Bundyology - Music in MWC

Bundy Fans

Last update April 10, 2001

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As the author of Bundyology I had the chance to have contact to hundreds of Bundy fans - or "Bundyphiles" - from dozens of countries. Of course all of them are sad about the cancellation. Others are not happy about local stations who discontinue reruns or they are desperately looking for a specific information. On this page, I'd like to show you the variety of Bundy fans.

Fan Clubs & Bundy Parties

There are still many fan clubs all over the world. A lot of them are NO MA'AM brotherhoods. Every club has its own traditions. Some NO MA'AMers are regulars on a nudie bar, other fan clubs prefer to have debates on whatever they consider to be important. Some people took part in Bundy parties without being in an actual club. A very popular thing to do when Bundy fans meet is to have Bundy marathons, i.e. to watch up to 30 episodes in a row. This can be combined with the Bundy drinking game. Playing the Bundy board game, drinking beer or Tang and walking-like-Peggy competitions are other popular activities on Bundy meetings.

Activities of Individuals

Some Bundy fans seem to be isolated from other fans. The internet was and still is a great opportunity to have contact with other Bundy fans. Other fans can be found through Newsgroups - especially alt.tv.mwc - and websites. Some website authors did a fantastic job. Websites about MwC are spread all over the world, but there are actual website scenes in some regions, e.g. the German-language area and Czechia. Many Bundy fans might have NO MA'AM shirts or Al Bundy #33 jerseys. Others like to collect memorabilia which can be subject to meetings as well. A lot of Bundy fans have an episode collection of their own. Some fans even managed to take part in quiz shows where they were asked questions about their special field. Local bands play Bundy-related songs they wrote. Sometimes they are even available on CD. Finally, the best thing a Bundy fan could do was to visit a service at the temple: a taping in Los Angeles.

The Bundy Curse

Some fans believe that every Bundyphile suffers from the Bundy curse sooner or later. This curse includes everything that goes wrong which is related to the show. Some examples: some fans came from Europe to attend a taping which was cancelled; a fan's internet connection failed during a chat with David Garrison; VCRs refuse to tape Bundy episodes.

Social Status

The show targets at young men without higher education. But there are also many female Bundy fans, just as there are many fans in France despite the fact that Al hates the French. The best educated Bundy fan I know is a math professor. As there is a big variety of Bundy fans, people like different things about the show. For instance there seems to be a gap between fans who like the early episodes and fans who prefer the late ones. That's just normal for a show which was in production for ten years. Some fans really seem to identify themselves with Al, while others just laugh at his failures.

The Power of Bundy Fans

Bundy fans seem to be less powerful than other fans. The cancellation was a sad thing, but many fans saw that the show was close to its expiration date, so there was not too much protest about the end of the show. Fans of other shows managed to keep their program alive by talking a different network into taking up their show. Another example was the discontinuation of the Simpsons and MwC in Switzerland in fall of 1999. The Swiss Simpsons fans managed to bring their show back to the air, the Bundy fans didn't really protest. Maybe they were discouraged by NO MA'AM's unsuccessful attempt to save Psycho Dad.

Age

Have a look at nine month old Nova!

Some Excerpts from E-Mail Messages to Bundyology

I receive several messages from Bundy fans every day. I don't give examples of questions they ask or the additions they propose, but here are some other statements they made.

Fan: "Married..... Was the best!"
Me: "Definitely!"

Fan: "I think AL is the greatest genious that God ever created!"
Me: "No doubt about that."

Fan: "I'm doing a report on the heterosexual vs homosexual stereotypes that arise in married with children with marcie and kelly."
Me: "Now that's bundyology!"

Fan: "kickass websight you hoser. just thought the al bundy sight ruled."
Me: "Thanks!"

Fan: "Kan ikke dere få en ny tekts der vor dere får penger av Al"
Me: "I'm sorry, but I don't speak your language."

Webmaster: "I am the Webmaster at Youngstown State University. I was wondering if you had Ed O'Neill's email address... I want to place a little page about his career on the Web site."
Me: "I'm afraid I don't have contact to him. But his agent's address might be..."

Fan: "It's too bad I have completed my Ph. D. Otherwise, I might have taken MWC as the subject of my research."
Me: It's about time to teach bundyology at universities!"

Producer: "We at The Howie Mandel Show wanted to let you know that Katey Sagal will be one of Howie's guests on Tuesday, February 16."
Me: "I'm afraid my website isn't an appropriate place to announce a show that will air in less than three hours."

