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Married...with Children (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=303290) or Married with Children is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated American sitcom about a dysfunctional family living in a Chicagoland suburb that lasted 11 seasons. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, debuted on April 5, 1987, and aired its final first run broadcast on June 9, 1997. The series was created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt. The show was known for handling non-standard topics for the time period, which garnered the then-fledgling Fox network a standing among the Big Three Television Networks (i.e. ABC, CBS and NBC). The series' 11-season, 262-episode run makes it the longest-lasting live-action sitcom on the Fox network. The show's theme song is "Love and Marriage" by Frank Sinatra from the 1955 television production Our Town.

I really didn't like the Seven character at all.

That and the Peg is pregnant dream segment.

I looked at the list and after careful thought and consideration, there can only be ONE answer.....ALL OF THE ABOVE.

I voted Day One; I hated every character on this show, so I had no investment in it at all. It just depressed me to watch it, honestly.

The first 4-5 seasons were okay and I didn't even mind when Jefferson came along, but I couldn't stand the endless "No Ma'am" crap. Marcy became more obnoxious over time too.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070225141752/http://jumptheshark.com/


Other Thoughts:

Ted McGinley (notice a trend?)
DIDN'T THEY SWITCH THE BLONDE?
Steven comes to live. But they were smart enough to kill him off, thereby pulling off a reverse shark jump.
The ravages of time on Kelly's 24-year-old face were bad, but that smarmy punk Seven is clearly Top 3 Most Annoying in TV history.
When Amanda Bearse gradually morphed into a man (I didn't have a problem with her coming out as a lesbian, but Jesus, couldn't she have at least continued to dress like a woman?), the addition of that brat Seven, the No Ma'am episodes and the constant "special guest" rotation of has been sport and rock stars.
When Al's long lost cousin Ted Bundy visits and winds up killing everyone.
There was a "testing the waters" shark jump when David Garrison left, but when Amanda Bearse's character wed the ineffably awful Mr. McGinley, I knew it was doomed. In terms of talent, he made the kid who played Seven look like a combination of Laurence Olivier and Jack Nicholson. Isn't there SOME way to stop this man.
One of the funniest comedies of all time. Sure it got a little silly with the arrival of Seven, but this show remained funny throught the years.
I didn't even WATCH the show after Buck the dog died; it would have been too depressing.
i have always told people when in deep discussions of married with children that it jumped a big shark when the dog started talking, a la "look who's talking". any show that has to have a talking animal to keep things going is over the hill and hurtin' bad.
That lil' monster Seven brought me so many episodes of heartbreak that sometimes I cant believe i continued to watch the show. Even after his much anticipated demise the show was never the same afterwards. (Think onion-breath)
I'm sorry if this goes against your whole ideology, but Ted McGinley didn't ruin this show. It went downhill for other reasons, but the character of Jefferson was good. Who could forget the April Fools day episode with Al Buddy/Bunny that Jefferson was intrumental in?
Once Steve left, the writers seemed stuck for ideas and relied too much on jokes about Marcy's horniness. With a few hilarious exceptions, there were a lot of mediocre episodes long before Ted McGinley's arrival. I disagree with people who say he's the cause of the show becoming shark bait; he's just the confirmation that it already happened, like rigamortis setting in. Of course the FALL-OUT came with Seven. Whose stupid idea was this? It must have been because some moron thought the "Dennis the Menace" remake would be a huge success. It wasn't, and neither was Seven. The writers forgot to give him a personality, and for some reason, we were supposed to believe that his bratty antics were "adorable". Seven and the "No Ma'am" guys were the final matches tossed into the barrel of gasoline--Ted McGinley was actually one of the funnier people on the show, once they made him into a male version of Peg instead of a simpering "handsome" guy.
I missed most of a season due to work. Were Peg and the Chicken not pregnant at one time?? What happened to their babies??? Did the families SCRAMBLE them???
I cried when the original dog passed away. No lie.
This show was a One of a Kind! I miss it so much! This show never jumped! Even with Ted McGinley.
When that stupid little cousin joined the show!What was his name? 9? But surprisingly when that kid left it stayed afloat.
with addition of seven and talking dog.
The addition of Seven was a REALLY bad choice... One of the top ten sitcoms of all time. Consistently funny, and a lot more realistic than other family sitcoms (Cosby, Family Ties). On a bitter note, I think the last episode was handled horribly. It was basically just another episode. That show, which carried Fox in the early years, deserved a special ending. I will never forgive Fox for that. I was hoping for a Cosby spoof where Ed and Katey (sp?) would come back onscreen as themselves and dance as the show closed.
Of course it was Seven. They tried to turn back the clock, by having Seven disappear without explanation, but it was too late. They had revealed their weakness for all the world to see, and it was only a matter of time after that. Incidentally, there was a post-Seven show where Peg gets a carton of milk from the fridge, and there on the side of the carton is Seven's picture! Peg looks briefly at the "Missing Child," shrugs, and the episode continues. Only thing that I remember about the episode, so clearly it was a laugh riot.
How can someone say that it never jumped. This show jumped so many times that it started doing hurdles. The show started getting good around 1988 and 1989 and lost it's edge when it started using the same jokes(Ok, Marcy looks like a man! Kelly is a slut! We know that by now.) And Ted Mcginley didn't make it any better.
When Peggy and Marcy were pregnant and the producers realized what a horrible mistake they were making. So what do they do?.. Make the entire season a dream. Did my 10 year-old brother have a hand in writing for that copp-out?
When Al and Peg threatened a divorce and the kids' new father was played by Alan Thicke. Thank GOD they got back together again, even if they couldn't stand each other.
The addition of Seven was a horrible idea; the writers obviously wanted the show to become more mainstream and family oriented. Huh? This show was never meant to be either of those things. It was a lowbrow humor show, pure and simple. Even worse, they made Peggy actually look like a good mother by her fawning over that little brat. That's taking good old Peg out of character. Once they nixed him, though, it got back on track. However, I was tired of Marcy constantly defeating Al and No Ma'am, and I was happy to see Al finally get revenge for years of defeats in the doghouse building episode. I thought Jefferson was an improvement over Steve, and Ted made him pretty funny. In the end, I guess the writers simply ran out of ideas.
When Bud Bundy started to get lucky and laid all the time.
Surely, Ted didn't jinx the Bundys. Au contraire, Jefferson was much more fun than Marcy's milquetoast first hubby, Steve. I would say the curse has lifted.
The move to Saturday night (AKA the dead zone), then to Monday night, didn't help, but that kid, Seven, was the first step towards the end, and the overuse of those No Ma'am guys were nails in the coffin.
I just want to make one thing clear in regard to the couple of posts about Peggy's disappearing pregnancy. There seems to be a belief that the show was trying to correct a storyline mistake by conveniently dropping the pregnancy. The reality is that year Peggy's portrayer Kate Segal (sp?) was pregnant, and the show was going to write it in. Then, at a full seven months of pregnancy, she miscarried and the baby did not survive. It was devasting for her, so she was given six weeks off of the show (I remember, Kelly almost getting a TV show of her own was one of those episodes) and when she came back very un-pregnant they decided to just drop the whole thing out of respect for her rather than torment her by making her fake the rest of her character's pregnancy. Like the show or not, you have to respect them for that.
It's not that I think Ted McGinley sucks, it's just that I seemed to watch it less after Marcy's other husband left. That guy's character gave just enough of a "straight" man presence to give contrast to the Bundy family's white-trash sensibilities. This is still one of the funniest shows ever to air, and between Christina Applegate and the time they had Anthrax on, this show can be forgiven all its defects. Who can forget the perfection that once was Fox Sunday nights with the one-two punch of The Simpsons and Married...With Children?
This used to be my favorite show. Then came their trip to England. Going abroad is jumping the shark to being with, but then they started re-hashing a dinner scene from an earlier episode (where they couldn't pay the check at a fine restaurant), talking with their mouths full, referring to "butter" as "ummmuh". I never watched again.
When the bundy children reached high-school age.
When Peggy Bundy left the series to look for her dad (actually to work on other projects), for almost a whole season. The show went downhill.
Bringing in Seven, the three-part visit to England, the moronic spin-off episodes, and Peg and Marcy seemingly pregnant, only to make it a dream. Gahh....the morons who were producing this show didn't know what they were doing; sure, Seven was a big mistake, but what about the other stupid things that they did to this show. It resulted in _four_shark jumps. I'll list them all with comments:
-Seven: A pathetic attempt to become more family-oriented. The viewers hated him, and Peg fawning over that brat while ignoring Bud and Kelly was atrocious. Even worse, that brat tried sponging off Al with the family! Sacrilege! The moron who wrote that episode should hang his head in shame.
-Spinoffs: They tried using the popularity of this show to pass some hack sitcoms that never lasted beyond one season at us. One example I remember is the Verducci episode-the only Bundy who appeared was Al, and he got a glorious one minute of screen time. The spin-offs never went anywhere, and viewers were likely scratching their heads, wondering who the hell these idiots that they were seeing were, and what they had to do with MWC.
-The three-part England episode: Gaahhh. A moronic, silly plot even by Bundy standards. A stupid storyline that could have come from a rejected powerbook screenplay, bad writing, and simply stretching this thing into three parts, made it yet another stupid mistake. At least they went somewhere original instead of Disneyland, like so many other sitcoms seem to have done; (Full House, Step by Step, Family Matters, etc.)
-Making Peg and the chicken pregnant: Uh-huh. After all the jokes about Al and Peg's sex life being a vague memory, they expect us to believe this?!? Little kids just don't work-look at Seven. They killed the plotline with the classic cop-out of "it was just a dream." Pathetic!
IMO, this show was BETTER with Ted than with David Garrison. Ted was a much better choice for Marcy's husband: his being a pretty boy being kept by ambitious career gal Marcy was so much funnier, more interesting, and more realistic than her other hubby played by David Garrison. The fact that Ted also was such a pal of Al and the nudie bar made him truly the husband from hell, whose only redeeming quality was his looks! 8-)
When the Spinoff episodes began. The Verducci's were actually semi-okay. At least they lasted a season. The fact that Matt LaBlonc was able to survive on Friends showed that at least there were SOME potential in the show. And who can forget about the girl that later went on to star in "Chasing Amy"? But remember the other ones? Before Felicity, that same actress was on a college radio show spinoff pilot on "Married". Bud was a guest star as well as Al. I think there were a few other ones. Anyone remember them?
When Buck died!! My God, how could they do that?? I stopped watching after that. Also whats with the Ted McGinley bashing on here? I always liked the guy. I remember him from Happy Days and Love Boat. He was a hell of a lot better on MWC than that weinie David Garrison.
Married with Children jumped the shark in the last year or two of the show. Al did not possess that same sense of humor that he possessed after the second/third year of the show (right after Bud went from being a brat to the one with the brains in the family) that made me watch the show faithfully up until the end. Al's sense of humor did not seem as natural as it had been in the past. The No Ma'am episodes were funny and Griff's character was funny as well, but something was clearly missing. Ted McGinley certainly did not ruin the show, as he proved he was a good alternative to Steve Rhodes, whose dry sense of humor was sorely missed. Give Jefferson a break and blame the producers for the shows fallout, as Al's character (as well as Bud's) was clearly lacking something in the last year or two.
This show is one of the reasons that some Christians are calling FOX a hard-core pornography channel (if you'll pardon their overstatement!) My mom commented that they had those two kids saying that vulgar crap when they were WAY too young. ...and you know, she was right. This show was pure sickness and belonged in the toilet that occasionally graced the Bundys' living room. Of course, I loved it! Who wouldn't? My favorite episode was the one where Al jumps out of the plane at the end of the show while holding his 'chute in his hand.
Instructor: "Don't you want your last minute instructions?"
Al Bundy: "Hehhehheh!"
If there is anyone who misses this show then I believe I can bring back the spirit of "Married with Children" by relaying this joke. I consider this joke to be the sickest thing ever - just like this show! This joke may make some people vomit, so be ready:
"There was this bunch gathered around in a hot-tub, when suddenly a wad bobs to the surface. Someone says: 'Alright! Who farted?!'"
When they cancelled it! They always had all sorts of stories they could've kept concocting but no! The trials and travails of Al and the Bundys could've gone on forever. One of Fox's and TV's best sitcoms. God your list is exhausive! Do you do nothing other than channel surf with your life?? Keep up the good work!
First of al I have to agree with those who said Ted McGinley made the show BETTER. Jefferson was a much better character than the boring Steve. The way Jefferson kissed Marcie's ass for money and then went behind her back and made jokes about her looks with Al always had me laughing. Married...With Children jumped the shark (and I can't believe no one else mentioned this) when Christina Applegate cut her hair short. The main reason I started watching that show was because she was so hot looking (I was 15, OK) and fortunately it turned out to be funny too. Then, one Sunday I tuned in and Kelly came out with this awful haricut that drew too much attention to her aged face. She wasn't 17 anymore. The show was never the same after that. She tried to grow it back after a season but it was too late, the damage had been done. I can't even watch her new show. What a shame to lose looks like that at such a young age. If anyone cares, my favorite episode was when Al goes on a crusade to fight the one cent beer tax and at the end they all beat up french people.
Ted McGinley didn't hurt the show much, I stopped watching when they added the annoying Seven.
Even as a kid I knew that the introduction of Seven was a bad idea. I'm glad that they ripped him out of the plotline.
The first season or so this show was a pretty normal sitcom, trying to outdo Roseanne. Then in 1988 or 89 it became more of a farce and was immediately made an instant classic. It fired on all cylinders for a couple of seasons, but then it went from being a farce to a cartoon. This happened during the "dream" season. I understand and acknowledge Katey Segal's situation at the time, but the writers went too far over the edge and ruined the show. I still remember the first episode I ever saw and it is still my favorite one -- the one where Peg kills exercise guru Jim Jupiter and Al gives an inspired speech about our brother, the mighty cockroach (let him show us the way).
This show never jumped, which proves that, while Ted McGinley is indeed the patron saint of jumping the shark, he's hardly infallible. Not even he, who is to shows what Macbeth is to theater companies(intellectual joke, ask your parents) could destroy such a great show. I mean, when you think about it, he was on the show for about two-thirds of the show's eleven year run. Doesn't sound like his M.O., if you ask me.
This show jumped when Bud Bundy started to think he was a stud in real life, and they put it in his character. I don't know about the Ted factor, I actually thought he was pretty funny. He might have helped kill other shows, but not this one. Also, when the characters started getting wild applause from the audience, I'm glad others noticed this. The wild cheering for the actors by a live audience usually coincides with the demise of a sitcom. I first discovered this watching Sanford and Son re-runs. Old Ready Freddy didn't know if he was supposed to take a bow or say his line.
Best sitcom of all time, without any question. no other sho even compares. Bud was the funniest on the show, then came Al, then peg then Kelly then buck.
The minute Seven first showed up and I wondered how the producers could have ever thought he would be a welcome addition to the cast. Every single episode with him sucked!
Watching reruns on FX, the old shows are totally classics. This was the first show I recorded religiously because I knew I'd want to watch them later in life. Rock on Al. You were good in Bone Collector. Kelly is a hot slut too. Where's Bud nowadays? His career's right there with Buck's and Buck is dead. Oh
Seven was an all time hated character. i cant think of anyone who didn't hate that little brat, but wasn't that the point?: first off peg's pregnancy was ended because of her real life miscarrage. Asking this woman to continue with someone elses baby would be cruel! some people are saying that no mam was the downfall... but no! no way! it was unfortunate that they never won but damnit they were fun! you just have to laugh at them, and anyone who can has to be a chicken legged paper boy! so there. the series was great... but the show kept getting moved, and reruns twice a day... possibly overkill?
This show is basically the reason I began watching TV! I used to go to school impersonating Al. I realize he's not exactly the role model of choice for kids today but damnit he was funny! When it retires it was the longest running sitcom to ever hit TV, it even beat Cosby. I think Ted McGinley was funny, and I hated 7 like the rest of you, but they got rid of him. Besides, they introduced him b\c Fox *made* the writers do it to make it more of a "family" show & to clean up some of the jokes. You'd write that script to if the man holding your paycheck told you to. I got real busy my last year of school & didn't get to see any of the last episodes, but hope to some day. There has never been another show I watched as religiously as MWC, and probably never will be. And come on, NO MAAM was funny, just a bunch of middle-age-crises guys with beer bellies complaining about women. Its not Katie Sagal's fault she had a miscarriage, I think what the writers did was a very respectful thing, although I didn't like the "dream" episode, that's better than actually having a baby in my opinion. Thanks to Al, Peg, Kelly, Bud, Buck, Marcy, Steve, & Jefferson for influencing me so much in the most impressionable age of my life!
Why did that lezbarian Marcie keep trying to prove she had a licker license?
A classic show that will entertain future generations for years to come.
When they went on the trip to Europe (somewhere in the British Isles I think. I don't know. I had to flip away in disgust. And 2 episodes for God's sake!! Most memorable episode? When Al is on terminal hold looking for parts for the Dodge. I still refer to being on line with the memorable line "Well hello Mr. Bundy!"
Watching Married With Children was a Sunday night ritual for me all throughout high school and college. My mom and dad were a lot closer in nature to Peg and Al than June and Ward for sure!!! Though the storylines during the last year or so seemed forced and half-assed, this series had a remarkably strong track record. For all the criticism Married With Children received for being too vulgar, crude and obnoxious, however, the series finale where Kelly gets married has to be one of the sweetest shows ever made.
One of best sitcoms ever. But, why do these child actors- like Urkle and Kelly Bundy have to move on and always try to become the exact opposite of the character that made them so popular. That "Jessie" show is unwatchable.
Seven definately made the show hurdle. But despite him, the show still had it's witticism and the cast were OK, even though they did not like the idea of a new character, let alone it being a littlwe **** like Shane Sweet. Never work with animals or kids. Despite THAT, Buck was a hell of a dog and I cried and cried when he passsed away (on the show, then again in real life) but Lucky was a cute reincarnation. IMHO, the show is definately the best American sitcom of all time, and if it did jump, it was within the last 2 seasons. They had done their 200th episode, they were running out of ideas, the writing and acting got slacker and I know Ed was certainly pleased when this gone-on-too-long show ended, so they got cancelled, resulting in no recognition for the show that launched the FOX network. If it wern't for MWC, they would be no X-Files, Ally McBeal, Futurama etc.
The show began listing when Steve left, and then Jefferson (Ted McGinley) arrived, but it managed to stay afloat until the infamous European eps. What were they thinking? No yux at all. Probably the worst 3 eps in the history of tv. Priceless moments--the aliens; Al fixing the roof; the Mighty Ferguson (featured in 2 eps). I miss 'em.
Married with Children was a great show up until the last season, when it just seemed to run out of gas all of a sudden. I agree that Seven was horrible, but at least they had the good sense to fire him after one season, saving the show.
I DETESTED this show and everything it stood for! The sad part was that Ed O'Neil, Katey Sagal and Christina Applegate have the potentials to do *interesting* and well-rounded characters but NO, they were stuck with these scripts that made 'Three's Company' seem like 'Masterpiece Theater' and now they will need to spend the rest of their careers having to live down their participations in this sludge-athon ! There wasn't even ONE remotely decent or likeable character on this show -even Marcy was ONLY there to be dumped on . There MAY be people as tasteless and vulgar in front of their own children as the Bundys but I sure DON'T want to know them! Thanks to this show, it's been RARE for any sitcom to have any semblence of decency or taste!
The first season where Marcie (Amanda Bearse) was often mistake for a boy, because of her short haircut & flat chest was mildly amusing. But the next couple of seasons, they wore out they're welcome. She grew her hair back in the second run of those jokes, and they were no longer appropriate. A flat chest, and being the one who works is not enough to make one appear "boyish." And personally, I don't mind that she came out of the closet, but I think it's sad that she's been on screen less that Ellen DeGeneress since then.
I think the episodes with Tim Conway and the whole mother in law upstairs was going a bit too far. Guess that's when I stopped watching. Never made it to the 'Seven' episodes. But early on it great. I remember one of the very first episodes when Al was giving Steve advice about being married. And he tells him 'You know what bugs me? When they ask 'Honey? watcha thinking?. And I'm like "If I wanted you to know, I'd be talking"' A classic line for the ages. And the Buck episode when he was going to be nuetered by Dr. Hackemoff had me rolling!!
The show started off slow until the point where Kelly's hair was not bleached anymore but had a more natural looking blonde appearance and Bud became the smart one in the family instead of a brat. This happened around the 3rd season. After that the show really came into its own, Steve Rhodes was great, a perfect straight man to Al and I looked forward to each show after that. Ted McGinley did not ruin this show!!!!!! He was a competent replacement for Steve Rhodes and the episodes between Steve and Jefferson were great. What happened was 1) Seven, 2) Buck's replacement and 3) The show ran its course in the final 2 years because they simply ran out of quality material. What really pissed me off was that they just ended the show without any proper send off but seeing how shows end nowadays (i.e. Rosanne's last season being alla dream), that maybe they way it went out was the best. All in all, the show is a classic and should be remembered as such.
Ted McGinley did not do this good show in; everyone started to get tired and it became a self-parody of itself. I personally loved the England episodes; actually when multi-part episodes (the supermarket one was hilarious) were not funny any more, that is when you got in trouble. It started to go downhill about the seventh season, the last few years had only scattered laughs. Al got too pathetic, Marcy too manly (I liked her 'cousin' better), and Kelly too drab. Buck was missed, but some of you guys are a bit too emotional over him! Last episode was surprisingly decent; the dream episode was hilarious! [and it was a classy and funny way of handing Segal's tragedy]
I had no sympathy for any of the male characters on this show. That's why I laughed at their misfortunes, and their wives pointing out their shortcomings; "well, if you had what men have I wouldn't need batteries"; but then when the show went in a direction that was supposed to make them look good and make the audience actually sympathize with these pathetic losers, that's when the balance on this show was completely lost.
Seven was such a horrible addition to the cast. A bad actor. A bad role. And bad plats. Furthermore, annoying. Also, idiots, Ted McGinley was a HILARIOUS ACTOR! Don't jump on the band wagon because you want to be funny... he was good, and so was the show up until Seven. Sucks when 90210 and Married with Children go off the air, hus leaving FOX to desperately create shows such as GREED. Just go bankrupt already FOX!
This show never jumped!! It is the best show ever, and I miss it. I love watching it on FX...
Never jumped. Although there were moments (Seven, the last season (maybe)). By the way, the show ran about 4 years before Ted McGinley, and about 6 years AFTER!!! MWC is the exception to the Ted McGinley rule.
When the characters became too cartoonish. Kelly was too dumb, Peg too lazy, Bud too buffoonish, and Al too Al. Also Ted McGinley.
when peg was pregnant the show just lost it's momentum lack of good story lines loss of katie segal for a number of episodes bad writing it just never came together
I haven't seen hardly any shows w/ the little kid, but they WERE bad. I think Jefferson was a good move. It's funny to have uptight feminazi Marcy married to a deadbeat, layabout, younger AL. They had pretty much played out Steve's character, and Jefferson made a decent sidekick for AL. The show became a farce, which was actually an improvement.
When Kelly stopped looking less like a stripper and more like a dyke.
When Steve Darcy was replaced by another actor
The show lost its cynical edge during the pregnancy season, and hit rock bottom the next season with Seven. Al's character suffered in particular- he went from being a cynical, long-suffering wise-ass to a bumbling fool.
When Al somehow changed over time from a beaten yet fighting man to a goofball ****** with a stupid look on his face. It simply was no longer the Al Bundy we came to love.
The characters didn't kill it. It was the writers who didn't come out with new material. If it was visible that they had shot their bolt, then the show should have been cancelled while it was still great and loved and not wait until it was an idiotic show whose ratings and popularity would continue to fall until its end.
When too much air time was given to Buck, I always hated that dog. After he started talking I wanted to jump in the tube and beat him with my Gilligan's Island trivia book. Well, then go on a date with Kelly. Yum Yum!
Show hit the wall when they had the Peggy gets pregnant series of episodes. When the actress had a miscarriage, they had a lame "Dallas" "it was all a dream" resolution.
That seven punk ass kid makes me sick.
It never jumped. Although it came close a couple of times. 1. Kelly became a scientist; 2. Ted McGinley.
