The hit Fox sitcom Married… with Children was known for pushing the boundaries during its 10-year run, but one episode from the show’s third season proved too risky for the network to broadcast. In “I’ll See You in Court,” which was supposed to air in February 1989, Al and Peggy decide to spice things up in the bedroom by having sex at a seedy motel. While there, they discover a sex tape featuring their neighbors, Steve and Marcy. This initially amuses the Bundys, until they realize that they may also have been recorded without their consent.
The couple takes legal action against the motel owners, and their respective videos are shown in court. Steve and Marcy are awarded $10,000 thanks to the long length of their tape, whereas the Bundys end up with nothing because the jury isn’t convinced that they actually had sex. Al, wanting to prove he can perform like Steve, then has sex with Peggy on the judge’s bench.
Plot twist: The couple is unknowingly recorded once again, this time by the camera in the courtroom.
A ‘Married… With Children’ Episode Was Banned for 13 Years Before Finally Airing
Though the storyline for “I’ll See You in Court” doesn’t seem any more outrageous than what one would ordinarily expect from an episode of Married… with Children, Fox censors objected to several things and made requests the editors and producers weren’t OK with. Because of that, the show was shelved and wouldn’t see the light of day for another 13 years. It finally made its television debut on FX in June 2002 and has since been added to the streaming package. At the time, FX’s senior vice president of programming, Chuck Saftler, said, “This lost episode of Married… with Children is an incredible opportunity to premiere an episode of a classic comedy series that has never been seen before.”
As for the reason for all the behind-the-scenes panic back in 1989, it’s believed to have stemmed from a woman named Terry Rakolta boycotting Fox in January of that year. After she and her children caught the episode “Her Cups Runneth Over,” in which Al and Steve purchase a bra for Peggy, Rakolta launched a campaign against the network that resulted in major brands like Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble pulling their advertisements. Fox responded by moving the show to a later timeslot and toning down the raunchiness of future episodes.
The post 36 Years Ago, ‘Married… with Children’ Made an Episode So Raunchy Fox Refused to Air It for More Than a Decade appeared first on VICE.
