User reviews

Meet Al Bundy. He sells shoes. For women, no less. And not pretty ones, either. His wife is a couch potato(a crimson-haired Sagal who never misses Oprah), his son a dateless loser(who tries to be cool), and his daughter an airheaded tramp(who takes great pleasure in finding Waldo). And while he remains pathetically locked into the lower middle class, his next-door neighbours, the Rhoades, freely flaunt their Mercedes, their high-paying jobs at the bank and their position above him. Over the course of the 10 years that this ran(!), Bindi... sorry, Birdie... oh, nevermind... will start his own religion(to enjoy tax-exempt status), become an inventor, will go to Washington and in general try(usually ending up at the starting position, like the tendency goes for sit-coms) to recapture his glory days(did you know that he scored four touch-downs in a single game in high school football?). His life may be miserable, but it certainly is never boring to watch. The comedy is raunchy, crude(with that said, it is also clever, referential, cartoony and at times, satirical), and not politically correct... in short, an incredible release for all the pent-up anxiety and frustration for every viewer forced to sit through the Brady Bunch and every other "perfect family with well-behaved kids" that preceded this. Finally, there was a group of people who you could point to and, rather than go "man, why can't we be like them?", say "well, at least we're not as bad as them!". This was the American Pie of its time; telling teenagers that, yes, it is, in fact, OK. You're not as weird or as randy as you might think you are. And this extends that to the older generation, as well; Ed O'Neill(who *nails* the role) voices many opinions held by Conservatives(no, I do not always agree with them... still, I defend the right to have them expressed in a free media), even if they were no longer considered to be "ok", when the changes(men becoming metrosexuals, women gaining rights, computers, etc.). The Liberals had their arguments presented(through Marcy), as well. This very directly confronts actual issues from the time, such as the low wages for public school teachers. The characters tend to be unsympathetic, yet they capture and keep our attention. Part of us wants them to succeed, and cheer them on. This grew as it progressed... compare the pilot to later episodes, and you may have trouble recognizing them. Early on, they didn't cross the line much; later, they pushed it whenever they could. In addition to a time capsule of the late 80's and most of the 90's(from the perspective of someone who grew up decades earlier), this, based on its popularity, is solid proof that we do, indeed, need to blow off some steam sometimes. Does anyone want to be these people? No. So you don't see anyone trying. This is an understandable reaction to TV of varying quality all based around the idea that the only thing that could be presented was good examples, something to look up to and copy. There is a lot of disturbing content, violence(bloodless), sexuality(nothing explicit), and a little moderate language in this. I recommend it to anyone not too prudish for it, and especially fans of Benny Hill, 'Allo 'Allo and similar series. 9/10

It's hard not to fall in love with this show. It's not terribly deep, yet still there's something about it. The main reason is because the characters are pretty entertaining:

* Al Bundy: politically incorrect, "sexist" (so to speak), bitter, he's the lovable dad. But not lovable in the same sense Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson are lovable (fat, dumb & nice), Al is actually fit, fairly intelligence and rude at times. But that's why we love him: he's not rude because of a sinister intent, he's rude because his life is screwed up enough to kill any desire he might have to be polite or diplomatic. And why wouldn't he be so bitter? He's in his 40's, he's a shoe salesman in a forsaken mall, his pay is next to nothing (worse yet, he gets paid in Pesos), he has a lazy, useless, nagging wife who always puts him down, a viciously stupid blonde daughter who's promiscuous and nearly proud about it, his son is smart but he's kinda short and is a miserable failure in his love life, yet the son is always confident in his abilities to get girls. Not only that, but he seems to have the worst luck in the world. He just can't get a damn break. To top it all off, his neighbors annoy the hell out of him. Al is revered and loved by every guy on Earth, and loathed and feared by every woman.

* Peggy Bundy: enormous red hair, constantly-worn high heels (causing her to walk funny), super lazy, can't cook, can't do dishes, can't do laundry, can't do anything at all. Or doesn't want to. Either way, her main hobby (other than sitting in front of the TV all day watching Opera and Soap Operas) is to put Al Down about his lousy job, laughable income, crappy car and miserable life. Al is always down on himself and fed up with life, so he doesn't have time for her, thus she's almost always in heat. But Al does not desire women anymore (well, not the ones who are married to him, at least), so he always finds ways to circumvent those requests of hers, even though Peggy *is* one helluva gal: sexy, fit and beautiful.

