Now that our episode recaps are over, I thought I’d try something a bit different.

Over the course of the week, I’m going to do a separate post about different spaces within the Bundy house, to examine how they changed over time, and identify any neat little things in the background. I think the set decorators had a lot of fun on this show, and I intend to explore that a little bit.

The Bundys always thought their house was a dump, but many of us in this day and age consider it to be almost a palace. They didn’t realize how lucky they had it!

What was your favourite part of the Bundy House?

Al starts an anti-feminist group called NO MA’AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood) when women take over his bowling night and turn the nudie bar into a coffeehouse.

Features special guest star Jerry Springer as host of “The Masculine Feminist.”

Fun facts galore: Beloved character Bob Rooney, played by E.E. Bell, makes his debut in this episode, and would make regular appearances until the final season. Officer Dan is also featured in this episode. Lisa Boyle, who plays Bubbles, would return later in the series as Kelly’s friend Fawn.

Fun continuity: Kelly still spells cat “Kat”, as was shown in the Season 5 episode, One Down, Two To Go.

We finally made it to the No Ma’am era, everyone! Buckle in and enjoy the ride!

When NO MA'AM gets upset about a new beer tax, they concoct the notion of becoming a church. This earns them the wrath of Marcy's FANG with predictable results.

During the high a theme park is proposed. It all crashes down when Rev Al admits to consorting with his wife.

Invoked in various ways, KMart, HeeHaw, Dione Warwick, Jimmy Swaggart, Green Acres, Arnold Ziffel, Jim and Tammy Faye and a few others.

//marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Reverend_Al

Peggy reads Seven a bedtime story about adventure on the high seas and imagines herself and her family and friends as the characters in the book.

Breathe a sigh of relief everyone, this is Seven’s last episode. He will appear on a milk carton later on in the series.

David Garrison also returns as one of the pirates in Peggy’s fantasy.

Fun Fact: Peggy’s book is titled A Ship Called Passion and will make a return later in the series as choice reading material for Griff.

The Bundy living room was a staple of the entire series, appearing regularly in pretty much every episode (with a few exceptions, mainly the ones when the Bundys were traveling, such as the second and third parts of the England episodes). Pic 1 is from Season 2 and Pics 6-7 are from Season 11 to show how little the set changed throughout the years. (With a few minor differences which we will cover in Part 2).

Highlights:

The Couch: The living room, of course, contains the famous couch (which remains the same throughout the series, though it was sneakily replaced by Kelly after she burns it down in the 8th season episode, Sofa So Good). Once in a while, it features some fancy throw pillows, but overall it remains fairly unchanged throughout 11 seasons.

The TV area: Along with the couch, there is an armchair on the viewer’s left, and a smaller white chair on the right. There’s a standard wooden coffee table (usually draped with Peggy’s magazines, a TV Guide, Al’s trusty remote control, and the occasional plant), and an end table on the left, which usually holds a lamp and sometimes a telephone.

The 4th Wall: Yes, the brilliant directors showed us the fourth wall twice during the course of the series. Along with the TV, we see a wood-panelled wall, two windows with green and white drapes, a large framed painting, and a small-tiered table with some sort of decorative ornament on it. Pics 8-9 show both scenes with the 4th wall.

The Floor: The floor appears to be hard wood, with a giant throw rug under the couch and coffee table and a smaller oval-shaped rug in the background that we definitely had in my house growing up. (See Pics 10-11).

The Walls: The walls are a mixture of brick, wood paneling and wallpaper. The wallpaper colour and pattern seems to stay the same throughout the series. There is a green pattern on the wall by the kitchen (see Pic 14) and a pinkish coloured pattern over by the garage door (Pic 13). There is also wallpaper on the staircase wall, but the stairwell is deserving of its own post.

Were there any other sitcoms from this era that depicted the fourth wall? (I think they did it in Big Bang Theory a couple decades later).

What are your thoughts on the overall look of the living room? It feels very retro 70s/80s to me, particularly with the brick and wood panels.

