Married... with Children (TV Series)

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Married... with Children
Format Sitcom
Satire
Creaeted by Michael G. Moye
Ron Leavitt
Starring Ed O'Neill
Katey Sagal
Christina Applegate
David Faustino
Amanda Bearse
David Garrison
Ted McGinley
Theme music composer Sammy Cahn
Jimmy Van Heusen
Opening theme "Love and Marriage"
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Ending theme "Love and Marriage"
(instrumental)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 11
No. of episodes 259 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s) 		Michael G. Moye (1987–92, 1993–94)
Ron Leavitt (1987–93)
Katherine Green (1994–95)
Richard Gurman
Kim Weiskopf
(both; 1994–96)
Pamela Eells O'Connell
(1996–97)
Producer(s) Barbara Blachut Cramer
(1987–92)
John Maxwell Anderson
(1992–97)
Camera setup Videotape; Multi-camera
Running time 22 minutes
Production
company(s) 		Embassy Communications
(1987–88)
ELP Communications
(1988–97)
Columbia Pictures Television (1988–97)
Distributor Columbia Pictures Television (1991–96)
Columbia TriStar Television (1996–2002)
Sony Pictures Television (2002–present)
Release
Original channel Fox
FX (episode 45)
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
Original run April 5, 1987 – June 9, 1997
Episode 45:
June 18, 2002
Chronology
Related shows Top of the Heap
Website

Married... with Children is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox, created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt. Originally broadcast from April 5, 1987 to June 9, 1997, it is the longest-lasting live-action sitcom on Fox, and the first to be broadcast in the network's primetime programming slot.

The show follows the lives of Al Bundy, a once glorious high school football player turned hard-luck women's shoe salesman; his obnoxious wife, Peggy; their attractive, promiscuous, and clueless daughter, Kelly; and their girl-crazy, wisecracking son, Bud. Their neighbors are the upwardly mobile Steve Rhoades and his feminist wife Marcy, who later gets remarried to Jefferson D'Arcy, a white-collar criminal who becomes her "trophy husband" and Al's sidekick. Most storylines involve Al's schemes being foiled by his own cartoonish dim wit and bad luck.

The series comprises 259 episodes and 11 seasons. Its theme song is "Love and Marriage" by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, performed by Frank Sinatra from the 1955 television production Our Town.

The first season of the series was videotaped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood. From season two to season eight, the show was taped at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood, and the remaining three seasons were taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. The series was produced by Embassy Communications during its first season and the remaining seasons by ELP Communications under the studio Columbia Pictures Television.

In 2008, the show placed number 94 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.

Contents

[edit] Cast and characters

Main article: List of characters in Married... with Children
Actor Role Years Seasons Episodes
(credited)
Ed O'Neill Al Bundy 1987–97 1–11 259
Katey Sagal Margaret "Peggy" Bundy 1987–97 1–11 249
Amanda Bearse Marcy Rhoades-D'Arcy 1987–97 1–11 238
David Garrison Steve Rhoades 1987–90, 1992, 1993, 1995 1–4, recurring guest 6–91 80
Christina Applegate Kelly Bundy 1987–97 1–11 256
David Faustino Bud Bundy 1987–97 1–11 257
Ted McGinley Jefferson D'Arcy 1989, 1991–97 5–11 164
  • 1 David Garrison left the show during season four, but returned in four episodes as a special guest.


  • Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill)—the misanthropic head of the Bundy household; afflicted by the "Bundy curse" that consigns him to an unrewarding career selling women's shoes and a life with a family that mocks and disrespects him, but who still enjoys the simple things in life. He constantly attempts to relive his high-school Big Man On Campus days, when he was the "All State Fullback". His most noted achievement was having scored four touchdowns in a single game for Polk High. His favorite things in life are the local nudie bar, his collection of "BigUns" magazine, his television, his Dodge car with almost 1 million miles on the odometer, and a television show called "Psycho Dad." Despite his family's contempt for him, and his for them, Al is always ready to defend Bundy honor (often with his fists), and he is fiercely protective of daughter Kelly, his "little girl" who rarely had a boyfriend Al didn't beat up.
  • Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal)—Al's wife who is always on his case about money and refuses to clean or cook. She is a lazy, big-haired redhead who spends most of her time parked in front of the TV watching talk shows such as Oprah or robbing Al blind to go shopping; a famously inattentive mother and nagging wife who uses every opportunity to humiliate Al about his job, his meager earnings, and even sexual abilities. Her big taste for things like clothes and male strippers have run Al into debt on numerous occasions. A recurring joke in the series is Al's regret of having married Peggy in the first place; the union was forced on him at shotgun-point. Peggy's best friend is Marcy, with whom she occasionally conspires against Al. Her family is a stereotypical backwoods clan of degenerates whom she often forces the other Bundys to endure, especially her morbidly obese mother whom Al finds intolerable.
  • Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate)—the Bundys' firstborn; a stereotypical dumb blonde who is often derided as promiscuous and dates men who get under Al's skin to the point of him physically assaulting them. Her stupidity manifests in many ways, from forgetting ideas on the spot to mispronouncing or misspelling simple words. Like her mother, she is quick to steal Al's money for expensive things. Her favorite hobby is belittling her lonely and sexless brother, though she stands up for him against anyone outside the family.
  • Bud Bundy (David Faustino)—the younger Bundy offspring, and the most intelligent family member; the first Bundy to attend college. His awkwardness and preoccupation with sex leads to inevitable failures with women. To improve his success with girls, Bud often uses his alternate persona, "Grandmaster B," a bad-boy rapper from New York City. When using the "Grandmaster B" persona, Bud usually wears dark sunglasses and a backward Los Angeles Raiders hat. His mistreatment at the hands of Kelly is returned in kind, making jokes at her expense regarding her promiscuity and stupidity, and tricking her into mixing up TV shows with novels; but when she is in a legitimate bind, Bud will stand up for her, much like Kelly does for him under similar circumstances.
  • Marcy Rhoades D'Arcy (Amanda Bearse)—the Bundys' next-door neighbor; Peggy's best friend and Al's nemesis; an educated banker, but also a feminist and environmentalist who often protests Al's schemes with his NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood) group. Ironically, she is just as chauvinistic as Al and the founder and leader of an anti-man support group called "FANG" (Feminists Against Neanderthal Guys). Despite her political correctness and structured life, Marcy harbors a dark, somewhat sexually deviant side, which comes up when she reminisces over events in her past. Al is repulsed by Marcy and frequently belittles her, likening her to a chicken, and mockingly confusing her for an adolescent male. At the outset of the show, Marcy is married to Steve Rhoades. After Steve is written off the show during the fourth season, he is replaced by Jefferson D'Arcy.
  • Steve Rhoades (David Garrison) is Marcy's first husband, a nerdy banker who is dragged into Al's schemes, such as going to strip clubs, chasing after girls, watching sports when Marcy disapproves, and reading pornographic magazines. Steve's most prized possession is his Mercedes Benz, which he does not even let Marcy drive. Growing increasingly tired of Marcy's controlling behavior, Steve eventually leaves her during the fourth season to become a forest ranger at Yosemite National Park. He comes back in "The Egg and I" to try and reclaim his old life with Marcy, but finds trouble with Jefferson. Steve later has another job as the chancellor of Bud's college, after blackmailing the previous one he worked under as a chauffeur.
  • Jefferson D'Arcy (Ted McGinley), a pretty-boy scam artist to whom Marcy wakes up one morning and discovers she is married. Unlike Steve, Jefferson is an unemployed, lazy dimwit who takes advantage of Marcy. When he gets caught, he distracts her by working his pretty-boy charm and resorting to sexual bartering. Steve and Jefferson do not like each other for personal reasons. In several episodes, Jefferson is implied to have had a past life as a former spy/CIA operative.

It is never explained how Peggy was able to go to high school in Chicago when she lived in Wisconsin. While the audience is aware that Al's father died years ago, his mother's whereabouts are never mentioned or acknowledged.

[edit] Recurring characters

Main article: List of Married...with Children recurring characters
  • Buck (portrayed by Buck Bundy, originally named "Mike", voiced by Cheech Marin, Kevin Curran, and Kim Weiskopf) – The Bundys' wisecracking dog, that insults his family and is punished upon his death by being reincarnated as Lucky, the dog the Bundys acquire to replace Buck.

[edit] Fox broadcast history

Date Time slot
April 1987 – October 1987 Sunday, 8:00 p.m.
October 1987 – July 1989 Sunday, 8:30 p.m.
July 1989 – August 1996 Sunday, 9:00 p.m.
September 1996 – October 1996 Saturday, 9:00 p.m.
November 1996 – December 1996 Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
January 1997 Monday, 9:30 p.m.
February 1997 - July 1997 Monday, 9:00 p.m.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Married... with Children episodes

[edit] Nielsen ratings

[edit] Awards

Casting Society of America:

  • 1987: Best Casting for TV – Episodic Comedy (nominated)

Emmy Awards:

  • 1987: Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Series (for "But I Didn't Shoot the Deputy", nominated)
  • 1988: Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series (for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", nominated)
  • 1989: Outstanding Editing – Multi-Camera Production (for "Requiem for a Dead Barber", nominated)
  • 1990: Outstanding Costuming for a Series (for "Raingirl", nominated)
  • 1990: Outstanding Editing – Multi-Camera Production (for "Who'll Stop the Rain", nominated)
  • 1991: Outstanding Costuming for a Series (for "Married... with Aliens", nominated)
  • 1994: Outstanding Costuming for a Series (for "Take My Wife, Please", nominated)

Golden Globe Awards:

Other:

[edit] Controversy and edited content

[edit] Rakolta boycott

[edit] DVD releases

[edit] DVD special features

  • Season 1: Married With Children Reunion Special
  • Season 2: Clips From The Married With Children Reunion Special
  • Season 3: Clips From The Married With Children Reunion Special
  • Season 4: None
  • Season 5: Trailers for other TV Shows
  • Season 6: Trailers for other TV Shows
  • Season 7: None
  • Season 8: None
  • Season 9: None
  • Season 10: None
  • Season 11: Trailers for other TV Shows

(Note: The Big Bundy Box set's Special Features contains interviews with David Faustino and Katey Sagal)

The DVD box sets from season 3 onward do not feature the original "Love and Marriage" theme song in the opening sequence. This was done because Sony was unable to obtain the licensing rights to the theme song for later sets. Despite this, the end credits on the DVDs for season 3 still include a credit for "Love and Marriage." On the Mill Creek sets, Love and Marriage is restored from Season 3 onward.

In December 2007 the Big Bundy Box—a special collection box with all seasons plus new interviews with Sagal and David Faustino—was released. This boxset was released in Australia (Region 4) on November 23, 2009.

The DVD box set is rated  PG  for Parental Guidance in Australia and  PG  in New Zealand for sexual references.

[edit] Merchandise

[edit] Books

[edit] Comic books

[edit] Toys

[edit] Board Game

[edit] Action figures

[edit] International remakes

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] U.S. syndication and international airings

[edit] Locations

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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