Editing Married... with Children (section)

=== Controversy and legacy ===
The sexual humor and depiction of family life on ''Married... with Children'' were controversial from its debut. Daniel M. Kimmel reflected on the show in 2004: "It had achieved a cult status as a somewhat tasteless family sitcom that was so well written and acted that some actually saw it as dark satire of modern suburban life rather than simply an unending stream of sex jokes."<ref name="Kimmel 2004"/>{{rp|66}} In 2007, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' TV critic [[James Poniewozik]], in ranking the show among the 100 greatest of all time, called it "a twisted mirror of TV's instant-gratification culture...suitable for a medieval morality play."<ref name="Time 2007"/> Poniewozik concluded about the characterization of the show: "Zestily lowbrow and sex-obsessed, ''Married'' was dedicated to the classical ideal that unhappy families were more interesting than happy ones... and a lot funnier."<ref name="Time 2007"/> Reviewing Sony's original DVD release of the first season in 2003, Aaron Belerle of [[DVD Talk]] reflected that the show's humor "doesn't seem so edgy anymore".<ref name="DVD Talk">{{cite web|last=Belerle|first=Aaron|title= Married with Children - The Complete First Season |publisher=DVD Talk|date=November 7, 2003|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/8210/married-with-children-the-complete-first-season/|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040101114701/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=8210|archive-date=January 1, 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1989, [[Terry Rakolta]] from [[Bloomfield Hills, Michigan]], attempted to lead a boycott<ref name="Time 2007">{{cite magazine|last=Poniewozik |first=James |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1651341_1659192_1652601,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026140557/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1651341_1659192_1652601,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 26, 2007 |title=Married ... With Children The 100 Best TV Shows Of All Time |magazine=Time |date=2007-09-06 |access-date=2012-03-14}}</ref> of the show after viewing the episode "[[Her Cups Runneth Over]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bundyology.com/hpg/306.html |title=Bundyology—Episode "Her Cups Runneth Over" |publisher=Bundyology.com |access-date=2012-03-14}}</ref> Offended by the images of an old man wearing a woman's garter and stockings, the scene in which Steve touches the pasties of a mannequin dressed in S&M gear, a homosexual man wearing a tiara on his head (and Al's line "...and they wonder why we call them 'queens{{' "}}), and a half-nude woman who takes off her bra in front of Al (and is shown with her arms covering her bare chest in the next shot), Rakolta began a letter-writing campaign to advertisers, demanding they boycott the show.

Rakolta's campaign resulted in [[Gillette]], [[Warner–Lambert]], and [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]] ending sponsorships; ironically, Coca-Cola owned the studio that produced the show, [[Columbia Pictures Television]].<ref name="Kimmel 2004"/>{{rp|68}} Fox pulled the episode titled "[[I'll See You in Court]]" (in which the Bundys attempt to improve their love life by having marital relations in a different setting). This episode became known as the "Lost Episode" and was aired on [[FX (TV channel)|FX]] on June 18, 2002, with some parts cut.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?26509|title=Censored 'Married ... with Children' to Air on FX|work=Zap2it|date=June 17, 2002|access-date=August 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030212064318/http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?26509|archive-date=February 12, 2003|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=  The Illustrated Lost Show Transcript|url=http://www.bundyology.com/lost1.html|work=Bundyology|date=November 25, 2002|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20071219184320/http://www.bundyology.com/lost1.html|archive-date=December 19, 2007|access-date=August 17, 2024|url-status=dead}}</ref> The episode was packaged with the rest of the third season in the January 2005 [[DVD]] release (and in the first volume of the ''Married... with Children Most Outrageous Episodes'' DVD set) with the parts cut from syndication restored.

