1- That a mother would dump her son off. 2- The Bunkers screaming, and fighting by the boy. 3- That the boy never talked. An interesting story even with its head scratchers. The whole story seemed to devalue the boy which was creepy.
4 Reviews
Could Mike be a father?
Jimmy_the_Gent44 November 2017
A woman leaves her 4 year son at the Bunker's doorstep claiming that Mike is the father.
Not one of the funnier episodes but watchable. One of the problems is the character of the woman Marilyn Sanders (played by Marcia Rodd) is such a strident and unlikable person. Edith has some funny moments at the beginning when she tries to explain who the boy is.
Not one of the funnier episodes but watchable. One of the problems is the character of the woman Marilyn Sanders (played by Marcia Rodd) is such a strident and unlikable person. Edith has some funny moments at the beginning when she tries to explain who the boy is.
Son of Meathead
ExplorerDS678920 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I think it goes without saying that All in the Family was one of the best American sitcoms ever made. It was bold, it was fearless, it took no prisoners, it said what needed to be said and spoke its mind. There were none like it before and there never will be again. But of course, even great shows have a few bad episodes, and while the first five seasons of All in the Family were pretty solid, this particular episode stuck out to a lot of people for how insanely mean-spirited and cold it was, especially toward the end. It was as if the writers just gave up. Yeah, this ending definitely left a bad taste in my mouth, but I'll get to that in good time. So, how did Mike come to have a mysterious son? Well, it all began as just another evening at Casa de Bunker, with Edith cleaning the cigar ashes and beer stains off of Archie's chair, when suddenly a young woman showed up toting a young boy. She asks for Mike Stivic, but when Edith says he's not around, the girl, Marilyn, gets right to the point and says she's had something of Mr. Stivic's for four years and now wants him to have it. What is she talking about, you wonder? The boy. Then she runs off like a thief in the night, leaving poor, befuddled Edith with no idea what to do. Nice mother, just ditches her son without a suitcase or anything. The kid must be mute because when both Edith and Gloria ask his name, he dummies up. That, or he's just shy. I mean, who could blame him? Being thrust into a strange house with strange people. Anyway, Mike comes home and joins Gloria in wondering who their pint-sized house guest is, but Edith repeatedly side-steps their questions, knowing the awful truth and not wanting it to get out. Funny, it's only when it's bad news can she keep a secret. So when Archie comes home, in his usual foul mood, it's now three against one demanding to know where their foundling came from, and that's when Edith tells it all, that the child was abandoned by his mother and that the father is none other than Michael Stivic, which of course, he's quick to deny, and there is really no hard evidence to support that he sired a child with another woman... until they conveniently find a photograph of the boy and his mother, and upon showing it to Mike, he recognizes her immediately. Uh oh Spaghetti-O's.
The Stivics argue about the situation long into the night, as apparently it took Mike several hours to finally come clean about Marilyn Sanders being a one-night stand four years ago. He tries to make the defense that he's a human being and that human beings make mistakes, while Gloria gets hysterical about "becoming a mother by special delivery." Mike goes on to claim that he never loved Marilyn, that he only "liked" her. Great guy, that Meathead. He professes his love for Gloria, saying nobody else mattered. You'd think that would be the end of the fight, but no, those crazy kids kept carrying on, even keeping poor Archie and Edith awake. That, and the demands of the little boy, who unfortunately had to spend the night listening to Daddy and Step Mommy fighting. That poor kid, I feel very bad for him. Eventually, World War Stivic subsides when Gloria says she will stay with Mike and help raise the kid, if it turns out to be his, and if it does, he will share the responsibility. Well, good, glad that got resolved. Maybe now everybody can go back to bed. Oh, but not just yet, for there's a knock at the door, and guess who it is? Yep, Mother of the Year is back to collect her kid, and right here is where things take a very nasty turn, for you see, Marilyn is a HORRIBLE person. I mean, she is rude, nasty, vindictive, almost borderline evil. Just look how she acts towards these people. I mean, when she says that Mike isn't the father and everyone is relieved, she asks, "what is it with you people, do you hate kids or something?" Um, excuse me, you little tramp, if Mike isn't the father, then what do you mean by abandoning your son in his house and getting everybody riled up? She acts like she was entitled to have them babysit her kid, like she was owed that because she had a hard life. Who boo-frickity-hoo, who doesn't? She whines and cries about how every man she tries to date abandons her when they find out she has a kid, and for just one moment, I can sympathize with her, because it seems like single dads are much more appreciated in society than single moms, so I can understand Marilyn being upset about getting a bad rap. But that doesn't excuse her behavior in this scene or what she put the Bunkers and Stivics through. She goes on to state that she finally found a guy stupid enough to date her, and she wanted somebody to watch her kid in the meantime, so after viewing Mike and Gloria from afar, she thought they would be best suited for unsuspecting sitters. You stupid, irresponsible... there are so many words I want to call her, but IMDb won't allow me to use such language. So I'll say this: B-word that rhymes with ditch, W-word that rhymes with bore, and a C-word that rhymes with hunt, and even those words are too kind for her. I mean, really, Mike? You were desperate enough to hit that? At least the poor kid wasn't born out of wedlock, but Marilyn states the father didn't want the son. No, something tells me he left because of you, you... T-word that rhymes with shot! Archie tries to put Marilyn in her place, and then shows he's much kinder than he lets on, as he tries to wish her luck, but of course, she doesn't take it and walks out with her son. Now, if you think Archie is going to apologize to Mike for the accusations, think again. So, at least everything was back to normal, and Mike and Gloria won't have to worry about a kid again until Season 6.
