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When Married... with Children debuted on Fox TV on April 5, 1987 (followed by The Tracey Ullman Show a half-hour later), the grungy sitcom became an instant flagship for Rupert Murdoch's upstart network. The program's much-publicized working title, Not the Cosbys (a dismissive reference to the cheerful vitality of Bill Cosby's hugely popular television clan on NBC's The Cosby Show) was a dead giveaway. Married... with Children was going to be a trashier, raunchier, and far more cynical view of the American nuclear family. But it turned out the series actually fell into other caustic-domestic entertainment traditions, notably the Don Ameche and Frances Langford radio comedy series from the 1940s, The Bickersons, and Jackie Gleason's TV classic, The Honeymooners.

The jokes were savage, key relationships were marked by ennui and indifference, and the Bundy family name couldn't help but make one think of America's most notorious, real-life serial killer at the time. Yet the show had a hint of Golden Age Hollywood gloss, a retro-screwball feel that one could detect in the snappy verbal warfare between husband Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) and wife Peggy (Katey Sagal). The characters, and the show, eschewed sentimentality, which certainly opened the floodgates to comic cynicism but also kept a door ajar for moments of genuine sweetness. A decade later, however, by the time Fox cancelled the increasingly expensive series, Married... with Children's first-season tone would be considerably different, replaced by a stronger reliance on running jokes and character stereotypes, particularly concerning Bundy children Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Bud (David Faustino).

That evolution makes watching Married... with Children's first 13 episodes, once again, quite instructive. Those programs are all on this two-disc set, including the startling pilot, in which Al and Peggy lock horns over marital politics and enlist naive new neighbors Steve (David Garrison) and Marcy (Amanda Bearse) in a battle of the sexes. There's also the classic "Whose Room Is It, Anyway," concerning the Bundys'competition to connive Steve and Marcy into building a recreation room, and "Thinnergy," a very funny piece about a diet that supposedly boosts sexual interest. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (56)

Long live anti-cosby!
Finally, after hearing fans that wanted full-fledged season box sets, Fox answered their prayers. So get ready for those outrageous Bundys in Married...with Children:The Complete First Season, featuring all 13 episodes from the show's debut. Though the funniest episodes are yet to come in the second season, season 1 is the groundbreaking season that completely changed sitcoms forever. This taboo-shattering hit series was often deamed too hot for TV, introducing everyone's favorite dysfunctional house hold. These are the 13 episodes:

1.Pilot-Peg forces Al to forfeit his coveted basketball game to have dinner with their annoying new neighbors, Steve and Marcy.

2.Thinergy-Hoping to rekindle Al's flame, Peg takes Marcy's advice and goes on a crash diet, much to Al's dislike.

3.Sixteen Years And What Do You Get?-After Peg runs his credit card to the max, Al is forced to show up at his own wedding anniversary empty-handed.

4.But I Didn't Shoot The Deputy-Mistaking it for a burgler, Al accidentally shoots his neighbor's watchdog.

5.Have You Driven A Ford Lately?-After restoring a vintage Mustang, Al discovers the backseat isn't the only thing "hot" about his cherry ride.

6.Whose Room Is It Anyway?-A battle between Al and Peg is waged over who has the final word on the neighbor's room addition.

7.Al Loses His Cherry-After a bad fight, Al vows to teach Peg a lesson by not coming home all night. Instead he's the one who ends up getting schooled by a blonde bombshell.

8.Peggy Sue Got Work-When Al refuses to buy Peg a new VCR, Marcy convinces her to get a job herself.(laughs)

9.Married...Without Children-When Al and Peg get away for the weekend, Marcy and Steve volunteer to baby-sit Bud and Kelly-but get more than they bargained for.

10.The Poker Game-When Steve sits in on a Friday-night poker game, he loses more than his shirt to Al.

11.Where's The Boss?-Fooled into thinking his boss is dead, Al threatens to quit his job unless he gets a little respect.

12.Nightmare On Al's Street-Marcy is living a nightmare when a too-sexy Al starts popping up in her dreams.

13.Johnny B. Gone- When Al's favorite hamburger joint closes, he must choose between family and food

Remastered and avalible for the first time on DVD, this show is truly a gem, so go out and get this set today!

Definitely not the Cosbys!
Being a child of the 80's, it was hard to miss all the wonderful sitcoms on television. I still vividly remember watching "Married...With Children" every Sunday night, and I feverishly looked forward to each new episode. In the years since then, I have seen all the episodes many times in reruns, and I am now glad to own them (at least the first season) on DVD. It is one of the few shows I have never gotten tired of.

