Married... with Children: Season 2
Perhaps the definitive episode ofMarried... with Childrenis near the  end of the second season, when Al and Peg Bundy (Ed O'Neill and Katey  Segal), pretending to be their recently married neighbors, go on a game  show that tests how willing each newlywed is to torture their spouse. This  episode has everything: The cascade of blithe insults, the cheerful  shredding of all dignity, the outright celebration of humanity's worst  instincts-- everything that has led self-satisfied arbiters of "culture"  to proclaimMarried... with Childrenthe most sordid, distasteful  sitcom in the history of mankind. In short, it's sheer genius.As the petty, miserable, conniving, yet perversely vital Bundy family,  O'Neill, Segal, Christina Applegate, and David Faustino give performances  that walk a fine line between outrageous satire and painful truth. It's  the anti-Cosby; family breeds contempt. Children scoff at their  parents, parents resent their children, husbands and wives eye each other  with suspicion and disdain. Episodes hinge on neutering their oversexed  dog, fighting the phone company, and trying to humiliate a high school  nemesis in a bowling tournament, but it's all an excuse for squalid  delirium. This is not an ironic description of the show;Married... with  Childrenis both ruthless and deeply funny. (Though created by men,Married... with Childrenwas frequently produced, written, and  directed by women, which is unusual in the sitcom world. This doesn't  necessarily have anything to do with its sense of humor, but its eagerness  to skewer and roast sacred cows is shared by such women-driven shows asRoseanneandAbsolutely Fabulous.) The jokes are like blunt  instruments, yet delivered with a unique panache that got honed to razor  sharpness in the second season. If you've never experienced the Bundy  clan, this is an excellent place to start.--Bret Fetzer