"Married with Children" (1987) More at IMDbPro »TV series 1987-1997

"Married with Children" is the kind of show that does nothing for civilization and has no moral value...yet I got some of the biggest laughs in TV history from this show. It is still one of my all-time favorites. I even enjoy watching the repeats over and over again. That's when you know a show is great.

As for Al Bundy, could they have created a funnier TV character than him? He is one of my favorite TV characters, and I sometimes try to imitate him. My friends even jokingly thought of starting a "No Ma'am" group of our own. Speaking of "No Ma'am" one of my favorite episodes is the one where Al starts his own Church, in order to avoid paying taxes. He rants and raves like the stereotypical evangelist, only he has two scantily-clad women by his side. Then Marcy and her feminist group come marching in, showing everyone pictures of Al and Peggy on a romantic date. Everyone gasps. In response, Al imitates Jimmy Swaggart by shedding tears and screaming out, "I have sinned." That was genius! When they one day show a retrospective of the funniest moments in TV history, that scene should definitely be shown. Ed O'Neill plays the character so perfectly, and I was amazed to see that he's actually nothing like his character in real life. He's a very nice, soft-spoken guy. Yet he couldn't be any more convincing as that character. Al Bundy will be his legacy!

The supporting cast is great. David Faustino, Christina Applegate, Katey Sagal, David Garrison and Ted McGinley are all very talented. But I could never understand why Bud had trouble getting girls. Faustino's a pretty good-looking guy. Acting-wise, he couldn't be any better, but they could've picked a less attractive actor to have his persona be more convincing.

Yes, the show may appear to be misogynistic. All the female characters are either airheads, whiny housewives or overweight. But I think in a way it's poking fun at misogynism. I don't think the show ever glamourizes the act of misogynism. Just look at the male characters. They're a bunch of beer-drinking slobs. Would you want to follow their philosophies on life? But I do admit, I enjoy the presence of many scantily clad babes on each episode. Hey...if women want to make a show where macho guys appear on every episode in thongs, be my guest! I won't watch it, but it doesn't offend me. If women find "MWC" offensive, don't watch it! You have a remote--use it!

There are so many memorable moments on the show that I will have to take up this whole message board to jot them all down. I will just mention two:

When Peggy painted the bathroom pink and made it girly-looking, and Al was frightened at the sight of it. So when the inspectors came to check it out, Al empties a bag with five sandwiches inside. The song "Bad to the Bone" plays as Al scarfs down every sandwich, drowning each one with hot sauce. He grabs a newspaper, tucks it under his arm and runs straight to the bathroom. The inspectors come running out, the toilet flushes and Al leaves the bathroom proudly.

When Al accidentally got circumsized. He would be afraid to look at anything even mildly stimulating because he was afraid a stitch would break.

But as much as I liked the show, I felt good that it was cancelled. Because the last season reeked!!! I don't know what went wrong, but the writing was drab and contrived, the acting was flat--Al didn't seem like Al anymore! He was actually turning into sort of a nice guy! The show lost all its energy. But for all the previous seasons, I absolutely adored the show. And I regard it as a classic!

My score: 9 (out of 10)