Fan: "Here in hawaii we hardly get to see your show why"
Me: "I have nothing to do with the producers of the show, I just have an unofficial site. But..."

Fan: "Dear Sir. There should be a Married With Children Movie to properly finish off the show."
Me: "That would be a really good idea. I've never heard of plans for a real movie, though."

Fan: "This is the best site ever. Very clever and complete with touches I would never have thought of. I have found nirvana. Thank you for your efforts!"
Me: "You're very welcome!"

Fan: "I was at the second to last episode of married with children, and got lucky and got to meet christina applegate..."
Me: "You're a lucky man!"

Husband of Teresa "Miranda VeraCruz de la Jolla Cardenal" Parente: "Nice web page...."
Me: "Thank you."

Fan: "I still watch it every night at 2:30 in the morning."
Me: "You really *are* a Bundy fan!"

Fan: "I love the layout. It especially helps as I'm overseas - there aren't a million graphics to load. Don't change it!"
Me: "Thanks a lot for the positive response. I won't change the layout for a long time.

Fan: "me and my friend made a bundy-sect!"
Me: "A spiritual home for Bundy addicts at last!"

Fan: "i m from Paris and i'm keen on the TV show!"
Me: "Are you insulted by the jokes about the French?" (I never received an answer, but believe it or not, I was contacted by dozens of French fans.)

Fan: "AL BUNDY IS WHAT A REAL MAN IS ALL ABOUT BUSTING OUR ASS AT WORK. JUST TO GET AHEAD IN THIS WORLD AND WHAT DO WE GET FO IT NOTHING JUST LIKE AL. THE REAL RULERS ARE THE WOMEN THEY SAY JUMP WE SAY HOW HIGH THEY THROW A FIT WE GIVE IN TO THEM EVERY TIME. AND WHAT DO WE GET FOR IT NOTHING. JUST LIKE AL. THERE IS LITTLE BIT OF AL IN EVERY GUY!.
Me: "That's why the show is so popular."

Fan: The greatest lesson that Married with Children has given me is that life is not the way we want it to be, but it is still worth living. I have laughed and cried with all of it's characters, and for me, this is the BEST SHOW ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH."
Me: "You got that right, buddy!"

Fan: "I dressed up as Peggy Bundy every Halloween for the last 5 years... Peggy is my hero... maybe I should get a life? That's what she would say. LOL"
Me: ":)"

Fan: "I have to write a homework, theme: aesthetics in advetisement. There was a Married... episode, when Kelly want to play in a TV spot for an Ice Beer, but Marcy was very angry about that only the beautiful girls (women) have right to play in the TV spots and it's a disrimination! Al has a correct answer for Marcy... I need the exact quotiation for my homework."
Me: "I don't have the 100% accurate quote, but this one is VERY close..."

Fan: "AL BUNDY FOR PRESIDENT!"
Me: "I'd vote for him!

Fans: We are doing a psychological analysis on Al Bundy. We would like to know if you have any information on his background (i.e. childhood, parents, adolesence, etc). Please advise as our paper is due in a week."
Me: "He seems to have grown up in a working class family in Chicago..."

Fan: "I'm media-student from Germany... for a homework I have to answer the question: 'How and why did Al become a shoe-salesman ?' Please help me..."
Me: "On 'Breaking up Is Easy to Do, Part 1', ...".

Fan: "There is a tacky yellow and orange painting on one of the walls in the Bundy house. It is in a good percentage of the scenes. Do you know of any way to find out who the artist was? I know this is a ridiculous uestion, but I could swear that it was done by my Dad."
Me: "Do you have a photo of your Dad's picture, or do you remember having seen it in your father's studio?" (I never got an answer.)

Fan: "i need my al"
Me: "Who doesn't?"

Fan: "the bundy's were the most realistic family on tv other than roseanne."
Me: "Definitely."

Fan: "Being a big fan of the Bundy's and watching a live taping of 3 episodes, I have found your site very informative."
Me: "Thank you! I never had the chance to attend a taping. Now the show is gone forever. Maybe you feel like writing down your live taping experiences sometime. I'd be pleased to publish them if you want to share them with other Bundy fans.

Fan: "please god put bundy back on TV"
Me: "But we learned on the show that she is a fat woman, so she probably won't."

Fan: "Everything I need to know in life, I learned from Al Bundy!"

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