This episode was funny. Blanche Hefner has continued her loose woman status and ran off with some other man. Barney is pretending to be upset. Archie decided to set him up with Edith's morbidly obese friend (Peggy Rea who played cousin Bertha) who has lots of money. They don't take to each other at first but soon they become a couple. Edith is worried it's all because of her money because after all, her friend is incredibly unattractive. There are some fun fat jokes and Barney's facial expressions are priceless. It's not the best episode of the season but one of the better ones because the dopey kid Stephanie isn't in it. There's a touching scene at the end with Edith and Martha. Overall a good episode.
3 Reviews
Edith's stupid face
stones783 March 2014
I know my summary line is an odd one at that, but certain episodes have certain moments that I can't forget, both good and bad. This story isn't a bad one, as familiar face Peggy Rea(Martha)stars as a wealthy friend of Edith's, who eventually meets Barney(Allan Melvin)for a blind date at the Bunker's residence. Martha is very heavy, and Barney's first impression of her was quite funny; it turns out that Barney's wife left him for a furnace man, and this isn't the first time this has happened, so Archie sets him up with Martha. After a few tense moments, they actually start to like each other, probably more in a platonic way, but they go out and have fun together. It's not a terribly funny episode, but something Edith does bugged me when I first saw this, and bugs me more now; when she's describing Martha to Archie, she's saying how funny she is, how nice she is, and so on. Archie figures that Martha is unattractive, and when he asks Edith if she's a dog, Edith practically sells her friend out by making a dumb facial expression that appears to agree with Archie's concern. With friends like Edith, who needs enemies? I know this is a rare occurrence from her, but I was turned off that she didn't really stand up for her friend, whose husband recently died. You're no prize either, Edith.
Another bad title
stevenfallonnyc779 June 2021
"All in the Family" was pretty bad at this late point in the series, and this show is more good evidence of it. Archie's pal Barney is alone again after his wife left with the "furnace man," and Archie and Edith set him up with a friend of Edith's named Martha who is on the heavy side (which of course leads to some typical fat jokes).
The thing is, Martha is wealthy as she is a widower who was left three supermarkets by her husband. She sold them and invested the money, including in lots of diamonds. However, Barney never really gives any indication that he is gold-digging - he actually tries to run from the idea, even after Archie told him about the supermarkets. Even with that, Archie told Barney she "used to" own them, without explaining in more detail, so Barney really has no idea of Martha's current wealth. Barney even states quite earnestly that he "ain't for sale." He then starts seeing Martha, but again, there's never any evidence that he is gold-digging, despite Archie and Edith's believing that would be Barney's main motivation for taking Martha out.
Edith looks like a pretty bad person in this episode. First, she answers (with her facial expression) Archie's question on whether Martha is a "dog" or not (she's saying "yes"). And later, Edith "warns" Martha about Barney's gold-digging, despite, again, absolutely zero evidence of such.
Outside of a few jokes at the expense of Martha's weight, if one considers them funny, there's virtually no laughs at all in this lame episode.
The thing is, Martha is wealthy as she is a widower who was left three supermarkets by her husband. She sold them and invested the money, including in lots of diamonds. However, Barney never really gives any indication that he is gold-digging - he actually tries to run from the idea, even after Archie told him about the supermarkets. Even with that, Archie told Barney she "used to" own them, without explaining in more detail, so Barney really has no idea of Martha's current wealth. Barney even states quite earnestly that he "ain't for sale." He then starts seeing Martha, but again, there's never any evidence that he is gold-digging, despite Archie and Edith's believing that would be Barney's main motivation for taking Martha out.
Edith looks like a pretty bad person in this episode. First, she answers (with her facial expression) Archie's question on whether Martha is a "dog" or not (she's saying "yes"). And later, Edith "warns" Martha about Barney's gold-digging, despite, again, absolutely zero evidence of such.
Outside of a few jokes at the expense of Martha's weight, if one considers them funny, there's virtually no laughs at all in this lame episode.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
