Married... with Children/Characters: Difference between revisions

== The Bundy Family ==

=== Al Bundy ===

Al is the forever down-on-his-luck patriarch of the Bundy family. His defining moment (so he says) was when he scored four touchdowns in a single game as a fullback at Polk High School. Nowadays, he works a thankless minimum wage job at Gary's Shoe Store in the New Market Mall. He enjoys bowling, visiting strip clubs and avoiding sex with the wife.

* [[Actually Pretty Funny]]: He usually invokes this with Jefferson, who laughs at his jokes about Marcy behind Marcy's back.

* [[Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up]]: How the mighty have fallen...

* [[Speed Sex]]: Peg constantly mocks him for not being able to last in bed for more than a few <s>minutes</s> seconds:

* [[Straw Misogynist]]: He fits the description, though not always proven wrong.

* [[Throw the Dog a Bone]]: Though very rare and never in any large fashion since [[Status Quo Is God]], every now and then Al does come out a winner.

 

=== Margaret "Peggy" Bundy née Wanker ===

Peggy is Al's wife, born and raised in a backwater area in the Midwest called Wanker County. She actively refuses to seek employment, expecting Al to be the breadwinner for their family. She's usually found on her favorite couch with a TV remote in one hand and a handful of Bon Bons in the other.

* [[Big Eater]]: Well, sort of. Peg does nothing all day but sit on the couch stuffing herself full of Bon Bons, and yet she never seems to gain a pound.

 

=== Kelly Bundy ===

Kelly is the Bundys' only daughter. While not nearly as unsuccessful as her parents (she has held several part-time jobs over the course of the series, and had occasional success as a model and bit actress), she's also not nearly as bright (to put it lightly).

* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Her boyfriends are various sleazy bikers, hoods and ex-cons with nicknames like Mayhem, Pinworm and Stab Wound. It's even [[Lampshaded]]:

* [[Alpha Bitch]]: During her high school years.

* [[Bratty Teenage Daughter]]

* [[Daddy's Girl]]: Of everyone in his family Al seems to have the softest spot for his daughter and the feelings are mutual.

 

=== Bud Bundy ===

Bud is Kelly's younger brother. Probably the smartest and most decent member of the Bundy clan, although he's still usually quite willing to throw the others under the bus at any given time. Is completely obsessed with girls and sex, so he spends a lot of his time thinking of ways to get laid, but rarely has much luck on that front. His collection of blow-up dolls is a secret to everyone except Kelly, who loves to pick on him for it (among other things).

* [[A Date with Rosie Palms]]: Just another Friday night for Bud Bundy.

* [[Hormone-Addled Teenager]]: Obsessed with girls.

* [[Like Father, Like Son]]: Bud is just as much of a pervert as his father:

'''Al''': ''(Watching'' The Centrefold Weed-Whacker Murders ''on TV)'' No, you can't hide under the tree stump! He can burrow! Don't you see? He's half mole! }}

** He also seems to have inherited Al's less-than-spectacular bedroom skills:

* [[Loser Son of Loser Dad]]: Bud hasn't sunk to the same level of personal failure as his father, since he got good grades in school and sometimes makes good money as a talent agent or in other temporary professions. On the other hand, Bud has never gotten the same kind of action Al did in high school, and is frequently reduced to scheduling [[A Date with Rosie Palms]] whenever he feels horny, so it balances out.

* [[Sibling Rivalry]]: The typical interactions of Bud and Kelly feature this. Doesn't stop them from teaming-up for a common cause.

* [[The Smart Guy]]: Arguably the brightest of the Bundys and by far the best educated one. On the other hand his hormones usually keep him from achieving his goals.

 

=== Marcy Rhoades/D'Arcy ===

Marcy is a bank teller who lives next door to the Bundys. She frequently belittles Al and reminds him of how much a loser he is, but has a much friendlier rapport with Peggy.

