# As an adult I appreciate married with children on a totally different level **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086 "2019-09-12T02:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/1 "2019-09-12T02:35:51Z")
Its a quality show that addresses the bad parts of adulthood. I never got some of the jokes as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/2 "2019-09-12T14:11:57Z")
It is said that when Ed auditioned for the role, as he approached the door to come inside the “house”, he paused and sort of sighed. That display of exasperation, of loathing, is part of what got him the job. Subtle, but very recognizable to people…married with children. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/3 "2019-09-12T14:20:54Z")
Here’s an interview with Ed O’neil about how he came up with the persona for Al and got the part. The other actors were playing Al as loud and excited like Jackie Gleason, while he went for ‘resigned’. [Ed O'Neill Reveals How He Landed the Role of Al Bundy on Married with Children | The Rich Eisen Show - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=butNX7mnsKk) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/4 "2019-09-13T03:24:53Z")
The show’s message is: Marriage is\*\* EVIL!\*\* :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/5 "2019-09-14T02:47:09Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The show’s message is: Marriage is\*\* EVIL!\*\* :mad: And kids make it worse. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/6 "2019-09-14T03:16:11Z")
Meh. \*Roseanne \*was much better. Until it wasn’t, but that’s a different topic. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/7 "2019-09-14T03:21:21Z")
I couldnt disagree more. Also, Roseann was clearly influenced by MWC. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/8 "2019-09-14T04:02:11Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I couldnt disagree more. Also, Roseann was clearly influenced by MWC. Agree with the disagree. MwC is in my top 3 all-time sitcoms. I used to always joke that I wanted to grow up to be Al Bundy. I think I did. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/9 "2019-09-14T04:08:07Z")
“Peg, if I wanted you to know what I was thinking I’d be talking to you.” Great show. This and the Simpsons kept FOX alive. Archie Bunker was an asshole and Edith was a ditz, but Married made fun of the ‘institution’ of marriage and child rearing. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/10 "2019-09-14T12:49:08Z")
“Miss me Al?” “With every bullet so far…” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/11 "2019-09-14T13:12:17Z")
“Urethra!” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/12 "2019-09-14T13:26:51Z")
Al Bundy, walking in the door after a tough day selling shoes: “I WISH THE WORLD WAS A FLY AND I WAS A GIANT ROLLED UP NEWSPAPER!!” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/13 "2019-09-14T13:27:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The show’s message is: Marriage is\*\* EVIL!\*\* :mad: Having once experienced marriage, the message is accurate. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/14 "2019-09-14T13:55:43Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Here’s an interview with Ed O’neil about how he came up with the persona for Al and got the part. The other actors were playing Al as loud and excited like Jackie Gleason, while he went for ‘resigned’. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=butNX7mnsKk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=butNX7mnsKk) Great story, and I’m almost surprised no one else took the “resigned” interpretation and went Jackie Gleason on him, but I’m glad they did so he could get the part. He was perfect as Al. The show also seemed to have great cross-cultural appeal. When I was an expat in Hungary, it seemed every one of my non-US friends appreciated the show. There was even a shoe store in Budapest on Erzébet Krt. called “Al Bandy Cipő” (“Al Bundy Shoes”), which I always got a kick out of. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/15 "2019-09-14T15:36:15Z")
My favorite episode is when Al takes some scouts camping in the woods, ‘gather round the flashlight, kids’ and tells them a ‘horror story’. A horror-story about an evil, rapacious red-haired creature that pursued a man. It would not stop. Oh, he tried to avoid it. He tried dating others, but it would. not. stop! At night he could hear its evil cry…‘Oh honey…oh hoooooneeeyyyyy’…Peg was quite an attractive woman, but Al only had eyes for young sluts. He suffered from the madonna-whore syndrome, as did Elvis . You either had a pure woman or a sullied woman, and they could not be both!..Bud was kind of sad and hilarious at the same time…how many tv sitcoms feature the family’s son being busted for pleasuring himself at the public library?? …also, Christina Applegate was the most beautiful actress on television, wore bangin’ outfits, and how pale blond ladies wear red lipstick like that and look great is a mystery to me even today. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/16 "2019-09-14T16:01:34Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > My favorite episode is when Al takes some scouts camping in the woods, ‘gather round the flashlight, kids’ and tells them a ‘horror story’. A horror-story about an evil, rapacious red-haired creature that pursued a man. It would not stop. Oh, he tried to avoid it. He tried dating others, but it would. not. stop! At night he could hear its evil cry…‘Oh honey…oh hoooooneeeyyyyy’…Peg was quite an attractive woman, but Al only had eyes for young sluts. He suffered from the madonna-whore syndrome, as did Elvis . You either had a pure woman or a sullied woman, and they could not be both!..Bud was kind of sad and hilarious at the same time…how many tv sitcoms feature the family’s son being busted for pleasuring himself at the public library?? …also, Christina Applegate was the most beautiful actress on television, wore bangin’ outfits, and how pale blond ladies wear red lipstick like that and look great is a mystery to me even today. IMO I think Peg was more than attractive enough to Al physically. He just wanted her to work and contribute to keeping up the house. He loved her and stayed with her but he came to accept that she was set in her ways and would never change. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/17 "2019-09-14T16:33:37Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Great show. This and the Simpsons kept FOX alive. Archie Bunker was an asshole and Edith was a ditz, but Married made fun of the ‘institution’ of marriage and child rearing. Dan Castellaneta (voice of Homer Simpson) appeared twice on MWC. The second time was as a funeral director but the first time was one of the best episodes ever. He played a guy named Pete talking to Al Pete: Your wife is going out dancing with my husband. Al: Your husband? Pete: Yes, my husband. Al: You know you’re a guy. Pete: Yes. Al: Your husband? Pete: Yes Al: You know what this means? Pete: What? Al: There’s three guys who don’t want to sleep with her. Castellaneta was wonderful in the role, playing it “straight” (which he is) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/18 "2019-09-14T20:40:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The show also seemed to have great cross-cultural appeal. When I was an expat in Hungary, it seemed every one of my non-US friends appreciated the show. There was even a shoe store in Budapest on Erzébet Krt. called “Al Bandy Cipő” (“Al Bundy Shoes”), which I always got a kick out of. There’s a Russian-produced version called _ **Happy Together** _. I tried watching it, but found it incredibly lame (though the actress who played the “Marcy” character was really cute). I’ve never discussed the show with anyone else who saw it, so I’m curious as to what the Russians thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/19 "2019-09-14T23:03:56Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > IMO I think Peg was more than attractive enough to Al physically. He just wanted her to work and contribute to keeping up the house. He loved her and stayed with her but he came to accept that she was set in her ways and would never change. Peg was one lousy (non) housekeeper. She was a slacker who was more interested in her hair and nails. But even so, men love ‘hot wives’ who are lousy self-absorbed bimbos… For countless seasons, Peg was constantly begging Al for sex, constantly. All he was ever turned on by were young bimbos in skin-tight mini-dresses. (It was kind of disgusting, those young bimbos were not unlike his own daughter, Kelly.) Al didn’t like women period. unless they were young sleazy pinup girls. any of them who were ordinary - like his customers at the shoe store! - were a horrid burden in his sad life. He so missed out, and there he was, a football hero from high school! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086/20 "2019-09-15T00:37:13Z")
Armin Shimerman (Quark, DS9) played a Briard owner who wanted to breed Buck to his bitch. Unfortunately, after sexy time with Buck, the female becomes the _late_ Lady of Astoria and Al gets stuck with a bill for $10,000. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-an-adult-i-appreciate-married-with-children-on-a-totally-different-level/840086.md?page=2)