I really loved this show for the first couple seasons.While most people seem to think it's just a Married With Children rip-off, it's really very different considering it was created by the same person.For some reason they decided to start making changes and never explained anything.It wasn't so bad at first but when the stories started to get weaker the cast changes became very evident.The biggest mistake they made was having the grandmother leave and they didn't even bother to mention it, although they later joked about her going away.She was the funniest character on the show and the laughs got farther apart when she left.The show really started to suffer when they made it center around Tiffany.Somehow the smartest girl in school and her idiot brother ended up at the same college, very unbelievable, but the stories were just not good in general.Of course a show that could make so many major changes didn't care much about continuity and would often change or ignore history, something I have never cared for in sitcoms.Fortunately they make up for it by breaking the fourth wall and acknowledging they are on a TV show many times.The first three seasons are a must watch, be careful after that.

When "Unhappily Ever After" first began, I was hooked. I knew that it was similar to "Married With Children" but I didn't care. Why? Because the Malloy family seemed like an extreme sarcastic version of the Bundys...and I LOVED it.But then in season 2 the writers decided to have Jack move back in with Jenny and the kids. "OK," I thought, "that's not too bad." So I kept watching. Then in season 3 they killed off one of my favourite characters, Maureen. "All right," I thought, "now they're starting to go too far." Then in season 4 Jenny disappeared and the show more or less became "The Nikki Cox Show". That was when I stopped watching. I mean, I don't have anything against Cox as an actress, but I never cared for her character, Tiffany. And after season 3, as far as I was concerned, Tiffany "should have shut up and looked pretty". (To paraphrase Marcy from "Married With Children".) Because while she WAS beautiful, she was also very annoying. But they started to focus on Tiffany and ONLY Tiffany, although the show was supposed to be about Jack. Really, how many anorexia/smart-girl-can't-get-a-man jokes were we supposed to stand??? Tiffany just wasn't as funny as Jack, and her rants about her (lack of a) sex life and social issues got tired after a while.Oh well...all good things must come to an end. It's too bad "Unhappily Ever After" had to end on a low note.

Unhappily Ever After is my third favourite comedy behind the Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle. Most people who don't like this show completely misinterpereted the humour and social comments that were made. Some of the material was VERY intelligent and not just sexual slapstick (which was also an important part of the show). Extremely well acted and written, a superb show.

It's true that the show is an obvious Married With Children ripoff. In fact, in one episode I specifically remember Ed O'Neill's (Al Bundy from Married With Children) name being mentioned. Nevertheless, the show is hilarious. Especially Mr Floppy.