Al Bundy – Father figure in the Bundy family. Is usually seen in his trademark pose, sitting on the couch with one hand down the front of his pants. He was the starring quarterback for Polk High School's football team, bound for college on an athletic scholarship – until he met Peg. Afterwards, he broke his leg, he lost his scholarship, his life fell apart, and he was stuck from then on working as a shoe salesman in a local mall. His misery with his life and his reminisces about his glory days ("Four touchdowns in one game!") is the main focus of the show's humor.
Margaret "Peggy" Bundy (née Margaret Wanker) – Al's wife and mother of the family. Al considers her first and foremost to be the cause of his misery. She is a lazy mother, having done very little to help raise the children (not that Al did much either), and often ignores the needs of her family. She often wastes the little money that Al makes from his job (she is very reluctant to get her own job; she worked at a department store selling clocks for a very short time, but quit after deciding that she hated working), and she is more likely to spend it on clothing and purchases from home-shopping TV channels than on food. When she does buy food, it's usually Bon Bons for when she watches her favorite talk show hosts, Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey.
Kelly Bundy – The first child of the Bundy family. A promiscuous bimbo , she is the stereotypical "dumb blonde." Much of her humor comes from the stupidity that she displays. For example, she asked her brother to help her with her book report on Robinson Crusoe and ends up reviewing Gilligan's Island instead (while yelling at her brother for tricking her, she says 'I had a meeting with the principal. A three hour meeting. A three hour meeting'). She is in love with boys, hair bleach, and the telephone. She often pokes fun at her younger brother, Bud, for being a pubescent horndog.
Budrick Franklin "Bud" Bundy – The second child of the family. Bud is a guy who believes himself to be sexy and intelligent, but often proves not to be. He is often rejected by women, and did not lose his virginity until he was twenty years old, to Marcy's slutty niece. He often insults Kelly for her unintelligence and promiscuity, though is ironically lecherous and frequently crafting grandiose sexual schemes. For example, he took the money his mother gave him for bowling lessons and instead bought a lifetime pass to The Pussycat Theatre.
Buck – The family dog. He is often "heard" by the audience through voice-overs that tell what is going through his mind at the moment. He is just as disgusted with the family as the rest of them are. He died at one point in the series, in order to allow the ten-year-old Briard that portrayed him to retire.
Lucky – The spaniel that the family gets after Buck dies. He is the reincarnation of Buck, but no one in the family ever finds this out.
Seven – A child who is adopted by the family at one point in the series. He was a very unpopular character, so he was dropped from the show without explanation in the storyline. See jumping the shark.
2.2 Neighbors
Marcy (Rhoades) D'Arcy – Peggy's best friend and the family's next-door neighbor. She considers herself to be above the ways of the Bundy family, but often sinks to their level. She dislikes Al, and often argues with him. Al's most frequent target is Marcy's tiny chest and " chicken"-like legs. Her cousin Mandy (played by Amanda Bearse in a dual role) is a lesbian. Bearse is gay in real life.
Steve Rhoades – Marcy's first husband. He is a banker who was actually at a lower position than Marcy at the city bank, but that didn't seem to faze him, as Marcy moved up to a high position at another bank, he received her job. Steve is one who sees himself as a better person than the Bundy family, but over time becomes more like them.
Jefferson D'Arcy – Marcy's second husband. Self centered and lazy, he is a male equivalent of Peggy. He is a close friend of Al, and often angers Marcy in his bonding with Al. Ted McGinley had appeared previously as Peggy's husband in an alternate universe, in an episode which parodied Capra's It's A Wonderful Life.