I felt I just had to talk about this episode, because as I said before, the ending can leave a very bad taste in one's mouth. Just who the hell did Marilyn think she was doing what she did? Watching Mike and Gloria from afar... wait, if she knew they were married, why did she act so surprised when she met Gloria? Anyway, she didn't know them, except Mike getting into her pants all those years ago, and so she decided to fob her kid off on these poor, unsuspecting people and cause unrest in their house? She's got some nerve. That was bad enough, but the way she acted so entitled, like they owed her, that was inexcusable. I hope Child Welfare takes poor Danny away from her. That's Marcia Rodd playing Marilyn, and I gotta say her acting here is terrible. She also played Carol in the pilot episode of Maude, or rather, the episode of All in the Family that spun into Maude's own show, only there they replaced her with Adrienne Barbeau. As for the rest of the cast, everyone did their usual great job. So in closing, I do recommend Mike's Mysterious Son, but you will really hate that Marilyn character, as I feel the writers did a very poor job with her. What they should have done was made her more sympathetic and apologetic, desperate with nowhere else to turn, or were they afraid that was too cliche? Well, better to do that than give us a completely unlikable sow who gets an innocent man in trouble with his family. Either way, check it out, and remember, we're only human.
The Stivics argue about the situation long into the night, as apparently it took Mike several hours to finally come clean about Marilyn Sanders being a one-night stand four years ago. He tries to make the defense that he's a human being and that human beings make mistakes, while Gloria gets hysterical about "becoming a mother by special delivery." Mike goes on to claim that he never loved Marilyn, that he only "liked" her. Great guy, that Meathead. He professes his love for Gloria, saying nobody else mattered. You'd think that would be the end of the fight, but no, those crazy kids kept carrying on, even keeping poor Archie and Edith awake. That, and the demands of the little boy, who unfortunately had to spend the night listening to Daddy and Step Mommy fighting. That poor kid, I feel very bad for him. Eventually, World War Stivic subsides when Gloria says she will stay with Mike and help raise the kid, if it turns out to be his, and if it does, he will share the responsibility. Well, good, glad that got resolved. Maybe now everybody can go back to bed. Oh, but not just yet, for there's a knock at the door, and guess who it is? Yep, Mother of the Year is back to collect her kid, and right here is where things take a very nasty turn, for you see, Marilyn is a HORRIBLE person. I mean, she is rude, nasty, vindictive, almost borderline evil. Just look how she acts towards these people. I mean, when she says that Mike isn't the father and everyone is relieved, she asks, "what is it with you people, do you hate kids or something?" Um, excuse me, you little tramp, if Mike isn't the father, then what do you mean by abandoning your son in his house and getting everybody riled up? She acts like she was entitled to have them babysit her kid, like she was owed that because she had a hard life. Who boo-frickity-hoo, who doesn't? She whines and cries about how every man she tries to date abandons her when they find out she has a kid, and for just one moment, I can sympathize with her, because it seems like single dads are much more appreciated in society than single moms, so I can understand Marilyn being upset about getting a bad rap. But that doesn't excuse her behavior in this scene or what she put the Bunkers and Stivics through. She goes on to state that she finally found a guy stupid enough to date her, and she wanted somebody to watch her kid in the meantime, so after viewing Mike and Gloria from afar, she thought they would be best suited for unsuspecting sitters. You stupid, irresponsible... there are so many words I want to call her, but IMDb won't allow me to use such language. So I'll say this: B-word that rhymes with ditch, W-word that rhymes with bore, and a C-word that rhymes with hunt, and even those words are too kind for her. I mean, really, Mike? You were desperate enough to hit that? At least the poor kid wasn't born out of wedlock, but Marilyn states the father didn't want the son. No, something tells me he left because of you, you... T-word that rhymes with shot! Archie tries to put Marilyn in her place, and then shows he's much kinder than he lets on, as he tries to wish her luck, but of course, she doesn't take it and walks out with her son. Now, if you think Archie is going to apologize to Mike for the accusations, think again. So, at least everything was back to normal, and Mike and Gloria won't have to worry about a kid again until Season 6.
