Married . . . with Children [TV Series] (DVD)

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2. "Driving Mr. Boondy." Bud becomes his father's driving instructor when he realizes his license has to be renewed.

3. "Kelly Breaks Out." Zits happen. And Kelly's career hangs in the balance.

4. "Naughty but Niece." Funny episode has Bud drooling over the D'Arcy's niece, Amber (Juliet Tablak).

5. "Business Sucks." All heck breaks loose when Al banishes a customer for breastfeeding her baby, and No Ma'am gets involved.

6. "Business Still Sucks." Part two has Al going the opposite direction and turning the store into a men's only footwear outlet . . . which doesn't sit will with the store's owner.

7. "Dial B for Virgin." Bud gets recruited to work the Virgin Hotline. Meanwhile, Al and Peg can't decide what movie to rent. One of the funnier episodes.

8. "Sleepless in Chicago." Al is recruited to lie in bed next to Marcy so Jefferson can swap out her valuable Barbie doll for a less expensive one. Some funny stuff here too.

9. "No Pot to Pease In." When Kelly auditions for a sitcom, she ends up talking a bit too much about the family, and so the show ends up being a reflection of the Bundys and D'Arcys.

10. "Dud Bowl." Dud episode. Al's high school plays a rival, and it matters more to Al than any of us. But at least you get to see cameos by Bubba Smith, Kenny Stabler, Lawrence Taylor, and other former NFL players.

11. "A Man for No Seasons." Funny episode about No Ma'am has them organizing their own baseball league that's sponsored totally by nudie bars. This time it's baseball players you get to glimpse, people like Mike Piazza, Bret Saberhagen, Dave Winfield, Joe Morgan, and Danny Tartabull.

12-13. "I Want My Psycho Dad" Pts. 1-2. Al's No Ma'am organization leads a strike when his favorite TV show, "Psycho Dad," is cancelled, and the protest goes all the way to capitol hill. Uneven, but some funny moments.

14. "The Naked and the Dead, but Mostly the Naked." Peg and her friends crash the guys' nudie bar to see what all the fuss is about.

15. "Kelly Takes a Shot." To win a part in a commercial, Kelly has to learn archery.

16. "Get the Dodge Outta Hell." Road trip episode has the Bundys suddenly on-foot after their car disappears at a car wash. Some funny moments.

17. "Best of Bundy." George Plimpton narrates this clip show that celebrates the 200th episode.

18. "25 Years and What Do You Get?" Buck buries Al's anniversary gift in the backyard. What will Peg think? Some funny moments.

19-20. "Ship Happens" Pts. 1-2. The Bundys and D'Arcys take their raunchy show on the road, but their holiday doesn't turn out as expected. For one thing, their cruise ship sinks.

21. "Something Larry This Way Comes." Larry Storch comes to the Bundy house, and all because he's Kelly's new acting instructor.

22. "And Bingo Was Her Game-O." Clint Howard guests in this episode that finds No Ma'am trying to choose an official beer and Peggy winning big at Bingo.

23. "User Friendly." Bud volunteers for a computer sex experiment, and it ends up involving none other than Amber. Some funny stuff.

24. "Pump Fiction." Al teams with Kelly to make a film about shoes, and surprise surpise, somebody gives them money to do another one.

25. "My Favorite Married." I don't care much for clip shows, and this one features the cast's favorite episodes . . . or rather clips from them.

26. Radio Free Trumaine." Spin-off attempt falls flat on its face. Keri Russell is the only thing worth watching.

27. "Shoeless Al." Al files a fraudulent lawsuit, but more than winning that he's obsessed by wanting to win a bowling tournament.

28. "The Undergraduate." A twelve-year-old boy somehow gets Kelly to go to his junior prom with him. Some very funny moments. Bearse directed this one and five other episodes this season.

Video:
The picture is in color and full screen (1.33:1) of course, and the quality isn't as grainy as some of the TV-on-DVD has been. But it's still not as sharp as many of the old black and white shows. Color isn't as forgiving in the transfer process, and there's a slight graininess throughout and haloing around the edges--but not so much as to be annoying.

Audio:
It's all dialogue, and so the Dolby 2.0 Surround is all that's needed. Though this track actually relies less on center speakers than many of the 2.0s, there's a tonal flatness that comes awfully close to resembling Mono.

Extras:
The only thing here are two bonus "minisodes" from other shows, presumably included to entice fans to plunk down money for another series. This time it's "Dope" from "The Facts of Life" and "Do as the Romans" from "Sheena."

Bottom Line:
"Married . . . with Children" is one of those shows that's so dumb you feel embarrassed to be laughing. But you do laugh this season, more so than in the previous few years of the long-running "anti-Cosby" sitcom.

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