A little after Garrison left the show. They used to be a cutting edge show and after a while they went on cruise control for the last five years. They had a Jerry Springer type studio audience that would laugh at anything they would do. Marci was turning into a bull dyke during the last few seasons didn't help.
this show was the coolest, crudest, lewdest, and rudest show out there. It's a bundyful life with guest star Sam Kinison as al's guardian angel kicked ass. also was the first time ted mchinely showed up as Mr. Jablonski who was married to a devoted and cooking peg, a virgin college student kelly, and a respectful sensitive bud. that was the best.
this show never jumped. It was the most awesome show off all time!!
When that little kid Seven joined the show and was trying to be WAY too cute for this raunchy show. The producers were smart enough to get rid of him after one year. At least he wasn't' as annoying as Cousin Oliver (who was secretly John Denver's love child with Carol Brady!)
The show "jumped the shark" when the NOMAAM group started and the writers made Marcy a PC queen. That is when the show began to run out of gas. I don't think Ted McGinley was so bad! I believe some of "Married With Children"'s best shows were in the 5th and 6th season when Ted had already replaced David Garrison. Give him a break!!
If I have to pick a defining moment, it was Seven. But really, it was just too much of the same thing for too long. It was like, Okay, Kelly's still a slut, and Al still doesn't make enough money and hates women's feet, and Peggy can't cook . . . again. And I disagree with the Ted McGinley comments -- Ted McGinley was the only good thing about the show at the end (though I liked Marcy with the first husband when they were total yuppies too).
Luckily, they recovered and made Seven mysteriously disappear.
Sorry, gang. Can't go with "seven." In fact, I actually have no idea who Seven is, since I dumped this show before his arrival. McGinley, (sorry, Ted) sucks. His arrival upset the comic balance and the Al-Steve tension horribly. Also I agree that Marci's horniness became a cliche during these times. I actually watched this show a bit into the McGinley years. The 2nd time this show jumped was Buck's PUBERTY. Once his voice changed, I left and never returned. But the show never was the same after McGinley.
When he first joined the show everything was the same, but he failed to produce the same amount of laughter than the last actor displayed. Face it, McGinley is a horrible actor and never should have attempted to pursue an acting career. In addition, McGinley spent most of the show being whipped by his wife who is a lesbian anyways. For the most part, his inability to portray Marcy's husband caused the show to plummet in the ratings
I don't know when Married jumped cause I haven't watched it enough. I think some of the endings I have seen are like no punch line to the joke. I have rarely seen Seven except for moments but if done right he could be a cool rip on Full House and family crap. And an annoying kid is just what Al needs to add sunshine to his life. Married should have always been stuff like going to a movie and nothing else. That show ruled. I like it when Al gave the hooter alert. That was milk snorting. Also the episode that was nothing in a car wash. I think that is cooler nothing than Seinfeld. All the shows should have been stuff like a whole episode about trying to make it through a fast-food drive-thru. The more I realize about Ted McGinley the more I realize he is a comic hall of fame genius!!!!! He needs a fan club when he can be properly worshipped. McGinley is a master of comedy!!!!
Peg's hair is driving me crazy
im telling you as soon as that stupid 7 came into the show it dies he was stupid and just didnt fit into the bundy life at all. i wish they would have kept it on the air there could have been more if the dang writers would have had a brain. im fortunate to be able to watch some of the reruns but only the good ones.
Well, although I think MWC was one of the best shows ever, there was a season of bizarre and wacky episodes that was a little close to the shark... namely the episode where aliens were stealing Al's socks to power their spacecraft. Other than that season, it was excellent. I enjoyed watching the show evolve from a bunch of not-very-nice people into a bunch of not-very-nice cartoon characters, but that wasn't a bad thing. The show was an escapist show, a show that didn't require you to think, you could just kick back and enjoy the wicked humor. Excellent show! Always missed!!
"Four touch downs in a single game", "Marcy the Chicken", "Al has no hygiene" and others that were plugged into EVERY show sucked the show down the drain.
It didn't exactly jump, like everyone else I hated Seven, but then he was gone and the show got back on track :) By the way, I never watched any other shows featuring Ted McGinley so I don't know much about his other appearances, but the character Jefferson was so much funnier than Steve! My favorite episode was when Al started improving his looks and getting popular with the ladies (including Marcy!). I loved the ending of that episode when he came to the conclusion that he has no reason to be successful - He is MARRIED WITH CHILDREN! lol.. It's hard to think of any but one of my least fav episodes (surprise, surprise, not featuring Seven) was when they bought a computer...And one more thing, the jokes in that show did repeat, but can u really get tired of those "fat woman walked into the shoes store today" stories??? sure beats anything my father ever had to say about his job.
OK, this show, along with The Simpsons, is the only show on television that was so original and so intelligent that it lasted for 10 years. This show was never the same twice. Yes, I do agree that there were some dry shows, but for the most part, this is the most ingenious show on television. Yes, with the addition of Seven and the pregnancy of Peggy, the show did go through a drought, but if you didn't notice, they realized what a mistake they had made and they corrected it. They even make jokes about it a la the milk carton with Seven's picture on it. This show had so much more potential and it could have gone 3 more seasons at the least. Greatest show in history. I'm out, peace!
This show all but died when they incorporated Katey Sagal's pregnancy into the show,in 1994.The Bundy's as doting parents?Get real!Peg with maternal instincts?No.
Married with Children N E V E R jumped the shark! That's right, there were some down hills like 7 and the last season, but all of which are forgiven when compared to the magnificent work that's been done with the show for all those years. It's definitely the best american sitcom of all times. It's the only show where each and every episode was hilarious! Should be kept forever.
Seven. The only funny thing was about 3 seasons after they killed that brat. Kelly was having to cram for a sports trivia show, and every fact she learned pushed another fact out of her brain. They showed sports things going in one ear, and other things going out. Well, they showed Seven going out of her brain.
Married...With Children is a timeless classic. Though they came close to jumping various times; Seven, Lucky (Buck's Replacement, the Dream episodes, or even Ted (if you're inclined to think he was a jump). However, they got rid of Seven, cleverly labeling him as "Missing." Lucky was MIA a lot. The dream episode has to be forgiven due to Katey's condition. And Ted turned out to be the best thing for the show. Fortunately, I missed the last season, but I will forever love Married...With Children!!!
This show never "Jumped the Shark" because it managed to maintain its primary focus. The elements of humor and the most important qualities (chemistry between Peg & Al, Al's cynical outlook) were never compromised. If Al's character had been breached in the least, this would have been a travesty. As it stands, Al Bundy was a great American hero ... and despite Seven and the other miscues, to lose sight of Al's impact and importance on society is unfortunate. Never Jumped, Al was a man of courage and inspiration. May we forever reminisce in child like wonder about the day Al Bundy scored 4 touchdowns in a single game, single handedly propelling Polk High to victory against all odds.
Okay, I'll admit that the little kid was pretty annoying and some of the episodes were kind of far-fetched, but this show was funny from start to finish. It never jumped. In fact it is my second favorite sitcom of all times next to Cheers. I've got to agree with most of the people here that Jefferson was a damned funny character and ted played him perfectly. This is the one time where he didn't kill a show. MWC had some of the best lines and scenes of any show I've ever seen. My all time favorite MWC moment is when Al and the NOMAM guys are watching a commercial for Girly Girl beer starring Yoko Ono. al asks one of them for the remote and instead of changing the channel he throws the remote right through the TV screen. brilliant! Or how about when Kelly brought home a boyfriend that was a high school football star. Al and this guy are in the yard and the guy keeps getting past al who is trying to block him. The guy would say, "That's what I call fake left and run right" and "Now that's what I call being faked out of your jock." The scene goes back inside where other characters are talking and in the background you hear the guy run at Al again then a hard smack and the guy falling down and Al says, "Now that's what I call an open-hand chop to the adams apple." classic! I could go on and on, but I don't want to fill up the whole page. btw, if anyone who is reading this can answer this question I'd love to know. What happened to al's voice during one of the later seasons. He seemed to be very horse all the time and had trouble talking. was Ed having throat problems or something?
I can't think of a specific event where MWC jumped the shark. I believe it was more of a progressive slide over the last 3 seasons. There were some moves that helped, ie: seven, nomaam, kelly's looks, marcy's looks, etc. The main reason is that it just stopped being funny. The same old jokes between Al and everyone else weren't funny anymore. The subject matter wasn't as shocking as when it premiered. Every network had an answer to this type of humor, which severlly dulled its edgy-ness. Also- Teddy-mac did not make this show JTS! His relationship with AL was just as funny as Steve's, and he played the pretty boy act very well. I know we want to point to him because of his track record- but that is not the case. American TV just outgrew this groundbreaking show. It happens! (Hill street blues, LA Law, Roseanne, etc....)
Let me just say this was the best comedy I've ever seen... but it did have some problems. One was introducing "Seven" who 3 episodes later just disappears. Peg and Marcy get pregnant but never have a baby. The baby disappears also. I think Jefferson was better than Steve. The Buck death episode was ridiculous and they should have kept him till he died in real life and not got a little dog like "Lucky." All in all, M..W/C was a great show and filled everyone here with laughs.
This show definitely jumped when seven came about. That's the only reason!! For those of you that say the pregnancy cover up was when it jumped, have some compasion. It's not like the writers knew Katie Sagal was going to lose her baby. They had limited time to come up with a new plot. I will always watch the reruns until seven comes up in them.
Seven was the worst character played by the worst child actor in the history of television. This is the day I stopped watching.
Kelly started to wear more clothing, that's one of the only reasons I watched it, she is HOT!!!
When Kelly became nothing but a hooker, and Bud was into sex, it just became obnoxious to me. The first few shows of Married - With Children were so funny I laughed until I cried, but when the young teen agers became sexually active, I lost interest and quit watching it. I never considered myself a prude, but shows about young teen agers being sexually active, over and over and over, are not funny to me. They give other young teen agers the attitude "Everyone is doing it", and that it is acceptable. That causes much heartache in our society and culture. It just isn't funny. It ruined a hysterically funny show for me.
Did they have to add that ugly kid Seven? Come on??? It also jumped the shark when Al had his anti-women club. What were they? Didn't Al notice the set on his wife?
I have a question... why do American TV shows insist on having their characters take a trip to England? Married... with children, Friends and I'm quite sure that Beverly hills 90210 all had trips to England. WHY???
I always wondered if anyone else noticed Als voice change. I dont know if it was some natural thing, or the produces choose to make his voice high, squeeky, and more annoying. And it also went downhill when Al was dishing it out instead of receiving the insults
I'm sorry, all you Ted Mcginley lovers out there (yeah we know who you are) but Married With Children-jumped the shark when Steve left-and was replaced with ol' series killer himself--Ted-he's like a relief pitcher in baseball-in reverse--its just ol Stevearino-was the perfect yuppy-to Al's middle-classdom-Ted was just another mooch--though he does know how to use a hair conditioner properly, his entrance to married with ... made me miss a big-nosed yuppie--and how often does that happen?
whenthe little guy showed up/cheap version of dennis/menace,peg doesn't like kids,now does,get real'''.also going over to england,3 shows of tat,was to much'''.on the 3rd show escaping, get real,was a forest,ya',al can out run the pack,peg with high heeels,come on writers'''.whole england was sickening;;;.marcy/jefferson,following was not the best/was getting old,not the best of writing/material.
That little brat Seven sent the show down the tubes. Killing off Buck kind of sucked too. The No Ma'am episodes were about all that kept me watching it. Why do so many sitcom writers insist on adding a baby or a new "cute little kid" to the show when the original "cute little kid" begins developing breasts or facial hair? It never works! It failed to save Different Strokes, it failed to save the Cosby Show, and it tanked big time on MWC! Jeez!
unreality sets in like UFO abductions like the simpsons. impossible events seem to take away the fun of everyday events that may seem real.
Nothing signals death of a show more than the introduction of a "cute kid". Seven was neither cute nor funny.
Still a great show. It's on in German over here at 7pm weekdays.
The problem with the posts on this site, especially the ones in reference to Married With Children, is that the posters thought process mirrors that of the very two bit hack beatnik writers whom they are supposedly trashing. That said, this show ought not be taken ought of context. Shakespeare it ain't. Did it jump the shark? No. It didn't jump the shark because the original premise stayed true: Until the last episode, Al was surly and cynical, ambivalent about life. The family was self interested and disorganized, unloving and typical. In this seemingly periless scenario and life circumstance, the great Al Bundy strives on bravely persuing his most deeply held ideal: The American way.
Seven was the nail in the coffin. What was originally witty and humorous now struggled to produce anything other than canned laughter. I was forced to turn the set off in disgust on several occasions. Only the Olsen twins were worse than that little dork.
I watched MWC religiously every week from the very first show thorugh the 9th season. This show actually made a teenage guy look forward to Sunday nights (no small feat). I was madly in love with Christina Applegate. Now that I'm older, I realize I was in love with Kelly Bundy, not Christina Applegate. Al Bundy's "pearls of wisdom" rival those of Ben Franklin. Smart-ass bud was easy to relate to as an adolescent boy. Although MWC had made several passes by the ramp during the McGinley years, it finally "jumped the shark" with the addition of Seven. In my mind, I knew it was time for the show to go, but my heart forced me to continue watching. With the exception of periodic flashes of past glory, my heart could take no more by the 9th season. Al, who was once a bright but unfortunate man, was now a bumbling idiot who deserved his misfortunes. Kelly was no longer a hot teenage piece of ass, but a 20something waitress with crows feet, still living at home. Bud was the only one whose character progressed realistically. I was disappointed that Fox did not give this show the send-off it most certainly deserved, but I guess it had just worn out its welcome. I still watch on FX and can usually identify whether it will be a good show based on the opening credits. It's hard to pick one, but I really like the episode where Al is voted off the softball team, only to be begged at the end to replace the injured Sven Hungstrom. He hits a game winning home run and delivers a parody of the famous Lou Gherig retirement speech. I believe this episode was sans Steve or Jefferson. Maybe that says something. "Today.........I consider you............the luckiest team............on the face of the earth................I thank no one but myself................"
I think that the Ted McGinley phenomenon is really interesting with regard to this show. I always enjoyed him as Jefferson D'Arcy because he was such the pretty boy compared to Marcy. The later episodes were kinda dumb. But what is really interesting is that McGinley appeared on the show as two different characters. Of course, he played Jefferson ... but he was in one of the show's best episodes ever--the Sam Kinison-guested "It's a Wonderful Life" parody. He played Peggy's "new husband" when Al is shown life without him not being born. This episode was quintessential Bundy because the conclusion Al comes to is that he should live because ... well, the whole point to him living is making everyone else around him as miserable as they make him.
I think everyone is misunderstanding the Ted McGinley theory. Think of the guy with the umbrella watching JFK getting shot. While he may not be a direct cause of the impending disaster, he is certainly a memorable figure in the tragedy. McGinley is a sign that a show has passed his high point, not necessarily a cause.
The shows start to become more PC-everything the Bundys were against.
The whole Ted McGinley thing was horrible. All we needed was another Bundy to make me stop watching. Steve provided contrast to the Bundy's and made the show a lot more interesting. I would like to comment on David Garrison. It is too bad that he had to leave, but being my uncle I know why and the reason is VERY valid. Thank goodness he got out of there when he did!
They screwed up an already perfect cast (minus Ted McGinley, of course) with the addition of Seven...the death of Buck was no help, either.
I am so sick of people repeatedly whining about Peg's pregnancy. Katey Segal had a miscarriage and the show was kind enough not to force her to pretend she's still pregnant. It does not constitute a Jump The Shark it constitutes sensitivity. Remember later on when Peg went off to look for her Dad, Katey Segal was pregnant again and the show gave her time off so she could concentrate on having a healthy baby.
The episodes weren't the same because she would only show up for 1 minute when she would talk about her mom being fat. The show was trying to be a show without her instead of including her relationship with Al. I'm not sure if it counts in "when she got pregnant". What I described above, was that after she lost the baby?
To begin, Seven was a horrible addition to the cast, but anyone who watched the show regularly knows that only two episodes featured him and his only interaction with other characters was with Peggy. MWC never JTS. Peggy's pregnancy added an unexpected plot twist, and although it ended up being a dream, (which many consider quite cliched and cheesy) very few people understand that Katey Segal was really pregnant and had a still birth. I think a dream sequence is much more funny than Al cracking wise about his dead baby, so give that a rest. Married with Children, along with The Simpsons, launched the Fox network. It was like All in the Family except instead of tackling important social issues like racism and bigotry, it had fun with issues like masturbation and disfunctional families. One of my top 5 favorite comedies ever.
A scene would show two of the characters in a room. Then someone would walk in the door,either Al or Peg whoever. Then the audience would start cheering and screaming. Totally ruined the show.
Although this show was never "good", it was at least worth watching up until the no ma'am episodes. This is probably about the same time Kelly cut her hair too. The show actually peaked when Kelly started displaying her assets in such a provocative manner and stopped being interesting when she started being "fashionable" instead of slutty. It became unwatchable when Al started no ma'am. Just like the Simpsons has gotten a littls out of hand with Homers stupidity, MWC got out of hand with Al's piggishness. The forgot the law of diminishing returns. They seemed to think that if a piggish al is funny, a real piggish al will be real funny and an unbelievably piggish al will be unbelievably funny. It got to be too much.
The show got bad, when Bud graduated from High School and Kelly's dream of becoming a model ended. Of course, the appereance of Seven finally ruined the show. I don't think it was Ted McGinley's fault. He never came close to Steve, but still I liked Jefferson.
"Number Seven" to be sure. EVERY show that's brought a new kid aboard has reached its jumping point. And this was devastatingly true for "Family Ties" and "Growing Pains" (nah, they weren't the same show--"Pains" was actually ENTERTAINING).
I don't know if this show ever really jumped because I stopped watching it after Jefferson cut his hair off very short and it wasn't blond anymore. I loved the episodes when Al would watch his favorite show "Psycho Dad," and he would sing along with the theme song. And Ed O'Neal was the only good thing in the godawful Andrew Dice Clay thing "Ford Fairlane." 'Booty time, Booty time!!'
When David "Steve from Married With Children" Garrison joined the cast as the geeky, skinny, mischevious paramour of Bateman's mom. The show also arguably jumped when Bateman's voice started changing and was puberty-scratchy for an entire season. Not like that guy needs anything else hurting his already-borderline-amateur comic timing and delivery . . .
When Kelly porked out after the 1990-1991 season. Can you say SKANK?
Got to go with the majority on this one. Seven was a BIIIIIIGGGG mistake. I just hope the blame doesn't attach to him and damage his career. Heck, it wasn't his fault some waterhead put him in the show. He didn't write the scripts! (At least, I don't think he did. Some of them were so bad, a six-year old *might* have written them...)
That dark,grim,tragic Sunday night in 1987 when the pilot episode was first inflicted on an unsuspecting American audience.Let's face it,the series was one long shark jump from start to finish;anytime something genuinely funny happened on the show,it was strictly accidental.
This was a stupid show from the first Idea of writing. It should never have been aired. The show had stupid writers and bad recurring jokes.
this show never jumped. MWC is the !@#$.ok,so Kelly was dumb and Bud can't get some and Al is boorish and Peg is lazy but man was it funny! Jefferson was great too, just a little better than Steve. I never could stand that !@#$ing !@#$% Marcy though.
It jumped when the character of Steve left the show...even though he made several guest appearances, his character was the perfect one for the Bundy's to play off of. Having the character of Marci becoming more mannish, it was to the point where she just didn't care about her looks and wanted to be a man. The funniest episode was when his football trophy for Polk High was stolen, and he had to face Bubba, I laugh every time I watch that episode!!!!!
When the show began in 1987, it was advertised as "the Cosby's they're not". The show had an edge, and was not a cartoon. The next two or three seasons were not as good as the first 13 episodes, but it had some funny moments. And Ted McGinley is not to blame. When he arrived it was already a full blown cartoon. The show I always wanted to see was to have Devine as guest star, playing Peg's mother. That would have been good. His untimely death happened just days before they were going to tape.
I don't believe Married with Children ever jumped. Yes it came close when seven joined, but it prevented jumping by swiftly getting rid of him. Ted McGinley did not kill this show either, as both he and David Garrison were excellent in their roles, in fact giving Al a different type of companion kept the material fresh. The thing I disagree with most though is the negative reaction to the trip to England, I think those three episodes were unbelievably funny and clever. The funniest part was that only this show would dream up such an outlandish plot. This is definitely the most quoted episode when my friends and I talk of Married...
The introduction of NOMAAM,that was the point the show took sides in the War of the Sexes(pro-woman,anti-male)It was better when both genders got equal-time bashing.Coincidentally,that also was when the unreality was going too far. One note on Ted You-know-who...altho his introduction SEEMED like Fonzie-over-the-sharks,he ended up beong good for the show and its surrealism of that period.The coolest was when he was revealed to be a secret double-agent! Nice absurdist layering.
Seven sucks. Since I had to post a reason why the show jumped to get up here, I will. But my main reason is to express my regret about whining and complaining about the cop-out of Peg's pregnancy being a dream. I didn't know about her having a miscarriage, and I want to apologize to Katey Segal about my idiotic comments. Also, I once commented about the writer who wrote the Seven episode to hang his head in shame. I still believe that shot of Seven asking for money along with the Bundys was verboten to any true Bundy fan, but now, instead of the writer, who probably had to write it on condition of being able to keep his job, the moronic suits who wanted to make this show _family oriented_ are the ones that should be kicking themselves. I want to apologize to both of these people.
Ya know, I could deal with Seven, or even Peggy's pregnancy ... there were a number of good episodes in that timeframe, including the Van Der Pelt episode with Tracy Lords and Al as a P.I. I hafta say Kelly cutting her hair was the beginning of the end ... maybe it was pure coincidence, but the shows after that seemed to suck. Al dishing it out instead of being the beaten-down shoe-man was simply the biggest nail in the coffin. WHY did they do that?!
EVERYONE TRASHING TED MCGINLEY IS AN UGLY GUY!
No sitcom should last 10 years. To me, this was the funniest show on television from about 1988-1991, but the first spinoff (Top of the Heap) concided with some horrible episodes at the end of the 1990-1991 season; the super-padded out "gold" and "supermarket shopping spree" episodes, for example. Ted McGinley was there at the time of the jump, but didn't seem to be the cause. Still, even at less than full strength, "Married with Children" was worth watching. And any show which features a "Larry Storch School of Acting" AND an eventual guest appearance by the great Storch himself can't be all bad!
I don't believe this show jumped with Ted McGinley or Seven, or with the dog talking. I believe this show jumped after the 3rd or 4th season. If you don't believe me, watch one of the first episodes, and then watch some of the later stuff, big f*cking difference in humor. One of the only lame episodes of the first few seasons, though was that crap with going to london, which was a omen of its eventual loss of reality and the beginning of it's characters becoming cartoons. Another thing, after the first few seasons, everytime that someone'd walk in view of the camera, there'd be ridiculous canned laughter that lasted 10 seconds longer than it should have.
This show probably jumped the shark more times than any other show. I think it probably happened when Susan Harris left the show but how many shows had a bad alien episode (Al's socks were used for something by the aliens)and what about that kid named 7 he was on the show what half a season(he wasn't even cute)Ted McGinely can suck the life force out of any sitcom having him even read for a part on any show will result in ratings failure.They also had the talking dog buck just another example of sitcoms at their worst.Their was more silicon on that show than their is in silicon valley and thats the only reason I watched the show.the only thing I liked how Bud never seemed to grow over the years kudos to the casting director for hiring that pygmy boy/man.
NO WAY the show was better with T. McGinley. Can you imagine Jefferson in the "How Do You Love Me" episode? Steve was a straight man, which is what was called for. What about the episode where Steve runs into the midget from San Quentin? How perfect is that episode, Steve talking about the last fight he had - with a second-grader. Or Steve's last episode, where he freaks out and tries to free a sea turtle by letting it go in Lake Michigan? MWC was an all-time classic in those years. It was raw and hilarious and Kelly got hotter every season. After Jefferson and Seven and Griff and No Ma'am came along, it was just a blur of stupid jokes and bad writing. But for those who do like Jefferson, you HAVE to admit the show absolutely jumped when Tim Conway appeared as Peggy's father, wearing that dumb vaudeville hillbilly costume.