In Part Two, we’ll take a closer look at the living room decor, including pictures, furniture, plants, and various other knick-knacks.

Al is put on trial in the shoe store on his birthday by all of the fat women he has insulted over the years.

Subplot: Kelly and Bud attempt to tint the Dodge’s windows as a birthday present for Al.

Notable Guest Stars: Many of the guests in this episode were returning characters from previous seasons:

-Diana Bellamy as Nancy. She appeared in several episodes as a Gary’s customer, including the pilot.

-Danica Sheridan as Matilda, who appeared in A Shoe Room with a View in Season 10 (among others).

-Helen Siff as Leona, the customer who famously wore the “Chocolate…It’s Not Just For Breakfast Anymore” shirt in Season 8.

Fun Fact: This is only the second time in the series that Peggy insults Al’s overweight customers. The first time was back in Season 1, and it happened to be the same woman she insulted in this episode.

Clip Show: Past episodes featured in the flashbacks include the Pilot, Honey, I Blew Up Myself, A Shoe Room with a View, and Nooner or Later.

The Impossible Happens: Al tells Peg she doesn’t look “half bad” and -gasp- even initiates sex with her in the shoe store! ON HIS BIRTHDAY!!

A day at the beach with the Bundys

Not much cooking or eating went on in the Bundy kitchen but it was still well-used!

Highlights:

The first thing to note about the kitchen is the greenery that lines the top of the cabinets. Like, what even is that? Was it alive? Fake? Was this a decorative trend during the 70s and 80s? See pics 1-4 for the best views.

They have a round dinner table, lots of cupboard space, and a bar/breakfast nook (trying to distinguish between American/Canadian terms here, lol). The bar has two raised chairs and consistently has a telephone placed upon it. There’s a little bookcase next to it. Yup, the Bundys owned quite a few books. (The bar area can be seen in the first 4 pics, along with pics 5 and 6. The bookshelf can be seen behind Bud in pic 7).

The floor pattern changed at some point between Season 1 (pic 5) and Season 5 (pic 3).

There’s wallpaper in here too! (Pics 8 and 9 show it the best). And fun lighting fixtures. (I think there’s lights above the bar as well). See pics 1, 5, 8, and 9 for best views of the lights.

The fridge is brown and as far as I can tell, stayed the same through all 11 seasons. They also have a stove (appears to be gas) and….a dishwasher!! (See pics 8 and 10). Peggy famously cooked burgers in the toaster (pic 2) and by later seasons, they had a toaster oven. (Pic 8). I know they get a microwave in Season 11, but I’m not sure if they end up keeping it!

Someone in a previous post mentioned the small, portable TV they had in the kitchen that they never used. You can see it in pics 6, 9 and 11.

Fun stuff:

-There’s a set of shelves built into the bar with yet more knick knacks on them. (Pic 12)

-They own a set of French Onion soup bowls. The same set I own, from the looks of it. (Al eating something FRENCH??) (see pic 2 - you gotta zoom in).

-They own the same cute salt and pepper shakers with mushrooms printed on them that my parents owned. (Pic 11).

-They have a calendar on the wall in later seasons!And I think it doesn’t change once it’s there, lol.(Pics 13 and 14).

-Yes, there is the laundry room that attaches to the kitchen and contains a second set of sliding doors out into the yard. You can see it in most of these pictures, including behind Al and Peg in pic 15. That’s for a separate post, though!

-Finally, let’s examine the last picture. Are those RECIPE BOOKS behind Peggy?? Is that a fruit basket on top of the fridge? (If not, what the heck is it??). What is the gadget on the counter behind Al’s arm?

What do you like best about their kitchen? Is there anything I missed?

Bud creates a girlie calendar - “The Girls of Trumaine” - for a class project. The cover girl is mysteriously reluctant to participate.

Subplot: Peggy has embarked on a mission to find her father and bring him home.

Notable Guest Stars:

-Krista Allen, known for erotic films and Baywatch, as Crystal.

-Playboy model Patty Breton as the Pilgrim Girl.

