This lowbrow hit about the Bundys, TV's first family of raunch, made the new Fox network a player. The long-running series prospered despite threats of sponsor boycotts and the ire of some critics, who objected to the show's offbeat, sometimes coarse humor. TV Guide's reviewer, however, applauded the sharp, funny lines, calling the series an antidote to the `hundreds of sugary [sitcoms] that have rolled blandly across American screens since the beginning of television time.'
