Married... with Children 

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 dim-witted and promiscuous.

Creators:

Ron Leavitt, Michael G. Moye

Stars:

Ed O'Neill, Christina Applegate, Katey Sagal

Nominated for 7 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Ed O'Neill	...	Al Bundy / ... 261 episodes, 1987-1997
Katey Sagal	...	Peggy Bundy / ... 261 episodes, 1987-1997
Amanda Bearse	...	Marcy D'Arcy / ... 261 episodes, 1987-1997
Christina Applegate	...	Kelly Bundy / ... 261 episodes, 1987-1997
David Faustino	...	Bud Bundy / ... 261 episodes, 1987-1997
Buck	...	Buck the Dog / ... 106 episodes, 1987-1995
Ted McGinley	...	Jefferson D'Arcy / ... 169 episodes, 1989-1997
David Garrison	...	Steve Rhoades / ... 81 episodes, 1987-1995

Storyline

Al Bundy is an unsuccessful middle-aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He has a very attractive but lazy wife named Peggy who constantly nags him to death while throwing the little money he earns away on herself. He also has a very promiscuous teen-aged daughter named Kelly who makes up in attractiveness what she lacks in IQ points, and a not-so-attractive but bright teen-aged son named Bud who seems to think he is a ladies' man. To add to Al's misery is his yuppie next-door neighbors Marcy and Steve. They eventually split up with Marcy keeping the house next door to the Bundys and Steve moving away to be a forest ranger. Later, Marcy gets remarried to a gigolo named Jefferson, who is the male version of Peggy. The sitcom revolves around Al's never-ending attempts to better his life which always lead him right back to where he started.

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Plot Keywords:

domestic comedy | stereotype | crazy humor | slapstick comedy | black comedy | 

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Taglines:

Domestic bliss was never like this!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Derbyshire of the conservative political magazine "National Review" described it as "one of the most conservative shows on TV." However, Ed O'Neill is a staunch Democrat, and one year prior to his reemergence on Modern Family (2009), made a campaign video in support of Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign as "Al, the shoe salesman." Similarly, Katey Sagal balked at the notion that the show was at all political, saying, "people would try to put political overtones, and you know, 'This isn't politically correct', and they tried to do all this stuff to it. But it's really just supposed to be twenty minutes of fun."

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Al: There is no mix up a sander won't fix up

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Crazy Credits

With rare exceptions, the end credits are played over a still of Peggy and Al (looking disgusted) sitting on the couch.

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Alternate Versions

Due to music licensing issues, the opening theme song "Love and Marriage" sung by Frank Sinatra is omitted from episodes released by Sony in North America beginning with the third season onward. A generic instrumental piece of music replaces it. In 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the DVD rights from Sony and beginning with season three, "Love and Marriage" has been restored to the opening and closing.

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Connections

Featured in Biography: Married with Children (2010)

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Soundtracks

Love & Marriage
Music by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Arranged and Conducted by Nelson Riddle

User Reviews

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!

Details

Official Sites:

Theme Song TV Scene

Country:

USA

Release Date:

5 April 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Not the Cosbys

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embassy Television, ELP Communications, Columbia Pictures Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min (262 episodes)