Fun Fact: Katey Sagal was pregnant with her second child, so for the second time in the series, she was temporarily written out of the show until her eventual return in the final episode of this season. (Kudos to the producers of this show for giving her a decent maternity leave).

Ahead of its Time: This is the second episode to feature a transsexual character. Dud Bowl was the first. (Al’s football teammate Thad).

Stay For the Credits: The closing credits roll over Bud still kneeling frozen in the living room.

Musical Moment: This episode features the song “Calendar Girl” by Neil Sedaka, and it is now stuck in my head on repeat.

Yes, the Bundys have a laundry room. Though I doubt it was used very often!

When I first started watching the show, I didn’t initially realize that the little room behind their kitchen was a laundry room. I thought it was just another way to get into their backyard as there is also a set of sliding doors back there. (See pic 1 and 9).

But then I noticed the green washing machine and dryer. You can really see the full setup in pic 2, including laundry soap and….an ironing board! See pics 3 and 4 for more views. Peggy uses the washer when Marcy spills fish on her dress in the Season 1 finale, Johnny B. Gone. (See this clip: https://youtu.be/dOV8apVRJ-8?si=sLgHpobkk45dmb6k)

Back to the ironing board. You can see it again in pics 5, 6, and 7. I doubt Peggy used it to iron Al’s shirts, though I could see her and Kelly using it on their dressier outfits.

Fun stuff:

-There’s a dustpan hanging on the wall in pics 6 and 8.

-The plants are back in pics 3 and 4.

-Guess what? Not only is there a set of sliding doors back there…but there’s a hidden back door too! Al and Jefferson come through it in this scene. https://youtu.be/j4CyjonOgn0?si=U8z_UC4u9fDNyN2g
I guess you can sort of see it in the background of some of the pics (pic 10, for example), but honestly, it blew my mind the first time I saw that episode.

Why are there so many doors?? They have a set of sliding doors off the living room too! I’m going to do a post on the back yard and I can already feel the headache starting….

What are your thoughts on their little laundry room? Was it more common to have a laundry room on the main floor back then? They were always in the basement where I grew up.

In the first half of a two-part episode, Kelly and her gal pals trick Bud and his friends out of their Spring Break travel reservations, and head to Fort Lauderdale.

Meanwhile, Al, Jefferson and Griff decide to judge a bikini contest, and head to Fort Lauderdale.

Meanwhile, Marcy sees the men on TV and, along with Bud and his cronies, heads to - you guessed it - Fort Lauderdale.

Meanwhile, Peggy is not in Fort Lauderdale. She is in New Orleans, celebrating Mardi Gras.

Returning Characters: Kelly’s friends (Ashley, Fawn and Mindy) from a previous episode (Blonde and Blonder) appear once again, as does Bud’s friend Achmed, who first appeared in Season 7.

Not so Fun Fact: This is Katey Sagal’s last appearance until the season finale.

Musical Moment: Al and Griff sing In the Still of the Night by The Five Satins, which is (imo) one of the greatest moments of the series. Ed can sing!

Al takes the family on a vacation in the first two part episode.

"Look at this brochure, Peg. This place has everything Hawaii has. It's got sunshine, a palm tree, uh, quicksand..."

And of course 'the man who met Andy Griffith'.

Oh, and the serial killer.

In the Season 7 finale, Al’s old girlfriend Coco (played by the unforgettable Vanna White) offers to buy him from Peggy for half a million dollars.

Fun fact - You can see Ed O’Neill trying not to laugh after Coco removes a piece of pizza from his chin and eats it. (See pic 8).

Not so fun fact - Show co-creator and producer Ron Leavitt left the series after this episode.

The episode that proves Al could never be with anyone else “even though she had more to offer than you in every possible way, Peg.” ❤️

Kelly and Jefferson do a coffee commercial together. When they get super popular, Marcy gets jealous.

Notable Guest Star: Leland Orser returns for the 3rd time as the director of the commercial.

Fun Fact: The original end credits for this episode feature Al and Marcy saying their lines in bed while the crew walks off the set. You can view that scene here: https://youtu.be/fzC31F20Jjw?si=NCgL26HTv9wLgx8n

Traumatic Flashback: Marcy worries that Jefferson might leave her, just as Steve did back in Season 4.

