Married with Children = Greatest sitcom of all time?

[CyberCubed]

Al Bundy is a true American icon, Christina Applegate was hot when she was younger, and Peggy was a demure but feisty housewife whose voice is iconic as its also Leela's voice in Futurama.

I was too young to watch this show when it originally aired but I've been watching it online. This show saved the Fox network along with Simpsons in the 80's and 90's.

[Voltron]

Just because some characters are hot or experience success in later shows doesn't mean that it's the greatest show of all time. That's like saying Hitler was the best artist of all time because he's an iconic figure in politics.

I agree that it was a great show, though. I would think Seinfeld surpasses it, easily.

[LeoNerdo]

Married with Children = Greatest sitcom of all time?

No.

[gobo]

I've always gotten queasy when thinking about that trashy show. :sick: It's like half a step up from Jerry Springer though.

[Refractive Reflections]

Uh... CyberCubed,

You're going to need a much more persuasive argument to say its THE Greatest Sitcom of All Time. There are much more American influential sitcoms than Married With Children, such as I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, All In The Family, The Cosby Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and others.

Married With Children did signify the backlash against the polished family-friendly comedy shows of the 80s, as it lead to Roseanne and The Simpsons, but it falls short in comparison to legendary sitcoms in terms of cultural impact.

If you want to undertake in substantiating your position, you can read this Wikipedia link about those numerous influential American sitcoms and justify your reasoning in comparison to the other sitcoms in history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitcoms#United_States

Good luck! :P

[CyberCubed]

From what I've seen online in official lists from high profile websites its considered one of the greatest sitcoms. The show ran for 11 seasons and is the longest running sitcom after The Simpsons.

[Shreddhead]

Definitely a NO....not even close.

[Refractive Reflections]

From what I've seen online in official lists from high profile websites its considered one of the greatest sitcoms. The show ran for 11 seasons and is the longest running sitcom after The Simpsons.

Maybe "one" of the greats, but your thread didn't say that. :P It implied the greatest.

[Jester]

This show saved the Fox network along with Simpsons in the 80's and 90's.
No....theses shows DEFINED the Fox Network. That's like saying South Park saved Comedy Central. It was the show that made the relatively new network.

Never watched Married...with Children. I might out to now that I'm...married with a child.

[CyberCubed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MStihipoe9E

^ One of the funniest scenes in the show.

[The Stryker]

You spelled 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' wrong.

[MikeandRaph87]

Um...no! :blanksta:
I Love Lucy is the greatest comedy of all time. It set the standard and probably can't be surpassed.

[Leo656]

OMG dude, how could anyone NEVER have seen Married... With Children?!?! :o

That's like someone saying "I'm vaguely familiar with this fellow you call 'Batman' but have no idea who he is." Or, "I know a sport exists called 'baseball' but have never seen it with my own two eyes." :lol:

I mean, not only did it define a generation, to this day it's ALWAYS ON! Like, every day, constantly. You never even saw an episode by accident?! Wow, dude. I mean, avoid the entire second half of the series like the plague, but yeah, man, everybody watched that show...

Oh, and it's definitely great but I'unno about the best ever. Although, actually, maybe. Sitcoms are generally bottom-feeding trash by definition, and this show not only embraced that but elevated it into an art form. Also, it's been imitated countless times and yet none of the rip-offs have ever come close to the original. Maybe it is the best ever; it DID redefine an entire genre by being not entirely shlock. Again, though, the later seasons were horrrrrrible.

One could maybe argue Roseanne as being the best ever, but that show was f*cking depressing at times and again, later seasons sucked.

[Navin Johnson]

Who's that riding into the sun.
Who's the man with the itchy gun.
Who's the man who kills for fun !
Psy-cho Dad, Psycho Dad, Psycho Dad

[CyberCubed]

During most of the shows original run I was in Elementary school. :lol:

[Leo656]

"Where the beer gives ya gas, and the Bundys kick ass!
At the Nuuuuuuudiiiie Barrrrrrrrrr!"

:lol::lol::lol:

Cubed: As was I. My parents gave not a sh*t what I watched on TV. My Dad often passed out on the couch with hardcore porn on the VCR. Damn right it warped me. And God Bless 'Em for it.

I firmly believe f*cking your kids up mentally at a young age more fully prepares them for the real world. :lol:

[CyberCubed]

I've actually never seen most popular sitcoms, probably because I was just a kid when they were all airing.

