10 TV Shows That Embarrassed Other Shows Released At The Same Time
7. Married… With Children EMBARRASSED The Tortellis
When actor Ed O'Neill turned up in Modern Family as the grumpy, cantankerous Jay Pritchett, many saw this as a natural progression of his character Al Bundy from the hit sitcom Married... With Children.
From 1987 to 1997, The Bundy family - which also included Peggy (Katey Segal) and Kelly (Christina Applegate) - entertained audiences across America with their unconventional take on family life.
Meanwhile, on a different channel, another unorthodox clan was attempting to do the same. And they had some serious firepower behind them.
The Tortellis was a spin-off of Cheers, focussing on side characters Nick and Loretta. They were also a dysfunctional family outside of the typical sitcom mould and their show also premiered in 1987.
Except theirs only lasted four months.
Viewers just couldn't get into The Tortellis, especially amongst the Italian-American community, who felt that the show was doing them a disservice.
As for Married... With Children, that's widely regarded as an American comedy institution, with frequent references to it still being found across pop culture today.
Nick and Loretta were doomed from the start; a spin-off of Cheers was never going to work.
Isn't that right, Mr. Crane?