Married...with children jumped thes shark when the writers kept on using the same joke every single episode. The jokes were different but still on the subject. Bud is a loser, Kelly is a slut, Peg is a lazy "housewife", Al is going bald and of couse a shoesalesmen, Marci is a chicken, and Jefferson is just ********. And who can forget the fat jokes. EVERY JOKE WAS BASED ON THOSE CHARACTERISTICS!!!
The stupidest moment in the history of television: Al and the family dress up as rock stars so that they can have access to a celebrity V.P. lounge at the airport where a buffet is being served. Al calls himself Axel Bundy, and a few real rock stars who are guest-starring on the show actually buy this since there drug-addled brains can't remember if they really know him or not. Al heads straight for the buffet and chows down on a roast beef sandwich; but the rock stars began singing and insist that he join them. He's so attached to his sandwich, that instead of putting it down HE PLAYS THE SANDWICH!! by humming with it in his mouth. Later, all the musicians are assembled in a studio to record a benefit album (a parody of We are the world), and they have Al there and he plays the sandwich again. I could not believe something this stupid was on television.
Sleeping in the shoe store while the house was exterminated. Sam Kinison's appearance as Al's angel in the Christmas episode (featuring you-know-who as the "other Al"). Bud and Marci thinking they slept together on the sofa ("MORNING AL!"). The DROP DEAD GORGEOUS foreign exchange student ("What are you doing?" "Making a home entertainment center."). Al and Jefferson trying to build the work bench for days on end, and Kelly comes to the rescue. Vanna White trying to buy Al for a night (the scene of her in the teddy should be stored in the Smithsonian).
I think MWC had more shark jumpings than most sitcoms can ever hope to survive. Fox was a network who was searching for shows to hang its hat on and MWC was the Fox Flagship on Sunday night. What other sitcom could survive the arrival of Seven? How about the arrival of Ted Mcginley? What about Peg's mom and dad? MWC survived all of those disasters and others because when they were funny, they were Hilarious!!! How can anyone forget the 1st Bundy Christmas when Santa's chute failed to open and he dove into the Bundy backyard? Al needing to be Santa Claus for the neighborhood kids that he can't stand is classic comedy. I still remember almost peeing my pants and having my sides hurt from laughing! This episode alone should stand as one of the greatest sitcom episodes of all time.
Ted McGinley was fantastic as Jefferson. It was Seven. He wasn't the cause (the character SHOULD have worked), but I don't recall being all that amused by subsequent episodes. It's been explained well enough in previous comments, and I have nothing more to add.
This was one of the funniest shows ever and may have been the first to jump then come back. The show definitely jumped when they added the FN loser Seven to the cast. It was just plain horrible, hope he never, ever gets another acting gig ever again. Once Seven left the show came back to a very raunchy funny show. MWC rules!!!
I think this show definitely jumped the shark with the addition of Seven to the cast. I found him to be an unwelcome poser, trying to hard to fit into the Bundy family. I almost always hate it when a long-running show introduces new characters, but 7 had to be the worst of the ones I have ever seen. He seemed always to be trying to steal the show or maybe the show just focused too much on him. So while I agree with the majority on that point, I have to disagree with them on a few others. I thought that the Peg pregnancy dream sequence was the only sensitive solution to Sagal's own tragedy, I also thought it worked for the show. I thought they were kind of parodying (is that a word?) the whole Dallas fiasco. I thought in that way it was funny. Kelly Bundy was never fat, ugly or age-ridden, I always (as a straight female) thought she was hot. What does everyone think was so wrong with her? I just don't see it. Garrison was boring, ugly and too smug about everything. McGinley as Jefferson was funny and the things that him and Al would do together were hilarious. Jefferson and Al's friendship made Al less of a loser.
Let me start by saying "Hey Seven, you SUCK!!" Whichever producer was responsible for bringing him to the show should be flogged with Weenie-Tots. I've enjoyed the show since Day 1, but lost alot of respect when that pain-in-the-ass kid appeared. Although it ran out of gas well before the end, I still watch the re-runs and will always L.O.L. when I see episodes like my personal favorite - Al's barber dies and him and his buddies have to go to a Salon to get hair-cuts and perms. Hilarious! And when Peggy paints the bathroom pink; the look on Al's face after he eats the tacos and is ready to take a dump... I thought I'd choke from laughing so hard.
MWC jumped many times during its 10-year run. Let's see: Sam Kinison as Al's guardian angel in the Xmas episode (featuring Ted You-Know-Who as the other Al). Staying overnite at the shoe store while the house was exterminated. Kelly making Bud think he slept with Marci on the sofa (Bud: "Morning Al"). The whole time Katey Segal was absent, and all those episodes were a dream. The best one was Bud as the rapper trying to impress a girl ("Oh Dustbuster!"). A big jump was when Al & Jefferson (yes, HIM AGAIN) tried assembling a work bench. Or how about when the French foreign exchange student got more guys than Kelly (Kelly: What are you making? Bud: A home entertainment center."). As far as Seven, Bob Goldthwait saved the first of that series of episodes. Far too many more to list.
It never did... sure, there were some bad episodes. But there are bad episodes in every show. The only complaints I have are the moronic spinoff shows, Peg and Marcy's pregnancy (and the horrible conclusion to them), Buck's 'death', and of course Seven. The show felt tainted when that stupid kid showed up, but as soon as Seven was canned, it was back to the same great MWC. Despite the bad episodes, they remained great and left the spotlight in pure MWC fashion. And no, I did not think Jefferson hurt the show. I liked Steve, but Jefferson was much more of a comical character.
I think the show is great! But they still have made a lot of mistakes. Seven came on, Peggy and Marcy got pregnent, Peggys mom came to live with Al and Peggy. It was really pathetic to see the writers try to stop mid-jump. Even with the bad shows, i still think married with children is one of the best shows.
I was reading your section of Married with children and couldn't believe that you think Ted McGinley help destroy the show.Ted McGinley was not the reason that show lost its luster.Clearly it was bad scripting choices.There was a lot of good episodes with Ted in them.The ones with no ma'am and the one with fake gold mine.Or the one when they were in the supermarket.He fit perfectly in the group.I enjoy watching the shows with Jefferson more then the ones with Steve,it's just funnier.
IT WASN'T MCGINLEY DAMMIT! THE WRITING JUST WENT DOWN, THUS RELYING ON -SEVEN - NO MA'AM- INSULT TRADING- AL AND JEFFERSON ELECTROCUTING THEMSELVES EVERY DAY- AND THE BIGGEST OF THEM ALL, WHEN KELLY STOPPED DRESSING SEXY!!!!!!!! YOU COULD TELL SHE WAS UNCOMFORTABLE IN A SHORT DRESS..UUUUGHHH. THEY SHOULD'VE GOTTEN NIKKI COX.
The King of TV, Mr. Al Bundy. The show is still on TV all over the world. It's a classic. That little rat, Seven, didn't kill it. Steve leaving couldn't it. Even Reverend Al couldn't kill it. The only thing that killed it was Fox screwing the cast and the public by taking it off the air without notice. What a heap of vermin....The Verminator should clean them out like a nest of vipers!
It never did and Ted made the show! I hate Steve, he is damn boring. Jefferson added a new dimension to the program, allowing Al to blossom into the sneaky slob we loved to hate. I wish this show was still going. I watch the reruns and wonder how they got away with all the sexual bantering and overtly rude dialogue. I miss it! I'm not some yahoo in the sticks, or some uneducated fool. If only we had funny shows like this on now.. well, maybe with the new conservative government, we will!
When I found out Sandra Bernhard was the lover of Amanda Bearse. I Stopped lusting after Christina Apllegate and became more concerned with my Bernhard/Bearse fantasy.
MWC began to lose it's edge when WE got used to it. It was shocking and outrageous - and very funny while it was still surprising to us. As we became more used to it's insanity, it seemed to become a little less funny. How many shows would actually drop Santa Claus from an airplane, into someone's back yard...without a parachute??!! Of course they used many of the same bits, or jokes more than once! (How often did Ralph Kramden threaten to send Alice "To the moon!"?) To drop the running themes of the show would be the same as just inserting a different T.V. show into the same time slot every week. MWC is one of the very few shows in which you can watch the same episode, several times, and it's still funny each time. My hat is off. A GREAT comedy show!!! (Where can I join a 'Kill Seven' website?)
When Steve Ran Away to the forest, and Jefferson came aboard. It was also this time when it became apparent that Marcy liked the ladies.
In it's first years MWC was a scream! I was a fan from the first episode. It was just so raunchy and irreverant and REAL. I laughed out loud during more episodes of this series than any other, and there were lots of terrific moments. Among the best: Al's and Peg's two-parter high school reunion (a non-stop laugh riot); when the Bundys and Darcys went to England (Lower and Upper Uncton [sp?]) was hilarious; when the gang was stuck in the "wild west" and took over the fake gold mine; and many others. However, there were SO MANY jumps. Where do I begin...? 1)When Steve left. He was such a good foil and contrast for Al. Why did David Garrison leave the show? 2)When Kelly cut her hair and became less overtly sexy. The character just wasn't the same after that 180. 3)Writing off an entire season as a dream. I know that the powers that be did that out of sensitivity for Sagal's real-life miscarriage, but I still think it was ultimately a bad decision for the show. The continuity got screwed up and Marcy's pregnancy then had to be a "dream" as well. Ugh. Weren't there any other alternatives? 4)Seven. If I recall correctly, he was introduced AFTER Sagal's miscarriage and I kept thinking that they still wanted to add a child presence. Bad mistake. The character added nothing to the show and the kid couldn't act. 5)Replacing Buck with Lucky. It just didn't work. The breed of dog was all wrong for the family. I think it would have been better if they had gotten a Buck double/look-a-like and kept the dog (character?) in the show. 6) The terribly unceremonious series ending, especially considering it was Fox's breakthrough show and lasted so many years. In spite of all of this, I still enjoy many of the reruns. Hilarious!
What the hell were they thinking when they added that little kid "Seven" to the cast? He had to be related to some bigwig with Fox. Was he Rupert Murdoch's grandson or something?
The show went downhill when Steve left the cast. David Garrison was tremendous on this show and also on It's Your Move. It was so much better when Steve and Marci were the "goody two shoes" neighbors, than when Marci became just as sleazy as the Bundys. My favorite episode is when a mall Santa is killed when he misses his target and crash lands in the Bundy's backyard. Steve and Marci are mortified; the Bundy's brush it off. When the Santa is carried out through the living room, Marci cries out: "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..." Meanwhile, the Bundy's are enjoying their Christmas pizza at the table. Al says: "Would you keep it down? We're trying to have a Christmas here." Steve fires back: "You ghouls!!!"
They jumped when the family went to London. These episodes were terrible and there was no recovering from this trip. From then on it was hit or miss until the final episode. They had a couple of false jumps when Peggy was pregnant and when they adopted Seven, but they were able to recover, especially by having Seven on the back of a Milk carton.
Once Amanda Bearse's character got divorced from David Garrison's character it just got really silly. (Even sillier than before). I think it lots a lot of it's edge and just became a parody of the smart show it once was. It was still enjoyable but not on the same level.
No Question! That kid Seven was the downfall. The writing got so lame after that. Katy Segals pregnancy was low - but I could understand writing this in. But Severn - ICK! They never got it back after those episodes. I think Ted McGinley really added to the show - I liked his role just as much as Steve. They were two entirely different characters - and well acted at that.
MWC jumped when Executive Producer Michael Moye left. His final season with co-creator Ron Leavitt was the baby/London season. I will grant you the show was starting to tank during this season but not as bad as the following season. The Moye-less season introduced Seven. This unfortunate brainchild proves who did what of the Leavitt-Moye pair. Even the shoe store made only one appearance during this season (Jessica Hahn episode). Also, Al degenerated into a total buffoon (both by the writing and Ed O'Neil's performance), entire scenes and jokes were rehased, laugh track overused...need I go on? When this season was up Leavitt left and Moye returned for the following two seasons. These two seasons had more hits than misses and actually became more creative (Al's drivers license expires, Al and No Ma'am go to Washington over Psycho Dad, 1,000,000 mile Dodge). At least Al managed to restore some dignity. For whatever reason Moye left and the final two seasons were headed up by a MWC newcomer. At this point MWC just cashed in its chips. No doubt about it though, the Moye-Leavitt written episodes were the best of the series (Sam Kinison, Little Engine that Could, etc.).
This was a great show, but when Anthrax guest starred it became too dumb. However, the best episode ever was when Bud and Al plotted to blow up the Polk High scoreboard because it was going to be named after some other guy, but then they unveiled it and it was Al Bundy field, but Bud accidentally blew it up anyway
Originally the characters were more nuanced. Al had this great Chicago accent. The family members all had a clever subversive streak and an us vs. them attitude. Al and Peggy played games with Steve and Marcie's relationship. They all had fangs. After Steve's departure, they all became caricature robots. Al was only a lout, Peggy and her daughter were sex-crazed, Marcie was desperate, Bud was a nerd and they all wore clown suits.
Yikes! This show ran for TEN YEARS???? We get it on the Paramount Comedy Channel here in Britain. It is so truly awful I can't begin to describe the horror! Same jokes, one-dimensional characters, and deeply unfunny. I don't mind nasty humour, but for comedy to work you have to at least be able to identify with one character on the show. Ye gods.
This show jumped the shark with the arrival of that precocious little twit Seven. I still watched the show, even with him on it, but it lost its punch. I believe that the show jumped back though when he mysteriously "disappeared". The writers corrected the problem, and the last few seasons had some good moments!
It didn't really. Instead Married with Children died a long slow death. But hey, it happens to the best of them. You run out of fresh jokes or inovative storylines, interesting characters, etc... But Married with Children was one of THE BEST comedy shows of the late 80's & mid 90's (laughed my ass off). The character of AL Bundy should be forever imortalized in the TV Hall of Fame right next to Arche Bunker & Ralph Cramden! The show is a classic!!
This show was the absolute greatest sitcom of all time. This show jumped when Buck the dog died, then they tried to replace him with that cute, perky little dog named Lucky. That was where they totally scewed up Bucks character and jumped(but I kept on watching it). I have been watching this show ever since the first episode came on and I still laugh. I definitely think though that steve and seven helped sink the show even lower. Who cares that Bud changed from brat to one hell of a smart Stud it is called matureity, I think his very atractive new looks drew in more people to watch. Once the show got cut Buds career stayed about the same because I do remember seeing him in a couple movies, he also starred in Christina`s new show, became a movie producer, and then got married. As for Christina Applegate she took a big plunge after the show , sure she got her own tv show and talk show but it didnt last long at all and it truly sucked.
Married with Children just stayed on the air too long. If you look at all great shows, the first three or four seasons are always the best. Remember shows like Dallas, Jeffersons, Alice, Three's Company, etc. They all ran out of storylines. How can anyone blame the great Ted McGinley? I thinki, if anything he kept it going for a few more seasons. His character was so much better than David Garrison's. McGinley was on the show for over six seasons, so it did not disappear with him there. He gets a bad rap for no reason. When he joined Happy Days and Love Boat, those shows were already finished. It certainly was not his fault. Happy Days got stale because Ron Howard and Donny Most left, not because he joined the show. The best MWC episodes were when he was at centerstage. The problem was that the Al Bundy and Bud Bundy characters got stale.
Married jumped over with Seven and Pregnancy, but it did manage to recover. The High School Reunion two-parter is one of the funniest shows of all time.
When seven joined the show it was the shows demise. Don't let this get out but I actually thought that Ted McGinley made the show better!!! Seven made the show jump the shark.
IMO, Married jumped after the first season. Al became a moron instead of a working class smart-ass.
Married with children, just like most great shows simply ran out of ideas. The early episodes were of coarse better because they tested the vulgarity limits on prime time TV. Though Jumping the Shark was never a main concern with this show, I think it was a definite slap in the Bundy's face when they moved it from 5 nights a week at 6PM to 4AM and had the gull to replace it with Moesha. Gag! Thank God the Family Guy is coming back!
Those who say 'Married...' jumped with the addition of 'Seven' are misled. True, it was perhaps the most gawdawful character addition in the history of television, but the show DID recover from that debacle. The sad truth is, MWC jumped high and clear when Al got beaten up by that gang of punks in the '93 season opener. Before that, Al was a fighting loser; after that, just a loser. The show continued to have funny episodes, but that point marked the drop-off from the high-water mark. Nonetheless, MWC ranks as one of the greatest shows of all time.
When Buck the dog started "speaking." (In other words, we could hear what he was thinking.) A talking animal is death for just about any television show.
seven KILLED this show. other notes: mcginley was fine as jefferson. the pregnancy could have been funny if it had gone through but due to segal's situation i can overlook the "dream" cop out. as far as losing it's edge goes, blame that on the PC police.
Never!!!OK,Seven may have seriously hurt ths show,but what was MWC to do???all those jackass parents were on MWC's ass because of the perversion.luckily they ot seven off and they thrived for a bit longer.and i disagree with any ted mcginley hater.he did not make the show worse.and i think its pretty cruel to make him a category of JTS but whatever.for the one and only time in all tv shows i was happy to see bud get laid once in a while.as long as the blow up doll gags are still around,its cool.i loved NO MAAM and wished that there was a group like that in my town,chicago(yes,im proud to live in the same city as the Bundys).Ill admit,Buck's Death was very very sad,but the writers made an ingeneous way to keep the spirit of buck running(for anyone who wonders,he was reincarnated back to the bundy home as Lucky as punishment from God who was a cat).also,thank god for The Jiggly Room because the best gags come from reffering to it.in conclusion Al Bundy is a reflection of the True American Man!!!!Long Live Bundy!!!
In 1994 during the baseball strike and Al gets a baseball team and guys like Mike Piazza, Joe Morgan, Danny Tartuball, Bret Saberhagen, Frank Thomas and Dave Winfield are in it
The first three seasons of this show were hilarious - it was truly the "anti-Cosby" show we cynics had dreamed of for so long. But when the multi-talented David Garrison (Steve) left, that was the beginning of the end. The only redeeming spot of the post-Steve era was when David Garrison returned and killed Bosco the Sea Turtle. (I will say, however, that the much maligned Ted McGinley had his moments - that evil glint he sometimes gets in his eyes is pretty funny. Someone should give that guy his own show, so we can find out once and for all if it's really HIM that destroys all these shows, or just the shows themselves!)
When Buck died! He reminded me a lot of my own dog, who passed away only a few months later. Why did they have to replace him with an ugly dog like Lucky?
I currently am able to watch an hour and a half of Married with Children most nights on two TV channels. I love it. It makes me laugh out loud. I watched it when it first was on TV and it hasn't lost anything over the years. It never jumped. While watching it I see ads for that rotten Son of a Beach show, which I have watched. That show is crude and disgusting. Married with Children is that and more, but in a way that is enjoyable.
This is a sleasy, trashy, crappy, pitiful, digusting, waste of time if there ever was a show to be watched. They should use these to torment prison inmates, with a 24 hour marathon, I can hear them screaming to be put out of thier misery five miles away. Married.... With Children jumped when AL and his gypsy wife stayed at the grocery store in lawn chairs to beat the heat. Wasn't that a creative masterpiece?
It is my understanding that either Katey or Amanda we're really pregnant during those episodes (I don't remember which was preg though) and miscarried. That is why they had to do the dream thing.
When Steve left. Up to that point it was one of the funniest shows on television. The episode where Al and Steve think they're going bald was hilarious. Likewise the show where Al barbecues using the ashes of Marcy's aunt. Great stuff. After Steve left the show went from one of the best to one of the worst.
When Al and the No'Mamers decided to form their own religion. Al was exposed by Marci for being on a date, with his wife, at dinner with her in which he ordered ciech (I don't know how to spell that word), and had a romatic interlude with her at the Rock'em Sock'em Motel.
JUMPED FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION I SHOULD THINK.........ONE OF THE GREAT DISILLUSIONMENTS OF MY LIFE-I'LL EXPLAIN: I'M ENGLISH (NOT BRITISH) AND THERE WAS A TIME IN THE LATE 80'S WHEN ALL THE U.S. COMEDY IMPORTS WE WERE GETTING WERE TOP CLASS, e.g. "CHEERS", AND SEEMED TO BE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE SHOWS WE WERE TURNING OUT FOR OURSELVES. NATURALLY ENOUGH, I ASSUMED THAT ALL AMERICAN COMEDY WAS OF THIS HIGH STANDARD AND NO AMOUNT OF CONTRARY OPINIONS WHETHER FROM FRIENDS COMING BACK FROM AMERICAN HOLIDAYS, OR FROM ACTUAL AMERICANS WOULD CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE. THEN, ONE FATEFUL NIGHT I COULDN'T SLEEP AND WAS FOOL ENOUGH TO SWITCH ON WHAT I NOW THINK OF AS "THE DEVIL'S BOX" AND THERE IT WAS!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY THE WORST, TACKIEST, SLEAZIEST, MOST THINLY WRITTEN PIECE OF DOG'S VOMIT I'D EVER SEEN OR EVER WILL SEE (GOD BE PRAISED FOR THAT MERCY).............NOTHING WE'VE EVER MADE ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND EVEN COMES CLOSE TO THIS FOR SHEER UNDILUTED BRAINDEAD HORROR.......NO, NOT EVEN "BIRDS OF A FEATHER", ANYTHING BY CARLA "ONE PLOT FITS ALL" LANE, OR OUR HOMEGROWN RIP-OFF OF "THE GOLDEN GIRLS", "BRIGHTON BELLES". SUDDENLY I KNEW THAT ALL THOSE PEOPLE HAD BEEN TELLING THE TRUTH, AND THE PIT OPENED UP BEFORE ME: A LAND WHERE GOOD SHOWS WERE UP AGAINST THINGS WHICH A SIX YEAR OLD WOULD REJECT AS TOO MUCH CONCERNED WITH BODILY FUNCTIONS. (I ONLY EVER SAW THAT ONE SHOW BUT IT'S SO SEARED ON MY MIND THAT I CAN REMEMBER THAT THE PLOT INVOLVED KELLY JIGGLING AROUND IN NOT VERY MUCH AND BEING GROPED BY VARIOUS OLD MEN IN ORDER TO GET A JOB OR SOMETHING...........ANYONE WITH A PULSE ADORES CHRISTINA APPLEGATE, INCLUDING ME, BUT YECCCCCHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!) THAT THIS APPARENTLY LASTED TEN YEARS WHEN GREAT SHOWS LIKE "NOW & AGAIN" AND "PARTNERS" ONLY SURVIVED FOR ONE OR TWO SERIES SAYS SOMETHING WORRYING ABOUT TV LAND, THOUGH ON THE POSITIVE SIDE THE MEMORY OF THIS LEPER SWEAT DID SEE ME THROUGH BOTH "ROSEANNE" AND THE LATER "ELLEN" WITH SURPRISINGLY LITTLE DAMAGE, RATHER LIKE A SMALLPOX VACCINE I GUESS.
WHEN THEY TALKED ABOUT THE FAMILY CAR AND CALLED IT A DODGE AND SHOWED A PLYMOUTH DUSTER.
The introduction of Seven was the show's all time low. That kid was obnoxious and for some reason he always had this arrogant demeanor. Why his character was put over any others is beyond me. I did like the pirate episode, mostly because even though he's in it he hardly comes out.
Ted McGinley did not ruin this show, he made it better. That little brat hurt worse than anything. It also semi-jumped when Terri Rakolta did her famous protest. She managed to get the show moved from 8:30 to 9:00. It also lost it's edge, in response to her threats and the advertisers pulling their spots. The producers can claim victory all they want but she certainly made her point.
The show jumped for me when I realized that the kids where too old to live at home. They where in there mid-twenties and still couldn't leave the house!
When Kelly stopped looking like a heavy metal groupie and started looking a very tired junkie.
When it started. This show is a prime example of what is wrong with American culture. Sure, other western nations produce raunchy or tacky television but they usually still have wit or tiny bit of class. This piece of feces is the most moronic, degrading and boring claptrap its even been my misfortune to watch. Obviously the writers, cast and producers were all eating plate after plate of ****** sandwiches to produce this abortion. Congrats America, you've bowed to the trailer-trash demographic and exported it worldwide.
