(Power Rankings sum up: Each week, we’ll pick a television show and rank the actors/actresses/contestants/correspondents/etc. based on what they’ve done after the series ended (unless we’re ranking a current series, in which case we’ll have to bend the rules). Preference will be given to more recent work, but if the work was a long time ago, but much more important/relevant, that will be factored in as well.
Married… with Children lasted a crazy 11 seasons and 262 episodes, which is kind of mindblowing. For some reason David Faustino always makes me think that this cast has gone nowhere, but the rest of the Bundy family’s careers argue strongly otherwise. Without thinking too hard about it, I’m tempted to say this is the most popular show ever with an ellipsis (scripted show at least, talk shows are much more likely to use one – Later…with Jools Holland, a British music show is for some reason the other that comes to mind). Included here are the four main family members, neighbor Marcy D’arcy, and her two husbands (not at the same time). Let’s begin.
7. Amanda Bearse (as Marcy D’arcy) – She’s the loser David Faustino wishes he could be. She was in one episode of Nikki and has been in two of Drop Dead Diva.
6. David Faustino (as Bud Bundy) – I automatically assumed that Faustino’s career would warrant just a short sentence and a joke, but while it’s not going to land him high in the rankings, it could have been a lot worse. He was in single episodes of plenty of series, including Jesse (which starred Married…with Children co-star Christina Applegate), The New Adams Family, Unhappily Ever After, The X-Files, Batman Beyond, The Bernie Mac Show and two of Nash Bridges. He was in a McDonalds commercial and two episodes of Entourage as himself. He was in some low-budget National Lampoon drek as well, such as National Lampoon’s Pucked and his own web series called Star-ving.
5. David Garrison (as Steve Rhoads) – He was in individual episodes of series Welcome to New York, Family Law, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Judging Amy, Nikki, Ed, That’s Life, and Arli$$. He was in three episodes of The Practice as a U.S. Attorney, four episodes of The West Wing as an MSNBC talking head, and five of Law & Order as a judge. He was also in single episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, Without a Trace, and NYPD Blue.
4. Ted McGinley (as Jefferson D’arcy) – He appeared in sequel Major League: Back to the Minors and in eight episodes of Aaron Sorkin dramedy Sports Night. He was in three episodes of The West Wing and one of The Practice and appeared in TV movies Family Curse and Frozen Impact. He co-starred in the short-lived Nathan Lane series Charlie Lawrence. He starred in three seasons as Faith Ford’s husband in sitcom Hope & Faith. He’s been in single episodes of ‘Til Death, Psych, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Breaking In, and provided his voice to two episodes of Family Guy.
Television, the Drug of the Nation 