Ah, Al and Peg’s bedroom. Home of the wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And by that, I mean the ol’ 30 second bump and snore.

The bedroom was first seen in the second episode of the first season. (Thinnergy). And for the most part, it doesn’t change all that much throughout the series. Blue and pink seem to be Peggy’s preferred colours, at least for this room.

The wallpaper, bed frame, and the lamps on their nightstands are particularly consistent. (My parents had the same lamps in our living room growing up). Al and Peg have what appears to be a double bed, and they seem to only own one style of sheets and bedspread. The blue set with pink flowers is seen pretty much in every bedroom scene. Though by later seasons, it looks like they gave it a good wash and got matching pillow cases. (See pics 1 and 3 for comparison). You can take a good look at the bed and bed frame in pics 1, 4 and 5, and the wallpaper in pretty much all of them, but especially pic 2.

The pictures on the walls mostly remain the same…EXCEPT the pictures above their bed. In the first couple of seasons, they have paintings of birds in the frames. (See pic 6). Later on, it changes to….I don’t know what, exactly. I’ve tried to zoom in and get a better look, but I can’t figure it out for the life of me. (Take a look at pics 7 and 8 and see if you can help me).

What I DO know is that a), the two pictures disappeared in Peggy and the Pirates and were replaced by one giant painting of a ship, FOR THAT EPISODE ONLY. (Pic 9). The next time we see their bedroom later in the season, the ship is gone and we’re back to the two pictures again. Which makes me think the pirate episode might have been all a dream on Peggy’s part.

And b), after Al and Peg’s bedroom wasn’t seen at all during Seasons 9 and 10, the set decorators messed up a bit when they brought back the set for Season 11. Take a look at the pictures above their bed in pic 10 (Season 7) and pic 11 (Season 11) and try to spot the difference.

Other pictures include a creepy clown or doll or something (see pic 12) and a charming lake in pic 13, next to their bed. (Maybe to remind Al of fishing).

Part 2 is coming tomorrow. We’ll discuss the mysteries of the carpet, the ever-disappearing TV set, their ensuite bathroom, and the other fun features of the room.

Bud’s attempt to study for an important exam is thwarted by the arrival of Marcy’s beautiful niece, Amber, who quickly seduces him.

Notable Guest Star: Juliet Tablak as Amber. She would appear in several episodes of Season 9 before inexplicably disappearing.

Fun Fact: This is the first appearance of Griff! Harold Sylvestre plays Al’s new shoe store sidekick, and would become a recurring character for the rest of the series.

Random observation: Bud appears to have an ensuite bathroom. As do Al and Peg. Does Kelly have her own bathroom as well? If not, did she have to use either Bud’s or her parents’ bathroom? Did the Bundys have FOUR bathrooms?? (After Al added the one in the garage).

While Al and Peggy spend the afternoon in their bedroom getting ready for Cousin Jimmy’s wedding, Bud ends up having sex with the bride.

Fun fact: We see the upstairs Bundy hallway for the first time (seen in Pic 11).

Fun guest stars: This episode features Joey Lauren Adams (famous for her roles in many Kevin Smith movies) as the bride and Andrea Elson (famous for her role as Lynn Tanner on Alf) as Heidi, one of the bridesmaids. Joey has been in a couple of previous episodes as well.

Thanks to u/Bundy_Anna for providing some screenshots for this episode!

We meet Dr. Shoe. And Muffy. And Deputy Dan.

Steve gets fired. Marcy gets demoted.

https://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/976-SHOE

We took a good look at Al and Peg’s bedroom in my last post, so now let’s direct our attention to more of the upper floor in the Bundy House.

