"'Cos they're the Barkleys
And they're okay
And Arnie Barkley with a very open mind
Is always first to let you know his own opinionated ways
But even though he may grumble and get uptight
Just remember Arnie Barkley's bark is worse than his bite."
And they're okay
And Arnie Barkley with a very open mind
Is always first to let you know his own opinionated ways
But even though he may grumble and get uptight
Just remember Arnie Barkley's bark is worse than his bite."
— Opening theme
The Barkleys is a short-lived Animated Sitcom that originally aired in 1972 on NBC, produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Inspired by All in the Family, it focuses on a family of anthropomorphic dogs: a loudmouthed Know-Nothing Know-It-All bus driver named Arnie, his wife Agnes, and their three children Roger, Terry, and Chester.
Apparently, because then-owner Marvel Productions failed to renew the copyright in time, all thirteen of the show's episodes fell into the public domain in 2000-2001.
Be It Ever So Humble, There's No List Like Tropes:
- A Day in Her Apron: Arnie literally has this in "Lib and Let Lib" when he and Agnes switch jobs for a day on a bet based on Terry's debate team speech about Women's Liberation. He takes over her house work (wanting to prove that women cannot do menial labor whereas men can) while she takes on his bus driver job. Hilarity Ensues.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Chester. He's brilliant at math, began writing a memoir, talented at basketball (even winning a game for his team singlehandedly) and managed to give Arnie a small loan with the family car as collateral! He's only ten.
- Affectionate Nickname: Agnes pretty regularly calls Arnie "Dear."
- Arnie himself calls Roger "Rog" in "Keeping Up with the Beagles".
- Roger himself called Chester "Chess" at one point in "Law & Misorder."
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Most of the cast wear no shoes, but are otherwise fully dressed.
- Big Eater: Chester. He actually ate an entire cake in one go!Arnie: "Let's see. One sandwich for Terry, one for Roger, one for me, and five for that chowhound Chester."
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: Roger has one in "For the Love of Money."
- The obnoxious Happy Housewife Brush Company salesman also has one in "Lib and Let Lib" thanks to Arnie's vacuum cleaner.
- Copycat Mockery: Arnie tends to mimic a line Agnes or one of the kids said in a high-pitched voice from time to time.
- Denial of Animality: Arnie refers to himself as "only human" near the end of "Keeping Up with the Beagles".
- Dogfaces: A non-Disney example.note These anthropomorphic dog characters look mostly human except for their ears and noses.
- Dom Com: The series focuses on the day-to-day lives of the Barkley family.
- Ears as Hair: Roger's long ears blend with the fur on top of his head to create the look of a shaggy hairdo. Agnes also has hair-like ears.
- Embarrassing First Name: Mr. Beagle's is revealed in "Half-Pint Hero" to be Hartwell. He doesn't mind, though.
- Expy:
- The members of the Barkley family (except Chester) are these of the Bunker/Stivic family.
- Arnie is one of Archie (even their names are similar!)
- Arnie's job as a city bus driver may also have some see him as one of Ralph Kramden.
- Agnes is one of Edith
- Terry is one of Gloria
- Roger is one of Mike
- The series itself is All in the Family with all dogs.
- Fat Bastard: Arnie at his worst.
- Foolish Husband, Responsible Wife: Arnie and Agnes in spades.
- Fur Is Skin: The dog characters have flesh-colored fur.
- Furry Confusion: Quite a few examples where Chester is involved.
- "Keeping Up with the Beagles" has him visiting a non-anthropomorphic gorilla at the zoo.
- A screeching cat has a small blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in one scene in "Half-Pint Hero".
- "Play No Favorites" has him caring for a hamster and her litter of babies.
- A monkey appears in a later scene in the same episode where the family searches for runaway Chester (they thought it was him because it wore a red hat and yellow shirt just like Chester).
- Genius Ditz: Zigzagged with Agnes. She can be either more dimwitted or more level-headed than Arnie in a given episode Depending on the Writer.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Arnie. He frequently belittled his spouse and kids, loses his stack for the smallest things, goes against them doing innocent activities for purely ignorant reasons, used them for his own selfish gains, forced them to do things they clearly didn't want to, and was generally terrible to or around them (and other characters) throughout the series, but he very much loves his family and would do right by them when the chips were down. The last lyrics of the opening theme song quoted above endorses this.
- Laugh Track
- Meaningful Name: All characters that have them have surnames that are named after dog breeds or calls, starting with the titular family.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Arnie's first name is Arnold (as it was revealed in the first two episodes), but still prefers the former.
- Punny Name: The family's surname is Barkley and they are dogs.
- Sibling Rivalry: Refreshingly averted with Terry, Roger and Chester. Not a single episode featured them fight, argue with, insult or mock one another, with their relationship portrayed as close-knit, loving and supportive.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Arnie had this mindset regarding Agnes and women in general in "Lib and Let Lib".Arnie: "Women don't belong working. They belong in the home."
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Arnie and Agnes.
- World of Funny Animals: All the characters are anthropomorphic dogs.