The first season is rarely the strongest in the series, but the first season of "Married..." has quite a few gems. The second episode, "Thinnergy", has Peggy putting the family on a crash diet, with Al obviously disapproving. The dinner scene always cracked me up, especially Al's sarcasm when he tosses out the salad. Another excellent episode was "Where's The Boss", where Al threatens to quit his job at the shoe store unless his boss meets him and commends him on his work. It has the first of the classic "fat woman" jokes ("Madame, when Shamu needs a mate...you'll be there!"). But my favorite episode is the season finale, "Johnny B. Gone", where the kid's problems prevent Al and Peggy from going to the closing of their favorite restaurant. Seeing Marcy in a towel and Al making fun of her ("Here's a mystery...what's holding that towel up?") never dulls.
The first season contained 13 episodes, which you'll go through pretty quickly. My hope is that the second and third seasons find their way onto DVD soon.

The DVD package is light on the extras (most TV show DVD sets are), but there is one main attraction. The much-lauded "Reunion" special in 2003 is included here, which is a must have for fans. While is provides nothing of real substance, it is fun to see the cast out of their element, reminiscing about their experiences on the show. The only drawback to this is that very little is touched upon about the show's cultural impact in the 80's, which was not inconsiderable for the series. It is just a fun reunion of the cast, nothing more. Sadly, they did not include the E! True Hollywood Story that was done on the show. It would have been a prize addition to the set.

While better episodes were to come in later seasons, the first season is still very solid, and should satisfy fans of the series waiting for a proper release. And with the addition of the Reunion Special, it is a must have for fans of the series. Add this to your collection along with the two "Most Outrageous Episodes" DVDs that are already out.

The Bundys first run
I don't see why so many are bashing the picture quality, I don't think it's bad at all. I love Married ... With Children and this DVD is a great way to start off the collection, for I'm sure they're will be more.
The Married ... With Children show did get a lot better once Steve was gone and Jefferson came into the picture, but these are still classic, great episodes. You can tell these are the early days for Al seems a lot more affectionate towards Peggy and Peggy seems more loving to Bud and Kelly but they are still funny, especially when they do go off and insult each other.
This show has the best insults, it's witty and hilarious. There really is no DVD extras so I suggest if you already have them on tape, there is no need to get this. This is just for people who want to keep reliving the old episodes.

Bad picture quality
While the episodes themselves get an automatic 5 stars, the DVD has bad picture quality. I didn't notice it at first until I viewed one of the first season episodes on regular cable--the picture quality was much sharper, clearer and felt like it added a good five years to the episode's age. Other than that, the DVD could have used some more extras, but the picture quality is a real pain in the ass for the money you dish out. Still recommended, because we're not seeing any other 1st or 2nd Married... DVDs.

GREAT EPISODES.......HORRIBLE PICTURE QUALITY
TO SUM THIS REVIEW UP......I THINK THAT THE EPISODES A VERY FUNNY BUT I WAS BLOWN AWAY ON HOW HORRIBLE THE PICTURE QUALITY IS!!! ALL THE REVIEWS ARE TRUE!!! I THOUGHT EVERYONE WAS JUST PICKY BUT I WAS WRONG! THE QUALITY LOOKS LIKE AN OLD VHS TAPE OR A LOCAL STATION ON TV!! IF YOU DON'T MIND PICTURE QUALITY THEN BUY IT.......BUT IF YOU DO .....RENT IT FIRST SO YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF!!! ... Read more

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Here are more select episodes from the grungy, middle-class existence of the Bundy family, centerpiece of Fox TV's early hit series Married with Children. Choice bits include "A Man's Castle," finding Al (Ed O'Neill) in a crisis of masculine confidence after wife Peg (Katey Sagal) redecorates his bathroom fortress-of-solitude with frilly trappings. "Who'll Stop the Rain" concerns Al's misguided (and cheap) effort to fix a roof leak, resulting in multiple, earthbound falls. "Raingirl" is a good showcase for sexy comic actress Christina Applegate, playing Bundy daughter Kelly as a television station intern-turned-weather bunny suddenly offered a $250,000 contract; the problem is that her manager is also her bungling father, Al. "If Al Had a Hammer" finds the Bundy patriarch building a private room with his heirloom hammer--until the secret gets out. Gross, outrageous, but often sharp about the heaven-hell dichotomy of family life. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Married with children DVD
Once again companies refuse to understand that best of dvd's are pointless. While they capture a variety of episodes from varies seasons, a true fan would much rather have a complete season that is organized and packaged well. I would not recommend buying this because of the fact that shows like Friends did the same thing and came out with best of dvd's and then followed that with complete seasons. The clock is ticking though for tv shows to appear on dvd and before too long the TV powerhouses will come out(FRESH PRINCE, SEINFELD, Home Improvement, and Roseanne)

