INTRODUCTION TO THE BUNDY BLOG

With nothing to lose, the new Fox TV network aired a controversial new sitcom in 1987. Nobody was taking the new network very seriously, so Married with Children arrived on TV sets with little fanfare. But the network survived...and even more amazingly, so did the sitcom. It even prospered, and with The Simpsons, became the show that carried Fox through those difficult first years and the cornerstone that made Fox a leading TV network. Married with Children was unlike any show before it. The idea was to make an edgier, more realistic family comedy than the ratings leader at the time, The Cosby Show. It's original title was even titled Not the Cosby's. Although mild compared to episodes from later years, the show was controversial, bold and even a little naughty. The adult subject matter (sex was discussed quite openly in nearly every episode) might have influenced people to watch, but it was the realistic family, the Bundy's, that made them dedicated fans. Instead of the usual "perfect" families on all the other sitcoms of the day, the Bundy's had real problems: money worries, bickering kids, jobs they hated and unfulfilled sex lives. Suddenly, viewers found a TV family they could relate to, not some overwrought, unrealistic depiction of some writer's opinion of the "ideal" family. There are tons of websites (over 200, from what I've heard) that cover Married with Children. I don't promise to unveil secret stories or comprehensive facts about each episode; you can find that anywhere. Instead, I will just report my personal reactions to a show that cracks me up time after time. A show that never seems outdated. A show that has more truth in one episode than most other sitcoms have in a whole season. I'll throw in famous quotes from the show along the way, tidbits of trivia, but my main focus is to try to give an unconventional review of an unconventional show. Now let's get started on season one. "Love and marriage..."