bianculli: ...joan rivers in terms of late night... oh, polly! levine: it was a sketch show and they needed something to go between the sketches. and again, they were looking for something different. i gotta have those candy bars. you better not be thinking of stealing those candy bars. that's it! "the simpsons" would never have come along had it not been for "the tracey ullman show." ultimately, crime hurts the criminal. but that's not true mom. i gotta free ride home didn't i? bart! levine: fox was thrilled that it was different. they said, sure, be experimental. do whatever you want. we're just happy to have a show on the air. [ laughter ] i'm home! bianculli: "married with children" was their first big, big hit in that way that said if all the rest of television is going this way, we're going that way. bud, kelly, you want to come down and help me in the kitchen? [ doors slam ] [ chuckles ] there, that should buy us about 10 minutes. 7 more than we'll need. [ chuckles ] mandabach: the title of "married with children" on the script

bianculli: there's a shift in the '80s from just wanting to placate the audience to wanting to please and challenge the audience. and that's the decade when it happened. we had one hell of a run. didn't we partner? yeah. we sure did, sonny. i'm gonna miss you man. i'm gonna miss you, too, sonny. can i give you a ride to the airport? why not? ♪ - don't touch that dial. we're about to flip it for you. - in five, four, three, two... - tv is changing dramatically now with 150 channels that might be available in the near future. - there's a lot of things that we do that you couldn't have on network television. - people are really trying to do something adventurous. [both gasp] all: channel 7, shame on you. - this is more a celebration of culture and opening the doors and allowing america to come on inside. - there's always something on television, and some of it may be better than we deserve. - [laughs] that was cool. [dramatic music] ♪ ♪ - listen to it. oh! [crowd cheering] they know when it hits the bottom, it'll be 1990. good-bye to the '80s in... all: ten, nine... all: eight... eight!