Frank Capra’s seminal holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life is practically tied neck-to-neck with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as being the most parodied Christmas stories on TV sitcoms. Leave it to Married… With Children to come up with a clever variation on It’s a Wonderful Life featuring the late, great comedian Sam Kinison as Al's guardian angel. Directed by Gerry Cohen and written by series creators Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye, It’s a Bundyful Life (originally broadcast on Dec. 17, 1989) was first aired as an hour-long special.

It’s Christmas time and, at long last, Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) has finally saved enough money to buy presents for his family: nagging wife Peg (Katy Sagal), slutty daughter Kelly (Christina Applegate) and skeevy son Bud (David Faustino). But wouldn’t you know it? A last-minute rush of customers at Al’s shoe store prevents him from getting to the bank before it closes. He tries raising some dough by turning his store into a day-care center for shoppers’ kids with predictably disastrous results.

Needless to say the family is less than understanding when Al shows up empty-handed. Then, to literally add injury to insult, Al electrocutes himself plugging in the Christmas lights outside his home. He is awakened by an Angel (Kinison) who, when he learns that Al is his assignment, lets out his patented primal scream because he expected to be helping a “human.”

Going strictly by the It’s a Wonderful Life handbook, the Angel shows Al what his family’s life would have been like if he had never been born. It turns out that their lives would have been much better without Al. Peg would have married wealthy Norman Jablonsky (Ted McGinley) and Kelly and Bud would have become top students.

Angel: I'm sorry, Bundy. I failed you. I was sent down to Earth to show you a reason why you should live, but I can't think of one darn reason. I'll never get my wings now. And you know what kind of woman you get up in Heaven driving around in a '78 Pinto? The same kind of woman you get down here driving around in a '78 Pinto.

The Angel, however is not prepared for Al’s answer.

Al: I wanna be back with my family.

Angel: Why?

Al: Look at them. They're happy. Not a care in the world. You think I'm gonna let that happen, after all the grief they've put me through? I want to live!

Angel: Bundy, are you serious? That means I'm going to be an angel! I'm gonna get my wings! I'm gonna be a real angel! But first, I'm gonna go take a look at my ex-wife.

Al: You really did love her, huh?

Angel: No. I just want to put a package of Ding-Dongs just out of reach of her pork-pie fingers. And then, as she oozes that thousand-pound bulk over to the table, lifts up three of her chins, so she's able to put one of them into her mouth, I'm gonna turn them into me. A 20-year-old rotting corpse! How do you like that, Thelma? Daddy's home for Christmas! You pig! You slut! Take a bite of this, Shamu! (primal scream)

Married… With Children: It’s a Bundyful Life is available from Netflix (Season Four, Disc Two) and Amazon.