* Kelly Bundy: a legendary TV character, Kelly is worshiped by guys all over the world. She's the epitome of sexiness: glaringly bright blonde hair that flows like a platinum-gold waterfall, a curvy, staggeringly sculpted body, creamy-white, silky skin, and killer legs, topping it all off with an angelically beautiful face of luscious red lips, dazzling white teeth with a cute little gap in the front and mesmerizing eyes. Kelly (played by Christina Applegate) is the dream of every guy, every age, any taste. Despite her physical credentials, she's horribly stupid, to much of the agony of her dad, seeing how her idiocy comes at the worst possible times (she was a witness once for her dad). One of the reasons to watch the show. Of course, many other shows have had (and will continue to have) characters that might come close, but there will always be one Christiana Applegate. Those who saw Christina only in recent work (Anchorman, etc.) will be shocked to see how even MUCH sexier she was back then. Cracks non-stop jokes about her brother's lousy love life and bad skin.

* Bud: cracks non-stop jokes at his sister's promiscuity. He'd joke about her stupidity too, but doesn't, knowing she won't get them. Bud is pretty damn funny with sarcastic comments and endless trainwreck relationships.

The interaction of these characters, the situations they put themselves in, the crap that life throws at Al, all reasons to get addicted to the show. I still watch reruns and taped episodes.

The one big flaw of this show came later on: the audience. The laughter is alright, but they applauded EVERY character, EVERY episode. Every time a character walks in, they applaud. It's a waste of time. First it was Al and Kelly (which is just fine by me, I still applaud them every time), then it extended to the rest of the family, THEN the neighbors (Steve and Marcy, then Marcy and D'arcy). It was pretty damn annoying. Another smaller annoyance is 'talking' for Buck the dog. WTF? The human characters are fine, thank you very much. But those are more annoyances than they are problems. Four words sum up this show: thoroughly enjoyable, hopelessly addictive. You'll fall in love with this show in no time.

"Married... with Children" just has something about it that makes it hilarious, it takes the basic premise of the family and suburban life, and puts the family from the hell in there and just lets them constantly rip on each other. It's a testament to the basic formula of the show that it lasted so long, and was still actually funny right up until the last season (with an overweight, balding Ed O"Neil and kids old enough to have left the house by now). The casting was perfect (except for newcomer Jefferson in my opinion) and the character of Ed was what really made the show. The opening song fitted the show perfectly too. Anyone who has watched the show probably has "Married... with Children" moments to this day when they open a fridge with nothing but an empty milk carton in the door or have thoughts about installing an antenna on the roof.

"Married... with Children" is probably one of America's greatest TV exports, it was a privilege to be growing up when this was on every week and I wish all the castmembers continued success.

This long running American sitcom has a strange kind of following and appeal. The show has a kind of knowing badness and is intentionally cheesy and politically incorrect. The actors perform their lines with a knowing wink at the audience, as if to say 'yes we know this crude, rude, and lude'. The audiences at the recordings consist of primarily hillbillies who woof, howl and screech in delight at as much as Al flushing the toilet. It is infectious.

The cast and characters are good. Ed O'Neil is superb as Al Bundy. He makes the show as popular as it is. The facial expressions that he pulls and his delivery are hilarious. Whatever Al says or does, makes me laugh. Then there is his wife Peggy Bundy, the curviest woman alive and a hell of a milf. It's another strange mystery of the show that all of a sudden in season 2, Peggy turned into the delightfully huge chested wife from hell audiences loved. It was a jarring change, sudden in your face jubblies. Katey Sagal is excellent as Peggy and she delivers the lines brilliantly. She can screech well too and every time she cries out 'AL!' and he flinches we know why. Then there are the kids. Every young Americans dream woman in the early 90's, Christina Applegate who gets a deserved howl of male appreciation when she enters each episode. Then Bud Bundy the young loser who despite being the only Bundy with brains has no luck with the ladies, despite thinking he is god's gift.

Basically this show revolves around sexism, innuendo and machismo. You see all the jokes coming a mile off. They have long running gags that never manage to get tired, such as Peggy's constant jibes about Al's sexual prowess. This is funny. It's love it or hate it but I love it.

