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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 15:33:50 GMT
Classic show that went too far in the end Before there was Roseanne there was this underground comedy which premiered on FOX as one of it's first shows. When the show first debuted it was on three times on Sunday Night in April of 1987. It was repeated twice after it's premiere. There were so few people watching the show it was almost cancelled after the first few episodes.
It was controversial despite the fact that it was seen in so few homes. Here was the plot: Al Bundy was a working class shoe salesman living outside of Chicago. He had a wife who wore tacky clothing and never did housework. His daughter was nothing les of an aspiring floozy and his son fancied himself a ladies man but never made it past nerd.
So where was the controversy? Peg was always wanting sex, Al refused to constantly. Their frustration was vented in countless sexual double entendres. They were always at odds with each other as well as their more well to do neighbors. They talked about sex all the time in the show. The parents did not care about the children and it was incredibly obvious. The family hardly let it out that they actually loved each other and it was often questionable if they really loved ach other at all.
The family as we saw was certainly dysfunctional and nothing like it's more perfect counterpart the Cosby Show. The show was originally made to rebel against the Cosby Show. The show was originally entitled Not the Cosby Show. The Cosby Show has its place then so does this show. The Cosby Show was perhaps what we should aspire to be. Married with Children was what we are to a point anyway.
The family was working class, unloving insulting and never seemed to have fun. None of them were happy and all of them held each other in contempt. The show had a lot of flawed characters and initially the show was all acting. The difference between The Cosby Show and this show was that the Cosby Show remained the same show throughout it's run. This show went from being a brilliant working class sitcom to a dirty insulting pointless show at the end of it's run.
There is a place for the Cosby Show as it was something good to aspire to but this was how it was. David Garrison who played Steve Rhoades said that other shows would make you feel bad because their family was perfect. This show showed you how it was. While my family was not this bad I could identify with the arguments that this family got into the crazy father figure in the form of my grandfather and relatives that are that loony as well.
In reality though this show was funnier than Cosby was. This tried to tell jokes whereas Bill Cosby tried to make you feel good all of the time. I can relate so little to that family and most of the jokes are incredibly wholesome it really starts grating on your nerves how perfect the Huxtables are. This may be the most important working class sitcom since all in the family. In many ways it was a precursor to the very good Roseanne, which got on ABC a year after this show did.
The one episode that stuck out to me was the one where Al had an overdue library book. That one is a classic. I also liked the one where people thought Al was selling his car for $4.00 The first five seasons of this show were brilliant from 1987-91. The next three years were very good from 1991-94. For it's last three years I think they just had the show on because FOX wouldn't know what to do without Married. with Children off the air. It was the only show that was on since the networks beginning.
The show in its last years just became a sorry excuse for a bunch of fat lady jokes and stupid sexual references all the time from Al to every girl around. And in the end they just cut at each other and it wasn't funny anymore it was just insults. I wish Al had won a little more instead of being a loser all of the time. I also like Steve Rhoades a little more than I did Jefferson D'Arcy. If you watch this show make sure it is one of the earlier ones those are the best ones. In the earlier ones they featured so little of the children and those were much funnier. Christina Applegate is trying so hard to get away from her Kelly Bundy image it will be interesting to she if she will.