The success of this show proves it's impossible to go broke underestimating the intelligence of the public.How this garbage could hold the attention of anyone over the age of 12 has always amazed me. Where did they find that studio audience? They must have been rejects from the Jerry Springer show. At least the morons who think that this show was brilliant have the satisfaction of knowing, for once in their lifetime, they had a show produced just for them.
"Oh, hey, this is the episode where Al calls Marcy a chicken!" God, that joke was so hammered, I thought Tyson must be sponsoring them under the table or something. Ted McGinley is, of course, not to be ignored as a factor, but "How many different ways can Al say that Marcy looks like a chicken?" did it for me.
when al began to look like a cartoon character with all the dopey facial expressions and acted like a child. what happened to the man's man who just wanted some relaxation and Hondo?
SEVEN!!! Once he arrived, I never watched again. He is the anti-christ. Truly, his character was the downfall of one of the funniest and most original sit-coms of all time. Who can forget the great Bundy-isms like... "It's not the dress that makes you look fat, it's the fat that makes you look fat!" and [Peg reading a quiz from a cosmo-like rag]"Al, if you were stranded on an island and could have only one person stranded with you, would it be 'A'- your wife, or 'B-'" "B!!!"[Al interrupts before she can finish]. Now that's funny. Damn Fox for writing Seven into the script!
I think this is one show that Ted McGinley did not kill. When he joined the cast he filled the void left when the charactor of Steve left. Ted started off as a funny house husband type guy with a few secrets in his past. He was used as much as a foil to the Bundys and as an antagonist to Marcie. But in the last 3 seasons he became a an Al Bundy follower as he lost about 40 IQ points in the process. Ted did well on most of the other seasons before he was made into a pretty boy type with a ******'s mind.
This show jumped the shark when David Garrison left the show. Al & Steve fed off of each other and were actually buddies. A perfect example is the hair-loss episode. When Jefferson took Steve's place, he just became an Ed McMahon for Al. He and Al never had good buddy banter or charisma! As a side note...for all you people who dislike this show so much, there is now a novelty called a "remote control" that allows you to switch channels when a show is on that you don't like. It's an amazing thing! Also, it's fairly obvious that most of you Bundy-haters live alone w/ your fingers waving over the phone waiting to censor whatever doesn't fit into your narrow-minded world view of morals and ethics. Anyone who is married can relate to some part of the humor on MWC. The rest of the show is a parody people. If you want more, shut off your television, go sit on your porch, and watch the real world go by. The pre-Jefferson seasons were classics and all have a little truth in them somewhere!
In the late 80's a couple of mouth breathers at work were raving about how outrageously funny this show was. After watching it I was amazed that even these two lame-brains could find this garbage entertaining. Until I saw how popular this show became, I never realized how many morons owned tv's. Judging by the above post, some of them even know how to operate a remote control. I'm impressed.Maybe next you can learn how to eat with utensils. These shows were classics? I'll bet you like watching Jerry Springer because "he really makes you think". Should I wave my fingers over the phone now?
This show, although nearly pole-vaulting the shark with the addition of Ted McGinley, didn't quite jump until Peg got pregnant. It may have been dangling over the shark with the addition of Jefferson D'Arcy, but baby makes shark attack. BTW, why did several people vote that Kelly's puberty was the jump - if anything, the Bundy Bounce kept the shark at bay for a LONG time! "Kelly Bundy" became the "Daisy Duke" of the 80s and 90s.
man, the point of the show, what gave it any edge, was the cultural clash between the white-trash bundies and the yuppie wanna-be rhodes. when steve left the show, it was still funny for awhile, what with broken-hearted marcy looking for comfort in the we-eat-****-and-like-it bundy household. hell, it was even funny for awhile when jefferson entered (who could forget the supermarket sweepstakes episode?) because marcy was trying to mold him into steve. but gradually, jefferson brought marcy down with him, and they both became white trash dullards. the show lost it comedic credibility, i believe starting with the "trip to england" episode. that's what marked the show officially for what it became: a self-referential farce. al became a fart and lost all of his charm in pulling off the born loser persona, what with that perpetual 20-iq look on his face. kelly became better looking, but ultimately more boring. bud turned into the personification of a cum shot from diseased genitals. jefferson more and more cheesy and marcy the same. the only one that didn't really change was peg. and the jokes, which were used over and over again TO NO F**KIN END. it's as if the show was purposely slapping itself. it hurts to watch. you know, occasionally there's a gem in the last couple of years, but i really couldn't care if they had just cancelled the show 6 years earlier than they did.
This show clearly jumped the shark when SEVEN arrived on the scene. I mean, what were they thinking? The kids character was stupid, awkward, unfunny, and just did not fit in with the show. Ted as Jefferson was a great character and I think he added a new dimension to the show that Steve could not provide. This show is still one of the greatest of all time. Who can forget this great line that many husbands whos wives nag them can relate to --> "Ahh gee Peg" Al says in his pathetic, whiny voice and hillarious facial expression.
When Seven hit the stage, my interest in MWC dropped. If he was on the show, I would just bypass watching at all. I beleve Ted M. brought a flare that wimpy "Steve" did not.
When all the women on the show became lesbians (especially Kelly and Marcy). I used to like "Married... With Children," but it started to tank big time when all the female characters turned gay. Why does a TV show have to have an all-gay female cast (even though it worked for "Designing Women," "The Golden Girls," and "Three's Company")? Kelly was the first gay character on the show. Then it expanded, first to Marcy, then Peg, then the rest of the women. I thank God that the show was pulled before it got TOO gay.
This show never jumped. Some episodes got really stupid at the end but that doesn't mean they weren't funny.
this show was great! It did get kind of hoaky near the end... but it always made me laugh. The episode when the Santa fell to his death in the Bundys back yard... classic! Hey Bundy.. heres a little tip for you... dont die with jewelery on.
most excellent entertainment!...jumped when Seven came on the scene...Best moment? Easy, when Marcy shows up at the Bundys in an overcoat, takes it off and reveals a hardly covers a thing cowgirl outfit underneath.If I recall this was a last ditch effort on her part to get Steve to shave his beard off.
Ted McGinley was a comic genius. Ed O'neil was born to play Al Bundy. One of the funniest, if not the funniest charactors of all time and is definately one of the best comic actors in history. There really needs to be more mention of O'neil on this board, he was amazing as Al Bundy and without him, there would of never been MWC. Truely one of the most classic shows of all time and I would list it second only to Seinfeld as best comedy of all time. Hated to see it go, would of loved 10 more years.
MARRIED WITH CHILDREN DIFFENTLY DIED. WHEN THE PREGNANT EPISODES CAME. SOME FANS STAYED, BUT IT WAS NO LONGER MAINSTREAM WITH THOSE LAME ASS EPISODES. I AGREE WHEN MCGINLEY ARRIVED IT WAS THE BEGGINING OF THE END. BUT THE PREGNANT EPISODES WERE REAL DUMB. AND WERE THE END. BEFORE TED CAME IT WAS THE FUNNIEST SITCOM EVER. BUT HE IS NOT FUNNY.
Not that many people remember this, but in a Christmas Episode of Married...With Children, Ted McGinley guest-starred. The episode was basically Al Bundy's "It's a Wonderful Life" episode, his Gaurdian Angel (Sam Kinison) showed him what life would have been like if he hadn't been born. Peggy could cook, Bud was a Don Jaun, and Kelly was Frigid and in College. Then, Ted McGinley showed up as Norman Jablansky, Peggy's husband. This was about 2 years before Jefferson showed up I think, so technically the show jumped the shark before Jefferson D'Arcy ever showed up.
The show did definitely jump with the pregnant episodes. It was a RIGHT ON show. It was popular because so many people could identify with it. I could brag that it was my show. But after the pregnant episodes I wouldnt. If you had been a fan you would know that Peggy was not a character who would be happy about having another baby. For instance there was an episode shortly before where Al needs to get her pregnant to and name the boy after his cousin, Eugene. To inherit 50000 grand. But Pegs keeps taking birth control pills so Al will keep having sex. And she would rather do that then get $50000 by having another baby. Al hates having sex with Peg. When he finds out her trick he makes her think she is pregnant. And she is disgusted. Those pregnant episodes were not funny, at all!! And it never went uphill from there. Also with that season everyone had bad haircuts. Al became like 'Bull winkle.' Instead of Al Bundy. Kelly was not hot anymore. Bud was just a dud. And Katey Seagal killed the show with her pregnancy. Amd her baby died for it. A lot of people blame Seven. But who would laugh at those b--- **** awkward pregnant shows. The pre pregnant episodes are still the best sitcom. And most funniest Tv satire.
Never jumped. Sure, it lagged at times, but even in the last few years, it never lost the ability to make you split a gut (I'm recalling one episode where Al was up in a tree, dressed up as an owl, and Kelly shoots him down with an arrow. Classic!) What I liked most was it was unpredictable. Unlike shows like "Cheers", you never knew where the next joke was gonna come from. The basic formula was perfect in that it took your classic family TV shows from the past (Father knows best, Leave it to Beaver, etc.) and totally inverted them, with a lazy Mom, loser Dad, and a slut and a dork for kids. A great show from beginning to end.
When Seven was added to the show, it was a pure sign that Married With Children was about to end. Oh sure, the Alan Thicke Epsiodes and European Vacation ones sucked, but all Seven seemed to do was walk around for like a few seconds....I only remember once scene with him, where he leads a girl his age up the stars. It made no relevance whatsoever to the show. I first started watching the show when it was in Syndication and the first few episodes I saw were the ones with.....Ted Mc Ginley! But a-ha! He does not kill this show! No, I thought his character was amazing, obviouly whipped by Marcy. There were good episodes pretty much up to the last few seasons of the show. Then I saw the first few seasons with Steve Rhoades. At first, I thought he was kind of lame, like they removed his character for good reason, but he had some really entertaining parts! His best stuff was like the last season when he was on, like when he gets fired from his job and then tries to save a salt water turtle and winds up killing it by accident not realizing it was in the wrong water. It sucked that he left, but Jefferson Darcy picked up well where he left off. This was a great show that appealed to people who liked the racy humor and were sick of conventional TV sitcoms that plaqued its time. Some of my favorite episodes are when Al tries to buy a new car, the two-part high school reunion episode, the one where Al finds a lot of vintage shoes buried in the back of the shoe store and tries to sell them, The two part ep where Marcy holds a strike in the shoe store because Al refuses to let mothers breast feed, and when Al takes the car to a car wash and turns out to have the same paint job as the car in "Starsky and Hutch." Great show, pretty much until the last season. Seven was only a shopping cart that put a dent in the car that was the show, but still, he's the main culprit to blame here.
Married...With Children was hilarious when it first aired, and it only got better as time went on. I'll admit that bringing Seven on the show was a big mistake, but they didn't waste much time getting rid of him, now did they? My favorite Seven appearance was when they showed a picture of his face on the back of a milk carton.
When Segal got pregnant it definitely killed the show. Those episodes were no fun. Peg is to much of a self centered flake to be excited about the baby as they made her that season. And someone thought it would be smart to make Bundy look like Bull winkle, and stop showing off Kelly. Ted wasn't that funny either but it was Segal who killed it!! If the producers really cared about the show, they would've kicked that dummy in the tummy!
MWC was rude, crude, disgusting, foul, obnoxious and dumb, and I loved it. To me, it was one of the few shows that kept TV from becoming a "Full House" wasteland of happy stupid people. I don't blame Ted. I blame that little snot Seven. The only thing that kept me watching the show during the Seven Era was the vain hope that this little snot would get his comeuppance like everyone else did. To my dismay, it never really happened. Bud went from annoying, but entertaining loser to really smug insufferable guy who actually got laid. His humor disappeared! Great Moments 1) Al and his stinky socks save the galaxy 2) Peg ends up working at Trek Burger--Pauly Shore's only funny scenes ("Bundy, you didn't make the sound." Peg whining "Whoosh") 3) Al's New Toilet 4) Bud and his "girl" Monique 5) Steve and the turtle 6) Kelly in a tight skimpy outfit 7) Al meets his guardian angel Worst MWC Moments 1) Seven 2) Bud went from Dud to Stud 3) The audience cheering the cast making an entrance 4) Peg and Marci's pregnancies. 5) Most of the last two seasons.
Fox Executive #1: "Hey (snort), I have an idea. Let's take the basic premise of All In The Family, and strip it of all of its irony and cleverness. Let's make the characters one-dimensional. Hey...let's get really BAD actors--they can play one dimension!". Fox Exec #2: "Hey, yeah! (snort) Then when someone makes an off-colour generalisation about one visible minority or another, it'll be in the spirit of hostility, not a vehicle to point out our society's flaws". Fox Exec #1: "Great idea! Let's (snort) also make constant fun of narrow, obsolete and preconcieved notions about gender loles. Let's give semi-intelligent viewers justifiation to make mean-spirited assumptions about their spouses' motivations for any action." Fox Exec #2: "Good idea! And, with a show this brilliant, we won't need to spend money on things like production values! Hell, we can spend less than $200 on set design, and drop the rest of the budget on blow and escorts! The scripts will be so compelling that nobody (snooort) will even notice!!". Fox Exec #1: "Right, as directed by our Commander In Chief, we will successfully perpetuate homophobia, sexism, racism, and ignorance". Exec #2: "Oh, and don't forget to add some bikini models. Nothing gets an audience hooting and making that 'woop woop' sound more than bikini models". Exec #2: "Wow, good idea--hey we can use the escorts as the bikini girls!!" Exec #1: "That's what I like about you, biff, you're always thinkin'!". And the rest is history.
MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN jumped the shark with the addition of Seven. This wasn't just a shark jump; the introduction of Seven stands as one of the biggest mistakes any TV show has ever made. Think about the name for a moment: Seven. There are Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Gates to Hell (for more information on the latter, check out Lucio Fulci's horror/splatter classic THE BEYOND.) Prior to the Seven fiasco, I really enjoyed MWC. It was a nice change from that annoying family crap like FAMILY TIES and FULL HOUSE that was polluting TV. I loved the nasty edge this show had. I could excuse that obnoxious, pumped-up laugh track, the dull episode here and there. But Seven ruined it. Ted McGinley never hurt this show. He was a good choice for Marci's husband (actually trophy husband/boy/sex toy) after David Garrison left. The series produced more than a few great episodes. Remember the Christmas episodes where Al had to play Santa to the neighbor kids when the "real" Santa fell out of a helicopter into the Bundy's yard? The episode where Al's guardian angle turns out to be Sam Kinison? Along with the BLACKADDER CHRISTMAS CAROL, the SOUTH PARK Mr. Hankey shows and the REN AND STIMPY Yaksmas Day show, these are some of the most warped Christmas shows ever. And that was the problem; you can't add a "nice" character to a show like this and expect it to work anymore than you can add a "mean" character to a family-oriented show. I stopped watching after the terrible episode where the Bundys want to give Seven a birthday party in the park. A mean rich guy has rented most of the park and keeps insulting the Bundys. They finally beat up the mean rich guy and his family. I never watched the show again and always wondered if they wised up and got rid of Seven. (Thank you to the above posters who let me know what happened.) If I had known that Seven would be such a (mercifully) short-lived character, I would have probably started watching again. That just shows you how bad a character can ruin a once good show and keep even a formerly loyal viewer from re-watching it.
How did ******* entertain themselves before MWC? By making farting noises with their armpits? Did they play with balloons? But starting in 1987 they had a new form of amusement. The kind of sophomoric toilet humor that might make a learning disabled 12 year old giggle. I've got a suggestion to keep all of you 'geniuses' out there entertained. You should all get together for a game of musical chairs.
The show was finished during the episode when Al had a garden in his back yard and this rabbit was destroying his crop! The rabbit would eat everything in his garden and Al blew up the whole neighborhood or something trying to kill the rabbit! At the end Peggy says,"That's Al folks!" That whole entire episode was so ****ing dumb! The show was never the same after that. This episode was when after Steve left but before Jefferson came on. Ted McGinley is not to blame for this show jumping! But during and after that episode, the show was stupid! It wasn't funny. It was very lame slap stick after that. I mean this is of the worst shark jumps in television history! The lines were pathetic, the scripts were worse than any other show in the history of televison! They should have ended the show after the second or third season! The show's creditbility would have been far better! I say quit while you are on top or when you see the first sign of slumping! This show needed to die most of it's life!
Um,Seven never really bothered me. Has it ever occured to anyone that his character was supposed to be annoying, like possibly an ironic twist of popular family sitcom cuteness in an otherwise brash show? Just something to think about before you start pounding your fists on your keyboards.
When Buck died the replacement dog didn't work for me.. well that was about when I quit watching it so....it jumped then... but boy would I ever love start seeing re runs of the first five years..
I loved MWC and hated to see it canceled. I still love the reruns. But the show did have some bad moments. The arrival of Seven was a disaster but the writers had sense enough to get rid of him (and ridicule themselves by making a couple of references to Seven later (missing kid on the milk carton, memory of Seven being forced out of Kelly's head as she memorizes sports trivia, etc.). The Al versus the rabbit episode was truly bad. I preferred Steve to Jefferson but the Jefferson character was still good. But the introduction of No Ma'am and that cast of characters took the show down a path of silliness that it never recovered from. Even today, when watching a rerun, when I recognize the show as one with No Ma'am I generally switch it off.
When I had people come over I would introduce some to this show. And they thought it was hillarious. But when peg got pregnant , that really sunk the show. More than any show I've seen! The new writers really did not understand the show! I think the show sunk big time with those bad episodes, they did not fit what the show was about it all. I see all these other reasons but did any of you who had been fans before think the pregnant episodes were good??? They were terrible!
When they moved the time slot from Sunday's at 9:00 they never really had another slot for it. What they should have did was put it on right between the Simpson's and X-Files.
Jefferson was a sign the show was going to sink soon. Then Peg got pregnant and it became unwatchable. Ted McGinley is a sign a show is going to sink. The reason they moved the show from Sunday is because it had jumped the shark and FOX knew it.
Although I couldn't stand Ted McGinley, he did have the cards stacked against him coming on the show! The character of Steven Rhoades was so perfect for the show, his departure changed the entire dynamic of the show. Once he left, Marcy's character changed dramatically, going from the "level/mature conservative neighbor, to the Man bashing psychopath!" Whenever a show is about to tank or "jump the shark" one of two things has to happen; either the writers run out of ideas and the show becomes boring....or the show becomes completely outrageous and it's unbelievable. (I.E Peggy's pregnancy, The Addition of that stupid kid "7," and the death of "Buck.) Still, now show was better from 1996 to 1991! (With the exception of the "Golden Girls!")
This was possible the worst show on television for the entirety of it's run. I think I would rather be anally raped by a rabid badger than watch 10 seconds of this crapfest. Good riddance to it.
I just watched the 1st episode of the pregnant episodes tonight. How can anyone say this is not when the show jumped the shark. When I saw this the 1st time when it was not a re run I knew the show would only get worse. How can anyone say this was not when the show sunk?? I agree the producers should've kicked that dummy in the tummy.
This fantastic show only jumped the shark in its last few seasons because the writers ran out of storylines after nine years. This was absolutely one of the laugh out loud funniest shows ever. I think Ted McGinley actually improved the show; the show was much funnier than with David Garrison. This show was absolutely at its funniest when it skewered American pop culture: Peg and Al attending "The Jeffersons' Movin' on Up Tour" , Jerry "Beaver" Matthers opening a super market and begging someone to put a bullet in his brain, Peg's idea to build "Oprah-land" as a monument to Oprah Winfrey. Definitely the "Anti-Cosby". God bless it.
This show lasted 13 episodes with Ted McGinley in it. But each episode with him was stupider and stupider. Then in the 6th season (The pregnant episodes YUCK) When he was officially put in the cast and the opening credits that was it! No show can stay afoot with him on. I would also like to point out if you liked those dreadful pregnant episodes what is your problem with Seven. Seven just shows what would happen if they continued that baby ****! But with Ted McGinley on it was going to sink.
The show jumped with Ted McGinley. He came in the middle of the 4th season. And so they didnt put him in the opening credits until the 5th (The pregnant episodes) season. That's when the show officially jumped. David Garrison, and Ed O Neal were both New York stage actors before they came on this show. That's partly why Ed played his part so well. What does McGinley prove that blonde boys are dumb too?? He is cursed he stinks. He is definately the patron of JTS.
Amazing! A show that Ted McGinley not only didn't ruin, but actually improved! Married With Children never jumped. It was essentially a raunchy live-action cartoon, and it only improved with age. I wept when it went off the air.
This show stared of as a realistic satire on being 'married with children' that many people could the misfortune of Al Bundy. And a funny exageration of what being married, especially if your a man is like. When Steve left, then Mcginley joined and Peg got pregnant. That's when it turned into a dumb cartoon.
My dad, the biggest Married..With Children fan in North America, sadly summarized an episode during the 6th season: "It's not as funny as it used to be." Father knows best.
MWC didn't jump the shark with either Ted McGinley or Seven. The use of either was the producers' show of force - an arrogant (but real) demonstration by the producers that they were omnipotent - that the show was so strong, that in their cruelness, they could add Ted McGinley, that in their utter heartless depravity in the absolute power that they had, they could add the character of Seven and knew that you would still watch. The producers reveled in your weakness. What did you do? Did you rally? Were cities set aflame because of the introduction of the Jefferson character? Was there rioting in the streets at the addition of the character whose very name was ripped from an episode of Star Trek? The show's producers' wanted you to know that they had the B-52H's, loaded with nukes and the viewers' possession of Chinese copies of the AK-47 was a trifling affair, beneath their contempt, beneath their notice and just beneath. I am Hollywood, therefore I am and you? Ah, pshaw - you are lower than the excretions of whales at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. You in your apathy deserved the character of Seven. You in your total refusal to anything worthwhile with your life, deserve the McGinley One. May he abduct your firstborn and poison your wells! jumptheshark.com is merciful, benevolent.
When everytime someone walked into a room, the audience went mad. That ruined it for me. It happened at least 10 times an episode in the later years.
Forget Ted McGinley, the definitive Jumping the Shark moment in this series was the addition of that annoying little Seven to the show in the 1992-1993 season. I was a big fan of this show, but that brat ruined it!! I guess even the producers realized it because he was phased out at the end of the season with no explanation, although he did show up the following season on the side of a milk carton. How's that for poetic justice?
What's with the needless Ted bashing? - Jefferson was a fine successor to Steve. Because the two character were very different, it kept the show fresher allowing the writers to take a different tack instead of just being an endless round of the Yuppie Rhoades vs the White Trash Bundys.
The show jumped when Peg got pregnant, no question about that. After that the show didnt have a funny moment! The pregnant episodes were some of the most terrible episodes ever, and biggest shark jumpers in TV history. Man they were terrible. Seven was just salt on the **** cake.
The show rocketed over the shark when Seven was introduced. However, he was not the reason for its failure. Rather, what did in MWC for me was having to see (on the same episode when Seven showed up) was (shudder)..... Bobcat Goldwaithe in his underwear. My therapist and I are still working on that one....
This show was resurrected when Ted McGinley arrived!!!! Before Ted's arrival, the show was constrained by the insipid Steve character.
When Seven joined it went bad, I stopped watching, when I heard he was removed from the show, I started to watch again, but didn't watch more than 2 or 3 episodes, I knew at that point the show was over and that the rest of it would be a waste of time. Watch the first few seasons and it's there that the show was at it's best. Also I think the only reason Ted McGinley is a target for JTS because he did it on other shows; but he was great on this show.
The highlight of the fall was all the "quality shows" that were going to bury "MWC". Cosby, My so called Life, I'll Fly away, etc. and it out lasted them ALL. MWC never got credit for breaking stars, (Traci Lords, Matt LeBlanc), hiring minorities, gays, etc. A great show that had more fans than the critics would ever admit.
Married...With Children is one of my favorite comedies of all time, and even as the seasons went on, it still had funny storylines. But I don't think season 11 was really necessary. It was interesting to see how Kelly and Bud got jobs in the real world. But by the 10th season, these children were old enough to have children. The mistake the show made was not having Kelly or Bud each getting married, so we can have Peg telling Kelly the secrets of marriage, and Al to Bud. Then at the end, both Kelly and Bud's wife have a kid, so Al's "Married...With Grandchildren." That's the way I would have wanted the show to end. But let's hope that a MWC reunion show is in development, as Fox says one is.