Married....With Children was such a great show. I still don't understand why it was cancelled, even though it was on for 10 years. For myself, it was one show that I never got sick of and never will. I can watch re-runs of this show forever, I can never get sick of any episode of this show. I still can't believe it never received any Emmys. Before this show came out, the closest in quality was "All in the Family", but even that show has some episodes that do bore me after constant viewing. Ed O'Neil created probably the most hilarious TV character ever. It's unfortunate that he's become almost typecast as Al Bundy. Even in the movie "Dutch", which was an OK film, he plays a very Al Bundy like role. The character of Al Bundy is one we can all relate to, he appeals to all the wrongs that either we are to chicken or refuse to do and it makes us laugh, because Al Bundy has the guts and care free ability to do it all. Although many of these things we may not agree with, but we've thought about them. The other characters of Peggy, Bud, Kelly, Marci, Steve, Jefferson and all the rest, all were excellent and brilliantly complemented the characteristics of Al. I wonder when if or whenever this will have a reunion. I also wonder if its too bold for Nick at Nite or TV Land, although they did start Roseanne recently. More DVD collections must be made. Again Married....With Children is the Greatest show ever created. Until Family Guy came along.

I miss the times when such a amazing comedy can be made. Nowadays people get so butthurt whenever you make fun of people. This show is satire at it's finest. 10/10

And it's still the funniest show ever made. That's all there is to it. And it was also revolutionary in that it broke the ground on everything being so perfect with sitcoms. The Cleavers and then the Cosby's were all so perfect. They were not us, They were not normal humans and their lives did not reflect ours. But the Bundy's? Now that felt more real. I could relate with them and their every day issues. Sure they took it to 11, but it's was 10 times more permeate with me than the Cosby family. I wish they'd make a movie while there is still time!

This goes down as one of the best comedies of all time. It's in your face, politically incorrect, crude, makes fun of everything and everyone, and absolutely a classic. They will never make a show like this again because it will offend too many people... people that can't simply laugh at a good joke without taking it personal. This is such a funny show and well worth watching again, and again and again... NO ma'am and off to the nudie bar!!!

This show is an entertaining show because it never pretended to be anything but low brow hit in the gut humor. Early on it was there to help the FOX network fill space. From there it developed into something of a cult viewing.

The characters were well drawn and a lot of the humor came from throwing them together. Al Bundy became a cultural anti-hero. Peg, his wife, became a totally defined modern something that was there to aggravate Al. Bud Bundy became the most frustrated teen age son that ever existed because even when he did score it would somehow back fire. Christina Applegate(Kelly) is the eye candy daughter who would look good but who could be the kind of Satan that she would cross up everything.

Then there was Buck, the wonder dog who at times draws major laughs out of the most bizarre things happening around them. The neighbors headed by Ted McGinley & Amanda Bearse (Marcey & Jefferson) would manage a relationship with the ultimate dysfunctional family. This show pushed the adult humor border almost as often as The Simpsons but with wackier results.

There are times that the jokes hit the target and times they miss the target. The thing is to get great humor you have to throw things against the wall and see what sticks. With the Bundys, you throw up on the wall and the floor opens up & swallows your children. That is what Married With Children is really all about.

The Bundys are a spectacularly anti-PC, dysfunctional wreck of a family. That's what makes Married With Children so hysterically funny. Poor, beleaguered shoe salesman Al Bundy, has much to contend with in life. There's his terminally tacky, oversexed wife Peg. Not to mention Al's slutty daughter Kelly, and smart-Aleck son, Bud. And the world around Al has changed, much to his dismay. Al is still stuck in a Neanderthal male mentality, especially with regards to women's rights. He's like a modern-day Archie Bunker, who is unable, or unwilling to adjust to contemporary society as it is.

Ed O'Neil played Al with a smug, male-chauvinist-pig relish. Katy Segal as Peg, lit-up the screen with her own bawdy charisma. Together, they had a crackling comedic chemistry between them. The supporting cast, certainly augmented the loose-cannon hilarity of this show. But Ed O'Neil and Katy Segal, were the center that held this show together, during it's long run on TV. The show would've been much less entertaining, without the two of them. Married With Children can now be enjoyed via DVD. Check it out, and see why this mad-cap sitcom was so phenomenally popular, when it was still on network TV.