Anyways this is a classic show. Still this is one of the best shows on FOX, that's not saying much but it is. I still watch this show in reruns when it is not one of the idiotic later episodes and I will probably like it for a long time to come.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 15:36:02 GMT
The show that started Fox... Let me starts off by saying, Married... with Children is one of the funniest shows on television. The jokes never seem to get old, all the characters are original, and absolutely funny, and the episodes deliver nothing but laughs, and entertainment. Ed O'Neill stars as Al Bundy, a middle aged women's show salesman who gets little, or no respect from his family, his wife is Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal), a sexually frustrated house wife who doesn't cook, clean, or do anything at all. Al's children are Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Bud (David Faustino). Kelly is literally stupid, but she is very popular in school, but Bud deems her a "blonde bimbo". Bud, seems to never get any girls, he always tries to be somebody different, such as "Grandmaster B". The characters featured in this show are so funny, and so original. Ed O'Neill usually says stuff that will make you laugh, but lots of times, he can make someone laugh just by a facial expression. Al and his next door neighbor, Marcie Rhoades D'arcy, always call each other names, and they always fight all the time. Al is always telling Marcy that she is a chicken, and she has no boobs. Marcy always teases Al with the fact that he cannot sexually please Peggy. The Bundy kids, Kelly, and Bud, are also funny. Every time Bud would make a joke at Kelly, she would turn the joke around, and make it even funnier. Christina Applegate is very hot, and I say that she was perfect for the role of Kelly. Bud, is just funny in general. Every season, he always comes up with a new attire, once he was "Grandmaster B", and I forgot the rest of his attires. The two neighbors that live right next to the Bundy's are Marcie, and Steve Rhodes (David Garrison left in 1990, so in 1991, Ted McGinley replaced the character Steve). Marcie's first husband, Steve, played by David Garrison, is an original character, but isn't as funny as Jefferson. Marcie is very funny in general, her crying acts are literally classic. Jefferson's character is also very funny, and original. Jefferson has never worked, and he refers to himself as a "House Husband". The show is literally always funny in general. I believe in one episode, the makers of the show dressed up a monkey in the same type of clothing that Al wears, and they monkey put its hand down it's pants. Sometimes, the acting can get half-assed, and very, very few times, they use some jokes that aren't very funny, but that's only like once every 4 seasons. If you have not seen Married With Children, I strongly recommend that you do. This show is literally the show that made Fox what it is. 10 out of 10. A true classic.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 16:19:05 GMT
The best comedy show ever3 Married with children is your typically white trash show about white trash living in society, you have Al bundy that hates fat women, hates his family and wishes he was in the nudie bar. Kelly is the girl that most guys would get it on with everynight, as a pro of sex she is the flooze. Peggy is the lazy and good looking house wife with a knack for bon bons. Bud is the egotistical pig that likes women. They are the most hated family in Chicago and what i like about the show is that it doesn't have any morals to it. Married with children will always be the funniest show.
Married with children forever!
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 16:21:12 GMT
The Real Live-Action Simpsons While everyone is adulating the way overhyped Malcolm in the Middle as "A Live Action Simpsons", I'd like to give the title to Married...With Children, even though this show came out before the Simpsons did. I don't want to repeat all the good reviews here, but I just want to say, this show was so cool and yes, very, very bawdy, but they combined bawdiness with social commentary like on South Park, Duckman, and The Simpsons (before season 10). Other shows today just slop over with so much bawdiness that the social commentary is blurred. We need more shows like Married With Children!
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 16:21:20 GMT
I dare you not to fall on the floor laughing--at least once. OK, what's to say about this underappreciated masterpiece of a sitcom that hasn't already been said? Ed O'Neill IS Al Bundy in a way that most of us aren't even ourselves in our own lives. The series wore out its welcome long before its end, but its prime years were incredible. I enjoy my life so much more knowing that I could be Al Bundy, but I'm not!
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 16:23:39 GMT
"Married... With Children"- 10/10. One of the greatest TV shows of all time! Married... With Children (1987) TV Series
This show constantly fills you with laughs! It is about your typical American family- and if you are thinking The Brady Bunch, than you are wrong! Married With Children is absolutely the opposite. This show focuses on a dysfunctional family that is made up of Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill), the father of the family, Peggy (Katey Sagal), Ed's ditsy wife, Kelly (Christina Applegate), their partying daughter, and Bud (Dave Faustino), their son who can't seem to score with any chicks. Al Bundy, played by Ed O'Neill,is the funniest TV character I can think of. Katey Sagal is hilarious and Christina Applegate is talented and funny, as is Dave Faustino. This show has some wonderful and outrageous episodes that are sure to make you laugh every time.
This show is sure to offend goodie two shoes-sort of families, but to most of us, this is an absolute hilarious treat! This show is a classic to be enjoyed by everyone and anyone! 10/10.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 16:25:38 GMT
Probably the best TV show ever. 10/10 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.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:24:38 GMT
One of those shows "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.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:26:36 GMT
Had its good seasons, and its bad This show started off slow, as season one wasn't actually very good. I liked it at the time because it was rather fresh in the way the characters didn't like each other. But due to the chemistry between the cast members, it really grew and by season two was quite hilarious - even watching the reruns of it now. This lasted up until about season 6, where the writers must have gotten bored, and by season seven, with the introduction of that putrid little kid character named Seven, the show had hit rock bottom. One almost had to feel sorry for the show, so far had it slipped.