Addition of Seven. The first few years of this show were very funny in a dark, twisted way. Married With Children was unlike anything ever seen on tv when it first came out. Sure, it was crass, vulgar and you couldn’t dare call it sophisticated. But you know what, it was a comedy, and it made people laugh. David Garrison and Amanda Bearse as the yuppie couple next door were perfect foils for The Bundys. Garrison left too soon as far as I’m concerned. Btw, what is the man doing now? I heard he left to do theatre. Anyway, Steve’s departure was the first shark jump and I really don’t think the show ever completely recovered. It could still be funny but just more erratic funny. And those who say Ted McGinley ruined MWC are being a little ridiculous. The show was showing signs before he joined the cast. I think Mr. McGinley was just a victim of circumstance, so to speak. Poor McGinley. The guys really not that bad.(although he was in “Welcome Back Kotter”) I didn’t watch quite as much after Garrison left but whenever I tuned in over the years I noticed that McGinley was improving more and more and they seemed to be writing better for him. But the chemistry was much better between Garrison & Bearse. My favorite character on the show had to be Christina Applegate as Kelly. I do love a dumb blond and she was perfect in that role. I wonder if they’ll ever release the Steve years of MWC on dvd. I would pick it up. But for those who say the show really jumped w/Seven were absolutely on the mark. I can’t imagine not a single person in the pitch meeting, idea meeting or pea-brain meeting, whatever you want to call it said “wait a minute, not a good idea”. Little kids have ruined countless shows. Bob Newhart was smart. He refused to portray a parent of a small child in both his classic shows. And Ray Romano seems to know how to integrate children into his show “Everybody Loves Raymond” without it being too sappy or precocious. Unlike absolute dreck like “Full House” which is centered around children. Yuck!!! Anyway, I’ve gone on too long. I just wish David Garrison had at least stayed w/the show another couple of years. Oh well.
This show was designed to be a farce, so it really couldnt jump the shark, HOWEVER, the behavior of Marcy in the later seasons was irritating. The way she would punch men for no good reason. I was disappointed in the last episode, because I wanted to see Al haul off and deck her a good one. My favorite was when Al got a knock on the head and was seeing aliens....HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!
when the show goes to London it was completely unfunny and a waste of 2 episodes. I was a big fan until then. I think the show "Friends" almost jumped when the cast went to London.
Married With Children definitely peaked during the rarely seen/never replayed episode in 88-89 where Steve punches the midget in the face. I'm sure some Society of Midget Lovers was up in arms about that one. But then, within the next season or 2 Al changed from a down-on-his-luck toughguy loser to a goofy ******. I'm wondering if that may have happened after Al donated those 9 pints of blood ("the human body is only supposed to hold 8 pints, but the brain hides a pint") in that hillarious "Kelly the poolshark episode". While I still enjoyed the show, it definitely jumped the shark after Al loses his mind.
Having Peg get pregnant totally threw the show off course. The Producers were concerned with the actresses feelings and it lost it's edge. The show was never about babies, they should have let her have the baby then taped episodes. Or just filmed around it.
It's a tough call for me. I was thinking it was the episodes where they wouldn't even focus on the Bundy's anymore, but try to promote new actors-such as the episode where Kerri Russell made her tv debut, or the one where they got these 20-somethings in a diner. But the episode where the show really lost it was the one where the network executives made a show based on the Bundies' life.
I realized at a very young age that the "Kid Trick", aka Robbie Rist Syndrome, was only an outward manifestation of a show's decline. When I saw it happen on Married..., I knew the shark had been jumped, and things could only get worse. Here is something to consider when laying blame, however: Sure, it is easy to blame the downfall of MWC on little Seven--and I do. But ask yourselves this. How did the little troll get there? Courtesy of SPECIAL GUEST STARS Linda Blair and Bobcat Goldthwait as the trashiest Wankers ever to come out of Wanker County.
Seven definitely killed the show. The second jump was the aliens wanting Al's socks (after Seven had come and gone). No one mentioned the "period piece" as being one of the funniest episodes of the series.
Jumped the shark : David Garrison leaves. Jumped the orca : Ted McGinley joins. Jumped the whale : The "dream" season. Jumped Moby Dick : Seven arrives.
Married......With Children kicked off Fox's sitcoms. Even though it really sucked to start and should probably have been canceled, they rebounded well, and most of you argue that our pal Ted McGinley probably made MWC jump the shark, he might have made MWC jump the shark in the positive way. But this isn't a post for Mr. McGinley's lone "accomplishment" on tv.... The reason why this show jumped the shark was when they introduced Matt LeBlanc (from Friends of course) as Kelly's dumb boyfriend and devoted TWO episodes to him. One on him and Kelly and one on him and his dad. Those were the worst episodes ever for that show.
JTS when the kids got older. The older Kelly got---the uglier she became. Once Bud transformed into Grandmaster B, this show officially jumped.
Seven. Hands down. Final answer. But I was glad to see some of your post-ers inform the others about Katy's miscarriage, hence the "dream" season. But I wonder if the Seven episodes were from a stockpile of scripts that were written for Peg's child, and they decided to use anyway. It seems strange to be sensitive to Katy, and then do "kid" episodes anyway. By the way, Ted McGinley did not shark this show; I actually liked Jefferson better than Steve, once the Rhoads got to be friends with the Bundys, and the preppie-neighbors-can't-stand-the-strange-folks schtick was no longer valid.
Remember that one time they paraded Kelly down the stairs in a slutty outfit? Oh wait, that was about 50 times. How about that one time Peg insulted Al's sexual prowess? No, that was about 100 times. How about the one time Marcy made some kind of shrill, feminist statement? Oops, 50 times again. Wait I know, wasn't it funny in that one episode when the audience's white-trash hooting and hollering occupied 30% of the show's time? Sorry, that was EVERYTIME! They used to cheer that way everytime the Fonz walked in as well. Which leads us to the coincidental fact that Ted McGinley was an add-on to both Happy Days and MWC. I don't blame McGinley for ruining any show. We should rather see him more as a symptom to help us detect when a show has gotten truly stupid and desperate. The environment has to be "McGinley-friendly" before you can add him. By the way, until watching MWC I didn't realize that only really fat chicks and skanky Hustler models shopped in shoe stores. The show did last for 10 years...on FOX...
To me, this show got only better when Steve left, and after seeing the "lost episode" on FX tonight ("I'll See You In Court"), that only proved my point. They could have kept that episode lost. It wasn't very funny to me.
The one episode that Jefferson calls Al by at string of character names from previous show and movies Ted had been on (Fonzie, Gopher, Ogre) "mistakenly" in a rushed, nervous voice.
The show was always entertaining, and better than any american sitcom I've seen. It became stupid when Peg got pregnant though.
A hugely enjoyable show. A few hilarious moments demonstrate: 1) Al: "Why didn't you come to my court date?" Peg: "Oh, was that today?" 2) Bud: "My friends and I saw you pushing the car. We didn't think you were going to make it up that hill." Al: "If you saw me, why didn't you help me?" Bud: "In this heat?" 3) Sam Kinison (in an episode that was literally and figuratively a scream) describing his first marriage: "When I found my grandpa's teeth under her pillow I knew there was TROUBLE IN PARADISE!" So when did it JTS? While you are all focused on hall-of-famer McGinley, and the child Seven from Shark Central Casting, the real answer is Al's affirmative-action co-worker. He never said anything amusing, and Al didn't make any derogatory comments behind his back, as you might have expected. There was absolutely no point to him at all, and I stopped watching. I'm afraid I can remember neither the character's name nor the actor who portrayed him, but of course it hardly matters.
When bud was about to go to college, the familiy intercepted his student loan check and spent it on crap for themselves. Then when Bud confronts them about what they did, they laugh in his face! If nothing else, the Bundys would stick together. Not screw over the one person from that family who was going to amount to something. That was the only episode I ever watched in TOTAL silence. I turned my back on that show forever after watching that jackalfest. Good bye and good riddance!!
This show jumped when Michael G. Moye and crew bailed out after the 10th season. The 11th season, while containing a few decent episodes, was mainly GARBAGE (take the garbage man episode, for example). The show began it's decline probably around the 5th season, not because of Jefferson though, he was a good character. The decline was faster after Leavitt left after S7 but good episodes were still prevalent through the 10th. And at least they got rid of Seven, so no problem there. I'd say my favorite was when Steve loaned Al 50 grand so he could get the Hawaii trip, then Al makes the shoe hotline. Hilarious!
married... with children is a great sitcom that never jumped the shark completely, but it did, indeed, come close a number of times. yes, i must say i agree with most of you posters above, the addition of seven to the show was a definite shark jumping on the horizon. that little **** made them clean all the jokes up, and that little demon was the worst child actor in the history of television. most of the episodes with him in them were absolute crap. and whats with him being in one episode, then out the next, then in, then out? i dont care really care that he mysteriously disappeared after a while, at least michael g. moye and ron leavitt had the good sense to kick him to the curb. also, whats with everyone saying ted mcginley made the show jump? he was better than that weinie steve! steve was the all-sensitive guy, and he was a little wuss. when jefferson was introduced, he sparked up the show a whole lot, and the show became that little bit raunchier. did you ever really hear al talk about the nudie bar before he came in? no wonder he left marcie, she scares me too. and too everyone saying the much earlier episodes are better, there is no way! the earlier episodes (e.g. season 1 to 2) were pretty dull. bud was a little ****, and nowhere near as funny as he was in seasons 3 and 4, when he had that dorky haircut and hed just hit puberty, and was getting interested in girls. those mid season eps were funny. later on in the show, the characters DID start getting a bit cartoonish. al to chauvenistic and a wise-ass, peg too lazy, kelly too dumb (although she DID seem to smarten up as the show went along), and bud too desperate. i wished buck would shut up. he was cute already, but that damn voice of his ruined it. oh yeah, and those damn spin-off eps, like the vinnie verducci ones sucked! i think a lot of other people will agree with me. so this show never jumped the shark, but it did come close to shark waters on numerous occasions.
10 years for a sitcom is a great feat. we saw the kids grow up. McGinley DID NOT cause this show to jump (I actually prefer Jefferson over Steve). The show, at that time, much as "soap", pushed things to the limits (they were on FOX, remember). the show jumped because of bad writing the last several seasons. (if we didn't have bad writing you would be dealing with a thirty year old Kelly now) - family sitcoms are planned obsolences. the kids get old - the show is over - get used to it. What might have scared away a few million viewers???? that little bastard Seven... I loved that show but only tuned in every other week when new shows were being aired - i hate that kid!!!! long live "no ma'am". and girly-girl beer. Where can I find "Hooters" magazine? (BTW - I think "Gary" is hot!!!!) MWC is in the top five of my favorite shows. it deserves to be there - compared to other sitcoms... (excluding "the young ones" from BBC).
IMO Married... jumped when Buck died , for a while after that it was still watchable but it just wasn't the same. I heard that during it's least season, they lost something like 2/3 of their viewers , considering how bad it was in the last season , I can understand this. Ted definitely didn't make it jump, if seven would have stayed he would have been the shark moment but thankfully they got rid of him. But when Buck died , it just wasn't the same. Unfortunately there wasn't much that could be done , he wasn't immortal and if one episode he simply vanished it would have looked very odd. It's sort of like sitcoms that jump when the kids grow up , it's virtually unavoidable :(
MWC never jumped. Although David Garrison's leaving was a shame, and Ted McGinley's Jefferson was an inferior replacement, the show still had great humor and wit. How many other lowbrow sitcoms of this style last more than one season? We can thank the writers and Ed O'Neil, Christina Applegate, and briefly David Garrison for keeping it fresh and well done for so long (and perhaps find it in our hearts to forgive them for the Seven episodes).
This show has never jumped the shark. It was intended to be, and always was a show for belly laughs and crude jokes. That in mind, the idea that some people who have absolutely nothing better to do than to critique this show detail by detail exist is just horrifying. Keep this show in it's context, and just enjoy the laughs.
The show jumped not long after Steve left. It was alright for a while, but shortly after the new boyfriend's (Jeff?) arrival it went downhill. Still, it kept on going for years after, even though it had become crap. I live in Australia and I don't think we ever saw the episodes with this 7 kid. Sounds pretty bad though.
MWC was on so long, you can smell the stale sets and studio audience body odor on later shows. Where did they recruit the audience from, prisons? BTW: Reason why shows stay on long is that the cast and crew do not want to lose their cushy jobs.
I agree with the posters that said that Ted McGinley was actually good on Married With Children. Infact the role of Jefferson seem to be his ideal part. I think the thing that made him work was that he and Ed O'Neal worked well together, finally Al had a real partner in crime. I actually believed that Al trully liked Jefferson wheras it always seemed like he only tolerated Marcy's first husband Steve. To me this series went downhill during the last season. First FOX moves them out of their comfortable spot on Sunday nights and some of the plots started to look old and recycled. It was as if the series had lost it edge and in doing so Jumped.
This show used to be pretty damn funny *until* they stopped censoring the laughs from the crowd! I could not *stand* it when Ed would walk in and the crowd would go Nuts! It sounded like a locker room when he came in and it totally blew. Also when the son became a stud and he grew up and began working out-- that sucked. Christina Applegate was always hot so that was nice. But if they had left the cheering, hooting, idiotic crowd out of it i would have watched it.
Married With Children, sure had Ted McGinley. He did not cause this show to jump the shark. Jefferson actually added something to the show. This show did the jump when SEVEN came into their lives. This kid was unlikeable from the start. He was out of place in a family with a loser father, trashy mother, slut daughter and deadbeat son. I hope the FOX exec's who came out with idea were outright fired. Forget Ted, SEVEN ruined the show
I really enjoyed the show during the first few years it was on television. From the time that the "Santa Claus" plummeted to his death in the Bundys' backyard, to the brawl with another family on the freeway during Labor Day, to the ashes of Marcy's aunt that got mistakenly sprinkled on Al's grill during a holiday cookout, there were a lot of laugh-out-loud outrageous moments comparable to I Love Lucy and The Carol Burnett Show. Even Peg's crying whines were similar to Lucy's tearful sounds. I didn't like the addition of Ted McGinley (actually what I disliked most was the loss of David Garrison) or the addition of Seven, and I thought that the group NOMAAM was a dud idea, but I don't think any of them were directly responsible for the show's downward slide. The jokes just became too predictable (the season where the Bundys go to England was the worst - every other episode there was a joke about Kelly going to the Free Clinic and Bud and his affair with his rubber woman). The pacing also became sluggish (some of those episodes were directed by Amanda Bearse, who played Marcy) and it was as if the performers no longer had the energy and zip that they had when they first started the show.
Ted McGinley didn't ruin the show, but he didn't really save it either, per se. But it was still funny after he came aboard. However, when 7 showed up it was apparent this show was on it's last breath. Did anyone ever laugh at anything he said or did?
The day Seven walked into the Bundy household! That kid should have been shot! They could have married Kelly off or turned Bud gay or something to add a new character. Also, I thought Peg and Marci were knocked up together....what happened to Marci's baby??
Married with Children was probably one of the greatest shows ever created. They did make one mistake with casting that little boner Seven, but besides from that it was great. Ed O'Neil is a genius, and how couldn't you think so after his Blockbuster movie role in Little Giants.
It jumped the shark when Katey Segal got pregnant and they had to include the "Seven" character in the plot.
This show never jumped the shark. Great show. Jefferson was a hilarious character in my opinion. The way he agreed with Al about Marcy while sucking up to her was always funny to me.
Does anyone remember the episode where they did it with an entirely different cast. All the main characters were in it for like 2 minutes and it had these other people who were supposed to be kelly's ex boyfriend, his current girlfriend. Weird.. IF they wanted to put on a pilot, just put on a pilot, don't put another show between the marrried.. theme song and credits..
This show ate the clams with botulism and then sky-rocketed over the shark when Al and Griff were garbage men. That has to be one of the top 5 worst episodes of a sitcom I have ever seen (excluding UPN). The only slightly funny thing in the show was something Jefferson said, and that wasn't NEAR enough to save this. I can watch any MWC, and love many of them, whereas a few I only tolerate, but this particular one brings forth emotions of pure disgust and horror about how a show once so great and popular (29 million viewers) could sink to feeding this to the American public. Oh yeah.. David Faustino wrote it... hopefully it will be the last script he ever writes.
when for the longest time you never knew who Gary the shoe store owner was, then they couln't go in any other direction so they introduced AL's boss Gary, who was a woman!
Actually this show did quite well when Ted McGinley came on. His character was great a male version of Peg. It was Seven who killed the show. He was without a doubt the most hate-able kid to appear on a T.V. show. A word to the wise for all you aspiring sitcom writers out there: DON'T ADD MORE KIDS!
When that little sack of crud Seven showed up. Before that it was the best... Al taking Bud to the nuddie bar and then getting in a brawl.. awesome. Al built his dream bathroom with the 4 rolls of TP .. genius.... Amanda Bearse.. HOT HOT HOT ... to bad she dines at the Y. The only show where Ted had some talent. This show rocked what else can I say... but it sunk with Seven
I almost chose the exit stage left category- Luke Ventura! After the first season Luke was written out and they stopped trying to make shows about a family that could actually exist in the real world, but it didn't begin it's nose dive until Marcy woke up married to Jefferson. And it really started to suck when Peg got pregnant- Then when Katey Sagel lost the baby (She really was pregnant) they pulled a Dynasty and made it all a dream (That was Dynasty wasn't it? I was pretty young then) Then they brought in that little brat Seven. Yes, that's when things went from worse to unwatchable.
I'd have to say it was around the England episode, but not because of the trip itself. I have to agree with the person who said that this show eventually became a cartoon. When it first started out, it was a standard comedy, slightly exaggerating the tediousness of suburban married life, and stretching mundane ordinary complaints to the incredible. Yet somehow it was believable: although no one could be as broke as Al Bundy and live in that neighborhood, or as lazy as Peg and still have any sort of marriage, we could kind of relate to them. Then Steve left, and somewhere around that time (maybe a little before then), the show turned into a parody. Instead of just slightly exaggerating the little things, it turned them into major obstacles and victories for the characters. And these were the most memorable episodes: the little things and how they were portrayed like Al waiting on the telephone forever, Bud being punched out by every girl he tried to hit on, the nudee bar, the feuds with the neighbors were all humorous reminders (or escapes) from the same types of things in our lives. Then Amanda Bearse got control, and yes, it became a cartoon. Right down to people getting hit by cars and getting up again. I won't blame the rabbit ep for that trend, because it was funny just that once. However, when writing and comedy got replaced by special effects and stunts, thats when this show jumped the shark.
Of course it jumped when Ted came on board! Getting rid of Steve Rhodes was not a good decision, but bringing on Mr Television, McLean Stevenson 2.0, if you will, really done it. That the show was cartoonish was beside the point - it always was cartoonish! But it started as a good cartoonish (think Rocky and Bullwinkle) and became bad cartoonish (think Jabberjaw).
Even if MWC is not on your favorite list, you have to think back to 1987. When this show started, the only prime time to watch included Family Ties, Growing Pains, the Cosby show, and a bunch of other dribbly crap that I do not care to remember. This show broke new ground, and never really got the credit it deserved. Please watch this show with respect.
The writers of MWC wrote themselves into a corner when Katey Segal became pregnant during the run and sadly miscarried. Peg Bundy striving to be a loving expectant mother was rather out of character. The "Hail Baby" cheer and Bud "Grandmaster B" as a precursor to the Eminem wannabe got old really, really quickly. Even after the tabula rosa dream sequence move to erase that entire season, the writing team never seemed to get out of a funk. Enter Seven, the England trip, and several years of recycled jokes without a deserving finale. Still, you gotta love the National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood and scoring four touchdowns in one game for Polk High. A Bundy never wins, but a Bundy never quits! God bless Al Bundy!
When that friggin' brat 7 showed up. However, I must point out that the show had a few good episodes after 7 appeared and then mysteriously "dissappeared" I assume he's chillin' with chuck cunningham and the older sister on That 70's Show. there's one more thing I'd like to emphasize: I was an avid fan of this show until I graduated high school, which was the 92-93 season of MWC. I can't help but notice the show got progressively worse after '94. could it be the producers and writers realized their "core audience" had moved on and they had to dumb the show down to make it attractive to younger viewers? yes, i know MWC couldn't get much dumber, but adding NO MA'AM? Getting rid of Buck only to bring Lucky aboard? cutting kelly's hair? making Griff a permanent character? terry bradshaw? FOX should've pulled the plug in 95.
This show ran 10 YEARS? Wow, I had no idea. MWC was a unique show because its the only sitcom I know that, during the course of its run devolved to the point where, if it hadn't ended when it did, the next season there would have been no dialogue from anyone, just grunts. It had a good first few years with a reliable, though not uncommon premise of an Everyman father and husband who gets no respect from his family and has a job that sucks (selling shoes). Then as the years went by, it strayed so far from reality that I couldn't watch anymore. Food fights over stuff mined from the couch? Marcy a sex-crazed, jealous fiend with Jefferson her boy toy? In fact, most of the jokes got to be about sex and it was just overkill. The more clothes Kelly shed the dumber she got. And when it became clear David Faustino wasn't going to grow past 5', his increasing gnomishness would become a cruel, but unfunny, running joke. By the time they added Seven I'd long stopped watching but it had JTS way before then.
Bob Goldthwait and Linda Blair showed up and helped introduced a new character (Seven). Funny thing, I didn't mind Ted McGinley's Jefferson though.
I always watched MWC growing up, but there were too many inconsistencies that you just cannot overlook. In the first season, Al and Peg seemed to have a happy marriage and Al even initiated sex with her. Two seasons later, we find that Al would rather hang himself than have sex with his wife (for reasons that are unclear) only occasionally being interested in sex. Plus, when did Peggy quit smoking? In the early seasons, Kelly was a normal teenaged girl interested more in her social life than studying. She was still smart enough to ace her driving test yet she couldn't even open a door knob in the later seasons. One minute Bud is a stud and the next minute he can't get a date to save his life. Why was Marcy portrayed as sexy in some episodes and in the others she is mistaken for a boy? It seems like the only consistent characters are the ones that left the show: Steve and Seven. Overall, I thought the show was groundbreaking and Ted McGinley didn't hurt the show (he didn't make it any better either) but the characters became too silly to figure out.
I think at some point I saw every episode and while the show was always funny, it got horribly stupid, particularly in the later years. Early on, Al was stuck in a dead-end job, Peg was a bad housewife, etc. By the end of the show, it became almost cartoony with all the slapstick. Kelly went from a ditz to so stupid she couldn't tie her own shoes. The Seven fiasco and the pregnancy that wasn't - repeated shark jumping. FOX unfortunately wouldn't put it out of its misery because it was their first original show so they kept it on until no one watched it anymore. All things considered, I still gladly watch the older episodes since it was, at one time, a great show.
