“They've taken everything else away from us in the so-called name of progress. They take pinball machines and give you video games. What do I care if a monkey can make it to the top of a building?
“Hey Umpire! He’s got a horse in his pocket!”
”I'm not a cartoon- I'm almost a human being, dammit!”
Its all in the ashes so dead aunt..............mmmmmm and a smile
In this holiday episode, the No Ma’am gang becomes obsessed with a phone sex operator….who turns out to be Peg’s mother. Although Al likes the extra income she brings in, he’s in trouble when Griff wants to ask her out.
Notable Guest Stars:
-Kathleen Freeman returns as the voice of Peg’s mom. Check out this detailed post on her career here: https://www.reddit.com/r/marriedwithchildren/s/9v6hDZJT5y
Sadly, this would be her last appearance.
Fun Fact: Al and Peg reveal who they fantasize about while having sex with each other. For Peggy, it’s Italian model Fabio. For Al, it’s Gilligan’s Island characters Ginger and Mary Ann.
Funner Fact: This is only the 5th Christmas episode of the series. There will be one more in Season 11.
Continuity Charm: Al still has a Christmas Club account, much like he did in the “It’s a Bundyful Life” episodes back in Season 4.
Fun Nicknames: The nicknames that the guys use when talking to Butter are:
Al - Double O Shoe
Griff - Shoehorn O' Plenty
Ike - Hot Pants
Officer Dan - Psycho Cop
Bob Rooney - Butcher Boy
Jefferson - Ken Doll
Al and Peggy take Peg’s parents to a marriage retreat in hopes that it will save their relationship.
Subplot: Kelly and Bud have a double date with a reserved man and his promiscuous cousin.
Notable Guest Stars:
-Mark D. Espinoza as Carlos. For any 90210 fans, he would go on to play Jesse, Andrea’s husband. He will return for a later episode this season.
-Edward Hibbert, who played Gil on Frasier, as the marriage counselor.
(And Tim Conway returns again!)
Fun Fact: This episode starts paving the way for Katey Sagal’s eventual (temporary) exit from the show this season, as she was pregnant and preparing to go on maternity leave. Over the last few episodes, it is obvious that they are trying to strategically hide her belly.
Charming Continuity: Kelly once again says “Adidas” instead of “Adios”, harkening back to Season 5 when she briefly moved out.
Tim Conway debuts as Ephraim Wanker, Peggy's Paw.
Somehow we get from there to a Dan'l Boone skit of wrasslin' bars, a reference to JellyStone Park and evoking a Three Stooges gag.
At least, Lucky got a playmate.
://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Bearly_Men
What did they do with the good writers?
In this special hosted by ESPN sports anchor Ron Firestone, clips of the show’s greatest sports moments are featured. It originally aired the same evening as the episode Dud Bowl II.
Episodes featured in the clips:
A Tisket, a Tasket, Can Peg Make a Basket?
You Gotta Know When to Fold 'Em (Part 2)
Fun Fact: Ron Firestone actually appeared on MwC in the Peggy Turns 300 episode as the man who interviews Al on TV in his daydream at the end of the show.
He also appeared alongside Ed O’Neill and Katey Sagal on Hollywood Squares. Yeah, that happened, and I highly recommend checking out the wiki article on it: The New Hollywood Squares | Married with Children Wiki | Fandom
Disclaimer: I couldn’t find clips from this special anywhere online, so I just included screenshots from the various episodes it features.
Can any make out what it says on her the back of her dress?
Polk High decides to name a new scoreboard after a famous student. Al thinks he's a shoe in until Marcy throws a FANG into the works by finding out that Terry Bradshaw went to Polk.
Kelly has a conversation with Terry
Bud and Jefferson have a blast with the scoreboard.
Terry stops by the Bundy house to visit Al who is covered in bandages and can't hear.
in other words, anybody outside of the obvious main characters- Bundys, Marcy, or any of her husbands
Al and Jefferson’s fishing lodge reservation is stolen by adult film actress Shannon Tweed, and they try to get revenge by exposing a naked photo of her and a lodge employee.
Subplot: Bud and Kelly try to get Lucky a part in a commercial, but the director is only interested in Kelly.
Notable Guest Stars:
-Shannon Tweed as herself. Along with adult film roles, she is also famously the wife of Kiss singer, Gene Simmons….who also happened to date Katey Sagal once upon a time.
-Speaking of Katey, her brother Joey Sagal plays the lodge owner, Randolph. (See pic 9).
-Leland Orser returns as the director of the dog food commercial. He appeared previously as the director of Kelly’s diet shake commercial last season.
Fun Fact: There’s tons of Playboy playmates in this episode. It’s also the 3rd episode in a row to feature Playboy playmates. If you’re into women, this is the season for you! You can read all about it on the wiki.
Also, Kelly dresses like a dog in this episode. I don’t really have too much to say about that. 😅
How did I not know how famous she was for so many roles, on and off screen (as a voice actor)?
Kathleen Freeman was one of so very many in Hollywood that you almost instantly recognize the face even if you never knew the name.
The voice of Peg's mother was none other than the inhibitable ....