Thinking back at the show I always thought it was funny for the time but it got a little to mean for me. Recently though it showed up on the WGN roster and i started to watch some of the older episodes and I realized why the show lasted as long as it did. It was funny if you had a dark sense of humor and all the actors had real chemistry with each other. The show that put FOX on the map. And there are certain things about the show that maybe got a little too mean for me as time went on but it was still an incredibly fun show to watch if you don't trigger easy

When this show came out, the times sure were a changin'! Shows like "Married With Children" and "Roseanne" were a far cry from "Andy Griffith" and "The Brady Bunch". How times change for the worse! Basically the format changed sometime in the late 80's to where it was decided that low class, insulting, embarrassing garbage would be the type of TV shows created and aired, and apparently there was an audience for it. Make it and they will come. Tells you a lot about society, doesn't it? Repetitive, low class garbage gets old VERY fast, as does this show. It was junk shows like this which set the stage for the trash that's on TV today. No wonder people have no respect for themselves or others.

"Married with Children" is the kind of show that does nothing for civilization and has no moral value...yet I got some of the biggest laughs in TV history from this show. It is still one of my all-time favorites. I even enjoy watching the repeats over and over again. That's when you know a show is great.

As for Al Bundy, could they have created a funnier TV character than him? He is one of my favorite TV characters, and I sometimes try to imitate him. My friends even jokingly thought of starting a "No Ma'am" group of our own. Speaking of "No Ma'am" one of my favorite episodes is the one where Al starts his own Church, in order to avoid paying taxes. He rants and raves like the stereotypical evangelist, only he has two scantily-clad women by his side. Then Marcy and her feminist group come marching in, showing everyone pictures of Al and Peggy on a romantic date. Everyone gasps. In response, Al imitates Jimmy Swaggart by shedding tears and screaming out, "I have sinned." That was genius! When they one day show a retrospective of the funniest moments in TV history, that scene should definitely be shown. Ed O'Neill plays the character so perfectly, and I was amazed to see that he's actually nothing like his character in real life. He's a very nice, soft-spoken guy. Yet he couldn't be any more convincing as that character. Al Bundy will be his legacy!

The supporting cast is great. David Faustino, Christina Applegate, Katey Sagal, David Garrison and Ted McGinley are all very talented. But I could never understand why Bud had trouble getting girls. Faustino's a pretty good-looking guy. Acting-wise, he couldn't be any better, but they could've picked a less attractive actor to have his persona be more convincing.

Yes, the show may appear to be misogynistic. All the female characters are either airheads, whiny housewives or overweight. But I think in a way it's poking fun at misogynism. I don't think the show ever glamourizes the act of misogynism. Just look at the male characters. They're a bunch of beer-drinking slobs. Would you want to follow their philosophies on life? But I do admit, I enjoy the presence of many scantily clad babes on each episode. Hey...if women want to make a show where macho guys appear on every episode in thongs, be my guest! I won't watch it, but it doesn't offend me. If women find "MWC" offensive, don't watch it! You have a remote--use it!

There are so many memorable moments on the show that I will have to take up this whole message board to jot them all down. I will just mention two:

When Peggy painted the bathroom pink and made it girly-looking, and Al was frightened at the sight of it. So when the inspectors came to check it out, Al empties a bag with five sandwiches inside. The song "Bad to the Bone" plays as Al scarfs down every sandwich, drowning each one with hot sauce. He grabs a newspaper, tucks it under his arm and runs straight to the bathroom. The inspectors come running out, the toilet flushes and Al leaves the bathroom proudly.

When Al accidentally got circumsized. He would be afraid to look at anything even mildly stimulating because he was afraid a stitch would break.

But as much as I liked the show, I felt good that it was cancelled. Because the last season reeked!!! I don't know what went wrong, but the writing was drab and contrived, the acting was flat--Al didn't seem like Al anymore! He was actually turning into sort of a nice guy! The show lost all its energy. But for all the previous seasons, I absolutely adored the show. And I regard it as a classic!