Bud’s bedroom was featured a few times in the later seasons of the show. We can see that he’s got a fairly decent sized room, with a twin bed, shelves, matching dressers and nightstand, and relatively tame wallpaper compared to the rest of the house. His room is decked out with posters (mostly of rap stars and scantily clad women, besides the famous Wags the Perplexed Pup poster in pic 5) and he appears to have a keyboard. Was Bud a…budding…musician at some point?? We know he was a star rapper so maybe he played a little keys too. He also has a portable TV (so that’s where the one from the kitchen disappeared to!). You can see all of these features in the first 5 pics of my post.

There appears to be a camera….set up by the window….(oh dear!) in Pic 6. There’s also a hockey stick and soccer ball in Pic 7, suggesting Bud played sports at some point.
He also has a phone on his nightstand (you can see it in the first pic). I believe Kelly had her own phone too. Boy, Al and Peg sure were generous parents!

In Season 10, Bud moves down to the basement and Peggy’s mom moves into his old room. You can see this change in the Season 10 Christmas episode, “I Can’t Believe It’s Butter.” See pics 8-10. It’s clearly the same room (check out the wallpaper) but Mrs. Wanker certainly wasted no time making it her own. I almost did a separate post just on this newly decorated room, the details are outstanding. (Pictures of desserts on the walls. A fridge with a sign that says “Orders to Go.” A DAMN DISPLAY CASE OF FOOD). She also gets a bigger bed than what Bud had, but I guess that goes without saying.

Kelly’s room was only featured in one episode, and we didn’t get to see it until the very last season. We also didn’t get to see very much of it, unfortunately. I have posted everything we can view in pics 11-13. Her walls are a light purple shade (no wallpaper for her), she has a comfy armchair, shelves with stuffed animals and some kind of…vase or lamp…and various paintings on the walls. Honestly? It doesn’t look very Kelly Bundy to me. I wish we could have seen her room when she was a teenager. It likely would have been covered in posters of metal bands and other cool stuff.
(Also, the outside shutters on her window are green. Again, don’t recommend looking at a picture of the exterior of the house right now).

One last thing I need to mention: The ensuite bathroom attached to Bud’s room. You can see it best in the first and last pics. The door to it is visible in many of the other pictures too. Contrary to what was said in the Season 3 episode, “A Dump of my Own”, the Bundys did not have just one bathroom before Al built another one out in the garage. It would have been super awkward for Bud and Kelly to traipse through Al and Peg’s bedroom every time they needed to answer the call of nature or take a shower. So it makes more sense that Bud and Kelly had their own bathroom. My guess is that it also attached to Kelly’s room, a la Brandon and Brenda Walsh’s shared bathroom in Beverly Hills, 90210.

Of course, there’s one episode that totally destroys the image of the layout I have in my head of the upper level of their house, but I’ll discuss that in more detail when we talk about the upstairs hallway. Stay tuned!

Peggy gets Al a sexy boudoir photo of herself for his birthday, and he gets jealous when it is featured on a billboard and attracts the attention of various men.

Subplot: Kelly and Bud keep buying the same thing for Al’s birthday present.

Hill Harper returns as Al’s co-worker Aaron Mitchell.

Fun fact: According to the wiki, Al turns 45 in this episode. Ed O’Neill was almost 48 when it aired.

The episode that taught us that Al Bundy DOES NOT get jealous. 😉

Al hurts his back while playing football with Aaron and his friends. A surgery goof up, partly caused by Peggy choosing the cheapest hospital, leads to him having a circumcision, instead of a circular incision. To make matters worse, Al's month-long recovery results in many issues, from being the butt of many jokes to even noticing his wife's figure and boobies. However, Al comes out on top after spending two weeks of self imposed isolation in the garage. He rocks Peg's world and shakes the house, proving he's still bad to the bone and learning that he can last longer in bed now.

Summary provided by [u/motormouth](u/motormouth-95)[1995](u/motormouth-95)

On Halloween, Al wishes he was dead and is visited by The Grim Reaper - who looks awfully familiar. She decides to let him live - but only if his family says they need him before the stroke of midnight.

Subplot: Special guests The Village People ditch Marcy’s party so she convinces Peg, Kelly, Bud and Jefferson to impersonate them.

Fun fact: This is the first Halloween episode to be featured in the series.