I've read most of the comments and most point to the intro of 7, the pregnancies, or Jefferson as the point when the show JTS. One thing that nobody has really mentioned is the show's dynamic and how it changed. The show started out as the anti-family values sitcom and as such it had merit and a realism, not to mention a bite, that could never be matched by "quality" shows like the Cosby's or Family Ties. What the show thrived on was stereotypes and the satirizing of them. From Al as the everyman, working class slob to Peg as the lazy housewife, the materialistc yuppie neighbors and the bratty kids, suburban life was shown in an entirely different light. There was a balance with this satire and the characterizations, however. No so-called group was safe. Men, women, kids, adults, the rich, the poor, conservatives, liberals, gays, straights, etc. were all teased. Around the 6th season or so, this balance was lost. Yes, that little **** 7 was a bad move and maybe Katy S.'s pregnancy wasn't properly handled, but the show could have fully recovered from those disasters had it kept its original premise. But it went the way of the rest of America in the early and mid 90's, it became too PC. Soon the only group that was ok to bash were men, witness the inept NO M'AM idiots. I think Amanda Bearse had a lot to do with this, considering she directed most of those episodes and the fact that Marcy ALWAYS got the upper hand in the end, which was really annoying, b/c Al did win every once in a while in the earlier seasons. Also notice how the guest babes became less and less attractive or weren't displayed as provocatively as before. I mean, let's face it, the majority of the show's audience were young men in high school so what was up with that. If you want proof, just remember the infamous episode that started all the bad press and protests from that woman, the one where Al and Steve go to the lingerie store. Now think of that topless woman in the changing room and compare her looks and the attitude of that show with some of the later episodes, like the one with Tawny Kitane (sp?) and the shoes from the 70's. There's no comparison. And what was with all the new gay jokes. All of a sudden everyone is gay. Al and Jefferson display homoerotic behavior (Al stroking and commenting on how soft Jeff's skin was), Lucky turning out to be gay, bringing home the butch bulldog (Lucky was supposed to be Buck reincarnated and Buck was definately not gay) and, of course, Amanda Bearse coming out of the closet. Some of you have commented on Kelly Bundy not dressing sluttily anymore and wondered why. I too lamented her wardrobe change as I was deeply in love with her all through junior high and the first couple of years of high school. The reason was she didn't really like it, complained to the suits and so they toned it down. She said it was demeaning and would hurt her career. Yeah right, good call, Christina. It only hurt the show. Another example of PC ruining the show. The show also became more cartoonish with every season, culminating in the final travesty of the 11th season. (Anyone remember when Al went to Hell and Robert Englund was Satan. Give me a break) The characters were more realistic in the beginning. Al and Peg actually had sex without him kicking and screaming (remember the Labor Day episode), Kelly had street smarts and wasn't a complete whore, and Marcy was somewhat tolerable. But the writers wrote the characters into a box which they couldn't get out of. That's when you get the same tired old jokes: Marcy's a chicken, Al can't satify Peg, Peg is lazy, Bud has a rubber woman, blah-blah blah. And when they tried something different, it never really worked, such as new characters (except Jefferson, I actually liked him), spin-offs, and out of character antics and behaviors. Not to say that the old tried and true stuff didn't work but it did get, well...old! BTW, the cheers for the characters was not canned, it was live and real and became a studio tradition. I didn't really mind it for Al and Kelly, maybe even Bud once in a while, but with anyone else it was awful and I think the set crew encouraged it to give some illusion of acceptance of the other characters (ei. NO M'AM crew, Miranda Vera Cruz de la Hoya Cardinal, that bitch Marcy) to the audience at home. Now don't get me wrong, MWC was and is my favorite TV show. I watch re-runs every chance I get on FX and Fox. I'm just laying another opinion out there of why the show went down, because no matter how much you like it, you have to admit its quality went downhill. Its sometimes frustrating to see an old one (seasons 1-4, or even 5-6 'cause Kelly was just so hot) and then watch a newer one and compare/contrast. The older ones were edgier, the actors had more energy, Kelly was hotter, the writing was better, and most importantly, there was a balance in the satire. It wasn't prejudiced or slanted in any way. In the old seasons, everyone was fair game, nothing was safe, and there was greater freedom for satirical humor and farce. In the later seasons, the characters had become caricatures of themselves (which is wierd) and very little was left for attempts at original humor because all you had was the same old situation over and over. Couple this with the PC, slanted humor and what the audience was usually left to was a ridiculous display of worn out jokes, cartoonish special effects and characters, and unrelenting male bashing with only the occasional glimpses of the kind of humor that made MWC the hit it was in the first place.
Good news for me ,and everyone in my city. After playing the last episode of the 5th season (The season right before the pregnant episodes, where Ted was also put in the opening credits) They have gone back to playing the 1st season of the show!! I hope this cycle continues forever. I guess local network executives are not quite as tasteless as national ones. I don't know if McGinley is the cause of shows jumping or just the shadow of death for shows. It's hard to say because those pregnant episodes were so bad, and they came right when he was put in the opening credits. And the show never improved, that is when it jumped in other words. FOX has always played fun shows like this, In Living Color, many others. Other networks so bad stuff about them I think because they are jealous. This has always been the only american sitcom I really watch. They say FOX is tastelss, but in reality they are really more adventous and better. Because at least they don't play **** like Freinds, Seinfeld etc. And this was their first big show and still one of their best. (Until the 6th season of course).
A sure fire way to tell if the rerun of MWC is going to suck is to see what stage of puberty Bud is in. Much like BJ Hunnicutt and his mustache, if you see Bud with facial hair, turn the channel and don't look back.
I loved this show. It was the answer to the cosby show which I could not stand. Kelly was street smart and Bud was a pain in her neck. Their relationship and one-liners were the best. Despite how hot Kelly was I did not get the impression she was easy. I always assumed Bud was being annoying. The show JTS when Bud remarks became true and Kelly's comebacks were peppered with mispronunciations. It also jumped when the whole family is fighting over food. I know Peg didn't cook and stuff, but it went from Peg being on the couch stuffing her face with junk food, to everyone fighting over a potato chip they found in the couch. In the first season they were never stuffing there faces like animals. By the last season they would be grunting at the dinner table.
Did ANY new characters help this show? I mean really give up already when every attempt fails: Jefferson (tolerable), Seven (nightmarish), Peg's folks (dad anyway .... how could the reputable actor stoop to this floundering show?), and finally the solid turd at the top of the tree: Lucky the dog. Killing Buck (whose real death didn't coincide with his character's -- why'd he have to go?) put the final nail in the coffin.
"Married with Children" was the generic family depicted in "MAD" magazine: Dad the beer-guzzling slob; Mom the raggy, big-haired, painted-up housewife; the slutty big sister; and the loser kid. This show was more like a real family (as I knew them) than "Family Ties" or "Cosby." When MWC premiered, FOX came in on an UHF station 70 miles away. My sister and I huddled around a 5" B&W set in the kitchen to get it, but we "suffered" every week ! STEVE was great, especially when he fell under the influence of AL. A classic burned in my mind is where STEVE and AL are going to swipe a million dollars and in discussing the consequences of revenging a botched job after landing in jail STEVE says to AL that "My boy friend will be bigger than your boy friend and he'll beat your boy friend up!" I continued to watch the show after STEVE left, but it wasn't the same.
After reading many of these comments that are being said about MWC. I have come to realize that the majority of the people writing in here have only seen a handfull of episodes. When David Garrison (Steve) left the show it was well written to see him goin nuts. Then to see marcy Feminazi chicken sheboy extrordonaire marry the future sidekick of Al was amazing. Seven of course was stupid and they got rid of him quite fast which was smart. The No Maam Episodes were priceless. yes some storylines were quite ******** but they still let us laugh. So to sum it all up No the show did not jump the shark and to all of you who honestly hate this show. Go watch your braindead WB NBC comedys where its fronted by mindless yuppies who are funny as a tumor.
this show never jumped but i will tell you what put the last nail in the coffin....when in the last season fox moved it from sunday to saturday and then monday....i can remember telling my girlfriend....well that's it....last season for this one......btw thank you fox for the reunion show.....and lets get that lost episode out there for those of us that dont have cable....
One of the main problems with Married...With Children were the jokes. Sure the jokes about sex, Peg's laziness, etc. were funny at first, but when the jokes were constantly recycled, they lost their humor. The audience applause was annoying too. In the later episodes, it seemed like the audience cheered wildly at everything Al said.
This great show was famous for its irreverence and its vulgarity and in terms of jumping the shark goes , it was headed for grandeur in that arene as well, because we are dealing with three major matters which have caused other shows to go bad ,those three being A THREE PART TRIP TO EUROPE, ADDING AN ANNOYING LITTLE KID, ADDING TED MCGINLEY. They had enough sense to get rid of the little kid, Ted McGinley didn't wreck the show because it was already starting to downhill any way, so I think a specific jump would be the european trip. A more general jump happened when Kelly cut her hair short and she wasn't as hot looking as she was previously. And she was hot looking. Made Sunday night TV an event.
It's pretty clear to me the show was unraveled when they introduced the character "Seven". He was suppossed to be Peg's nephew I think. Shows will survive by adding new characters simply for the sake of someone to work some sort of plot on. Unfortunately, this character added nothing to the show. I think he was written out farely quickly, though I don't remember. By that time the show was getting tiresome and my interest was waning. I figured it'd have a couple last dull seasons before going off the air. And that is what happened. I guess I had wanted the series to end. You know when a show you really liked is starting to get to the poing where the shark is in sight and you just wish for the sake of the show they call it quits before it gets ridiculously bad? That's how I felt about Married...which I had watched pretty much since it first aired.
While it is true that the show did jump the shark. Let us not forget that for the first few seasons this was one of the funniest shows on television. And through it all Ed O'Neill played one of the most original, strange, but still realistic characters on TV.
The plots became so outrageous and unbelievable. Al started to gain too much weight, he also had a second chin. I thought there was no food in the house remember? The kids got to old especially Bud with his goatee. No MAAM was just plain stupid and not funny. I have no problem with Jefferson, to me he was as good maybe not better than Steve. The season that turned out to be a dream when Peg and Marcy got pregnant was the beginning of the end. I think that was 92. But from 88-91 it was the best sitcom EVER.
At the risk of losing all credibility here, Ted McGinley was the high point of this show! He may have been involved with an inordinate amount of failed sitcoms but I looked forward to Jefferson weekly (and in syndication). He was a perfect contrast to Al and I would have quit watching years earlier if not for the addition of his character. Unlike every other character on the show (at one point or more), he never once delivered a line that made me roll my eyes. Jefferson D'arcy is one of the top 10 all time sitcom character greats!
This show was definently the most outrageous humor realistic satire on being married with children and tasteless too especially for a "family sitcom." I was watching an early episode, the one where Peggy's relatives came to visit featuring 'King Kong Bundy.' And Al could not stand her inbred cousins and so he goes banging on the Rhodes Home right when they in the middle of a "Romantic Moment." And after Al would not stop banging on the door they finally let him in. He turns on the lights and says "Sorry guys I don't wanna intrude, oh hey Marcey do you have a beer in the fridge. SORRY I DONT WANNA SPOIL THE ROMANTIC MOOD HERE, HEY MARCEY DO YOU HAVE ANY TUNA IN THERE?" Whooo. There was not much canned laughter I think to make it as sudle as possible. But I think that was the first show to tell that kind of joke.
MWC was the best show they ever put on TV. Seven was a HUGE mistake but they yanked him off after 5 episodes. And Ted,(aka,Jefferson,) did not kill the show. I feel he did the show good. But the show lost it's spark in the last season. That's when co-creator Michael Moye left,(the other co-creator Ron Leavitt left in season 7,) with both creators gone the writings wasn't the same anymore. And the reason there was no farewell episode was because the network was unsure about cancelling the show. Ed and Katey were both angry about that. But the last season had it's moments but it just wasn't the same anymore. And I think it was good that the show ended when it did. Rather then spend 3 or 4 seasons as a shell of it's former self.
I don't get it... Am I the only living being who actually loves Seven and all the episodes he's in? Those episodes were funny and witty. It was sad that he had to leave and especially sad that he didn't got a proper goodbye. Instead of giving some sort of explanation, they just got rid of him a la Chuck Cunningham in 'Happy Days'. MWC got sillier over the years, but thanks to the great characters and mighty fine actors, it never jumped.
This show never jumped in its 10 years on the air,it was silly,raunchy fun from start to finish! The early episodes were the funniest,when Kelly had platinum blonde hair,Bud's voice hadn't broke and Al still had his Chicago blue collar accent,but it remained funny throughout. Steve Rhoades was sorely missed,but Jefferson D'arcy was a worthy replacement[don't pick on Ted McGinley he WAS funny here!]. They don't make shows this funny and raunchy anymore,truly an original!! Whoa Bundy!
1.)"Married With Children" is the exception to the Ted McGinley Rule. It actually got funnier when he came on it.[It was the one time he could actually have fun with his pretty boy image. Married with Children let him do it.] 2.)Why was seven even on the show? [I didn't care if there was no explanation, I was just glad he was gone.] 3.) In my opinion, Married With Children begin to JTS when Kelly & Bud got past college age. The show also began to lose its edge and was running its course, as all shows do.
This show, like Roseanne and many others--starts off with promise, VASTLY improves, and then sinks like a stone! I think I missed the entire last season, except the finale. By the by, I HATED Bud Bundy, and the snobby little fart who played him. I agree with whoever said his turniing into a stud was a BAD MOVE. Steve was great--but so was Jefferson--I think this is the best thing McGinley ever did, especially after they defined the character better. Thanks to whoever cleared up the 'mystery' of Peggy's pregnancy. I agree--the writers were classy to handle it that way! Favorite episode (ironically w/ Seven--thankfully briefly): Peggy tells him a story about a princess (her), a pirate (Al), a singing pirate (Steve in a triumphant return), a cabin boy (bud), etc. Klassic!
Fantastic show that never jumped. This show, along with The Simpsons, was probably the greatest era of the FOX network. True, FOX reached a second high point with the Futurama-Simpsons-King of the Hill-Family Guy combination, but Futurama & Family Guy were tragically cut short. But Married With Children was the perfect remedy to the miserable 80s sit-coms . I do have one minor complaint about Married With Children: in later episodes it could get annoying when characters like Al, Bud, Jefferson, or Kelly frequently received a standing ovation for merely walking onto the scene.
I can't believe no one else listed this, but there was "A Very Special..." Valentine's Day show in which the audience was asked to call, by their choice, phone numbers that would determine whether or not Al said "I love you" to Peg. And DAMNED if the audience voted "YES!" Major disappointment...he should have said, "I'll love you when you're in your casket," or anything more Al-like.
It is possible that MWC jumped with the introduction of the Seven. I dont know, I had stopped watching by that point, due to professional obligations. I was in college when FOX, as well as the show, started. In order to keep this short, I will be brief. I like Steve better than Jefferson. I dont care if Amanda is gay, Marcie served a purpose. Al was a guy I hated in high school and drank beer with soon after. Bud was my brother's friend who liked to party. Futhermore, Kelly would be too hot to pass up an opportunity at; Peg had too much looks and attitude not to take a shot at; and Marcie liked to get kinky. If they were real, what a neighborhood. Seriously, the show was well written and well played. It was ahead of it's time and badly executed. As Fox began to develop into the fourth network, MWC became less significant to them, and as less resources were allocated to it, the return began to decline. For most actors, identification with a certain role is a handicap. I will continue to check out movies of which I'm not already familiar, based only on the presence of Ed O'Neil, Katy(sp)Segal, and Christina Applegate. For the man who played Bud, I have no apology. You were a kid when I knew you, good luck. I'm sure I spelled some of the names wrong and I'm sorry. I was in a hurry. I have to go to work. Married With Children was easily the most funny, yet pointed sitcom of it's time.
The day Griff joined the show was when my favorite show of all time jumped the shark. The dynamic of this dysfunctional family and their neighbors were suddenly turned into a bumbling cast of nitwits. Al became a drunk, Peg quit being so horny, Kelly became an actress, Bud worked for the DMV, and the Darcys were Ted McGinleyized. Really they both looked like Teddy boy. Griff you ruined my show and you deserve to be a reoccuring special guest on those Tony Little infomercials.
Whats with all these pretentious jackasses posting who say MWC is only for the idiots and trash of society? I have one thing to say to you ... GET A SENSE OF HUMOR. Take your head out of your ass and get a reality check, MWC may have been exaggerated ... but it really did represent society. Why would I want to watch all of this fake, "happy family" bull**** with idiotic petty little problems like with the Brady Bunch or Full House when you can get how families are really like with the Bundy's. Everyone knows that families can be and ARE at each other's throats a lot of the time, like the Bundy's were ... but they really did love and stick up for each other, like a lot of us do. You call it sleazy? You call it tacky and disgusting? I call it funny! Not only was it realistic, it was also hilarious, which made it the full package. The Bundy's were just your average bitter, poverty-stricken, hard-off, conflict-filled family. Simply, it captures all of the hilarious things that you wouldn't find so hilarious if it happened to you ... but, for most of us, it has before. MWC RULES!
I do not watch any episode where Bud has a beard and Kelly's hair is short. One of many shark jumps.
explain to me how marcy got all pissed off when steve was getting fired and started to be a couch potatoe..but yet when jefferson came into her life how he never worked but yet was indeed a couch potatoe..face it readers the best husband was that of steve rhoades..jefferson was a bore bottom line.......the steve episodes were way better then that of any jefferson episodes........ill take period piece,ill see you in court,her cups runneth over,earth angel,the one episode where they used marcys dead aunts ashes on the bbq was true classic......unlike any of those pathetic snooze fest jefferson episodes..dont get me wrong here some jefferson episodes were good but far from what the early episodes were about
I was mad when Al was never ever going to sing the title theme anymore. I even sang along to the jingle. It was one of the only shows that we can hear what Al was watching.
MWC didn't jump the whole shark all at once. It just gradually spiraled adrift until it stopped being funny, and with this material, if it ain't funny, it ain't watchable. At first the raunchy gags served a brand of dark, ribald comedy, but after about 5 years or so, the show deteriorated to the point of desperation. The face plant wasn't that the writers made Peggy's pregnancy (and whole season with it) a dream, but that they even entertained the idea of bringing two new babies into the storylines in the first place. In negating the new babies, the show actually lasted 4 seasons longer than it would have otherwise. After dodging that bullet (through no brilliance of their own), why would the writers add a Seven character? In general, families can be funny, children can be funny, marital fights are funny, but fighting in front of small children is not funny. Nor are smart-assed small children, when they're playing for cute. But losing Steve Rhodes was the first step. His character enabled schemes of Al vs. Steve, Marcy vs. Steve, and the standard battle of the sexes. But he was a well-developed, well-acted character, not a shapeless lump like Jefferson who changed to fit each plot's convenience. Without Steve, the Al vs. Marcy dynamic was limited to Marcy looks like a chicken. But it wasn't just Ted McGinley who ruined the show. The damage was already done. As the kids got older, David Faustino's lack of acting ability was more and more obvious. But at least Bud and Peggy's characters were consistent throughout. Kelly was devious or ditzy from one episode to the next depending on the plot. If there was a shark in the series, though, it was with the introduction of No Ma'am. The engine of this series, what made it funny even in the face of weak stories and truant cast members was Al. He was funny because he was chauvinistic, lowly, beaten down, hapless and conniving. He was a poor sap, but reluctantly accepted that he somehow deserved his low station in life. Even though the Jerry Springer episode started out with a great Al Bundy monologue about Ladies' Night at the bowling alley, the rest of the episode made Al a self-satisfied martyr as head of No Ma'am. The show never recovered. After that point the show prostituted Al's opinions for cheap laughs instead of satirizing them. Not as funny.
Instead of "Jumping The Shark", it was more like "Getting Rescued From The Shark" (With exception to the last season). Especially When Steve Left, and Jefferson arrived, Steve was boring, Jefferson gave it a new life! I also think that NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonion Masterhood) was one of the funniest story lines period. Especially the 2 part episode when "Psycho Dad" gets cancelled by Marcie's woman's group, so Al and his NO MA'AMenytes go to Washington to Protest in order to get they're favorite show back on the air! Another funny episode with the NO MA'AM gang is the episode where I think we're first introduced to them when Al and his friends' way of life is ruined by TV talk show host Jerry Springer (as himself, and coincidantly enough as a talk show host) The Emasculant Feminest (?) who turns The Nudy Bar into a poem reading joint.
It's easy to say the new kid on the block (7) was the impetus of the shark jumping, but the real reason was Marcy (Amanda Bearse) becoming more involved with directing the shows. The shows lost their edginess and became Cheers-Chicago. (NORM!) (AL!). People who hate this show probably watch that leftist crap on PBS.
This show was [IS] a classic. It came close to hurdling Jaws several times, only to wrestle itself from danger. SEVEN? basically magically disappeared! Ted McGinley? Jefferson was a great character! Peg is pregnant? It was all a dream! Amanda Bearse 'comes out'? Marcy is still Marcy! NO MA'AM? A hilarious invention! The show evolved from guy who hates job, life, wife, kids, neighbors, etc. to basically become Al's favorite show: Psycho Dad! Darn great show! And it's all thanks to that one lady that protested that we all now know of this show!
Seven, Jefferson, and preg Peg were all precursors to the show blossoming. Everything before then sucked, which leaves me to believe that some shows shows can jump backwards. At first glance at this show, I thought it was just take on married life from a reversed point of view, with Marcy and Steve there simply to contrast. The only real characters where the two families themselves, on opposite ends of the spectrum. The show kept getting better as they began to define the characters, but kept the contrasts. Peg became more vain while Al keeps getting screwed while working hard (sometimes). Kelly turned slut while Bud couldn't get any at all. Well to do Marcy and slacker Jefferson. The introduction to No Ma'am was the pinnacle of the show. I felt that the show sucked long before Seven, Jefferson, and preg Peg, and after all those were through, the show got better because they couldn't get any worse. "Realism" also helped the show alot towards the end.
MWC never jumped. Seven was stupid, having Peg preggo was a mistake, but never jumped. TEd McGinley was as Jefferson, different than Steve. Steve did have the sardonic wit, but Jeffeson being the whipped himbo made Marcy's character funnier. Fav episode is the Dumpwater, FL one, where the serial killer is also "The Man Who Met Andy Griffith."
Married with Children is one of the best sitcoms of all-time, it broke every rule in the sitcom book but it's not the only one. MWC follows four family members: Al Bundy, who is a shoe salesman who could care less except watch TV with his hands in his pants and a beer, Peg Bundy, a lazy housewife who wears more tacky clothing (and make-up) than Tammy Faye Bakker, Kelly Bundy, a ditzy slutty daughter who uses her looks to get what she wants (mostly sex), Bud Bundy, a pathetic virgin semi-dwarf of a son who would do anything to woo a woman to have sex with him, and last but not least, Marcy Rhoades-D'Arcy, who constantly gets picked on by Al for her lack of figure who happens to have two husands Steve Rhoades (divorced) and Jefferson D'Arcy (a male version of Peg). MWC is the best satire-dead-on-parody-of-a-sitcom ever! MWC was on during the time where Bill Cosby was teaching the values of family on television and when Alan Thicke has a hit sitcom after a disasterous late night talk-show. MWC was a hit with most people in TVland. It was the first hit show on the fledging Fox network. We saw some fins where there's too many jokes about Marcy's "flat breasts" where it makes her look more like a chicken than a woman. It jumped the shark, when Seven was a cast member but only for about 5 episodes. It jumped back when it became the funny it was before Seven arrives. My favorite episode is when the "No Ma'am" gang goes to Washington, D.C. to fight to "Psycho Dad" back on the air again after Marcy's group protest to get it off the air (and did). Al Bundy is one of favorite TV dads of all-time ranks him with Homer Simpson, Archie Bunker, Jack Arnold, and Dan Connor. LET'S ROCK!
When Steve left..the show went with him. There were still some good shows after he left, but they were few and far between. Nothing bad against Jefferson, but without Steve Marcy turned into an unfunny sex crazed bimbo. In the beginning ,one of the things that made the show so funny was the contrast of the Bundys and the Rhodes. The Rhodes had their faults ,but were fairly normal , then you had the Bundys ,the absolute bottom rung on the evolutionary chart. It was great. But after Steve left the characters were too much alike. Marcys character was no different from any of the Bundys. I only saw one episodes involing Seven, but i'm sure those are the worst episodes. Also the writing got much worse in later episodes. MWC's final episode was awful. A sad end for a once truely great show.
I've watched this show from the beginning when it originally ran. It was edgy and raw and one of my all time favorites. The defining moment when it went up the ramp to jump the shark was when Steve (David Garrison) left. Then it went from there..Jefferson, Seven, talking dog, etc. The characters started to act like *******. Including Al, who if you watch the early episodes, he was a man's man. Later he lost that edge and became a silly caricature of what he once was. Sure there were a few good episodes after Steve and it was still entertaining, but it lost the edge they originally had and never fully regained it.
I'm glad someone else mentioned this and I echo their sentiments exactly. The episode where Al plays a sandwich as if it were a musical instrument was the stupidest thing that has ever been broadcasted to an unsuspecting audience. I actually get sick to my stomach every time I see that horrible moment of television history. I feel embarassed for Ed O'Neill. It makes me want to pull all my hair out and set fire to things. It fascinates me how that made it to air in the first place. How could anyone think for a moment that that would be the least bit amusing. There is no other way to put it, it simply was the most idiotic, most discomfiting scene in television history. It makes me sad.
What the hell were they thinking when they made Buck speak? It's very ill conceived to add a sassy talking dog to a show thats supposed to be an anti-sitcom (Family Guy excluded). It wasnt too bad when Buck had a few token lines, but the show jumped when whole episodes revolved around Buck. This was a great show up until then. Ed O'Neill was the perfect Al Bundy, although it was hard to believe he hated giving into Peg's sexual advances considering she looks like all the women he ogles. As Fox's flagship show, MWC deserved a better finale.