Married with Children vol2
it is great tv show married with children if everything goes well we will be see the married with sesaon sets soon because the people at are tri-star are going to see if the public like vol1,2,they will start making sesaon set with lots of extra i hope so call tri-star and tell them you like to see sesaon sets with lots of extra stuff not that boring stuff you see in past dvd shows from tri-star because fox gives good extra stuff on dvds

Great series - DVDs need work though
Married With Children is the show that reinvented the sitcom. From its debut in 1987 to the finale in 1997, it provided non-stop laughs. And now, five episodes are available on DVD at long last. But is this a good thing? Read on and see.

First and foremost, the good points about this DVD:
-DVD means excellent picture quality and sound
-5 extremely funny episodes
-The price
-Each episode is the complete original, not the syndication edit

Now onto what ultimately derails this collection - the bad points:

-It's a compilation of episodes from mixed seasons. Why not just release a first season box set, and then a second season, and so on?
-Episodes are NOT in original air order
-NO CHAPTER SELECTIONS! Uh, isn't that one of the reasons we hold the DVD format in such high regard?
-No extras other than trailers. I was hoping for interviews with cast and crew.
-ONLY 5 EPISODES!? Surely more than that can fit on a DVD, especially assuning they sacrificed chapter selections and extras!
-I don't care what the title says, there are episodes many times more outrageous than this.

Overall this collection is disappointing, compared to what it could have been. The other reviews also demonstrate this point excellently. Rather than buying this, consider holding off and seeing if Fox releases box sets.

You gotta be kidding me!!!!
Let me start by saying, Shame On You Fox!!! This was one of the greatest comedy sitcoms of all time. It changed comedy on tv, like no other sitcom before it. And you got the stones to release these sub par "best of" sets...no chance, i aint buying! This was the only tv show that i watched with my father growing up. This show has fans from all age groups. This series needs the respect it deserves...Season by season box sets!!! So many stupid shows get season by season releases...just take a look at any dvd section in any store!!!! these "best of" discs are a joke. If fox has any respect for the fans that stuck by that amazing show for so many seasons that will release the greatest season by season box sets this world has ever seen. We want Justice, No Pieced together "best of" sets!!!!!

more crazy Bundy-fun!
This second volume of episodes from the cult classic MARRIED WITH CHILDREN contains some real gems, including the infamous "Raingirl" and "If Al Had a Hammer".

"A Man's Castle" - Peg (Katey Sagal) takes a redecorating class to help the Bundy abode look more livable. But when she decides to make-over the bathroom, Al (Ed O'Neill) will stop at nothing to protect his most sacred sanctuary!

"Raingirl" - When Kelly (Christina Applegate) becomes the weather-girl for the local TV station, it looks like financial success may finally be in the forecast for the Bundys. But with her reading-skills as scant as her outfits, it may not be sunny skies for long...

"Have You Driven a Ford Lately?" - Al and Steve (David Garrison) buy an old Ford Mustang and bond over fixing and restoring the hunk of junk to it's former glory, much to Peg and Marcy's (Amanda Bearse) dismay. But the boys' dream of cruising the open road 'Born to Be Wild'-style are about to come to a crashing halt...

"If Al Had a Hammer" - A new li'l Bundy is on the way and Al, in need of some space, builds his own private quarters with the help of his father's beloved hammer. But not even this mystical mallet can save his manly oasis from Peg and Marcy and their group of pregnant girlfriends!

"Who'll Stop the Rain?" - It's raining and pouring but it's never boring...especially at the Bundy house! To save money, tight-wad Al goes the do-it-yourself route when the house starts leaking, but he'll end up with both roofing and medical bills when he's finished!

These hilarious episodes will keep the entire family laughing for hours.

Also starring David Faustino. The DVD also includes a promo for the "Salute to Sinatra" CD. (Single-sided, dual-layer disc). ... Read more

Description

America's most outrageous family comes to DVD! Married With Children, featuring the delightfully dysfunctional Bundys--Al (Ed O'Neill), Peg (Katey Sagal), Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Bud (David Faustino)--changed the face of television comedy with its bawdy humor and campy characters. Volume 1 is a collection of the show's wildest episodes sure to offer hours of hilarious domestic bliss! (Includes the infamous "Lost Episode," deemed too raunchy for TV!)

Includes the following hysterical episodes: A Dump of My Own, You Better Shop Around Part 1, You Better Shop Around Part 2, No Chicken No Check, I'll See You In Court (The Lost Episode). ... Read more