I felt I just had to talk about this episode, because as I said before, the ending can leave a very bad taste in one's mouth. Just who the hell did Marilyn think she was doing what she did? Watching Mike and Gloria from afar... wait, if she knew they were married, why did she act so surprised when she met Gloria? Anyway, she didn't know them, except Mike getting into her pants all those years ago, and so she decided to fob her kid off on these poor, unsuspecting people and cause unrest in their house? She's got some nerve. That was bad enough, but the way she acted so entitled, like they owed her, that was inexcusable. I hope Child Welfare takes poor Danny away from her. That's Marcia Rodd playing Marilyn, and I gotta say her acting here is terrible. She also played Carol in the pilot episode of Maude, or rather, the episode of All in the Family that spun into Maude's own show, only there they replaced her with Adrienne Barbeau. As for the rest of the cast, everyone did their usual great job. So in closing, I do recommend Mike's Mysterious Son, but you will really hate that Marilyn character, as I feel the writers did a very poor job with her. What they should have done was made her more sympathetic and apologetic, desperate with nowhere else to turn, or were they afraid that was too cliche? Well, better to do that than give us a completely unlikable sow who gets an innocent man in trouble with his family. Either way, check it out, and remember, we're only human.
Bad Casting and Poor Writing
janet-conant18 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It's been a while but I finally saw this episode after many years. I remember it and found it very unsettling. ExplorerD wrote a long narrative regarding the woman, Marilyn, and everything they said was correct.
Why write a script about a woman who shows up at the Bunker house and pushes a young boy into the house and leaves. I'm surprised the staff didn't all say thumbs down. It's not funny or believable even when Edith tries to talk to the little boy and then have to explain how he got there. For a show full of laughs this was creepy. Having everyone fighting around the little boy, Gloria and Mike yelling from the bedroom, Archie up all night it was just plain bizarre.
The end all was this insipid, unlikeable woman finally showing up to retrieve her kid early in the morning and tell Mike he's not his kid. 'Oh Really?' Everyone feels sorry for her because she can't get a man but Archie is right. It's not their fault and she had no right to get them involved.
She's got a caustic attitude and did it ever occur to her these guys leave not because of the boy but because of her obnoxious ways. CPS should have been called, not allow her to leave with her parting contemptible remarks. If I were asked to play Marilyn and read the script I would decline as this episode accomplished nothing redeemable. I didn't like it then and hate this episode now. Only good thing about it was the boy was very cute. I thought he was Jodie Foster's brother.
Why write a script about a woman who shows up at the Bunker house and pushes a young boy into the house and leaves. I'm surprised the staff didn't all say thumbs down. It's not funny or believable even when Edith tries to talk to the little boy and then have to explain how he got there. For a show full of laughs this was creepy. Having everyone fighting around the little boy, Gloria and Mike yelling from the bedroom, Archie up all night it was just plain bizarre.
The end all was this insipid, unlikeable woman finally showing up to retrieve her kid early in the morning and tell Mike he's not his kid. 'Oh Really?' Everyone feels sorry for her because she can't get a man but Archie is right. It's not their fault and she had no right to get them involved.
She's got a caustic attitude and did it ever occur to her these guys leave not because of the boy but because of her obnoxious ways. CPS should have been called, not allow her to leave with her parting contemptible remarks. If I were asked to play Marilyn and read the script I would decline as this episode accomplished nothing redeemable. I didn't like it then and hate this episode now. Only good thing about it was the boy was very cute. I thought he was Jodie Foster's brother.
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