Married... with Children
Ah, Married with Children. The little show that could.
The little show that could become a huge success and last eleven seasons.
MWC was originally devised by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt, who were writers and producers of such shows as "The Jeffersons" and "Laverne & Shirley". They wanted to create a show that was different to other shows on TV at the time (the mid-80s), like The Cosby Show. In fact, the working title for this new show was called Not The Cosbys.
The Evolution of Bud Bundy
David Faustino was asked to audition for the part of Bud Bundy when the producers felt there had to be a change in the cast. The original actors playing the parts of Bud and Kelly Bundy (Hunter Carson and Tina Caspary) had to be replaced. Therfore, Christina Applegate and David Faustino were called in for the recasting and needless to say, they got the job. David says that while he was only 12 years old at the time, he knew that he and Christina would get along very well and could see that the on-screen relationship would work. David didn't understand many of the jokes at first because he was so young, but eventually he caught on to a lot of the sexual innuendo.
Bud Bundy has been described as the "lumpy boy", "the smart-alec son" and - by his own father - the "son who'd have sex with a fire hydrant".
Bud's sex life is certainly a well-known factor of the show. He rarely gets a date, but surprisingly when he does score, it's usually with a huge-hootered blonde chick, or a much older woman (his teacher; Al's boss...). Bud has had sex less than ten times during the show's run. Bud has been described as "the teenager from hell", but David disagrees. If Bud were that way, he wouldn't be an A student and would be doing hard drugs or something.
The part of Bud Bundy made David famous. Married with Children is a great way to see David age and change over the years. He literally grew up on screen, facing a lot of embarrassing moments that most adolescent boys would not rather share with the rest of the world. But still, despite some awful hair styles, he lived through it and blossomed into a very good-looking young man.
David has been recognised for his work in MWC, often being nominated for a Young Artist Award. Click here for a full list of award nominations
Grandmaster B
Grandmaster B is Bud's alter ego. He was "created" in 1991 (starting with episode #603 - If Al had A Hammer) to get babes. "Chicks like new blood," Bud explains, so he transformed himself into the rapping cool dude. He performs a rap in #603. The other three Bundys (and some other people too) cannot seem to remember his name, often subsituting 'Grandmaster B' with everything from 'Grasshopper' to 'Grandmaster Virgin'.
The Grandmaster B idea was created by the MWC producers as a way of poking fun at David, and his real rap career. The character was 'reborn' as such in #611 when the first half of season had turned out to be a dream. But it lasted until the end of season six, and was re-mentioned once in season 7 (#723 - Tis Time To Smell The Roses), and the outfit is hanging up in the basement in #803 (Proud To Be Your Bud), along with Bud's other alter-egos (i.e. pathetic attempts to get a date) he has created over the years.
In David's rap song "I Told Ya" on the Balistyx album, both Grandmaster B and Bud Bundy are mentioned. You can see David performing this song on his 1992 Whoopi Goldberg Show appearance.
In case you were wondering, David's favourite MWC episodes are "Johnny Be Gone" (113) and "You Better Watch Out" (213).
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