I've never seen:

Boy meets World
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Family Matters
Friends
How I met your Mother

I've only seen bits and pieces of:

Seinfeld
Two and a Half Men
New Girl
I Love Lucy
The Honey Mooners

etc.


I don't know, as a kid I almost only watched cartoons. And then when I became a teen/adult I just didn't have time or any interest to go back and watch those shows. I'm trying to rectify that now though, and I'm going back to watch most of the popular '80's and 90's shows for the first time.

Wish me luck.

[Slade]

I actually can't believe you said you've never seen Boy Meets World. Or hell even Fresh Prince. I get looked at funny when I say this, but I don't like that show and I've seen episodes of it. Friends I can understand because I saw episodes as a kid, but not many.

Isn't How I met your mother a newer show? Like late 2006 or around there?

[CyberCubed]

Isn't How I met your mother a newer show? Like late 2006 or around there?

The show is in its 9th season currently I believe, so its almost a decade old.

[Leo656]

Sh*t. I got old, somehow.

[Refractive Reflections]

I've actually never seen most popular sitcoms, probably because I was just a kid when they were all airing.

I've never seen:

Boy meets World
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Family Matters
Friends
How I met your Mother

I've only seen bits and pieces of:

Seinfeld
Two and a Half Men
New Girl
I Love Lucy
The Honey Mooners

etc.


I don't know, as a kid I almost only watched cartoons. And then when I became a teen/adult I just didn't have time or any interest to go back and watch those shows. I'm trying to rectify that now though, and I'm going back to watch most of the popular '80's and 90's shows for the first time.

Wish me luck.

With me CyberCubed it was the opposite, as a kid I used to watch more grownup sitcoms, dramas, and news programs as a kid rather than cartoons. Both of my parents worked, so I couldn't catch weekday cartoons and could only see Saturday morning cartoons. Furthermore, since I didn't really have a "say" in what I wanted to watch in being a kid :P, I had to watch the primetime shows my parents watched.

What was hilarious after watching "The Golden Girls" and "Mama's Family", my juvenile logic used to think that funny/comedic stuff was always going on in the retirement homes/communities. :lol:

[Eiko]

Married with Children was the best. Bud reminds me so much of my brother. Just shuch a great show.

[Wildcat]

Not THE best but one of the best. I was like 10 during the original run. My parents let me watch it. Let me watch R movies too. Of course the majority of my TV then was cartoons and kids shows. Mostly Nick.

I watched Nick at Nite too so obviously grewup with some of the classics.

Favorite sitcoms...
I Love Lucy
Sanford and Son
Brady Bunch
Welcome Back, Kotter
Threes Company
The Munsters
Wonder Years...not exactly a comedy I guess
Facts of Life
Perfect Strangers
ALF...ya its silly
Married with Children
Seinfeld
The Nanny
Fresh Prince
Smart Guy
Drew Carey Show
Friends
King of Queens
Everybody Loves Raymond

[Irishmile]

It WAS a good show.. I was a teen for the majority of its run and remember it well... We didnt have cable growing up so it was one of those shows that was alway on around 10 at night.. So we watched it alot.

I must agree with others when they say Seinfeld was better..

[Leo656]

Nooooooo.... Seinfeld had its moments but I'unno. Sometimes it was really, really annoying. Y'know how Peter Griffin said he didn't like "The Godfather" because "It insists upon itself"? That's kind of how I feel about Seinfeld. And "The Big Bang Theory". Telling me how funny and clever you are will most likely just make me avoid you, Various TV Shows. :P

I do have a "thing" for Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, though. She looks sooooo good for her age. She's gotten way better with age; on Seinfeld she was kind of "eh" because of the clothes and her awful hair. If I was part of "The Contest", and there was a marathon of "New Adventures of Old Christine", I don't think I'd be able to hold out more than 5 minutes... :lol:

[The Sewer Lord]

3rd Rock From the Sun is better.

[JakeSully]

Nope but it is one of my favorite shows growing up since i first saw it aired on Fox.

The OP is right, Christina Applegate was a fox on this show and she was one of my boyhood crushes. Peggy wasn't too bad either and who knew she later was Leela on Futurama.

[Pterobat]

I'd still consider The Simpsons in its glory days to be the greatest sitcom of all time: animated or not, it's a sitcom.

MwC is great, though. Lots of crazy fun with characters who don't give a damn. If there's one complaint, it's that we're supposed to sympathize at least *slightly* with Al in comparison to the rest of the cast, while he doesn't deserve it, and I'd prefer the misery to be spread equally.