This one's easy. Seven. 'Nuff said.
This show was a great exageration and characturation, that many could relate to on some level. Exagerations of a wife, or husband, or kids, or neibors. I think it jumped though around the time McGinley arrived. And the women got pregnant. They handled the pregant episodes with class...I guess. But I think it through the show off topic. Not to mention that McGinley is about as good as a wet fart.
I've seen just about every single episode of Married... With Children either in syndication or on its original air-date and I believe that the show started to lose steam about 3 seasons before it finally went off the air. The reason: it started to repeat the same jokes over and over again. In these last three seasons all of the jokes had one of these premises 1) Al is really stupid 2) Kelly is a slut or 3) Bud tries some hair brained scheme to get laid. Its really unfortunate because it was such a funny show and they should've ended before they started repeating themselves.
This show got better as it aged. The best episodes might have been in the middle years. The treatment it received from Fox at the end was in poor taste. They should have had the opportunity to have a last show. One of my favorite episodes was about Al being kicked off of the softball team. He comes back and wins the game. The last scene is the best. Its a tribute to the movie "Eight Men Out". Al plays the part of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Who didn't like Kelly in short skirts and high heels? I loved Peggie in her all leather dom outfit and high heeled boots. Bud was the boy that never grew up. What is he now, 5' tall? I watch it in rerun all the time.
Ok Married with Children is one of the greatest shows of all time. The first song I ever sang was "Love and Marriage". There were definitely some awful plot lines, but it never truly jumped. Seven was just horrible. They should have killed him off rather than trying to get us to believe that it was just a dream. At least it would have gotten a better audience response. All of Buds fantasies/encounters with Amber were amazingly clever and well thought out. I wasn't a fan of Marcy being single, and I think that Ted McGinley was a much better husband for Marcy. Although all the future meetings between Marcy and Steve were terrific. All the episodes featuring an all-out brawl involving the whole family were priceless. I thought London was very weird, but clever. The room service bomb was hysterical. Peg sleeps with her knee in Al's back. Al pretending to be Jefferson so that he can sell the collector Barbie. Toaster Leave-Ins. Hilarious. The epitome of humor in my generation. The Bundys.
I think the shark jump coincided with when Buck died. First of all, I'm not crazy about the way they handled the death (reincarnating Buck as a cocker spaniel named Lucky just wasn't working), and further more, after that it really seemed like the show just ran out of ideas. If you see Lucky in an episode, you can pretty much tell it's not going to be a great one. I think the show did manage to stay in top form for an impressively long time. While the introduction of Seven was a mistake, the show managed to recover from it and stay funny, and they even made fun of themselves for it at some point (when Seven appeared on the milk carton). But once Buck died, the show died too.
Although the arrival of Seven was far from a step in the right direction, what I remember most was good stuff. When Kelly got her drivers license, Al had to add her to his insurance policy. His policy was with " Jim's Fish, Chips and Insurance ".
I loved this show. My grandmother that doesn't speak a word of English but understands enough, loves this show. It was the most refreshing thing on TV after a decade or so of the Cosbys and all their sugary goody goody bull. But sadly, when it all became about what strippers would be guest starring, the nudie bar, and guys in the audience acting obnoxious, it got boring. They could have remained deliciously tasteless without compromising the other characters on the show, which they did when it became all about Al and Ted McGinley's character hanging at the strip bar with their stupid friends. They could have done more with the kids, Peggy, Marcy, and even the dog! They could have remained as shocking as they wanted to be, but instead, they got stale and ran out of interesting ways to keep fans on their toes and Fundamentalists outraged.
This show never jumped, it was the perfect satire of the suburban American Family. If You didn't like it then you didn't understand it.
Married With Children should have never been cancelled. They were doing so well and with a few minor dings that have been eliminated [Seven] they always managed to get back on the upside. If anything, the thing that killed it was the last episode. If they were planning anything after that, it would have died anyway.
When Buck the dog died and they brought in the new little dog (don't remember the name)!
This show either dies a slow death, or jumped the shark in small amounts. Regardless, it is one of the funniest shows ever and it still holds a place in my heart. And keep in mind that I'm a graduated film student who loves artsy-fartsy movies. MWC appealed to the stupid, crass side in all of us, and by doing just that it succeeded in its purpose. To amuse us, not to question the moralities of our society. Or maybe it did, who cares. I remember being 8 years old and sneaking to the TV set when my parents were out so I could watch this racy, 'forbidden' show. Now in my 20's, me and my older sister still laugh at the show (and cheer the name of whomever walks onto the set in a burst of studio applause).
After Pegs (I can't remember the actresses name) real life baby died, a stillborn I think, you could tell the show jumped the shark. The writers didnt hide her pregnancy, they wrote it into the script, and when it died, they made it the dreaded dream sequence by Al. They couldnt tell anymore dead baby jokes, and you could even tell the emotional impact on peg.
to everyone else- 1) ted mcginley was a great addition to the show, because of the way he acted about marcy, and the fact that every now and then they had people asking him about happy days and the love boat. 2) everybody is right about the addition of seven to the cast. however, there were 2 good things about his character: his dad was played by bobcat goldthwaite, and the episode where they took him to the park for his birthday and ended up beating the crap out of the rich people. 3) the NO'MAAM episodes weren't great, but they weren't horrible either. Griff and Bobrooney were actually pretty funny. 4) everyone is bashing the England episodes, but they weren't all THAT bad. And for all that, what about the 2-parter where they went to florida and dealt with the serial killer? that was classic and hilarious. 5) 1 thing they didnt do; they should have had peg's mom go on a diet and show up as a hot chick. now that would have been funny. 6) the charlene tilton episode. 'Nuff said.
The addition of the Seven character and the way they handled his demise, the picture on the milk carton, was a brilliant thumbing of the nose at all the shows before that added an annoying kid character to spice up their failing show.
A few things here: (1) Seven = cousin Oliver, (2)the Jefferson D'Arcy character was way better than Steve Rhodes, and (3) Al playing a sandwich was one of the funniest TV moments I have ever seen.
Peg and Marcy's dreamed pregnancy, that is why you don't write that crap into the script. Shows should not be adding new kids. Keep the ones that you have when you start out. How come these shows like Family Ties, Growing Pains and the like add a new kid because the actress that plays mom gets knocked up! When oh when has this format ever improved a show. They just seem to make the show go down hill. Jeffery Darcy was way cooler than Steve Rhodes. The beauty of the character was his laziness and the fact that he was so obsessed with his looks. The addition of Seven was stupid. He wasn't even a cute kid! I'm sorry that Katy Seagal lost her baby in real life, but jeez, those were stupid episodes.
Cmon people! Al playing the sandwich like a harmonica had to be one of the funniest site gags EVER! I actually did that as a joke in fromt of my co-workeers and they all got it immediately. And the I'm too sexy for my shirt routine Al did in the London store was hysterical! Didn't care for No Maam, it just seemed to forced. And Mcginley was GREAT here (and not sweakey clean like his other characters). Oh yea, New Kid in Town with 7 was the JTS. Four touchdowns in one game......
This show jumped the shark with Seven, but after like 8 episodes the kid is gone, so it does a reverse jump. So 8 bad episodes out of 259, thats not bad. Married With Children is my favorite show of all time, there has never and will never be a funnier show. Long live MWC!
When they introduced Ted Mcginley of a kid named Seven! I was glad when they quietly axed him and left a reference to his disappearance on a milk carton in one episode.
Never Jumped. Came close in the last season, but didn't jump should have closed it out better though.. The thing about the Pregnancy dream sequence. Katey Segal's pregnancy was written into the script and Katey had a miscarriage. Anyone that says it jumped at that time is insane, how well could you change that??? They wern't going to have the Pregnancy run its course or have something happen to Peggy's baby also. The Al getting fat thing, yeah he never ate, but HE DRANK A LOT OF BEER. Beer belly anyone?? the jefferson character was actually better than Steve. Steve was funny, but Jefferson complemented Al better making fun of Marcy was great. Best episode was actually on FX today when they had the fight over the Apple Tree had the property fights, the yanking up of the Darcy's house, the blowtorch. CLASSIC EPISODE. IO have seen it at least 30 times over the years & laugh my ass off every time.
FOX re-ran their Christmas episode "A Very Bundyful Life" - even in the most wonderful time of the year, they were still the Bundys. Seeing Sam Kinison as Al's guardian angel should be a holiday tradition.
That kid Seven, no question! It's great that MWC realized their mistake and just cut the kid loose (that milk carton is a classic). I remember catching an interview with Ed O'Neil and a fan mentioned that "seven" wasn't the best of moves. I don't know if he was playing stupid or not, but he responded by saying something like, "Yeah, season seven probably wasn't our best season"
Never jumped!!! One of the funniest sitcoms ever!!! They did have some episodes that were not good, espeically by the last season when all the actors was tired of the show and the wriiting sud=ffered as well, but for the most part one of the funniest shows in the history of tv. Redd Foxx was a comic genious, and the character of Fred Sanford is one of the greatest characters ever created for tv. However as much as i liked him, my favorite episodes were the Grady episodes . Whitman Mayo did an excelent job as Grady. It was too bad that his show "Grady" didn't catch on, but i saw an episode of it, and it really was not that good. I love almost all of the first four seasons of the show.
I don't think there wasn't anytime when MWC jumped. I don't think it was when Buck died or when Seven joined the cast because all of the episodes were funny as hell. If somebody thinks it was because of Buck died or 7 joined they aren't a TRUE MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN FAN!!!!!
MWC started declining way before the arrival of Seven, but his ultimate non-existence paved the way for an anything-goes mentality that turned a once sharply-written sitcom into a geek factory. The saddest part of the Seven episodes is that I suspect the producers were cheaply trying to salvage stories written about Peggy's new baby, a plotline abandoned due to Katey Segal's real-life miscarriage. It's a suspicion that left such a bitter taste in my mouth that I hardly ever watched the show again. And from the few episodes I did see, MWC would have fared better as Shark chum than life after the jump.
In my opinion, Married with Children was one of the few shows that never jumped the shark. Now a lot of people say that the show jumped when Seven arrived. However, he was only on the show for 12 episodes. That is really not that many when you consider the fact that the show went for 11 seasons and over 260 episodes. Another thing people say is that the show was not as good when Jefferson ( Ted McGinley) showed up. While Steve was good, Jefferson was just as good, or even better than Steve in my opinion. The only problem I had with the show, was the fact that they never had a propper series finale for the show. The last episode was just like any other regular episode. It never felt like any closure was brought to the show. My favorite characters were Bud, Al, and Jefferson.
Seven sucks - need I say more!? Some people might wanna say it was when our patron saint Ted showed up but, ya know, I'm gonna admit something here, and it just might get me stoned to death, but I actually have a soft spot in my heart for Jefferson D'Arcy. Steve was such a dopey husband for Marcy, he was such a good boy, and he just wasn't man enough for Marcy. He was a wuss. Jefferson, he was money grubbing, sneaky, manipulative, etc. he was the perfect partner for Marcy. Hooray for our patron saint. You go Ted!!!
Fox pretends it's still a very edgy network, and in some ways that's still true, but, this was the show that built the network, and it's fair to say if Fox were just starting out now, that wouldn't happen. This show would get yanked off the air so fast, b/c people can't take a joke, esp. when it's so deeply rooted in reality. I know people like this. They're not horrid people, they're not wastes of zygotes, they're really pretty widespread throughout the US, and like "Roseanne" in its first few seasons, it was a far more accurate representation of real working class families, unlike "Family Ties," "The Cosby Show," or "Growing Pains." The addition of that kid, Seven, was really stupid. I can't even watch that season. But otherwise, this is such a funny show, and watching it syndicated now, I see how smart a lot of it really was. It was over-the-top and cartoonish, but still pretty accurate underneath. I'm a woman, and I'm not offended by any of it, even though I've been told I should be. Why? B/c of the group No Ma'am? That was so funny! Sometimes men and women do need to be separated for awhile; it helps everyone stay sane. I truly feel sorry for Al. God, that poor loser, working the worst job in the history of the world, and then having to come home to unsympathetic, greedy people who manage to spend every bit of change he's got, and having to live next door to Marcy and her husbands (I liked Steve, but I loved Jefferson. This is the one time Ted McGinley did not harm a show in any way!), who make a helluva lot more money than Al, so why do they live in the same neighborhood? That never made much sense, but that neighborly dynamic saved the show more than once, and kept it going for 10, 11? seasons. Fox started screwing with its first big hit, changing times, nights, threatening to cancel, and then cancelling it w/o warning, w/o an appropriate finale, and that's some cold ****. No respect. But they've done that to a lot of their shows, so, it's probably pretty comfortable by now. Who cares if people are watching the show or not? However, if they tried that w/ "The Simpsons," do you think they'd succeed? And, hey, I love "The Simpsons," but, do you see my point? Or, to quote Bud Bundy: "Once again, I'm the meat in a moron sandwich."
The first season or so this show was actually somewhat smart and satirical, then it slowly shifted it's focus from funny parody of the family sitcom genre, to lame self-parody. For me the the jump became impossible to ignore with the England episodes. From there the show got far too dumbed down. What became embarrassing to watch was the dumber and more pathetic Al got, the louder and more frequent members of the "I'm stupid, and damn proud of it" studio audience would respond with loud, hoarse YEEEAAAAH! shouts. It was if they wanted all to know that Al's ignorant remarks were striking some deep unifying visceral nerve. Kind of scary in a way.
I love this show, it's still hysterical in reruns, but there were a couple of shark jumping moments. Shows always do this, they write something into the scritp that they wish they could take back, so they make it a dream. Remember when Peg got Preggers, and Marcy was preggers too? They had these weird baby meeting and all that. Then, boom its a dream, no baby from either of them, instead they bring that stupid brat Seven. Second, there was an episode, guest starring Keri Russell, who I have loved since her MMC days, but that episonde was weird because there was hardly a Bundy in sight for the whole episode. Occasionally you'd see Marcy protesting something, maybe Bud would stick his head in but that's it. And am in in the minority for liking No M'am?
This show definitely jumped with the addition of Seven. (By the way, is it coincidence that the new child on the show is named "Seven" one year after George Costanza proposed the same name for a child on Seinfeld?!?! Let the conspiracy theories begin).
This show got stale in the last couple of seasons, I think the writing was on the wall during 96-97, when it went through 3 or 4 timeslot changes, not to say we were missing anything big. Anyways, as much as I loved this show, I could not stand the audience's hooting and hollering. Major character walks in, cue loud applause. Al makes a funny, cue loud applause. This is part of the reason that I stopped watching That 70s Show (other than the fact that it's become lame). To all the bandwagon Ted McGinley haters, Jefferson was just what Al needed to help him make trouble, he lasted longer than Steve Rhodes (too conservative), so he couldn't have killed the show too badly.
This kid seven was a complete waste. I think even the producers realized it because they did entire episodes at that time where seven is only seen for about 6 seconds (Peggy reading him the story of Captain Courage anyone?) After they got rid of him the show got back on track but the last few episodes with Al and Peg getting divorced were just horrid. I'd say those are the only blemishes on a great show
MARRIED WITH CHILDREN was at it's best during the first four seasons. Steve and Marcy were a perfect match. Wonder why David Garrison thought that it was time to move on when he was a STAR on a HIT SHOW that was in it's prime? Ted McGinley was not a bad addition to the show and certainly was not responsible for the show's demise. What ever happened to Luke Ventura anyway? He was supposed to be a main character but disappeared after four appearances during the first season. I believe that this show suffered from age, losing it's edge as the years went on. Look at M*A*S*H to see what I mean. Still love the early years of the show!
MWC jumped in the Fall of 1991 when Peg and Marcy became pregnant. The first season was OK, but the show really got good with "A Period Piece" in the Fall of 1988. >From there it was hilarious every week up until Peg's pregnancy. At first, it seemed like the pregnancy bit would actually make the show even funnier (after all, this was against everything it stood for), but it didn't. Even after the whole pregnancy bit was written off as a dream, the show never got back to its former level of raunchiness; instead, characters and continuity actually began to develop, in contrast to the former emphasis on ridiculousness. Other milestones on this downhill course included Bud going to college, Kelly getting a job (besides modeling), Seven, the death of Buck, Peg's hair getting less like an A-bomb, and finally the change of time slot to Saturday (a terminal sign!) and then to Monday. Having Kelly get married (almost!) in the finale was actually kind of fitting, though. Mind you, I watched the show through to the end, but it never got back to the callibre of the 1988-1991 episodes.
I have to agree with a couple of other folks here. Kelly's character was a slutty teenager. The shorter hair made her look her real age (24?) She still looked good, but just didn't look like the same nasty type of nasty girl I lusted after in high school. And, to be obvious, the Seven episodes, at least the parts with Seven in them (except the one where the Bundy's beat the crap out of a yuppie family,) were beneath contempt.
MWC is one of my all time favorite shows, but it jumped the shark when Steve Rhoads left. I use that as a point of reference, because they did have some good episodes between the time Steve left and the time Jefferson came onto the show. Jefferson joining the cast was not the reason the show jumped. The show jumped because the writing got stale and seemed to more and more lazy. Steve and Marcy brought a sense of normacy to the show. After Steve left they altered Marcys character and just made her too weird and too much like the Bundys. The thing i liked about the earlier shows was the contrast between the Bundys and Rhoads. That was diffently missing not long after Steve left the show. It soon became like every other tv show. Insted of being a parody of other shows they became a parody of themselves. I know that shows usually need to evole their characters if they are on for a long time, but too me they ruined all of the main characters by making them too cartoony. I started to watch it less frequently in it's final years( the first few seasons i watched every time it was on, repeat or no repeat). It sucked when they had the dog die and him came back as Lucky. The addition of Seven has to be one of the worst moves made during the shows run(possibly the worst point for this show). The No Mamm idea was awful and completely stupid and unfunny. I did think the England show was not that bad. Don't get me wrong, i don't think it was great, but considering that usually when a show goes somewhere for vaction the shows are usually the worst of the series(Family Ties goes to England comes to my mind at once) I must admit that when i first found out about the show being cancealed i was disappointed and wanted it too last longer, but looking back i knew that the show that i had really liked had long since been gone and was replaced with a mere shell of it's former self. Well i can always watch the early seasons on tape and DVD.
I loved "Married With Children" back in the late '80s and early '90s. I still love watching the re-runs on FX. Unfortunately the show totally jumped the shark the second that annoying little twit Seven was introduced. That was a sure sign that the quality in the show was going down (along with the ratings).
I never thought MWC ever had a bad episode. They were all good with about 7 out of 11 a season being what I call "classics" That is, after the first season whcih the characters were still finding themselves. The 1st season had about 4 classics shows. This show changed T.V. it was not Rossanne like most people think. The Bundys were the original disfunctional family. The kids are starving, the wife is lazy and the husband hates sex with the wife. The neighbors are perverts. No wonder they origannly wanted to call it "Not the Cosbys." Before MWC all T.V shows were family orientated. The Bundys never remember birthdays, they do not vote or celebrate traditional holidays, they don't go to church, they have all been arrested. The true low class trailer trash family with a twist. Like Peg said.. "Hey, we're Bundys, we don't call the police, people call them on us." They have family rumbles on the freeway, in a park, at the movies, the Bundys kick ass. Great writers of their time considering where T.V was at that time. The classic reverse point of views that made "All in the family" a classic with Arch and Mike was the same clash of ideology that Marcy and Al had for womens rights and the enviroment. Okay so the Seven of nine year was a bad choice, the writers rectified that. They had to work off their cuff like when Peg miscarried her child. One can only imagine the classic shows the writers had scheming for the third Bundy baby. All I can say is that this show put Fox network on the map. Everyone laughed at R. Murd. for going up against the big 3 but MWC helped keep it going until they could sign the Simpons writers from Tracy Ulmann and then get the NFL. Without MWC, Fox would probably not have made it. Not one show lasted longer than 2 seasons and they had hundreds of shows. A true classic full of emmys and golden globes, but that means squat. I wish we had more of this kind of T.V. today. T.V morphed into the wimpy, pansy, caring shows that would make the Bundys barf their dinner, that is, if they ate.
The show did not really jump the shark, it just evolved over the 11 seasons it has been on, which is inevitable over such a long time frame. The character traits evolved over the first season or two (Al having no money, Peg being a couch potato, etc.). The show just ran its course. Remember that Detroit housewife that headed up that boycott against MWC? She complained later on how that controversy just made the show more popular and she "deserves a fruit basket from them annually." Screw that, she seemed pretty well to do anyways.
Beginning with Pegs pregnancy,but the show really took a tumble in season 7. Became a cartoon,with sophmoric,silly humor.
It did a little hop with Seven and then hopped back when he went missing but didn't truly jump until season 9. It became clear that MWC was running out of steam and with Moye and Leavitt leaving the talent behind the scenes was gone. Bad spinoff ideas didn't help and the biggest crime was a tepid finale episode. The show that launced Fox got nothing in the end. Ted McGinley didn't hurt the show at all.
Ted McGinley only made this show better, Steve sucked, when ever he went on the screen I felt like sleeping. The chemistry with the chicken's new hubby and Al Bundy was excellent, they actually became friends and made fun of Chicken-lady together, it was great.. and Steve was dry. This show didnt jump the shark, it was one of a kind, and diserved the what.. 10 seasons that it got.
While Seven was quite possibly the worst idea ever seen on the small screen, the writers knew it and did away with him. The show was great before him and the show was great after they got rid of him. He was only around for a season or so, then they just did away with him, so it wasn't like the other shows where they added a terrible child character and kept them for the rest of the show.
The very next episode 133,"T-R-A-Something-Something Spells Tramp", was the last episode that Ron Leavitte was executive producer of "Married", before he left. It was slowly downhill for "Married.. with Children", after he left the show. There weren't as many jokes per episode and they were not as funny anymore.
This show was brilliant up til the point when they started to do a LOT of episodes where Al and his weird friends were having parties, if I remember correctly it was around the 8th-9th season.I was just too american and dumb.
This was a fantastic show. But it started to get less funny once NO MA'AM came around--which didn't make sense, characters like Bob Rooney and Griff were great, just the writing wasn't there for them. Also, this show befell the same curse as Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in its final seasons--it became less mean, and the Bundy family almost seemed to *gulp* get along with each other from time to time. By the way, did anyone know that Micheal Richards(Kramer)was originally intended to star as Al Bundy, and Ed O'Neill was originally cast as Sam Malone of Cheers?
I feel this is an instance of the Ted McGinley Jump the Shark reversal. Steve was such a weiner then Jefferson came along and laughed behind Marcy's back whenever Al burned her. Classic!
First, my thoughts on McGinley. Ted doesn't really kill the shows he's on. He has just been cast as a too little too late remedy for so many terminal TV shows, that he has become somewhat a harbinger of TV doom. I never thought they topped the Bubba Smith trophy episode. When Amanda Bearse was given some (maybe all? but far too much) creative control and too much time was given to inane bitter men vs. women dreck it bypassed the ramp and was slowly and mercilessly devoured. Can I be the *only* man who resents it even a little when the women win some %98.9996 of these battles? All I really get is the "hammer throw" in the dog house episode? That *was* classic. A few other minor victories for Al but not nearly enough considering how much funnier Al is.
Married With Children is the greatest sitcom of all time. Also, Ted McGinley is a great actor and, I think, a major improvement over David Garrison. (Although David wasn't bad) The show is a classic and extremely funny.
After the "big controversy" set in (late 1988/early 1989) and the fan base ballooned, and the in studio fans got significantly more easy to please and would applaud just about anything. At first it was mostly Christina Applegate, but eventually it was the entire cast, including Buck the dog and even Al's pals in NO MA'AM. It became to easy for the writers to fall back on easy time killers such as: staggering the introduction of actors into the scenes and Al's "spontaneous" rants against society. None of these things were laugh getters, or even funny for that matter. But the audience always cheered and it ate up time just as well as laughter. The equation is simple: Easy studio audience = weak comedy.
When Seven showed his ugly mug. No talent, no depth of charachter. The whole show seemed to revolve around his inane stupidity and his lack of talent, a cardboard cutout would have been better. Gone were the days of Al being a pig and Kelly bouncing around. It was as audible as when Al flushed, the show was in its death spiral down the toilet.
