They might not ever say it--certainly not...

They might not ever say it--certainly not to each other--but this is shaping up as a very merry Christmas indeed for Al and Peggy Bundy, the bickering couple at the center of Fox Broadcasting’s “Married . . . With Children.” The reason: Their ratings have more than doubled since their premiere in the spring of 1987 and have climbed this fall to respectable, and profitable, levels.

Ed O’Neill and Katey Sagal star in the sitcom, which airs Sundays at 8:30 p.m. (Channels 11 and 6) and has been called a sort of flip side of “The Cosby Show.” Predating ABC’s new hit “Roseanne,” they play a blue-collar couple whose family life is anything but blissful.