Dances with Weezie

Dances with Weezie
Al and Jefferson, who want to visit a new sports bar, are forced to go with the wives to a stage night showing of "The Jeffersons" in "Dances with Weezie" in Season 8 of MWC.
Information
Directed By	Tony Singletary
Written By	Richard Gurman
Taping Date	November 5, 1993
Air Date	November 14, 1993
Production Code	8.10
Series Designation	Married... with Children Season 8, Episode 10
Episode Number	167
IMDB	Dances with Weezy
Episode Guide
Previous	NO MA'AM
Next	Change for a Buck

Dances with Weezy is the 10th episode of season 8 of Married... with Children, also the 167th overall series episode. Directed by Tony Singletary and written By Richard Gurman, it premiered on FOX-TV on November 21, 1993.

Synopsis

Al and Jefferson sneak out of a Jeffersons reunion performance to go to a new sports bar, where they end up in a bar fight.

Storyline

Al bribes Kelly and Bud into posing as him and Jefferson to accompany Peg and Marcy at The Jeffersons "Moving On Up" Tour live, while they go to a newly opened sports bar. Al and Jefferson (as well as the entire bar) gets into a big fight over who was in the first Lite Beer commercial: Bubba Smith or Billy Martin!

Concerning who was the first athlete to appear in the Lite Beer commercials of the 1970's and 1980's, Al and Jefferson, who get in a fight over the subject in the new sports bar in "Dances with Weezie" are both wrong. Although both of these athletes appeared in Lite Beer commercials in the 1970s, neither Billy Martin or Bubba Smith of them were first. That honor went to ex-New York Jets fullback Matt Snell in 1973.

Recurring Cast/Regulars

• Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
• Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
• Buck the Dog as Buck Bundy
• Dan Tullis, Jr. as Officer Dan

Guest stars

• Joe Namath as Himself
• Johnny Bench as Himself
• Ernie Banks as Himself
• Jillian Johns as Waitress
• Frank Lloyd as Bar patron (uncredited)
• Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson (uncredited, in archival audio)
• Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston (uncredited, in archival audio)

Quotes

• [Marcy enters the Bundy residence with a pair of tickets in her hand]
• Marcy: Well, Peg, I got them! [sits next to Peg on the couch as Kelly and Bud look on] Third row, center aisle. The best seats in the house for the greatest show on earth!
• Bud: What, Public Enemy?
• Kelly: Nirvana?
• Bud: Carla and Her Disappearing Vegetables?
• [Peg, Marcy, and Kelly look at Bud with disgust]
• Bud: [embarrassed] I, I... I mean the rock group. Not the blonde stripper who's making a squash disappear for Thanksgiving.

---

• [Bud and Kelly are impersonating Al and Jefferson at the "Jeffersons Movin' On Up" tour.]
• Kelly: This is the lowest thing that I've ever done.
• [Bud slowly looks over at Kelly with a skeptical look on his face]
• Kelly: Okay, the lowest thing I've ever been paid to do.
• [Bud continues staring skeptically at Kelly]
• Kelly: Okay, the lowest thing I've ever been paid to do that I didn't enjoy.
• [Bud nods with approval]

---

• [Marcy is talking to Kelly, who is pretending to be Jefferson as they watch the "Jeffersons Live Movin' On Up" tour]
• Marcy: [laughing] If you ask me, the Willis were way ahead of their time. [takes hold of Kelly's hand] Hmm, your hands are moist like mine. But then, watching The Jeffersons always made me horny. [giggles, as Kelly becomes uncomfortable] What say the next time the scene change and the lights go out, we...
• [Marcy leans in and whispers, causing Kelly to have a horrified look on her face before turning away nearly in tears as Marcy continues watching the play]

---

• [Al approaches former NFL quarterback, Joe Namath, who is working behind the bar]
• Al: Hey, Joe, I just got one question for 'ya.
• Joe Namath: Oh, I know, I know. Did I really believe I'd win the Super Bowl?
• Al: Uh, no, no... Who was in the first Lite beer commercial?
• Joe Namath: [offended] ...Who cares?!
• Al: [quickly turns around to face Jefferson] See, he said "Bubba"!
• Jefferson: It was Billy!
• [A drunken Officer Dan staggers over to Al and Jefferson, putting his hands on their shoulders to join their conversation]
• Officer Dan: I couldn't help overhearing you two... and after sucking down twenty cold ones and a couple of warm ones... my memory and bladder have been jogged... it was Bubba Smith... [begins to lose consciousness]
• Al: THANK YOU!
• [Officer Dan suddenly passes out and drops to the floor]
• Al: [pointing to Officer Dan] AND THAT'S THE LAW TALKING!