Luckily, the little kid character was dumped and, over the next several seasons, the show did regain a small bit of its former glory. Though a lot of the episodes were dumb or just annoying due to the focus on the shrill, perennially indignant neighbor Marcy, there were quite a few gems mixed in.
And who can ever forget Kelly Bundy, played by Christina Applegate? So gorgeous it was cruel. Probably the most beautiful person ever to appear on television. In my opinion, the back-and-forth between Al and Peg got old pretty quick, but Bud and Kelly always had fresh, interesting ways of picking on each other. They had some of the best one-liners I've ever heard, like when they go halves on a car, and Kelly tells Bud that he can't touch it, because they don't know where his hands have been. Bud comes back with "Well then, you shouldn't be allowed to sit it it!"
I'm glad they're coming out with this show on DVD. I'll probably pick up seasons 2 - 5, and maybe 9 - 11. I'd be amazed if more than three people pay money for season seven on DVD.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:31:23 GMT
Why did it end! This show is an all time classic and it's easy to see where more modern shows, especially such total and blatant rip-offs as the Simpsons, have their roots.
Married came about at a time when all other family sit-coms were sickly-sweet and correct. Who can forget such horrors as the Cosby Show or Diff'rent Strokes? Married was different. It dared to push the envelope of what was considered (at the time) right and proper. The family wasn't nice to each other all the time (or even any of the time!) and the show had a more real feel to it as a result.
Of course, reality quickly became subjective in Married, as the episodes became ever more ridiculous and crazy. But every show pandered to some aspect of family life that we can all identify with - car sharing, hatred of our spouses relatives, puberty, dating, work etc. etc. The list is endless. If it's a real life issue, Married has spoofed it in some way or other. Nothing was sacred. Even PMS! Though the writers were reigned in a few times, by all accounts.
The show ran for eleven seasons and over 250 episodes, which is pretty incredible for a comedy show and really should give you an indication of the dedicated fan base that Married attracted. I suspect the show will be in re-runs somewhere until the end of TV as an entertainment medium.
For more info on the show I recommend the E True Story documentary on the show, which really gives an insight into how the show started, progressed and finally was cancelled.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:32:15 GMT
Tied for second-funniest show ever! This was a hugely underappreciated show, though some of their jokes were kind of stupid. It is tied for second-funniest with "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy." First is "South Park." Al Bundy should be an American hero, but not alongside the American fighting boys. He was right about a lot of the things he said and he was a lot like most married men. I felt bad for him at times, too. I don't know why the show was cancelled. It was actually funny with the laugh-tracks. Not many shows can do that. If I had to rate it on a scale from 1-10, I would say 9. A funny and basically great show. Al Bundy will always be a guy that was misfortunate, yet would be a lot smarter if Peg, Kelly, and Bud wouldn't stop bugging him. If you forgot, 9/10.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:33:14 GMT
It was perfect for being a Core show on Fox's first lineup. Back in 1987 there were three major networks ABC, CBS, and NBC well a new station challenged them at that time yes your right it was Fox. Fox had 3 main lineup core shows you know shows that launched a station. Well they were 21 Jump Street, The Tracy Almond (Not sure about her name) show and Married with Children. Who would have though a show about a lowly shoe salesman would have done so good yet attract so much flack? The story goes like this there was Al Bundy who was destined to be a star football player till a bad leg injury stopped him dead in his tracks. Well he thought he would rehab it and take a job as a shoe salesman for the summer.... Well lets just say that job lasted 25 years. Yes you heard me right 25 years well he met a woman in highschool named Peggy you know the typical red neck him and her hit it off and they had 2 kids Bud and kelly. They moved into a nice 2 story house in a neighborhood that didn't want them there. One of the people who hated poor Al was their neighbor Marcy Rhodes who later became Marcy "Darcy" Yes your right her first and last name rhyme. The one thing she liked about Al was he had a job that her playboy husband Jefferson refused to get well I won't get much into it I'll just talk about other stuff about the show. One thing I remembered was that the show got a lot of flack because the characters made constant fun of large women and the occasional lesbian but besides that this show was awesome I would recommend it to anyone who wants some old school long live married with children.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:34:24 GMT
Hilarious!! We all have some Bundy in us!! 10/10 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.