* [[A-Cup Angst]]: She's mistaken for a boy several times due to her flat chest, much to her anger. Al constantly mocks her about it.

* [[Sitcom Arch Nemesis]]

* [[Straw Feminist]]

 

=== Steve Rhoades ===

Steve is Marcy's first husband (Seasons 1-4). Like Marcy, Steve worked in the banking business. He tends to stick by his wife a lot, and frowns upon Al's attempts to get him to go against her wishes.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

 

=== Jefferson D'Arcy ===

Jefferson is Marcy's second husband (Seasons 5+). Unlike Steve, Jefferson doesn't hold down a steady job, believing he's "too pretty to work". He enjoys most of the same activities that Al does, and the two of them get along pretty well.

* [[Clingy Jealous Girl|ClingyJealousGuy]]: He's actually become quite fond of Marcy, believe it or not:

** After Marcy [[Crowning Moment of Funny|has an orgasm while giving a speech at her bank]], she's soon hired by other corporations to give bad news in erotic speeches. Unfortunately, she begins neglecting Jefferson, and he starts getting pouty over it. When he complains to Marcy about being ignored, she takes him home for his own "private little speech". In the last scene of the episode, Peg asks Marcy where Jefferson is, and she explains that he's in the hospital being treated for dehydration.

* [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: Jefferson gets a job as an aerobics instructor in the last season, and he's incredibly popular with the studio's female exercisers. When Marcy finds out, she tries to make him quit:

'''Woman #2''': Nice try, honey. On an average day, he usually gets about four wives, plus a couple of husbands! }}

* [[Gold Digger]]: A glorified gigolo who married a relatively affluent woman.

* [[Spear Counterpart]]: To Peggy. He's very lazy and comes up with all sorts of excuses to avoid getting a job, and has been known to blow Marcy's money on expensive baubles the way Peg spends Al's. He also gets very jealous when Marcy reminisces about her ex-husband Steve, or when she generally starts ignoring him.

* [[Status Quo Is God]]: Despite his protests, Jefferson actually ''does'' manage to get a few jobs throughout the series. Unfortunately, whether he gets a job at the shoe store, as an actor or as an aerobics instructor, Jefferson typically ends up working with beautiful women. This makes Marcy force him to quit and return to his de facto job as her sex toy:

'''Marcy''': Your job is to please me. And right now, I am not pleased. }}

 

== Recurring Characters ==

 

=== Griff ===

Griff is a friend of Al's, and his co-worker at Gary's Shoe Store in the later seasons. He is also one of the founding members of Al's NO MA'AM group.

* [[Only Sane Man]]: Compared to the rest of the cast Griff seems to be the only character who is at least relatively grounded in reality.

 

=== Officer Dan ===

Dan is a police officer who operates in the area where the Bundys and the D'Arcys live. He is familiar with Al and his family because he's usually the first to arrive on the scene whenever they get in trouble. He's also a member of NO MA'AM, but isn't seen as frequently at their meetings as the others.

* [[Corrupt Cop]]: Openly admits to being crooked, though after joining NO MA'AM he frequently used said connections to keep Al out of jail.

 

=== Bob Rooney ===

Bob Rooney is one of Al's NO MA'AM cohorts.

* [[Dirty Old Man]]: Like the rest of NO MA'AM.

 

=== Ike ===

Ike is another member of Al's NO MA'AM group.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: He insists that Elvis is alive, enjoys Yanni's music, and it's occasionally implied that he's bisexual.

 

=== Gary ===

Gary is the rarely-seen owner of Gary's Shoe Store. Despite having a name meant for males, Gary is a middle-aged woman who laments having a sad-sack like Al working for her.

* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: She had illegal immigrants making shoes for her.

* [[May-December Romance]]: In one episode, she has a relationship with Bud.

* [[Tomboyish Name]]: That and the fact Al never met her during the first twenty years he's been working at the store made Al mistakenly believe Gary was a man. Whenever he wasn't thinking Gary didn't even exist, that is.