Welcome to a new Wildcard Wednesday! 79 years ago this week, the late but great Rob Reiner was born. This talented multi-hyphenate — following his talented multi-hyphenate father — was the visionary responsible for many classic films that shaped our culture. And, of course, he’s a vital figure in the sitcom world as well, thanks to his performance as “Meathead,” Archie Bunker’s son-in-law and primary sparring partner on All In The Family. In Mike Stivic, Reiner made up one-quarter of a brilliant comic ensemble that helped ensure Norman Lear’s rebellious flagship series a long run and an undisputed place in American history.

But his TV legacy didn’t stop with All In The Family. Reiner had actually written for both the Smothers Brothers and Glen Campbell in the late 1960s. And he created several half-hour comedies of his own, two of them sitcoms. In fact, early in his run as Mike, Reiner and his writing partner Phil Mishkin developed a sitcom for ABC that ran in summer 1972, The Super, a blue-collar domestic comedy clearly in the All In The Family mold. (I screened an episode many years ago at UCLA.) Then, right after leaving All In The Family in spring 1978, Reiner and Mishkin created Free Country, also broadcast over the summer by ABC. Free Country was a period piece set in the early 1900s — with Reiner starring as Joseph Bresner, a Lithuanian immigrant in New York who bookended every episode with a present-day scene setting up each story as a flashback. Others in the cast included Joseph’s wife (Judith Kahan), a neighbor couple (Fred McCarren and Renee Lippin), a boarder (Larry Gelman), and a friend (Joe Pantoliano). Like All In The Family, Free Country was shot on videotape in front of a studio audience.

Having seen an episode of Free Country and read a script for two others, I’m afraid I can’t say it promised to be a great sitcom. Its period-piece design keeps stories more focused on the high-concept elements — the premised particulars of the setting, like in a sketch — rather than the characters. And this emphasis doesn’t suggest much long-term viability. What’s more, the tone is deliberately gentle and quaint, which prevents it from being a laugh-riot and thus competitive with the best of this genre, where comedy is an implicit metric of success (particularly in the late 1970s). I imagine those shortcomings were clear to ABC, because the series was only able to produce and get five episodes to air, making it even more of a footnote than The Super.

However, there’s a charm to Free Country. A warmth and a sense of love for both America and Americans that certainly comes through in Reiner’s work, along with the very premise. For that reason, it’s a perfect tribute to its star, and I’m glad to be able to share, with subscribers who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest, access to second-draft scripts from the second, third, and fourth episodes (the last of which you can also screen here). Here’s an excerpt from the entry that aired third on July 08, 1978, “Citizenship,” where Joseph frets over his pending approval for citizenship. Enjoy it in memory of Rob Reiner.

Come back next week for another Wildcard! And stay tuned Tuesday for more sitcom fun!