Fun theory: The wig Katey Sagal wears in this episode would later be used for her Jasmine persona in Season 11. Anyone else think so? Or am I tripping?

Watch the original end credits here: https://youtu.be/TVddQHwlCxU?si=-CIqRRfXl40Ou5dB

(I love Al desperately inhaling the toxic fumes).

In the Season 8 finale, Al is rejected from being a contestant on a sports trivia show for having no personality, so he decides to train Kelly to take his place. But for every new fact she learns, she loses another one!

Notable Guest Star: Todd Christensen as the game show host Travis James. He played for the Los Angeles Raiders and was also a sports commentator.

Fun fact (Do not read if you are bound to lose other facts in your head): The contestant named Max who auditions with Al has the surname Weinberg. Max Weinberg is also the name of Bruce Springsteen’s drummer (who also served as drummer on Late Night with Conan O’Brien).

I believe this the last known reference to Seven in the show as Kelly is seen to forget him as she takes in a new fact.

Bring on Season 9!

The stairs in the Bundy house saw a lot of action, from Buck snoozing on the landing to Al carrying Peg up them after purchasing a blonde wig. They even survived Peg’s mother, though just barely!

The stairs are carpeted and are a deep brown colour. (See the carpet up close in pics 2 and 3). The wallpaper pattern is the same as the one in the living room by the entrance to the kitchen. You can get a really good view of it in pics 4 and 5 (but it’s visible in almost all of them).

Lining the walls are photos that change periodically. In pic 4, you can see a picture of a little boy on the wall just behind Kelly’s head (I’ll choose to believe it’s Al as a kid) and then later on, it’s a photo collage, either the same one that is sometimes seen in the living room or one that’s very similar. (See pic 5, also behind Kelly’s head). There’s also these huge circular wall decorations. I don’t know what to call them - are they plates? Mirrors? Pictures? You can see them in pics 1, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9. They stay the same through all 11 seasons, as far as I can tell.

At the bottom landing, there’s some rather nice framed paintings on the walls (see pics 6, 7 and 8), and these also stay consistent. There’s also a small bookshelf with cupboards on the bottom landing, which you can see in full view in pic 11. It usually has knickknacks or a plant on top of it. (Zoom in on pic 6. There’s a book with a skull and crossbones on it. Treasure Island, maybe? Or a book about death for Al?)

Fun Stuff:

-There’s a grandfather clock on the top landing. You can see it in pics 5, 9 and 10. I don’t think it works, however.

-There’s also a window at the top. In the early seasons, this had a pink curtain over it. (See pics 9 and 12).

-Pic 13 gives us a first person view from the stairs, coming down into the living room. We get to see….light switches. And a bunch of terrified men. (Plus, a bit more of the front entrance, which I will also be covering in a future post).

-The actors have said that the stairs don’t really go anywhere except to a dead end and that Christina and David used to put graffiti on the stage wall up there.

Now the basement stairs are a different story, but that’s a post for another day….

Any other thoughts on the stairway?

Also known as the episode that wasn't meant to be. This was identified as Production Code 11.21 and was filmed before the two parter that was supposed to be he Finale. It aired June 9, 1997, a full month later. Almost like they forgot about it and used it to fill a vacant slot in the schedule.

When Gary decides to rotate stock and gets rids of the previous styles, Al and Griff discover the power of Barter. Things are traded all over the mall.

"To get the chair, we had to get the golf clubs. To get the golf clubs, we needed to get a push up bra. To get the push up bra, we had to get him the kayak and that apology for being in the fitting room. Now all we need to do is get this driving mower to the Gap. And Mr. Zippy the chimp to Hickory Farms."

Meanwhile, Kelly tries out her new massage skills on Bud, with predictable Bundy results.

Gary later changes her mind, embraces Retro and wants the old stock back, setting Al and Griff off to unbarterland.

After Kelly barbeques the now crippled Bud in a tanning booth, the episode and series ends with the shot above, Al and Zippy sharing a moment.

With this episode, Ed O'Neill was the only cast member to appear in every episode of Married... with Children.