When Married…With Children debuted in 1987, there was nothing like it on TV. Roseanne hadn’t debuted her blue-collar brand of comedy yet and shows like All In The Family and Sanford And Son were only in reruns. Those reruns were a rarity too unless you had cable. A lot of people didn’t even have Fox, the network that launched the Bundys into existence. If you had Fox, the show was an instant hit, but it took a while for the show to catch on.
Thanks to some disgruntled viewers, more and more people wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and the show took off all over the place. When the series was on, you got episodes like these: the 10 best Married With Children episodes. Here they are, according to IMDb.
Dance Show (8.4)
With all the raunchy stuff that was going on the series, there are certain episodes that might not work today. Despite the humor, the story of “Dance Show” is actually fairly progressive even by today’s standards. Peggy heads out dancing with Marcy and meets Andy, and the pair burn up the dance floor.
Not only is not what you think it is, it’s also not what Peg assumes it is, either. Gourmet chef Pete heads to Al’s house to get some help with Al’s wife hanging around Pete’s husband.
The Godfather (8.4)
Al Bundy seldom gets the chance to succeed. So, when he does, if only for a little while, it’s hysterical watching him ruminate in his victory and being “literally drunk with power.” It’s also funny watching him lose it all, too.
Thanks to Kelly’s promiscuity, she finds herself dating an Alderman and rather than put a stop to it, Al takes full advantage. He gets a pothole fixed and tries to get a contract for Meter Maid Shoes. But as Al does, he makes the tragic flaw of neglecting one kid for the other.
Movie Show (8.4)
Daddy’s little girl takes center stage in the “Movie Show.” When Kelly’s boyfriend Frank (a young David Boreanaz) wants to do something for her birthday, the rest of the Bundys can’t believe that they forgot Kelly’s birthday. They also can’t believe it when Al offers to do something for her and she goes along with it.
Frank seemingly understands, and the family head to the movies. Besides Bud trying to find love, Frank has seemingly found it with someone that is decidedly not Kelly. Cue Al to do what he does best: beat the tar out of Kelly’s boyfriends.
You Better Watch Out (8.5)
Right from the very first Bundy Christmas, it was apparent that the show’s demented demented sense of humor would always make for a different kind of joyous holiday. “You Better Watch Out” started with a Parental Discretion Advised warning and with good reason. Jolly Saint Nick take a nosedive into the Bundy’s backyard.
With his parachute jump being televised, Al puts on Santa’s clothes and does his best to reassure the neighborhood kids that Santa’s okay, be nice to those nice Bundys, and have a merry Christmas.
He Thought He Could (8.5)
While the family are cleaning out some clutter, Al finds an overdue library book from when he was a little boy: The Little Engine That Could. Needless to say, Al couldn’t give an engine’s puff about returning the book. But everyone’s nagging him causes him to face his childhood fear of the neighborhood librarian and return the book.
Miss DeGroot was happy to see Al return to the scene of the crime and that her prediction was right: he hadn’t made anything of himself.
You Better Shop Around (8.5)
In the dead heat of the summer, Al breaks down and buys the family an air conditioner. But when that breaks down, he does what any father would do and moves his family to the freezer section of the supermarket.
Once the manager figures it out, the Bundys have to buy something or get out. They wind up robbing Marcy of the Millionth Customer Award. The market makes the families have a shop-off. Al builds “the cart of death” with ginzu spike attitude adjusters. Watching the families wage war has plenty of fun soft gags, including bowling with turkeys and running Marcy over.
Eatin’ Out (8.5)
After inheriting a little over two hundred bucks from a relative, the Bundys decide to head out to better than decent restaurant and night out. Crass meets class when the family takes full advantage of the ambiance while the waiters try to keep their composure.
Unfortunately, Al left his wallet at home, effectively ruining a night of dinner and dancing. Even more unfortunate, Al entrusted Kelly to head home and get his money, which led to Peg holding the restaurant hostage.
Can’t Dance, Don’t Ask Me (8.5)
All of Chicago got caught up in a “Fever” when Kelly took the stage for a high school dance recital in this episode. After insulting the dance club and other “nerds and dweebs,” Kelly’s principal forces her to take tap or be expelled.
Thankfully, Steve taps and tried to teach Kelly how to tap as well. Instead, at the recital, she commandeered a dress more to her liking and got down with her crush Bruno, in a number that set the whole auditorium into a frenzy.
Hot Off The Grill (8.6)
All Al wants to do is have a Labor Day BBQ with the family and their neighbors. His grilling secret: leaving the ashes from prior cookouts on the grill. While it’s usually Peggy who constantly wants affection, being the cook and watching Peg clean puts Al in the mood.
The unthinkable happened and she inadvertently knocked the grill over. She asked the kids to head off and find some ashes; Kelly wound up finding them at the Rhoades’ house: in the form of Marcy’s dearly departed aunt.
976-Shoe (8.6)
While Steve is trying to win a trip to Hawaii by doling out a bunch of bank loans, he foolishly grants one to Al. Al’s harebrained scheme was to have a shoe hotline…
Right. Who is going to call a hotline dedicated to footwear? Al learned the answer the hard way, but when Marcy tried to clean up her husband’s mess, Al just plunged more money into his failing idea.
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