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

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One of the great mysteries of our time for future culturephiles to decipher will be the Fox network. How is it possible that the media juggernaut associated with "family values" and its support of the most "morally" driven president of the past hundred years could also give us such anti-family fare as "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy" and the dysfunctional dorks that started it all on "Married with Children"?

The Bundys are to sitcom families what the Anti-Christ is to religion. After all, the creators named the family patriarch after a serial killer. Is that any way to launch a network's first sitcom, way back on April 5, 1987? But an even greater mystery for future scholars to unravel will be how in the world this show lasted 10 years.

Maybe it was the Christina Applegate factor, with the teen sex-throb playing many adolescent males' fantasy: a bleached-blonde with the IQ of a coffee table and the sexual inhibitions of a rabbit. As the ultra-cool Kelly Bundy, she drew as much of a following as the singing David Cassidy did decades earlier in the more wholesome "Partridge Family." Or maybe it was the Archie Bunker factor, with the perpetually sneering Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) throwing more insults than trash-talking NBA players. Maybe it's because Peg Bundy (Katey Sagal), with her "Damn the family, full shopping and TV-watching speed ahead" mantra, made other stay-at-home housewives feel like Supermom by comparison. Or it could have been the young "Bud Stud," played by the mullet-headed David Faustino. Naw. Forget that. But one thing's for sure: for the third season, the writers weren't at the top of their game. Too many of the episodes offer premises that, after you've watched the show, strike you as ones which could have been much funnier. The quintessential case-in-point is the two-part episode about the Bundys going to their high school reunions. These things are funny all by themselves, but the lines just weren't there. Of the season's offerings, two shows were outstanding, two were very funny, and a handful had some good laughs. The rest fell into this black hole of possibility, leaving you think that it was okay but not all that it could have been.

Here´s a rundown on the 22 episodes:

"He Thought He Could"—Al is goaded into facing his library nemesis when a long-overdue book ("The Little Engine That Could") turns up. One of the better episodes. David Garrison and Amanda Bearse returned this season as the Bundy's neighbors and only friends, the Rhoades.

"I'm Going to Sweatland"—The odiferous Al manages a sweat stain on his shirt the shape of Elvis, and Peggy turns the house into a shrine full of paying customers. Probably the second-best episode for satire and laughs.

"Poke High"—Kelly tries out for cheerleading to be close to the star fullback she hopes to bed, a cocky fellow that Al hopes falls on his face rather than break his old high school records.

"The Camping Show"—Al and Steve's idyllic fishing trip turns hellish when the women and kids insist on coming along, and all the females PMS at the same time.

"A Dump of My Own"—Al tries to build a bathroom of his own.

"Her Cups Runneth Over"—The funniest episode of the season sees Peggy distraught over the discontinuation of her favorite bra, and Al and Steve road-tripping to Wisconsin to buy a bundle of them.

"The Bald and the Beautiful"—Al and even the full-haired Steve start panicking that they're going bald, and join a support group.

"The Gypsy Cried"—Marcy sees a soothsayer who predicts disaster for her and good fortune for the Bundys and her husband.

"Requiem for a Dead Barber"—Al has a similar reaction to the loss of his barber as Peg had when he bra was discontinued, but without as funny results.