Change For a Buck is the 11th episode of Season 8 of Married... with Children, also the 167th overall series episode. Directed by cast member Amanda Bearse and written by Kim Weiskopf, it premiered on FOX-TV on November 28, 1993.
Synopsis[]
Buck runs away from home and ends up at a dog pound, where he'll face getting gassed if the Bundys don't retrieve him. Bundy's don't notice him to be gone till the last minute.
Storyline[]
Lacking attention, Buck runs away from home and ends up at a dog pound, where he'll face getting gassed if the Bundys don't retrieve him within a week, which happens to go by before anyone notices his absence! Bundy's don't notice him to be gone till the last minute. AL is then torn between going with the family to look for Buck and going to the nudie bar with Jefferson for a "Wrestle Till You Raw" night.
Recurring Cast/Regulars[]
Buck watching family from the stairs
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck the Dog as Buck Bundy
Guest stars[]
- Cheech Marin as Buck Bundy (voice)
- Dom DeLuise as Floyd the Dog (voice)
- Jeanine Jackson as Mother
- Lenny Wolpe as Father
- Joshua Boyd as Little Timmy
- Ralph P. Martin as Mustafa
Quotes[]
- [Bud is coming down the stairs, as Kelly is reclining on the couch and painting her nails, while listening to the radio]
- Bud: Hi, Kel. What you listening to?
- Kelly: Radio Love-Line. It's listener dedication hour.
- Bud: Oh. How many dedications did I get? [smiles as he takes a seat on a smaller chair]
- Kelly: [sits upright, with a sarcastic tone] Three, actually: "Lonely Boy," "Like A Virgin...", and "When A Man Loves A Rubber Woman." [smiles and wiggles as she puts her nail polish away]
- Bud: And I suppose you got your usual dedication, "She Works Hard For The Money."
- Kelly: Now whatever gave you the idea that I am some cheap tramp?
- Radio DJ: And now, dedicated to Kelly, [suddenly becomes horrified] "She Works Hard For..."
- [Kelly immediately knocks the radio onto the floor, breaking it]
- Peg: Now if you were a dog, where would you go?
- Al: Well, that depends... are you a dog too?
- Peg: Al, I am serious! Buck could be hurt!
- Bud: He could lying in the gutter, Dad!
- Al: Did it ever occur to any of you that Buck might have just run away. I've thought of it myself a million times. He could be eating a steak right now, drinking a daiquiri, or [with a sly grin] doing that little cocker spaniel down the end of the street. Our dog, Buck, might for the first time in his life be truly happy!
- Kelly: Who cares?! We want him back!
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a play on the expression "(Do you have) Change for a buck?", which is said when one requests coins that equal 100 U.S. cents in exchange for a single U.S. one dollar bill (sometimes referred to as a "Buck") and Buck Bundy leaving the house in order to change what is normally going on at home.
Trivia[]
- Amanda Bearse does not appear in this episode, as she had directed it.
- This is the second episode to feature actor Cheech Marin as the voice of Buck instead of Kevin Curran.
- The voice of Floyd is played by Dom DeLuise, an actor and chef who was best known for his distinctive voice and roles in films such as Blazing Saddles, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Canonball Run, as well as televisions series Candid Camera and The Dom DeLuise Show.
- One of Dom DeLuise's sons, David, would later star alongside Christina Applegate in her post MWC television show, Jesse, while another son, Peter, starred in the FOX series 21 Jump Street, which also featured Applegate in a guest starring role.
- Joshua Boyd, who plays Timmy previously appeared on MWC in "Take My Wife, Please" as the boy in the dinosaur costume who spits a black liquid into Al's face.
- Boyd would later appear in the Disney Channel film, Smart House, which starred Katey Sagal and featured MWC guest star Emilio Borelli who played the Italian man that talks to Al at Fuzzy McGee's burial in "Death of a Shoe Salesman".
