[.ca] Married With Children: The Complete First Season

From Amazon.com:
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

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!

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.

Memorable Series:
I'm not going to go off and bash the DVD picture quality because that's not the only thing that's important in the series. This is actually a really great DVD that brings back so many memories of watching one of the best and most offensive shows on television. Join Al, Peg, Bud, Kelly and Buck in their dysfunctional family! Al is a shoe salesman, Peg is... well, nothing, you get the picture. I can't remember exactly but the theme song looks edited; I remember it showing the cast and images and whatever like most sitcoms do on TV but on the DVD it's just the black screen with the credits and seems to be a bit longer. The DVD may have it's faults, but it's definitely worth making the purchase - whether you get it through the Amazon marketplace or elsewhere.

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!!!

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.