No love for the Bundys

"Married… with Children," arguably the flagship show of the Fox network until its cancellation in 1997, has just released its fifth season on DVD. And that, friends, is a lot of television to sit through.\nAs a show, it's great. The Bundys didn't just cater to the lowest common denominator, they were the lowest common denominator, and their decade-long run celebrated the worst the American family has to offer: the broken, pessimistic and sexist father, the lazy, do-nothing wife, the whorish blonde daughter and the sex-starved nerd of a son. It was trashy, lewd, and its working title was "Not the Cosbys." It was so detested by its critics that it was the subject of boycotts. It would make shows like "Yes, Dear" and "Everybody love Raymond" cry before it took their lunch money.\nAs a DVD, "Married … with Children" sucks. Or the fifth season does, anyway. There's nothing on the discs besides the episodes themselves, and to the kind of jerk who would spend 30 dollars on a boxed set of TV episodes, that's a spectacular failure. No interviews, no behind-the-scenes, no making-of documentary. Nothing. \nTry and imagine the surprise of the unemployed, thirty-something bachelor sitting on a couch in his mom's basement when he finds out there isn't even a Christina Applegate filmography section. \n"Rage" is probably the right word.\nHe would have a point. For the price they're asking, they could have included something with the set, but beyond the packaging there isn't anything to be had. Even the opening theme song, the instantly-recognized "Love and Marriage" sung by the Chairman has been changed, assumedly because of copyright issues; the credits roll to a studio band playing a markedly dissimilar piece.\nSo there really isn't much to talk about for the DVD. If you're thinking of buying this you'll have to purchase it on the episodes alone, and that can be a tall order for anyone who isn't a big fan of the series. That's a shame. Nine years after it went off the air, "Married… with Children" is still recognizable and is shown in syndication on cable. It's defined the careers of those who acted on it. The show had a diehard fan base that would probably have loved a couple of crew commentaries, and I find it hard to believe that the production couldn't come up with anything. Since they didn't, it's hard to recommend this to anyone. Skip it.