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 | |
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. Written by Brandon Johns
"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.