For a family barely surviving on a one-income minimum wage shoe salesman salary, the Bundys sure do take a lot of vacations. Just about every season of Married...With Children featured the Bundy family heading off on their annual vacation—or at least attempting to leave. It makes sense; there are scenes ripped right from the Vacation movies right in the opening credits! The show made very good use of the vacation trope, and just about every single Bundy Family Vacation was at least a two-parter.
When the family head out on the road, their crass sense of humor and even more crass set of social skills—or lack thereof—mixed with people just as worse or repulsed by the antics of Al and company. No matter the adventure, they always made for good log episodes of the series. So, grab your passports and get ready to hit the road, Bundycation style. Here are the top 10 Married... With Children episodes (according to IMDb)
Honorable Mention: "The Goodbye Girl" - 7.7
Since Al can’t afford to go away on his own, he has carved out one week a year for a staycation—and long before the term was popular! So, he spends a week on the couch gated off from the rest of the family watching all kinds of old movies. The beauty of this episode is how funny Ed O’Neill can be just watching TV while his family live their hysterically miserable lives around him. This is also the first episode that Kelly as the Verminator makes her debut.
"England Show, Parts 1, 2, and 3" - 7.46
As for the real Bundy trips, “The England Show” was the series’ first three-parter. Thanks to a descendant of Al’s insulting a heavy-set woman trying to buy hooves for her horse, the English town of Lower Uncton has been cursed in darkness for over 300 years. The only way to break the curse is to kill all the male Bundys.
The Brits lure the family there with a free trip, and Marcy and Jefferson sneak along for the ride as well. Meanwhile, the neighboring town of Upper Uncton is doing all it can to kill the Bundys on their side so that their tourism community can continue to thrive.
"You Gotta Know When To Hold / Fold ‘Em Parts 1 & 2" - 7.55
“Kids, grab a change of clothes and a baseball bat, 'cause we’re going to Vegas!” was the way Part I of “You Gotta Know When To Hold ‘Em” ended, and it’s still one of the funniest outro lines in the series ever. Steve leaves Marcy to kick off Part I, and Peg convinces Marcy to a trip to Vegas to let loose.
She sells Al’s TV to get her share of the money. By the time Part II rolls around, the girls have busted out and Al needs to tussle with a GLOW girl for three minutes to win the money back. Sadly, for Al, it wasn’t Lisa Moretti or the Farmer’s daughter he had to contend with; he had to survive Big Bad Mama.
"Poppy’s By The Tree, Parts 1 & 2" - 7.65
The second season premiere featured Peg and the kids wanting to vacation in Hawaii, but Al’s a shoe salesman, and a bad one at that. So, it’s off to picturesque Poppy’s By The Tree in Dumpwater, Florida. It’s not the best accommodations, but the backwoods people are at least friendly.
Too bad for the Bundys that an ax murderer mows down tourists every year since 1967, and now he’s back. In another context, this would be a horror movie, but here, it’s just another Bundy vacation, and, unfortunately for the family, they happen to be Bundys.
"Route 666, Parts 1 & 2" - 7.65
Al tries to sneak off to shoe convention in Los Angeles, but his family won’t let him, they all pile in the Dodge. But the mighty Bundymobile breaks down in Lucifer, New Mexico. They somehow agree to swap the deeds to a goldmine for the broken-down car. Yes, even the Bundy’s are that gullible, and they even convince the D’Arcys to join in their prospecting. Considering the show didn’t wind up with everyone becoming a zillionaire, it’s safe to say they got swindled.
"Kelly Does Hollywood, Parts 1 & 2" - 7.85
After getting snubbed from being on a TV show by her modeling teacher, Kelly starts her own Public Access show. She and her friends not only are a success, but Vital Social Issues N’ Stuff With Kelly predates The View by a few years.
Seriously, a network executive sees the show and wants Kelly to head out to Hollywood do a network version of the series. Its Wayne’s World, Married-style when “Kelly Does Hollywood.”
"Ship Happens, Parts 1 & 2" - 7.95
Peg wins a cruise and switches her great tickets for four not-so-great tickets so Al and the D’arcys can come too. But the cruise is not what any of them expected. Things get even worse when the boat crashes and their stuck floating on a lifeboat with Gilbert Gottfried. Meanwhile, the kids are being bombarded with news media covering their missing parents and Wolfman Jack staying with them.
"Spring Break, Parts 1 & 2" - 8.0
Kelly Bundy and some her besties rocking bikinis and basking in the fun in the sun that is Spring Break—does anyone else need more reasons to watch the Bundys in “Spring Break?”
How about Al, Jefferson, and Griff running around collecting cans to hopefully not have to work ever again and judging the bikini contest. Meanwhile, Marcy, Bud, and all of his friends got jilted out of going to Spring Break. They do their best to get them and thwart any fun Jefferson or the girls were having.
"I Want My Psycho Dad, Parts 1 & 2" - 8.05
Mr. Bundy goes to Washington! After singing the theme to the fictional TV show Psycho Dad for years on the show, Al’s favorite show was canceled thanks to Marcy’s activism. Rather than accept the news, Al and his NO MA’AM friends head to Washington DC to try and change everyone’s mind.
"We’ll Follow The Sun" - 8.1
It’s the new TV season, and all Peg wants to do is watch new shows like Grandmaster And The Gopher. The kids are gearing up for their years as well. But first, Al wants to take a family trip to see America in the family Dodge.
They leave on Labor Day, which happens to also be the heaviest traffic day of the year. The Bundys barely leave the driveway. Imagine if your family vacation barely got out of the gate to the point that your wife could head home and watch some TV while you’re still stuck in ungodly traffic?
"The Camping Show" - 8.2
Steve rented a cabin for five days, and Al expected it to be just the two guys going camping. Little did he realize that Steve wasn’t going anywhere without Marcy.
Marcy, meanwhile, wakes up the rest of the Bundys, and now everyone’s heading camping. Al can’t catch any kind of break, even when it’s supposed to be his vacation. All three women are enduring their time of the month, and the men have to decide what’s worse to contend with: the wildlife outside the cabin or in it.