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:38:05 GMT
BEST SHOW EVER "Married... with Children" in my opinion is the best TV series ever created.
A breakthrough show for its time, it emphasized on a family life of Al Bundy, the hapless shoe salesman, his wife, Peggy Bundy, lazy, couch sitting, Oprah watching, no cleaning or cooking wife, and their two teenage children - Bud, smarty pants with no social life, and Kelly, brainless blonde. While most of the shows in the 80's were of good moral standards, "Married..." was the opposite. Al and Peg have been married for such a long time that they no longer wanted to do anything with each other. To contrast their relationship, we have Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades. They are newlyweds and, of course, still have feelings for each other. As series progressed, some cast members left, others joined the show. Some episodes were hilarious while others seemed less interesting. During the last 2 years or so, "Married..." had new writers, and I felt it, the show kept loosing its steam, the jokes became repeatatives and not very funny. The show ran from 1987 until its abrupt end in 1997. I wish they made a true ending to the show, there are so many unanswered questions... I would have loved to see Al finally hitting a lotto and moving to an island with several beautiful women that catered to his every need. I can come up with many different endings... I felt betrayed just like the cast themselves. I am sure many fans of the show would agree with me. More than 250 episodes were made and they still make me laugh every time I watch the reruns; and since I got married I understand much clearer all the frustrations Al was going through.
The show paved the way for more outrageous comedies such as "Simpsons" and "Family Guy", and many many more. While it started out slowly on a new Fox network, the series became a backbone of the station outlasting its original writers, producers, and station owners. Al Bundy - YOU ARE THE MAN !!!
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Post by sbtbfanatic on Feb 5, 2014 20:39:11 GMT
Groundbreaking sitcom that tried to do what almost every other sitcom didn't - be nasty and break tabus Who is Al Bundy? Does such a person really exist? I think not. Nobody could be this nasty all the time and in the first season he actually wasn't. He sometimes tried to be a loving husband and father and his wife Peg wasn't the do nothing couch potato she later became. The kids, Bud and Kelly were more caricatures. They didn't seem to do anything except torture each other and whine.
Then came the second season. Peg got more and more lazy and Al more nasty. The best episode from that season was where Peggy saw a mouse and Al tried to catch it but finally had to give in and call a professional. Here Peg really shows her future mannerisms like whining when she's not given her way and Kelly becomes more dimwitted than she was before. And let us not forget the two side characters Steve and Marcy Rhoades (later Marcy D'arcy). They were essentially counterpoints to Al and Peg in the first season being newlyweds and very much in love. Steve was tempted to follow in Al's footsteps but was always set straight by Marcy. Now, Steve was a total clone of Al in many ways and Marcy also got more hot tempered especially when reminiscing about her disturbing childhood.
If the producers had stuck to this format the show would have been No. 1 in my opinion but they had to turn both Peg and Kelly into trashy airheads and Bud into a sex-starved geek. And lets not forget the rather dull addition Jefferson. Yes, he was supposed to have a dark past as a CIA agent although the name was never mentioned but that storyline was so clumsily written that you just had to gag. Also his desire to do as little as possible was handled awkwardly. He simply became a male version of Peggy. Last but not least there was the dreadful NO MAAM group. Yes, I could see what they were supposed to represent, a response to the exaggerated PC behaviour we were flooded with in the 90's, but the members of that group were too much like working class stereotypes that it made me wince. They could have been handled more intelligently.
But all that aside I admire the creators Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt for even coming up with the idea that sitcoms didn't have to be sugarcoated all the time like on the Cosby Show. And if they hadn't been so successful, I don't believe the Simpsons would ever had seen the light of day. So Fox must also be congratulated for being so ahead of its time and where would the show have been without Ed O'Neill as Al who was far from the first choice. Like Ted McGinley said: He carried the show. It's a shame then that he hasn't done a guest voice spot on the Simpsons yet. He has only been spoofed one or two times. Like I said his character was an essential influence on the Homer Simpson character and Dan Castellaneta has even been on Married with Children a couple of times. It would have been fun to see Al Bundy and Homer Simpson square of on the Simpsons.
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