Viewers' curiosity over the boycott and over the show itself led to a drastic ratings boost.<ref name="Kimmel 2004"/>{{rp|68}} Rakolta has been alluded to twice on the show: "Rock and Roll Girl",<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=married-with-children&episode=s04e15|title=Married with Children s04e15 Episode Script |website=Springfield! Springfield!|access-date=2019-08-25|archive-date=2014-09-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909161100/http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=married-with-children&episode=s04e15|url-status=dead}}</ref> in which a newscaster mentions the city Bloomfield Hills, and "No Pot to Pease In",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=married-with-children&episode=s09e09|title=Married with Children s09e09 Episode Script|website=Springfield! Springfield!|access-date=2019-08-25 |archive-date=2014-09-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909161041/http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=married-with-children&episode=s09e09|url-status=dead}}</ref> in which a television show is made about the Bundy family and then cancelled because, as Marcy stated, "some woman in Michigan didn't like it."

Socially conservative criticisms of the show were not limited to Rakolta. The [[Media Research Center]] named ''Married... with Children'' the worst show of the 1995–96 television season, calling it the "crudest comedy on prime time television" for "lewd punch lines".<ref name="MRC 1996">{{cite web|title=Top 10 Best and Worst Primetime TV Shows|url=http://townhall.com/mrc/entertainment/topten.html|publisher=Media Research Center|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/19961129110404/http://townhall.com/mrc/entertainment/topten.html|archive-date=November 29, 1996|access-date=August 16, 2024|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/married-with-children-wrestling-episode-king-kong-bundy/|title=The Wrestling Episode: The Battle Of The Bundys On 'Married … With Children'|last=Stroud|first=Brandon|work=Uproxx|date=April 26, 2018|access-date=August 16, 2024}}</ref> Republican U.S. Senator [[Jesse Helms]] called the show "trash".<ref>{{cite web |last=McLellan |first=Dennis |title=Ron Leavitt-co-created 'Married…With Children' |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ron-Leavitt-co-created-Married-With-3227123.php |website=San Francisco Gate |date=February 13, 2008 |access-date=9 August 2022}}</ref> Fellow Senator [[Joe Lieberman]] (D-CT) also strongly criticized the sitcom, after having walked in on his stepson and young daughter watching an episode one evening in late 1993. In an interview many years later, Lieberman would specifically cite ''Married...With Children'' as the impetus for his becoming a vocal opponent of pop culture and the entertainment industry throughout his Senate career.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/12/08/lieberman-versus-hollywood/34114372-56bf-47f8-8cbd-5d4b09fd44bd/ |title=
Lieberman Versus Hollywood |newspaper=The Washington Post |last=Farhi |first=Paul |date=December 8, 2003 |access-date=January 17, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1996/10/16/congressmen-ask-fox-to-show-married-with-children-later/ | title=Congressmen ask Fox to show "Married with Children' later |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=October 16, 1996 |access-date=January 17, 2024 }}</ref>

However, the show was recognized for giving women prominent roles behind the scenes. Producers decided to rewrite the sixth season storyline of Peggy's pregnancy, which coincided with Sagal's actual pregnancy, as a dream that Al had. This was done to prevent Sagal from suffering further trauma by having her character Peggy interact with a new baby, when Sagal's pregnancy ended with her going into premature labor and the baby being stillborn.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.throwbacks.com/married-with-children-pregnancy/|title=The Heartbreaking Tragedy That Changed An Entire Season Of 'Married With Children'|website=Throwbacks|date=September 7, 2018|access-date=2021-02-21}}</ref> 

Bearse also became one of the first mainstream actresses to publicly [[Coming out|come out]] as [[lesbian]], which she did during the series run and received positive recognition for doing so.<ref name="E!" /> 

On April 22, 2012, Fox re-aired the series premiere in commemoration of its 25th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/04/11/fox-will-rebroadcast-the-series-premiere-of-married-with-children-to-celebrate-the-networks-25th-anniversary-sunday-april-22/128662/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412050718/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/04/11/fox-will-rebroadcast-the-series-premiere-of-married-with-children-to-celebrate-the-networks-25th-anniversary-sunday-april-22/128662/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 12, 2012|title=Network TV Press Releases FOX Will Rebroadcast the Series Premiere of 'Married...With Children' to Celebrate the Network's 25th Anniversary Sunday, April 22|last=Bibel|first=Sara|date=April 11, 2012|work=[[TV by the Numbers]]|access-date=April 11, 2012}}</ref>