Married With Children was something of an anomaly among the pantheon of breakthrough television shows throughout history. Shows such as Archie Bunker and Roseanne broke through the stereotypes of the television family, and showed life much more as it really is in most American households. What made Married With Children especially unique is that while those other shows often-times made very real comments about society through their laughter, this program mainly focused on the American mal.... Al Bundy didn't ask for much; merely an occasional home cooked meal, a nice quiet place to rest his feet at the end of a long day, and the love and respect of his family, for which he worked such long hours. While other shows went to great lengths to show that life is not all Ozzie and Harriet, Al Bundy made an argument for the days of Ozzie and Harriet. With all the stresses and rudeness in modern society, can't we just go back to the old days, when a man could come home after a hard day and at least have some control over life in his own home?

Of course, the answer to that question is a resounding “no”, and the meeting of those two philosophies is the basis for the humor. Still, though, it is not every day that viewers come across a show that makes an argument for the simple decency and morality of times gone by through making an endless series of crude and off-color jokes. There is much more to this series than meets the eye at first glance. Underneath all that basic humor, there is a work of genius, for those that are willing to look a little deeper.