Years before The Simpsons made Fox a household institution, the network succeeded in its first era thanks to another cartoony family that just happened to be living, breathing human beings. In mid-1987, Fox kicked off its prime-time programming with Married... with Children, a bawdy domestic farce with characters far meaner and stories far cruder than your average sitcom. And over its healthy eleven seasons, this humble show grew from an inspired satire to a broad, gleefully silly series of adventures for its unwitting folk hero, Al Bundy. On this special live-action edition of What A Cartoon, join us as we take a look at this early Fox hit that paved the way for our bread and butter—but please, no obnoxious hooting and hollering.

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