"Married with Children" (1987) TV series 1987-1997

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Creators:

Ron Leavitt
Michael G. Moye

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Release Date:

5 April 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Domestic bliss was never like this!

Plot:

Al Bundy is a misanthropic women's shoe salesman with a miserable life. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dimwitted and promiscuous.

Plot Keywords:

Shoe Salesman | Shoe Store | Married With Children | Promiscuous Daughter | Dumb Blonde

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 21 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 9	5:00 AM	TBS	The Legend of Ironhead Haynes	#8.23
Mon. Nov. 9	5:30 AM	TBS	Nooner or Later	#8.21

Cast

Ed O'Neill	...	Al Bundy / ... (261 episodes, 1987-1997)
David Faustino	...	Bud Bundy / ... (260 episodes, 1987-1997)
Christina Applegate	...	Kelly Bundy / ... (259 episodes, 1987-1997)
Katey Sagal	...	Peggy Bundy / ... (251 episodes, 1987-1997)
Amanda Bearse	...	Marcy D'Arcy / ... (246 episodes, 1987-1997)
Ted McGinley	...	Jefferson D'Arcy / ... (166 episodes, 1989-1997)
Buck	...	Buck the Dog / ... (166 episodes, 1987-1995)

Also Known As:

Married... with Children (USA) (promotional title)
Not the Cosbys (USA) (working title)
Eine schrecklich nette Familie (Germany) (Switzerland: German title) [de]
Bracne vode (Croatia) [hr]
Bundy (Norway) (new title) [no]
Casado con hijos (Argentina) [es]
Casats... i amb fills (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Egy rém rendes család (Hungary) [hu]
Evli ve çocuklu (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Mariés 2 enfants (Belgium: French title) (DVD box title) [fr]
Mariés, deux enfants (France) [fr]
Matrimonio con hijos (Venezuela) [es]
Pantremenoi me paidia (Greece) [el]
Pulmuset (Finland) [fi]
Sposati con figli (Italy) [it]
Swiat wedlug Bundych (Poland) [pl]
Um Amor de Família (Brazil) [pt]
Våra värsta år (Sweden) [sv]
Våre verste år (Norway) [no]
Vore værste år (Denmark) [da]

Runtime:

22 min (262 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-3 (DVD) (2003) | Netherlands:6 (DVD rating) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 5) | USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

ABC Television Center - 4151 Prospect Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Embassy Television

Trivia:

In one episode, Kelly reveals the Bundy's phone number 555-2878.

Goofs:

Continuity: In episode 5, "Have You Driven a Ford Lately", while Peg and Marcy are eating salads, they are originally drinking from cans in "coolies" (blue styrofoam holders). In the middle of Peg's sentence the scene cuts and shows they are drinking dark liquids from regular glasses.

Quotes:

Peggy: If you men only knew what we do to keep a marriage alive. Watching Oprah all day so that we have something interesting to talk to you about. Dressing like this
[gestures at herself]
Peggy: to keep you excited. Taking beauty naps to reverse the aging process. And spending all your money so you feel like a good provider. That is how I sacrifice for you, Al Bundy. It is a thankless, exhausting job but I do it. And the only thing I ask in return is that you bring Dad back here. And you fail. You know what this means.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: TV Couples (#8.11)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Love & Marriage

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.