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Married... with Children

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Married... with Children
Married with Children-Logo.jpg
Premiere April 5, 1987
Finale June 9, 1997
Creator Michael G. Moye and
Ron Leavitt
Network/Provider FOX
Style 30-minute sitcom
Company Embassy Television
(seasons 1-2),
Columbia Pictures Television
(seasons 2-11)
Distributor Columbia Pictures Television (1991-1994)
Columbia TriStar Television (1994-2002)
Sony Pictures Television (2002- )
Seasons 11
Episodes 259 + 5 specials
Origin USA
Official Facebook OfficialMarriedwithChildren on Facebook

Married... with Children is a sitcom that aired on FOX. Being the first primetime series to air on the network, its 259-episode run makes it FOX's longest running live-action sitcom. The theme song is Love and Marriage, performed by Frank Sinatra from the 1955 TV production Our Town.

Putting the "fun" in "dysfunctional," the series is essentially a satire of the feel-good family sitcoms of the time (Silver Spoons, Family Ties, etc.). It deals with the Bundys, a Chicago family. Al Bundy is a once glorious high school football player turned born-loser shoe salesman, Peg is his hedonistic wife, Bud is his wise but narcissistic son, and Kelly is his beautiful but dense and clueless daughter. Al trods through his day hating his life, from dealing with ugly and obnoxious female customers for menial pay to having to satisfy sex-starved Peg and telling Bud the facts of life the Bundy way. Along the way he screens Kelly's dates with an iron fist.

The Bundy's next door neighbors are Steve and Marcy Rhodes. Marcy is the brash and opinionated spouse and Steve is her cuckolded husband. They usually fall victim to the Bundys' half-baked schemes and along the line something gets destroyed. Many of the show's storylines involve Al's scheme's being foiled by his own cartoonish dim wit and streak of bad luck. His rivalry and loathing for Marcy plays a significant role in most episodes.

After four seasons, David Garrison left the show, so his character of Steve was written off as divorced. He would later guest star in four episodes throughout the series. In the fifth season, Marcy would remarry to Jefferson D'Arcy (Ted McGinley), a white-collar criminal who became Al's sidekick for the rest of the series. In season 7, the show adopted a child named Seven. It was considered the show's "jump the shark" moment and Seven was written out after one season.

The first season was taped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood, then at Sunset Gower Studios from season two to season eight. In 1994, the show moved its taping locale from Fox's Hollywood Studios to the Sony-Columbia locale where the ABC series Full House had taped. Prior to taping their first show at the new locale, the cast of Married...with Children held an exorcism to rid the studio of the Full House spirits.

During the show's 11-season run, 258 of the 259 episodes aired. The 45th episode, I'll See You in Court, didn't air until FX aired the episode in 2002 and has since then been included on DVD and syndication packages.

In 2008, Married... with Children was placed #94 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list. On April 22, 2012, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of FOX, the series premiere re-aired, followed by a reunion with the main cast members.

On September 11, 2014, it was announced that a spinoff centered on Bud Bundy will be in the works.

Contents

Rakolta Controversy

In 1989, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan resident Terry Rakolta led a boycott on the show after viewing the episode Her Cups Runneth Over. She was offended by the images of the old man wearing women's garter and stockings, the scene where Steve touches the pasties of a mannequin dressed in S&M gear, a homosexual man wearing a tiara, with Al saying "...and they wonder why we call them 'queens'"), and a half-naked woman taking off her bra in front of Al (and her arms covering her bare chest in the next shot). Rakolta began writing letters to FOX, starting a campaign to advertisers, demanding that they boycott the show.

After advertisers started dropping their support for the show and while Rakolta made several talk show appearances demanding the show's cancelation, FOX executives refused to air the "I'll See You in Court" episode. The episode would later become known as the lost episode and was aired on FX on June 18, 2002, with some parts cut.

Rakolta has been referenced twice: once in Rock and Roll Girl, when a newscaster mentioned Bloomfield Hills, and in No Pot to Pease In, when a television show was made about the Bundy family and was later cancelled because Marcy stated that "some woman in Michigan didn't like it".

