Meet Al Bundy. He sells shoes. For women, no less. And not pretty ones, either. His wife is a couch potato(a crimson-haired Sagal who never misses Oprah), his son a dateless loser(who tries to be cool), and his daughter an airheaded tramp(who takes great pleasure in finding Waldo). And while he remains pathetically locked into the lower middle class, his next-door neighbours, the Rhoades, freely flaunt their Mercedes, their high-paying jobs at the bank and their position above him. Over the course of the 10 years that this ran(!), Bindi... sorry, Birdie... oh, nevermind... will start his own religion(to enjoy tax-exempt status), become an inventor, will go to Washington and in general try(usually ending up at the starting position, like the tendency goes for sit-coms) to recapture his glory days(did you know that he scored four touch-downs in a single game in high school football?). His life may be miserable, but it certainly is never boring to watch. The comedy is raunchy, crude(with that said, it is also clever, referential, cartoony and at times, satirical), and not politically correct... in short, an incredible release for all the pent-up anxiety and frustration for every viewer forced to sit through the Brady Bunch and every other "perfect family with well-behaved kids" that preceded this. Finally, there was a group of people who you could point to and, rather than go "man, why can't we be like them?", say "well, at least we're not as bad as them!". This was the American Pie of its time; telling teenagers that, yes, it is, in fact, OK. You're not as weird or as randy as you might think you are. And this extends that to the older generation, as well; Ed O'Neill(who *nails* the role) voices many opinions held by Conservatives(no, I do not always agree with them... still, I defend the right to have them expressed in a free media), even if they were no longer considered to be "ok", when the changes(men becoming metrosexuals, women gaining rights, computers, etc.). The Liberals had their arguments presented(through Marcy), as well. This very directly confronts actual issues from the time, such as the low wages for public school teachers. The characters tend to be unsympathetic, yet they capture and keep our attention. Part of us wants them to succeed, and cheer them on. This grew as it progressed... compare the pilot to later episodes, and you may have trouble recognizing them. Early on, they didn't cross the line much; later, they pushed it whenever they could. In addition to a time capsule of the late 80's and most of the 90's(from the perspective of someone who grew up decades earlier), this, based on its popularity, is solid proof that we do, indeed, need to blow off some steam sometimes. Does anyone want to be these people? No. So you don't see anyone trying. This is an understandable reaction to TV of varying quality all based around the idea that the only thing that could be presented was good examples, something to look up to and copy. There is a lot of disturbing content, violence(bloodless), sexuality(nothing explicit), and a little moderate language in this. I recommend it to anyone not too prudish for it, and especially fans of Benny Hill, 'Allo 'Allo and similar series. 9/10