My score: 9 (out of 10)

I love "Married with Children" for a lot of reasons. I remember when it first aired on the new Fox station. "Married with Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show" were the first two shows to air on Sunday nights and the first night, it was aired twice. There has not been another show like it and it's still missed very much. When "Friends" became successful, you hoped that they would create the anti-Friends version of the show just like Married with Children Bundys was inspired by the 80's Cosby Show and the almost too real Huxtable clan. The Bundys were every family. The teens like Peg and Al who got married with no college education ended up struggling with two undesirable children like Bud and Kelly. The Bundys never had the luck like any of our other television families. Ed O'Neil deserved an Emmy. He liked Al so much that he is still fond of the role. Katey Sagal was unforgettable as Peggy with her red bouncy air and laugh. They were the unlikeliest pairing but it worked. Christina Applegate will always be remembered as the definitive dumb blonde Kelly Bundy. Her character like Peggy and Al never changed and we wouldn't want them too. Remember when they change the characters by improving them on television, the characters lose their original, natural appeal. Even David Faustino's Bud was still the pervert from beginning to end of the show. The neighbors began with Steve and Marcy Rhodes, both trained in New York City theater. Steve played by David Garrison was the typical boring father type on the show and his wife played by Amanda Bearse really became more than just a modern woman. As Marcy Rhodes Darcy, she became her own character without having too rely too much on her husband. When Garrison left the show to return to Broadway, Marcy was alone but not for long until Ted McGinley's Jefferson Darcy came into the picture. Finally Al met his match, a good-looking gigolo who avoided work. Jefferson too had a spotty history. Al and Marcy's battles were always fun to watch. In fact, Bearse also directed several of the show's episodes when she was not in front of the camera and has become one of television's comedic directors since the show ended by Fox abruptly. I loved AL's male friends like Griff, Ike, Bob Rooney, and officer Dan. The show may have made jokes at the expense of a lot of overweight even obese actresses but that gave them exposure and work so I don't think Married with Children should get too much negative criticism. I don't see other shows using plus sized women at all. This was a fun show to watch and I still miss it.

Married with Children is still as funny as it was back then. I started watching old shows as today's networks, writers and shows mostly have no ideas. Most if not all have an agenda, what happened to just honest fun. People used to watch TV to escape the real world, have some fun and laugh but its mostly forced now and there is no escaping reality as the agenda is everywhere. This is why these old shows are gems and allow us that 1 hour of escape.

Thank you Al Bundy and co for making me laugh once more.

When I was a child, I was watching Al Bundy on TV and I started again on Amazon, this family makes me laugh so much. Well written jokes, sometimes a little childish what can I say? 'oldies but goldies' I think in 2021, you cannot make jokes like Al Bundy, actually so sexist and rude ( but still funny for me :)) anyway, worth watching and full of laughing in 22 min every episode.

What can a Brit say about married with children,other than its the only American sitcom that's actually funny. Truly belly achingly funny. Al Bundy and family are the forbearers of the Simpsons but so much funnier. I never tire of watching and re watching this classic and timeless comedy. My sons who were born in the 90s and are now grown men absolutely love the hard sitting satirical character of Al Bundy. Long may this remain available to view on DVD as no English network will show it in case anyone gets offended. We deserve to be offended ...Al Bundy..man you are timeless and a true working class hero..love you man.

Born 1980. German. By the early 90s, this funny show made it onto German TV. This was before The Simpsons. I don't know about the US. But there was nothing else on German telly that was funny. Yup. So I loved this. It feels a bit old now, but it didn't fade out in my memory. Fond memories. I absolutely never understood why Christina Applegate was meant to be the hottie in the show. Peg was always a lot hotter. And so evidently hotter. While husband Al kept picking on her. The show implied she was average looking, or something. None of that made any sense to me. Peg's open attitude, the sexy black leggings, the hight. Did someone write the scripts for the ten seasons upfront and they originally were going to hire Rosy MacD for the show ? And then kept those scripts written for a different actor ? Or is there something Americans know that I don't know ? Because I swear I would try to find out. Peg looked hot to me.

I grew up watching MWC and as a kid I loved it! It focuses on a shoe salesman named Al Bundy, his wife Peggy, daughter Kelly, and son Bud going thru life in Chicago, Illinois. I recently seen it was on TV and put it on to reminisce and I am very happy I did! Many comedies we watched growing up and loved seem not as funny when watched later in life because the comedy doesn't hold up. Not only does the comedy still hold up but in a sense I find the show even funnier now then I did as a teenager. The show took many comedic risks and was considered very racy while it was on television. Looking back now you can see the show only set the bar high for network shows and broke the traditional family sitcom.