- Ralph P. Martin, who plays Mustafa, the dog kennel employee, previously had a recurring role on the ABC sitcom, Who's the Boss?, which originally was filmed at the same studio as MWC during Seasons 1-2.
- If one looks at the box of dog food that Peggy pours out, it has a picture of a white cat and reads "50% more cat parts".
- This is the first time that the whole wall behind the television at the Bundy Residence can be seen. It is revealed that there are two windows with curtains and a painting directly above the television set.
- Although in the season 4 episode "Peggy Turns 300" the lower portion of the wall can be seen when Bud and the rest of the family notice that Al has gone crazy while watching a blank television set.
- In the episode, Jefferson mentions to Al the "Wrestle Till You're Raw Night" at the Nudie Bar. Later, when Buck looks at the newspaper underneath him, the event is taking place at a place called "Hooters", which would imply that the Nudie Bar is simply a catchall term for any adult club.
- When Mustafa, the kennel employees tells the Bundys that he has an execution to do, someone in the audience can be clearly heard saying "Oh, no!".
Cultural references[]
- The voice of the French poodle with buck teeth whose says "Hey lady! I'm a genius in France, so you'll..." is a reference to actor Jerry Lewis, who was considered a genius in France for his comedic films.
- More specifically, his voice and buck teeth are a reference to his character Professor Kelp from the 1963 comedy, The Nutty Professor.
- The voice of the Boxer is a reference to former boxing champion Mike Tyson who was serving time in prison when this episode originally aired, while the voice of the grey dog with poufy hair is a reference to Mike Tyson's now former manager / promoter Don King.
- Floyd mentions that Madonna's dog turned himself in to the kennel after she released her book, referring to the sexually explicit coffee table book, Sex.
- The song Kelly says were dedicated to Bud are:
- "Lonely Boy"
- "Like A Virgin"
- "When a Man Loves a Rubber Woman"
- Buck compares himself to country singer Willie Nelson.
- After Al tries to escape to the Nudie Bar, Peggy mentions former U.S. Senator Bob Packwood who was at the time facing charges of groping and sexually abusing female staffers.
- Al mentions actor Larry Linville who is going to be one of the judges of "Wrestle Till You're Raw Night" at the nudie bar.
- Although Linville never appeared on Married... with Children, he did appear on The Jeffersons as well as Checking In (which was spun off from The Jeffersons) as Lyle Block.
- Linville is best known for the role of Major Frank Burns in the 1970s war comedy series, M*A*S*H during its first five seasons.
- After Timmy's mother calls Buck "old and ugly", he says "Yeah, well from I'm stand, you're not exactly Sharon Stone yourself!", referring to the blonde actress who is best known for her roles in the 1992 erotic thriller film, Basic Instinct.
Music[]
- The song that plays on the radio just as Bud comes down the staircase at the beginning of the episode is "Love Is" by Vanessa Williams and Bryan McKnight.
- Though it is sung by Angie Jaree in the episode.
- The song that the bloodhound plays on the harmonica is "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".
- The theme song to the TV show Lassie is whistled by Peg, Kelly and Bud to Al, causing him to cry.
- The song that plays on the radio after Peggy gets her next Oprah Winfrey cassette is "She Works Hard For The Money" by Donna Summer.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Out Damned Spot Animal Shelter
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Out Damned Spot Animal Shelter Kennels
Goofs[]
- When Al comes back with a tiny dog and tries to pass him off as Buck, the lights on his tie are no longer flashing.
- Bud says that he is going to the frat house, but it was mentioned in "Luck of the Bundys" that it was burned down after Kelly's motorcycle stunt went awry and would be closed for at least a semester.
- It is possible that they could have gotten a smaller temporary frat house or part of their original frat house was still useable for meetings.
- When Buck begins to bark to get Al's attention at the dog kennel, just before Al yells "Shut up ya mutt!" a bark is heard, but Buck is clearly not moving his mouth.