A Little Off the Top is the 12th episode of season 8 of Married... with Children, also the 169th overall series episode. Directed by cast member Sam W. Orender and written by Michael G. Moye, it premiered on FOX-TV on December 12, 1993.
Synopsis[]
Al suffers from a bad back and is taken to the hospital, where, due to a slip-up, instead of a circular incision, he gets a circumcision. The family tries their best to keep him away from getting aroused. Meanwhile Marcy has a great time making fun of Al.
Storyline[]
Al is injured playing football with his friends, and ends up in the hospital needing surgery. Due to a mix-up at the hospital, however, Al ends up receiving a circumcision.
Recurring Cast/Regulars[]
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck the Dog as Buck Bundy
Guest stars[]
- Hill Harper as Aaron Mitchell
- Ron Perkins as Doctor
- Mark Clayman as Jay
- Terence Paul Winter as Waiter (as Terence Winter)
- Don Maxwell as Dad
Quotes[]
- [Al is assisted into the house by Aaron and his friends following a game of football. He is placed on the couch, and hunches over in pain]
- Peggy: How bad is it, Aaron?
- Aaron: Well, we took him to my doctor and he says all Mr. Bundy needs is a minor operation. They make this little circular incision in his lower back, ease the pressure off his spine and he's good as new!
- [Peggy looks at Al and shakes her head].
- Peggy: Good going, crazy legs. Now you need an operation!
- Al: [cringing with pain] I'M FINE! DON'T YOU SEE I'M FINE?!
- Peggy: Fine? Fine for what, Al? [sits down] Starring in the circus as "Bundo The Fiddler Crab Boy"? Ringing bells in a clock tower somewhere? Granted, they're both higher paying jobs than the one you have now. But, I would imagine that by the time you got home, you'd want to be fully erect. But then again...
- Doctor: Excuse me, Mrs. Bundy, but something horrible has happened to your husband.
- Peggy: [to the phone receiver] Uh, Marcy, can I call you back? [pauses, then moves the phone receiver towards the doctor] "No, and can you speak louder?".
- Doctor: There is some good news - he's alive.
- Peggy: [concerned] Well, how alive? Can he walk? Can he talk? Will he ever be able to work again?
- Doctor: He's a shoe salesman, Mrs. Bundy. We could replace his brain with a sock full of popcorn, he would still be able to work again. [examines Al's chart] See this was one of those... unfortunate accidents due to simple human error. It seems our surgical team misread your doctor's instructions. It said to give him a "circular incision".
- Peggy: Yeah. So how could you misread that?
- Doctor: We gave him a... circumcision.
- [Peggy is visible stunned upon hearing the news, as Marcy lets out a high pitched laugh, prompting Peggy to cover the phone receiver]
- Peggy: Oh dear. Uh, where is he?
- Doctor: [hesitantly] That's the other thing...
- [cuts to the hospital nursery, where several newborn babies are crying as the camera passes by before coming across Al who is lying in bed and also crying]
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the phrase used for a haircut.
Trivia[]
- This episode was possibly influenced from an earlier rough draft written during season 4 of MWC that was rejected by FOX due to the backlash from the Rakolta Boycott.
- This is shown as one of few time Al "does" want to have sex with Peg, which happens at the end of the episode.
- Peggy mentions that she always licks her fingers when she turns the page in a magazine. She can also be seen doing so in "Father Lode".
- When Bud enters the basement to hide the magazines, the moment we hear the thump of his "fall", the wall lamp next to the basement door almost falls down.
- The main event (Al's accidental circumcision) was indirectly referenced during The King of Queens season 4 episode, "Lyin' Hearted" when supporting character Arthur Spooner wishes and prays that the surgeon does not give him a circumcision as he was in a Jewish hospital.
- Both MWC and King of Queens share the same production company.
Cultural References[]
- The exercise equipment Peg and Marcy use at the beginning of the episode is the Thighmaster.
- While at the hospital, Peg tells Marcy that the topic of Geraldo is: "Men who leave their wives for IHOP waitresses".
- Geraldo Rivera is a news commentator and reporter who at the time this episode was filmed had his own talk show called Geraldo.
- IHOP is the short hand name of International House of Pancakes, a restaurant chain similar to Denny's.
- Cliff Bemis who played the termite boss in season 2's "The Great Escape" was the spokesman for the restaurant at the time this episode was filmed.
- As Al and Peg come home from the hospital, Kelly has Bud hide an issue of People magazine with Ross Perot on the cover.
- Ross Perot was a businessman who, at the time this episode originally aired, was known for running as an independent party candidate during the 1992 U.S. presidential election. He would run for office again a few years later in 1996.
- Perot was previously mentioned in the Season 7 episode, "T-R-A-Something-Something Spells Tramp".
Music[]
- The song "Bad to the Bone" can be heard towards the end of the episode.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Hospital
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Hospital Waiting Room / Payphone wall / Nursery