Maude (pilot) Maude (pilot) "Maude" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of the second season of the American television sitcom "All in the Family" which also served as the eponymous pilot episode of its first spin-off series "Maude". The episode, directed by John Rich and written by Rod Parker, was videotaped on February 18, 1972 in front of a live audience at CBS Television City in Hollywood, California and originally aired on March 11, 1972 at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBS. Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) and his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) prepare to visit Edith's cousin Maude Findlay (Beatrice Arthur) in Westchester
Archie Bunker Archie, as it is learned when Fred visits Archie in the "Archie's Brother" episode, had not seen each other in the 29 years since Archie and Edith's wedding, although they apparently had communicated over the years via phone (two early episodes -- "Cousin Oscar" and "Lionel Steps Out"—depict phone conversations between Archie and Fred), their long estrangement fueled because of a petty argument, apparently out of a sibling rivalry of sorts going back to their childhood. Fred visits Archie for support, because he is about to go into the hospital for a major operation, and the two apparently seem to