[The Sewer Lord]

I'd still consider The Simpsons in its glory days to be the greatest sitcom of all time: animated or not, it's a sitcom.

You're right about that.

[Sword Slicin' Leo]

Just because some characters are hot or experience success in later shows doesn't mean that it's the greatest show of all time. That's like saying Hitler was the best artist of all time because he's an iconic figure in politics.

I agree that it was a great show, though. I would think Seinfeld surpasses it, easily.

yeah i agree competly, Seinfeld is the greatest because it will never be outdated

[CyberCubed]

Married with Children isn't outdated either. The show works just as well today. The only difference was no cellphones or computer in most episode.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

friends is the best sitcom.

only seen bits and pieces of the big bang theory, but of what i have seen, it looks really good

[dkram230]

friends is the best sitcom.

only seen bits and pieces of the big bang theory, but of what i have seen, it looks really good

Married with Children is a "love it or hate it" type of show for most so no, I would not consider it a contender for the best sitcom of all time. That being said, I like it better than Sienfeld even though I would consider Seinfeld a much more iconic show. It's all a matter of opinion, but my vote would also go to Friends. Shows of the last 30 years like Mash, Cheers, Cosby, Friends, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, or more recent like Big Bang Theory and The Office have affected pop culture and developed a much larger fan base than Married with Children ever did. It was more of a niche show. I like it, but it's on a whole different level from those that could be considered the "greatest sitcom of all time."

[SparkyMarky644]

Nah mate, the greatest comedy series of all time would either be the British comedy Bottom or Blackadder, if you've never seen them, you def should.

[Leo656]

Anybody who hates Married... With Children is allergic to joy. The world doesn't need people like that.

[NameGoesHere1066]

Y'know how Peter Griffin said he didn't like "The Godfather" because "It insists upon itself"?

what exactly does that even mean: "it insists upon itself?" :-?

I loved married with children lately I've been watching alot of it on netflix. Al Bundy was the best he was practically a cartoon character. Does any one know why Marcy's first husband left the show?

[CyberCubed]

I love the show because its a dysfunctional family sitcom without morals or crappy "fairy tale" endings. It tells it like it is.

Also Christina Applegate was damn hot back then. She even confirmed the directors made her wear tight shirts because her boobs brought in ratings.

[Leo656]

Well God F'n Bless 'Em for it, and her too for knowing her role and going along with it.

Remember the '80s, when that kind of thing wasn't a huge deal? When we didn't second-guess, over-think or demonize every representation on TV or in movies of a hot chick in short shorts? When the generally accepted idea was simply, "Guys love a blonde hottie who's dressed like she gives head for booger sugar", and we were all OK with that? I miss those days. Every time I read a "news" article debating whether the "underwear scene" from "Star Trek: Into Darkness" or "The Wolverine" was more sexist and pointless, I die a little inside.

Apparently the actor who played Marcy's first husband asked to be released so he could pursue a theater career. From wikipedia:

"(David) Garrison enjoyed his years playing Steve Rhoades, but he missed performing in live theater, and asked to be let out of his contract. Despite this, he was a regular on a short-lived NBC sitcom, Working It Out, in 1990 shortly after his exit from Married... with Children. A going-away present from the producers of Married... with Children was a blown-up police mug shot of himself as Rhoades, with the caption 'Gotta sing, gotta dance, gotta f*cking starve to death.'"

I love that. :lol: Also, while we're on the subject of hot chicks from MWC, I gotta confess that a couple times when they showed Marcy in lingerie, she wasn't half bad. I know she plays for the Away team, I'm just sayin'.

[CyberCubed]

Yeah, Christina's character Kelly is just a stereotypical dumb blonde mostly associated with sex (she has countless boyfriends in the show and her brother made fun of her for not being a virgin, not to mention all the revealing outfits and swimsuits they had her wear), and I couldn't see her character existing in a show today without people getting all angry and feminist about it.

Even Peg as much as I love her, is just a nagging housewife and generally let Al get away with a whole bunch of crap with other women.

Yet what made the show great is the family cared for each other. Al would constantly protect his daughter from guys coming over to sleep with her, (he'd put them in headlocks and smash their heads around the house!), he'd encourage Bud for improving his chances with women and wanted to help him, and there's many episodes proving that Al and Peg do love each other, even if they don't show it all the time.

The family made fun of each other, but whenever someone from outside of the family would make fun of one of them, they would all stick together. That's what made the show great.