TMC
08-04-2022, 04:24 PM
https://www.google.com/search?q=Retrospective+-+%22Married...+with+Children%22&oq=Retrospective+-+%22Married...+with+Children%22&aqs=chrome..69i57j35i39i362l8.476j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
This crude and colorful series (https://www.datalounge.com/thread/31350776-retrospective-married...-with-children-) debuted in 1987 as the "anti-family sitcom," and a tentpole of the new Fox Network. At a time when Fox was only active during certain hours in certain markets, a groundbreaking show was needed to build buzz and attract investors in new markets. Also, because the new network was run by youthful '80s yuppies, they gave a pass to the filth-mongers who wrote this sitcom. In its time, the series was known for its hooting-and-hollering studio audience, frequent references to bodily functions and inadequacies, and the Bundy men's love of "hooters." The décor was delightfully white trash, and unlike rival "Roseanne," it depicted family poverty as humorous and inescapable, rather than grinding and frustrating.
Today, virtually the entire cast publicly rejects the show, and more or less apologizes for being a part of it. It made plenty of money over eleven seasons, and was a bona fide hit for Fox. But it was never an Emmy darling, and the parent groups hated it for its raunchy jokes and he-man woman-hating style of marital relations. The heavy reliance on fat jokes in later seasons has also been criticized by modern audiences. Supporting actress (and out lesbian) Amanda Bearse, who developed her directing career on this series, now calls it "misogynistic trash," but she's still overall glad she did the show and got the work. There's a clip out there of co-star Ed O'Neill telling a story of how he and Bearse started out as friends, but drifted apart when she "became a lesbian and took on the masculine role in her 'marriage.'" O'Neill was not invited to Bearse's commitment ceremony in the 90s, and said at the time that he would've found it hysterical to see two women in tuxedos getting fake-married.
An animated reboot is now in the works.
Was the show just generic trash even in its heyday? Or have our television standards simply evolved over time? When you watch the show in 2022, do you view it any differently than when you first saw it in prime time?
This crude and colorful series (https://www.datalounge.com/thread/31350776-retrospective-married...-with-children-) debuted in 1987 as the "anti-family sitcom," and a tentpole of the new Fox Network. At a time when Fox was only active during certain hours in certain markets, a groundbreaking show was needed to build buzz and attract investors in new markets. Also, because the new network was run by youthful '80s yuppies, they gave a pass to the filth-mongers who wrote this sitcom. In its time, the series was known for its hooting-and-hollering studio audience, frequent references to bodily functions and inadequacies, and the Bundy men's love of "hooters." The décor was delightfully white trash, and unlike rival "Roseanne," it depicted family poverty as humorous and inescapable, rather than grinding and frustrating.
Today, virtually the entire cast publicly rejects the show, and more or less apologizes for being a part of it. It made plenty of money over eleven seasons, and was a bona fide hit for Fox. But it was never an Emmy darling, and the parent groups hated it for its raunchy jokes and he-man woman-hating style of marital relations. The heavy reliance on fat jokes in later seasons has also been criticized by modern audiences. Supporting actress (and out lesbian) Amanda Bearse, who developed her directing career on this series, now calls it "misogynistic trash," but she's still overall glad she did the show and got the work. There's a clip out there of co-star Ed O'Neill telling a story of how he and Bearse started out as friends, but drifted apart when she "became a lesbian and took on the masculine role in her 'marriage.'" O'Neill was not invited to Bearse's commitment ceremony in the 90s, and said at the time that he would've found it hysterical to see two women in tuxedos getting fake-married.
An animated reboot is now in the works.
Was the show just generic trash even in its heyday? Or have our television standards simply evolved over time? When you watch the show in 2022, do you view it any differently than when you first saw it in prime time?