# Married... with Children season 1

This is a list of episodes for the premiere season (1987) of the television series Married... with Children.
This season introduces the major characters: Al, Peg, Kelly and Bud Bundy, along with their neighbors, Steve and Marcy Rhoades. The first season is the only one in which Al and Peg are regularly intimate, to the point of Al initiating the sessions. It is also the only one where Peg can be seen doing housework under normal circumstances, and she even has her own car (as seen in "Sixteen Years and What Do You Get"). In "Thinergy," Bud mentions that Kelly had been held back a year in school. Al's dislike of the French is first shown in this season and it is also the first time that he calls Marcy a "chicken." It also contains the first mention of Peg's family being "hillbillies" from the fictional Wanker County, Wisconsin.

## Original pilot

In the show's pilot episode, Tina Caspary played the role of Kelly Bundy, while Hunter Carson played Bud. Before the series aired publicly – and at the behest of Ed O'Neill – the roles for the two Bundy children were re-cast. O'Neill felt a lack of chemistry with the original actors cast as the children. He requested a re-cast, which the producers approved. All of the scenes in the original pilot were re-shot with the replacement actors, Christina Applegate and David Faustino.

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | Rating/share (households) |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Linda Day | Ron Leavitt & Michael G. Moye | April 6, 1987 (1987-4-6) | 1.01 | 6.1/10 |
| A down-on-his-luck shoe salesman named Al Bundy, unhappily married with two children, is forced to choose between going to a basketball game or joining his lazy wife, Peg, in meeting their new neighbors, Steve and Marcy Rhoades, a happy, young couple who have moved in next door and are the epitome of 1980s social climbing and greed. Note: On April 22, 2012, Fox reaired the series premiere in honor of its 25th anniversary. The reaired pilot had 2.9 million viewers. ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Thinergy" | Linda Day | Michael G. Moye & Ron Leavitt | April 13, 1987 (1987-4-13) | 1.02 | 5.2/8 |
| Inspired by a diet book from Marcy to improve their sex life, Peg decides the entire family should be eating healthier and starts them on a diet, much to the dismay of the family, mostly Al. ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "But I Didn't Shoot the Deputy" | Linda Day | Ron Burla | April 20, 1987 (1987-4-20) | 1.04 | N/A |
| The neighborhood has a local robber on the loose. After Steve and Marcy are robbed, they buy a guard dog to protect themselves. Al, though, buys a gun and ends up accidentally shooting the dog. ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Whose Room Is It Anyway" | Zane Buzby | Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung | April 27, 1987 (1987-4-27) | 1.06 | N/A |
| Steve and Marcy plan on adding another room to their house with their tax refund, but the men and wives get into a huge argument when Al and Steve want a room in which to play 8-ball pool, while Peg and Marcy want to put together a yoga exercise room. ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Have You Driven a Ford Lately?" | Linda Day | Richard Gurman & Katherine Green | May 4, 1987 (1987-5-4) | 1.05 | N/A |
| Al and Steve get a vintage rusty 1965 Ford Mustang. Since the car is in bad condition, Al and Steve decide to restore the car for themselves, but it completely takes their time, irking their wives. The episode's title is derived from the slogan "Have You Driven A Ford Lately" used by the Ford Motor Company for 15 years between 1983 and 1998. The slogan was used at the time this episode aired. ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Sixteen Years and What Do You Get" | Linda Day | Katherine Green & Richard Gurman | May 11, 1987 (1987-5-11) | 1.03 | N/A |
| Al is unable to purchase a gift for Peg on their 16th wedding anniversary, and later learns that his credit card was maxed out by Peg and Kelly, who used it to buy gifts for him and pay for their catered dinner and entertainment, and Al is unable to outgun them both. ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Married... without Children" | Linda Day | Story by : Matt Geller Teleplay by : Ralph R. Farquhar | May 18, 1987 (1987-5-18) | 1.09 | N/A |
| Al and Peg decide to go on vacation. They ask Steve and Marcy to take care of their kids, Bud and Kelly. They do not get along, as Bud and Kelly throw a huge party at the Rhoades' house, irking Steve and Marcy. Meanwhile, Al and Peg have a better-than-expected time on their vacation and decide to make it much longer than expected, while Steve and Marcy stare in horror at the street hoping for them as the party goes wild. ||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Poker Game" | Brian Levant | Ron Leavitt & Michael G. Moye | May 25, 1987 (1987-5-25) | 1.10 | N/A |
| Al invites Steve to play poker with his best friends, but Steve ends up losing his paycheck to Al, leaving him in a hard situation with Marcy, who wants the money back, but Al insists he won it fair and square and refuses to return the money. Marcy enlists the help of Peggy to stop him. Note: Christina Applegate and David Faustino do not appear in this episode. ||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Peggy Sue Got Work" | Linda Day | Ellen L. Fogle | June 1, 1987 (1987-6-1) | 1.08 | N/A |
| Peg takes a job as a clerk at a clock store at the mall when Al will not buy her a VCR, to earn on her own money. Both Peg and Al are unhappy with the situation and pay their kids to suggest that Peg should quit the job. ||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Al Loses His Cherry" | Arlando Smith | Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung | June 8, 1987 (1987-6-8) | 1.07 | N/A |
| Al runs away from home after a fight with Peg and stays with his best friend, Luke. When a pair of sisters shows up, Luke takes one to bed while the other tries to seduce Al. Al has mixed feelings whether he should cheat on Peg, since he already has 16 years with her, but unhappy with his life. He decides not to cheat on Peg and returns home. ||||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Nightmare on Al's Street" | Linda Day | Michael G. Moye | June 15, 1987 (1987-6-15) | 1.12 | N/A |
| Marcy freaks out when she begins having erotic dreams about Al after a heated argument about men vs women, and wonders whether she is actually sexually attracted to Al. Haunted by her dreams, Marcy ultimately comes to a conclusion and confronts Al. First mention of Al's retirement property on Lake Chicamocomico. ||||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Where's the Boss" | Linda Day | Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung | June 22, 1987 (1987-6-22) | 1.11 | N/A |
| When the owner of the shoe store is in a near-fatal plane crash, Al decides that it is time to get some recognition from his boss or quit his job. After quitting, Al returns to the shoe store, but not without a surprise. ||||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Johnny B. Gone" | Linda Day | Katherine Green & Richard Gurman | June 29, 1987 (1987-6-29) | 1.13 | N/A |
| Al and Peggy delay going to a closing of their favorite hamburger joint, Johnny Be Good's, when Bud and Kelly need them to solve their own problems. Meanwhile, Steve and Marcy prepare a party for their bosses at home. ||||||||