Cast

Actor Character Duration
Main Cast 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Ed O'Neill Al Bundy * * * * * * * * * * *
Katey Sagal Margaret "Peggy" Bundy * * * * * * * * * * *
Christina Applegate Kelly Bundy * * * * * * * * * * *
David Faustino Bud Franklin Bundy * * * * * * * * * * *
Amanda Bearse Marcy Rhoades/D'Arcy * * * * * * * * * * *
David Garrison Steve Rhoades * * * * o o o
Ted McGinley Jefferson D'Arcy o * * * * * *
Orange/Red/o indicates a recurring or guest role during that season.
Dark Green indicates top billing during that season.
Supporting/Recurring Cast 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Frank Lloyd Various * * * * * * * * *
Dan Tullis, Jr. Officer Dan * * * * * * * *
Shane Sweet Seven *
E.E. Bell Bob Rooney * * * *
Tom McCleister Ike * * *
Harold Sylvester Griff * * *

Seasons

Season  Premiere Finale #
FOX
Season One April 5, 1987 June 28, 1987 13
Season Two September 27, 1987 May 1, 1988 22
Season Three November 6, 1988 May 21, 1989 22
Season Four September 3, 1989 May 13, 1990 23
Season Five September 23, 1990 May 19, 1991 25
Season Six September 8, 1991 May 17, 1992 26
Season Seven September 13, 1992 May 23, 1993 26 + 2
Season Eight September 5, 1993 May 22, 1994 26
Season Nine September 4, 1994 May 21, 1995 26 + 2
Season Ten September 17, 1995 May 19, 1996 26 + 1
Season Eleven September 28, 1996 June 9, 1997 24

In-Depth

  • At a Glance: Additional information about the series
  • Characters: A listing of characters in the series
  • Crew: A listing of the crew that works on the series

DVD Releases

Title Release Discs
Complete Series  (Region 1)
The Complete Series December 12, 2010 purchase 32
The Complete Series (repackage) September 27, 2011 purchase 32
The Complete Series (Mill Creek) July 7, 2015 purchase 21
Season Sets  (Region 1)
The Complete First Season October 28, 2003 purchase 2
The Complete Second Season March 16, 2004 purchase 3
The Complete Third Season January 25, 2005 purchase 3
The Complete Fourth Season August 30, 2005 purchase 3
The Complete Fifth Season June 20, 2006 purchase 3
The Complete Sixth Season December 19, 2006 purchase 3
The Complete Seventh Season September 18, 2007 purchase 3
The Complete Eighth Season March 18, 2008 purchase 3
The Complete Ninth Season August 19, 2008 purchase 3
The Complete Tenth Season March 17, 2009 purchase 3
The Complete Eleventh Season October 13, 2009 purchase 3
Season One January 21, 2014 purchase 1
Season Two January 21, 2014 purchase 2
Season Three April 15, 2014 purchase 2
Season Four April 15, 2014 purchase 2
Season Five October 21, 2014 purchase 2
Season Six October 21, 2014 purchase 2
Season Seven January 6, 2015 purchase 2
Season Eight January 6, 2015 purchase 2
Season Nine May 19, 2015 purchase 2
Season Ten May 19, 2015 purchase 2
Season Eleven July 7, 2015 purchase 2
Multiple Season Sets  (Region 1)
Seasons One and Two January 21, 2014 purchase 3
Seasons Three and Four April 1, 2014 purchase 4
Seasons Five and Six October 21, 2014 purchase 4
Seasons Seven and Eight January 6, 2015 purchase 4
Seasons Nine and Ten May 19, 2015 purchase 4
Episode Collections  (Region 1)
The Most Outrageous Episodes, Volume 1 February 4, 2003 purchase 2
The Most Outrageous Episodes, Volume 2 April 1, 2003 purchase 2
Fan Favorites September 29, 2009 purchase 1

External Sites