I know Ted McGinley was on this show but he was on it a lot longer than the guy he replaced and I think he was a better character. When they added the characters of Griff, Ike, Officer Dan and the notorious Bob Rooney as No Maam (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood) the show only got funnier. Al is still the greatest. Kelly was all that and a bag of Chips. Peggy was ok too
Christina Applegate was only a year older then the character she played. She was born in 1971 and when the show aired in 1987 Kelly was 15, so do the math. I thought Bud looked his age too, when he went through puberty. I think that as this society becomes more immature it reflects on our kids, but it is not strange if some actually look their age, but that is another matter. This show was always kind of silly, and not always funny, because some writers were better then others. I think when Katey Seagel got pregnant, it was just too awkward of a situation, and change in the show. But the writing got real lazy and silly around the time Ted came on anyways. Whoever was the stylist of that show really did a terrible job too, starting on the pregnant episodes. I think the producers wanted to tank it. I'd say it was on the ramp though when Steve left, because his charcter was part of the exaggeration of the show about a dirtbag family with yuppie neighbors. That show didn't handle change well you could say.
Seven was possibly the worst character in TV history, even more annoying than Sam in Diff'rent Strokes (that kid had some acting talent, compared to Seven anyway).
I don't think it ever jumped. I have liked the show from the begining. The writers and cast were amazing. Their timing with their jokes and their preview on prime time TV was perfect. I just bought a MWC trivia book that I found surfing Amazon.com and It is the greatest. It brings back memories of my favorite MWC episodes while I am working the trivia. It also has an easy, medium, hard and expert section. So the show has spawned a few spinoff that never made it and a few books that will. Every show has guest stars, dating back to I love Lucy up to Friends. Tom Selleck was one of the girls eye Dr. Guest appearences do not mean the show is in trouble, it could mean that the show is popular. MWC will live forever.
It's just the same damn thing played over and over and over : "Let's make love!" "Nah, Peg." "You don't make love well." "Sure, Peg. Whatever." {puts hand in his pants}
Married...With Children did not, I repeat, did not jump the shark! It has to be one of the funniest sitcoms in the history of television! Granted having Seven on there wasn't a good idea in that he didn't fit in with the rest of the cast and the episodes he appeared on weren't as funny, but at least they got rid of him before any more damage could be done. And also, the last season wasn't as good as other seasons but that can be chalked up to the fact that the show had new writers (the original ones left). But other than that, Married...With Children was good from beginning to end! I still watch the reruns on FX whenever I can! But I feel that Married never got the respect it deserved compared to other classic TV shows. It started the concept of dysfunctional family sitcoms yet its predecessors (Roseanne, The Simpsons) are the ones that have gotten all the recognition (which I'm not complaining about because I like both those shows too). I just feel that Married...With Children should get more recognition that it has gotten! So to sum it up, Married...With Children never jumped! It fricken rules!
OK, I'm going to break with the majority for a second. I didn't think that the change from Steve to Jefferson was a terribly horrible change. It allowed the characters to develop a little more. For two seasons (the season where Peg and Marcy were pregnant and the season where Seven was in the cast), the show was pretty spotty at times but it was still funny. Even the first few episodes after they changed the dog were fairly good. However, I stopped watching the show when Peg's mother came to live with them. The jokes stopped being funny and the show just dragged. They began recycling jokes way too much and seemed to know the end was imminent.
The signs of imminent demise started becoming evident when Steve (David Garrison) lost his bank job and started pursuing a career as a wildlife ranger. The first episode after they wrote Steve's character out was played for some laughs when Bud tried to hit on Marcy, with Kelly's connivance. The minute Ted McGinley appeared, the show devolved into its long, painful "post-Steve" phase. (Incidentally, I had cleared my memory of "Seven" before reading these posts. Ouch.)
Well, I still love watching 'Married...With Children', but unfortunately, it did jump the shark a couple of times. I think adding Seven was a pretty bad idea. I mean, was he supposed to be cute or something? Nothing in MWC is cute. If they had given him an attitude or something, then maybe it wouldn't have been that bad. Other than that though, I think it turned out pretty well. Except for when Terry Rakolta had to open her big mouth.
Seven. From then on the show slowly started to become a parody of its self. Al's "looney-toonesque" garden episode was a low point.
The kids getting to old-yes I know they were teens to begin with but by the time it ended they were both pushing 30, it just was not as good. Still most shows would have jumped sooner with kids or teens aging into adulthood, however this was so funny that it lasted a while anyway. This is NOT Ted! Lay off that guy. This show was on a lot longer with him as Marcy's husband than with the other guy--it was every bit as funny regardless who was on it. The kids just got too old for their roles sort of.
Although the quality of the plots declined after Season 6, this show was never unwatchable. But I would have liked to see a series finale like this: Kelly and Bud move to L.A. where Kelly becomes the next Pamela Anderson (but without the implants and the abusive husband). Bud gets a job at Playboy magazine. Al leaves Peg once and for all, moves to Florida and becomes a high school football coach. Peg marries a millionaire who is attracted to pretty, trampy redheads. Jefferson becomes a highly-paid soldier of fortune, Marcy runs for Congress, and Steve...well, I don't know about Steve.
When Seven came around, it was disasterous. He was really annoying and unfunny-threw off the entire pace of such a good show. But after it jumped, it came back over the ramp when they finally got rid of that pointless little brat and put his face on the milk carton-like they were admitting what a mistake the whole Seven thing was. Brilliant.
It JTS when the storylines grew tired which was around the eighth season. Ted McGinley was actually the only character that made me laugh on the later years. We need a new person to pick on.
Married...with Children was always funny but Seven joining the cast was just stupid and pointless. While the show never really suffered I could have done without this storyline. And by the way Jefferson was alot funnier than Steve was. I mean who didn't laugh when Marcy walks into the Bundy household after finding out she had gotten drunk and married the night before and she finds out her new name is Marcy Darcy. A classic moment.
I have to defend one of the accused "shark jumps" for Married With Children. When actress Katey Segal became pregnant in real life, the writers incorporated it with "Peg becomes pregnant". However, after several episodes were aired, Katey had a miscarriage (5th month if I remember correctly). Obviously, being very traumatic, she could not resume acting with Peg being pregnant. Hence, the "dream sequence" bit. You can't blame the writers on this one. It was working through a personal tragedy as best they could.
I think I have to go with a lot of other people, and say that "No, Ma'am" was its JTS moment, because Al was no longer such a likeable loner after that (though even I liked the "Church" episode). One thing I didn't like about the final episode is that I think the Bundys should have been "allowed" to get rich (because of the marriage). After all, "Roseanne" (probably mistakenly) did that same thing with the ENTIRE last season, not just the last episode (which makes more sense). There's one pretty tiny thing I've always liked about the show, and that's that Al liked to look at a fictitious nudie magazine called "Big 'Uns". The reason I like that is that, if he had read Playboy, it would've just meant more pop culture references to Playboy, like a hundred other comedies have already had. But "Big 'Uns" was something that "belonged" to Married With Children. As I said, it's a small reason, but still -
This show never really jumped because each episode had a plot instead of a series with a plot (like the Simpsons which are still going strong). They also never gave up the classics. Al with his hand, the chicken jokes, kelly is a slut, Peg is lazy, Marcy is a bitch, bud has his ups and downs. Best of all, the dog told the story the best.
This show jumped the shark twice over. Once when the baby was born, and once when Marcy came out as a lesbian, rather like Ellen did in her TV show - the 2nd bit was the worst as she was the worst actor in the show. When will actors realise that no one cares about their private life, and just act out their fictional characters as required? The canned laughter also ruined things for me. Surprisingly the show didn't jump the shark after the brilliant actor, who played Steve, left the show - they were wise enough to get an equally great actor who was totally the opposite of the "Steve" character.
This show went over the shark when Seven appeared, fortunately it recovered and made some more great stuff after Seven went upstairs one day and never reappeared.
THE Kid SEVEN was an awful idea. But this show started to decline even before his arrival. The writing became stale sometime in the sixth season. It was still a decent show with a few laughs in season six and seven. But around the eighth season,it was a shell of itself!! Sadly,instead of just accepting that the show had worn out its'welcome,they tried to press on for 3 more seasons. Seasons 9 through 11 were quite dismal.Unfunny,painful,sophmoric humor was now the rule unlike in the early years when the humor was outrageous but sharp and clever also!!! And the No maam thing was dreadful. It is sad and painful to watch MWC reruns from the last few seasons.
Wow -- difficult to criticize what was a true landmark TV show, and in that regard one that remains an all-time favorite of mine. MWC proved perfect for pulling the carpet out from under such sappy, stereotypical sitcom dreck like "Cosby" and "Family Ties" and every other cookie-cutter family-oriented show. It featured terrific characters (absolutely NAILED by competent actors), witty dialogue, creatively zany plotlines, and above all a breath-of-fresh-air irreverence. Perhaps the most ingratiating aspect for me was the fact that NEVER did the show ever deign to feature a "heart-touching" moment or deadly serious "very special epsiode" which highlighted some topical sociological item -- all was done with sheer comedy in mind. (Perhaps the closest thing to an exception would be Al's end of-show encouragment of Kelly after she'd been duped into attending a high-IQ club's "Pig Party" -- the somberness of the moment struck me as very un-MWC.) That said, in an attempt to be as objective as possible about such things I do have to admit that the show actually did eventually Jump The Shark BIG TIME, and in my opinion it can be pinpointed to a specific episiode (mentioned a few times already by prievious commentators here): the season opener featuring the Bundy's trip to London. (What is it about England that makes it Kryptonite to TV sitcoms? It definitely sounded the death knell for "Friends.") Sure, there were a few signs that the boat was warming up and the skis were approaching the ramp before MWC decided to hop the pond (i.e., the increasing cartoonishness, the rapid charicaturing, the addition of walk-on characters and "guest shots," and many other moments cited by previous commentators) -- but I realized when watching the London episode specifically that I was witnessing a dying show; what a complete stinker. From then on it deteriorated into mere buffoonery, silly sight gags, tired contrivances, and forced jokes (the "dummy-falling-off-the-roof" thing was recycled so often it became very unfunny very quickly). The snappy patter was replaced with juvenile barbing, and the once-enjoyable characters had metamorphosed into outright annoying goofwads. Alas, I only tuned in on occasion after the London thing, and was thoroughly disappointed on every viewing; how sad to see what was once a brazenly unique sitcom embarrass itself to the point of trotting out gimmicky "revitalizing" stunts like additional characters (Griff, the NOMAAM gang, the abhorrent Seven, and Peg's relatives embodied by the likes of Tim Conway et al.), and slapsticky sequences. Suffice to say, I eventually gave up on watching it altogether. Oh well -- good thing there are the DVD collections to preserve the good ol' days of the first several seasons....
I think most comedies eventually jump the shark if they stay on too long, particularly those that thrive on gross characterization like MWC. It is very hard to maintain a character’s “realness” when playing for laughs. The attributes that draw laughs naturally get accentuated over time. I remember the first several years of the show as being the best by far. It was my favorite show those first 3 – 4 years. During these first several years the characters were more realistic and joke lines had not been run into the ground. For example, Al was more of a tough wisecracking blue-collar worker who enjoyed sex with Peg, and the kids were not portrayed as complete idiots. I never understood why Al’s character was allowed to degenerate into a complete loser idiot who abhorred the thought of sex with Peg. If there was a specific JTS moment I would say it was the departure of Steve. Up until that time the show’s characters had not devolved into complete caricatures. In reality the show’s descent into “post shark-dom” occurred gradually from that point on. The Jefferson character was consistent with the dumbing down of the rest of the characters so I do not believe that he qualifies as a separate JTS moment. In it’s later years I found the show almost un-watchable. The shows with Steve returning to win Marcie back stand out in my memory as being embarrassing to watch. I don’t even remember seeing the hated Seven character since I had completely tuned out by that point. When I catch reruns of the show today I know that if Al is talking in that Jersey (??) accent and the kids are young it will be a classic. If I see Jefferson I know that I should keep on channel surfing (not his fault, he just dates the era of the show for me). My other major problem with the show concerned the incessant hooting and cheering that occurred for each character as they walked into a scene and/or spoke their line. I would bet that several minutes of actual show time were lost each week to this incredibly irritating interruption. The only other show that I remember having this degree of audience noise was of course Happy Days, which originated the whole JTS phenomenon. I have never understood why the shows producers/directors thought that this constant audience interruption was beneficial.
When Peg got pregnant, this show seemed to jump the shark. They had to do some quick end-of-the-season editing because of the actress's real-life miscarriage to eliminate the angle, and the show never seemed the same after that.
I can tell a bad episode right away in the opening credits. It happened right around the time when Kelly cut her hair. Damn shame it happened, but the worst part is they let it run another 6 or 7 seasons.
When they let Bud Bundy get laid (the episode when his cousin was getting married, played by the big stupid guy from Parker Lewis Can't Lose) and Bud slept with his cousin's soon to be wife... that was the last straw. That was paramount to Peggy getting a job, or Kelly keeping her legs closed, or Al succeeding at... well, anything.
I think this show jumped the shark once they added that annoying child that tried to be like everyone else. The kid wasn't that cute to begin with, but then to see him imitate others just plucked my nerves. I think the show was pretty good, even with Kelly and Bud getting older, because it had that Simpsons-like feel, where even though it's on for a long time, the status of the kids doesn't really change that much. They both still acted like teenagers even though they were in their mid-20's, much like they did in the beginning. Plus, it didn't look like either or them ever even considered moving out. That's good stuff, it kept with the premise of the show.
Buck the dog was voiced by Cheech Marin instead of Kevin Curran. I'm prepared to accept the dog talking, but not a complete change in voice and personality.
Ted McGinley is a decent actor, but, as with many of his other shows, his appearance coincided with a general decline in overall quality. In the case of MWC, the writing declined about midway through the show's run. Toward the end, it was unbelievably bad and cartoonish. This used to be one of the best shows on TV. It was a brilliant satire of the sitcom genre. In the typical Cosby-era sitcom, all characters are basically good; whatever faults they have do not ultimately get in the way of their doing the right thing at the end of the episode. Also, the families on the sitcoms all ultimately love each other and all problems between them are resolved at the end of the episode. In contrast, MWC was a breath of fresh air. The episode they modeled on "It's a Wonderful Life" illustrates the ethos behind MWC best: Al gets to see what his family would have been like if he had not been born. Everybody is happy and well-adjusted without him: Peg is married to a handsome man, Kelly is smart and Bud is popular with girls. Al's response: "to hell with this, I want to live!"
Not every weekly show was great, but the series never capsized. Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy was a big improvement over Steve Rhodes, who was much too somber and reserved for the part. McGinley was perfect as the lazy, narcissistic, foppish, pretty boy. Little Seven was annoying, but so what? EVERY character was selfish, demanding, and annoying. That was the point. The preposterously dysfunctional family was the humorous antipode of the goody-goody, white-bread families of the 1950s. If you were looking for a white sheep, like Lisa in The Simpsons, you won't find one (as a regular character) in MWC. Steve Rhodes came close, and that's why Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy was a big improvement.
The show JTS when the little brat Seven was added. Peg who despised motherhood wanting to dote on a kid, wanting to dote on anyone but her Bon-Bon eating self, I don't think so. While we're at it Al's wife was written to mbe one of those Supermarket Supertankers with a couple of whiny kids not a babe like Katy Segal. When Al acted like sex was death sentence it was never gonna be believable with an attractive thin wife, the "SS Humungous Eating Machine" would've been the proper character, and I believe that was the way the part was originally written. I imagine that would've been too close to too many American's reality to escape unscathed. The Fat Pig wife is too common to have been popular, but it might've made a few of them recognize themselves.
While this show continued to have funny bits on it, when Steve left and BEFORE McGinley came on, the show really lost it's spark. After Ted McGinley showed up, it really took a nosedive - surprise! - and when Kelly and Bud got older that didn't help either. And don't get me started on that little S%#T Seven - that was really stupid. I liked it in the beginning, but it just went on for too long.
Like Happy Days, this show jumped the shark more than once. When Steve left was number one. Although McGinley did do a decent job at creating his own character. The second Shark Jumping occurred with another new character, Seven. I thought it bounced back a little as he disappeared. The third and final time, which signed the death blow, was the introduction of Marcie's niece, with whom Bud finally got it on.
Seven wasn't that good, but I can't say that MWC jumped. If I ***HAD*** to say it jumped, I would say after that episode where they had that rare Barbie and Darcy went to get money for it. That episode was so funny, I'm getting tears trying not to laugh thinking of it. All the episodes pale to that one. That's why I would classify that as a JTS episode, but not in a bad way. Excuse me....I need to wipe my eyes
This show jumped when the kids grew up. It was called "Married With Children", but by the time the final 3 or 4 seasons rolled around, the kids were already hitting their mid-20s. It took away from the original point of the show. It also got unrealistic in the end. They should have ended it after Season 6.
This show jumped the shark with the opening episode poking fun of the serial killings of Ted Bundy while he was still on death row. As an adult living in Florida at the time, I found this TOTALLY REPULSIVE. Every week Al is in an unhappy marriage with a chain-smoking witch of a wife! Who could find that attractive. They found it socially acceptable to promote a sexually promiscuous teenage daughter, found humor in shooting a neighborhood dog because they thought it was a burglar, and were outright crude! The happiest day in my tv viewing life was when they canceled this filth and didn't give it the farewell sendoff other long-running shows get. This show has set the trend for the FOX network's repeated cranking out of outright sleaze and filth!
Al was great when he had a brain. As was Kelly before she became ********. This show was absolute genius until then.
Definitely when David Garrison left. This isn't a Ted McGinley bash. It's just that the writers made his character - and everyone else's - one dimensional. Steve Rhodes was a relatively innocent fella trying to maintain the same level of dignity and PCness as his wife, but all too often drawn to the dark side by Al (the first episode was a great example of this). Jefferson Darcy was simply mean and predictable. The shark-jump of the Jefferson years was definitely Seven's introduction. Yeah, cool that his parents were played by Linda Blair and Bobcat Goldthwaite, but that was the ONLY cool thing about Seven.
Married...With Children came mighty close to two fatal jumps, first with the departure of David Garrison as Steve, and then with the appearance of that achingly unfunny kid, Seven, whose appeal and talents in front of the camera have left him somewhere in the lower depths of obscurity (Of course, creating that role was not the child actor's fault - that blame falls squarely on the series' producers). The show recovered, not wholly, but adequately, by giving better lines to Ted McGinley and by having the audience get used to the Jefferson Darcy character over time. It also wisely excised the Seven character, cutting its losses of a few atrocious episodes. A terminal jump was avoided. However, the series started to reek of unfunniness and canned laughs when it pushed the Kelly and Bud characters onto center stage. MWC was always about Al Bundy, his sad-sack antics and pathetic yet hilarious schemes and dreams. As Al, Ed O'Neill was perfectly cast. We laughed at him and with him. Peggy, the kids, and Marcy were great complements, and the chemistry was wonderful, but Al was the jewel. Take him out or make him share the starlight with lesser characters and the show begins to decline...real fast. Revolving the series around the exploits of Al Bundy lead to a mother lode of laughs. Watching him lose (most of the time) was as entertaining as seeing him win, especially with those zingers aimed at Marcy and the fat malicious women who entered his shoe store. But moving Faustino and Applegate into the spotlight - the comedic spotlight, no less - was a fatal strategy. On their own, they were not very funny or interesting. Kelly's dumbness and Bud's frustrated horniness became tiresome ends-in-themselves. And, really, let's be honest, Faustino is leagues away from star material, and Applegate was never as hot as the cued audience's hoots and howls would have us believe. Maybe the producers convinced themselves that an MTV demographic was the way to go and that focusing on these two C-grade actors would hold onto younger viewers. The end result was a striking decrease in entertainment value. The laughs died and the show quickly became a groan-worthy waste. Admittedly, every series grows stale with age, no matter how worthy (see Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H, The Sopranos). But it's always nice to see them bow out gracefully - not have them dragged to a wretched death by their lame-brained production team. Married...With Children had many wonderful sitcom moments, but did it have to suffer such a prolonged, embarrassing jump?
When the entire basis for the show became the No Ma'am episodes, the show really jumped the shark. If it had just been an episode or two, that would have been fine. But the way they ran it into the ground is truly when I stopped watching. I never thought Ted McGinley hurt the show, I thought he was a better choice than David Garrison. The episode I always thought was the funniest was when Al and Jefferson try to build the work bench. There wouldn't have been that level of stupidity or hilarity if Steve had been helping Al build the thing.
When Seven was brought in. I didn't understand the need for this to be done and I still don't. There was already a well-established dynamic formed with rhe cast, adding in a child was a poor choice. One of my favorite shows, but they made a good few mistakes along the way.
The show never jumped the shark. To this day, Married...with Children remains the greatest show ever to grace television. The show had its weak moments, as would any other show, but the good elements far outshine the bad. Ted McGinley actually added something different to the sitcom. Whereas Steve was, more or less, the intellectual neighbor, Jefferson was the much needed sissy boy that clicked oh so well with Al. Tis a shame that some of you despised his character. Anyway, I do not even hesitate in claiming Married...with Children as the greatest show ever, let alone one of most influential as well.
While the show was still being produced episodes from previous seasons were sold into syndication. This is a process called "stripping" by the network exexs. I generates revenue and promotes the program. Married wih Children was at one time the most popular strippped show on television. Then after more than a decade it was canceled. The show jumped the shark a few years after it went off the air. The episodes didn't hold up to the test of time. I used to never miss this show during its run. Now so many years later, it is unwatchable
Married With Children still remains one of my all time favorite shows, although I will readily admit it hasn't dated as well as I once thought it would. At the time it first came on tv ,it was a breath of fresh air and showed us not all families are sweet and well meaning. For someone such as myself, who came from a less than perfect family (that's not to say we don't love each other), I could certainly relate more to the Bundys than to the family from the Cosby show (hmmm.... that is a scary thought indeed, lol). The show was perfect for it's time and definitely filled a void on network television. Both it and the Simpsons were 2 shows are family really looked forward to watching together each week. I still find the shows entertaining to watch (mostly the ones from seasons 1-5), but they seem a lot less controversial and cutting-edge now compared to all the garbage on TV now(tv wasteland programming like the so-called reality shows). If I had to pick a shark jumping moment it would definitely be when Steve left the show. The show still had a few more good stories for a little while after he left, but by the time Marcy remarried in season 5 it was on a downward fall. I agree with the person here that said that all the characters seemed to become more one dimensional. The Rhodes husband and wife team combined to offset the Bundys perfectly. When Steve left the writers made Marcy an official Bundy and therefore any real conflict had to come from another source outside the cast of regulars. Further jumping of the show would take place in the form of the cartoon gags that seemed to dominate the latter episodes ( as silly and surreal as the early stories were, most of them keep the show loosely based in reality). Seven of course was a huge mistake and then there is the fact that the longer the show stayed on the air the worse the audience got. It sounded less and less like genuine laughter and applause, and was replaced by more and more hooping and hollering (the sounds of a bunch of drunk frat guys that are unable to think for themselves and just start making noises at the same time just to be in with the crowd, in other words phony laughter). The worst part is when you would hear an audience member say something like "Oh no, Al, don't" (ugghh). I was upset when it was cancelled, because I had grown up with show during my teenage years and at one time really, really loved it (watching episodes i had taped over and over), but also I knew I had stopped watching it on a regular basis and felt that the show had stayed on way too long. The show still has a place in my heart and still makes me laugh (I am thinking mostly of the first 4 seasons and about half of the 5 one, beyond that ,except for the occasional episode, I don't care to watch it)

It never boned

It never boned

I agree.

A few years ago, I would have said sometime in the later years but after I did a complete series viewing of the DVDs, I've come to the conclusion that it's all good. It changed, of course, becoming more cartoonish and exaggerated as it went along but it remained funny.

Whenever they tried to shoehorn in a backdoor episode spin-off, the ones that come to mind are when Kelly hooks up with an older dude to get her boyfriend jealous, oh yeah the older dude is played by Alan Thicke of all people.

Another is with those two high school punks having a radio show with Keri Russell as guest star and Steve Rhoades happen to be thier prinicipal I think and oh yeah in that same episode Bud is trying to avoid getting pounded by some Russian meathead.