seasons on the air, concentrating on the "character growth" of Edith, Gloria, and Mike and the gradual mellowing of the bigoted Archie. Also shown were clips from such controversial episodes as "Edith's 50th Birthday," in which Edith was held at knifepoint by a rapist. First telecast on March 4, 1979, "Best of All in the Family" has since been syndicated as three consecutive 30-minute episodes.