.... Gertrude Burkhalter
https://scorpiolikeyou.com/news/remember-kathleen-freeman-what-really-happened-will-shock-you_a133
An amazingly long list of absolutely CLASSIC movies and TV shows:
>Freeman's early film career began with numerous nameless roles in the late 1940s and 50s in such films as "The Naked City" (1948), "Dream Wife" (1953) "The Fly" (1958). She was especially memorable in a hilarious supporting role in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) as the voice teacher of Jean Hagen. The actress also enjoyed a 10 film collaboration with Jerry Lewis ranging from "Three Ring Circus" (1954) through "The Nutty Professor" (1963) and "The Disorderly Orderly" (1964) and winding up with "Which Way to the Front?" (1970).
>In her long and prolific career (with some 100 features and several hundred TV shows to her credit), Freeman always proved the stalwart character player whether playing a frontierswoman ("The Ballad of Cable Hogue" 1970) or an officious clerk ("Teen Wolf Two" 1987). She has been a frequent presence on the small screen as well with regular roles on several series ("Topper," CBS 1953-54; "It's About Time," CBS 1966-67; "The Beverly Hillbillies," CBS 1969-71) and TV-movies (e.g., "The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang," NBC 1970). One of Freeman's better-remembered battleaxes was her Sister Mary Stigmata from "The Blues Brothers" (1980) and "Blues Brothers 2000" (1998).
>In a similar spoof vein, "Dragnet" (1987) saw her as a belligerent landlady, and "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" (1994) presented her as the tougher-than-leather mother of Fred Ward.
https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kathleen-freeman/
She could be one of the most famous actors ever to (not) appear on the show.
With their 5 year reunion coming up, Our Dear Miss Kelly and her friends try to figure out how long ago they got out of High School. On arrival, they meet a former geek they toyed with and compete for the non-geek he became.
Bud gets a surprise when one of his schemes backfire.
Meanwhile, Marcy tries to collect toys for a toy drive.
https://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Blonde_and_Blonder
Featuring the amazing Heidi Mark.
Oh Heidi, Oh Heidi, Heidi Ho!
She led a dream life for a while.
Bud wants to join No Ma’am, but as part of his initiation, he must snap a photo with wrestler King Kong Bundy. He ends up in the ring with him instead.
Subplot: Al and his buddies want to watch wrestling but are thwarted by the wives, who would rather watch a romantic movie.
Notable Guest Stars:
-Wrestler King Kong Bundy as himself. He previously played Peggy’s Uncle Irwin way back in Season 2. His last name inspired the Bundy surname on the show.
-Michael Clarke Duncan as the bouncer. He of course would go on to star in The Green Mile with Tom Hanks.
Fun fact: The referee for the wrestling match was played by the stunt coordinator on the show, Frank Lloyd. He played Al’s would-be mugger in the previous episode.
Funner fact: This is the second Halloween-themed episode of the series. The first was in Season 8 (Take My Wife, Please).
Musical Conspiracy: No Ma’am member Ike believes that Elvis is still alive.
Peggy takes a self defense class and ends up 'saving' Al from a Bully.
When Carmen (altogether now ... ) picks up on the story, Al feels he has to restore his reputation, which doesn't quite go as he hopes.
Meanwhile, Bud finds a new friend.
In preparation for her role as Marie Curie, Kelly poses as a scientist and accidentally invents a miracle hair-growing formula called Bleen, which works wonders on Al and his buddies. However, it backfires when they discover the side effect: they now find their wives attractive!
Fun Fact: The Bundys finally own a home computer. I guess Al didn’t get fed up with this one enough to break it.
Musical Moment: The music used during the morphing montage while Kelly is testing Bleen antidotes on Bud is very similar to Black or White by Michael Jackson.
Personal Anecdote: Capturing screenshots for this episode had me rolling.
When NO MA'AM gets upset about a new beer tax, they concoct the notion of becoming a church. This earns them the wrath of Marcy's FANG with predictable results.
During the high a theme park is proposed. It all crashes down when Rev Al admits to consorting with his wife.
Invoked in various ways, KMart, HeeHaw, Dione Warwick, Jimmy Swaggart, Green Acres, Arnold Ziffel, Jim and Tammy Faye and a few others.
//marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Reverend_Al
Probably 5 or 6. She’d be in bed watching it and I’d be curled up on top of the bed next to her, while my dad was still up, watching the news in the other room. So wholesome yet unwholesome at the same time lol but still a very happy memory for me ❤️.
I have very good parents, but they were always rather permissive when it came to television, clearly!
Beloved Bundy pooch Buck dies and Kelly is devastated. After attempts to soothe her with replacement pets go awry, Marcy brings in an eccentric medium who can contact spirits to bring Kelly closure.
Subplot: Buck is in heaven, and must be judged by a cat to determine his reincarnation.
Notable Guest Stars:
-Don Novello, as Father Guido Sarducci. This character originated on SNL and has been featured in various films and shows.
-Ben Stein, known for his roles on The Wonder Years and Win Ben Stein’s Money, as Thomas, the man who greets Buck in heaven.
New Character lntro: Lucky, a spaniel (who is actually Buck reincarnated). He will become the Bundy family pet for the rest of the series.
Sad Fact: Buck the dog actually retired from the series at the request of his trainer, due to old age and poor eyesight. (See last picture). Sadly, he passed away about 9 months after this episode was filmed. RIP, buddy.
Fun fact to lift our spirits: This is the first episode to feature the official Married with Children website in the credits. The mid-90s have arrived!
Saw this doc about the best shoe salesman in the early 80s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H4MMvaIpyk
The tool used to measure feet and the special stools the sales person sat on must have made it a special shopping experience. Kind of like getting a shoe shine but better.