Notes

Title

• The title of this episode is a reference to the 1990 Western film Dances with Wolves as well as the character, Louise "Weezy" Jefferson from the TV show, The Jeffersons which aired from 1975 to 1985.

Trivia

• Married.. with Children creators Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye , as well as MWC producer John Maxwell Anderson, Kim Weiskopf, Sandy Sprung, and Marcy Vosburgh were writers/producers on The Jeffersons during the early to mid 1980s.
  • MWC guest stars Garrett Morris and Irwin Keyes also guest starred on The Jeffersons.
• Peggy reveals that Al was not at the hospital with Peggy when Kelly and Bud were born.
• Frank Lloyd, who previously played Al's friend, Norris and served as the resident stuntman on the MWC, makes an uncredited appearance as one of the men in a circle fighting Al in the bar.
• The set used for the Bullpen Sport Bar that Al and Jefferson go to would later be reused for the WB sitcom Unhappily Ever After, in the episode, "Eating Hollywood", where it is turned into a restaurant called "House of Hollywood". The episode also featured previous MWC guest stars Derek Sellers and Aaron Lustig.

Cultural References

• The topic of the episode, as well as the title, revolves around the 1970s sitcom The Jeffersons:
  • Peggy, Marcy, Kelly and Bud sing the shows opening theme song, "Movin' On Up". It is later heard when Al, Peggy, Marcy and Jefferson arrive at the theater and again at the end as Al and Jefferson are forced to watch "The Jeffersons Go To Hawaii".
  • "The Jeffersons Live Movin' On Up Tour" that Peg and Marcy buy tickets for is a reference to the "The Real Live Jeffersons", which was an actual touring stage production that reunited the main cast of The Jeffersons to reenact certain episodes in 1993.
  • Audio of George Jefferson and Florence Johnston talking about Geroge's jockstrap is heard.
    • The audio is from the Season 4 episode, "George and Louise in a Bind: Part 3".
  • After Al and Jefferson talk about the sports memorabilia at the new sports bar, Peggy asks them "..but will they have the door that George Jefferson slammed in the Willis' face", referring to Tom Willis and Helen Willis, an interracial couple whose relationship irks George at first, but he eventually learns to accept them.
    • Slamming the door in the face of person is apparently a habit of George's as Harry Bentley, the Jeffersons next door British neighbor, was a frequent victim.
    • This practice carried over to MWC where Marcy D'Arcy and various characters had a door slammed in their face throughout the series.
  • Jefferson applauds when Erik Estrada is announced as the the fill in actor for Ralph the Doorman. During the "Real Live Jeffersons Tour", the actor who played Ralph was not in attendance during rehearsals.
  • Peggy and later, Officer Dan and his officers can be seen holding up signs with Louise "Weezy" Jefferson's face.
  • Marcy mentions that the package they bought to see The Jeffersons Tour includes "a boxed lunch with both Lionels". This is in references to George and Weezy's son, Lionel Jefferson being played by actors Mike Evans during season 1 and then again in season 5-11 and Damon Evans during seasons 2-4.
  • At the end of the episode, Al screams in horror as he and Jefferson are forced to watch The Jeffersons marathon, starting with "The Jeffersons Go To Hawaii", which was a real four part episode from 1980, co-written by Moye.
• Al and Jefferson (as well as the entire bar) gets into a fight over who was in the first Miller Lite Beer commercial, arguing whether it was former NFL players, Bubba Smith or Billy Martin.
  • Although both of these athletes appeared in Lite Beer commercials in the 1970s, neither one of them were first. That honor went to ex-New York Jets fullback Matt Snell in 1973.
    • Bubba Smith and Billy Martin would later appear in Miller Lite commercials starting around 1977 and continue appearing in them into the 1980s.
  • Bubba Smith previously appeared on MWC as Al's rival "Spare Tire" Dixon in "All Night Security Dude" and later, as himself in "Dud Bowl".
  • The scene where half of the bar shouts out "Billy Martin" while the other half shouts back "Bubba Smith" before breaking out into an all out brawl is a reference to a series of Miller Lite commercial where people argue over whether the beer is liked because it taste great or is less filling.
• Kelly makes a reference to Beavis and Butt-Head, a popular cartoon series that ran on MTV from 1993 to 1997 and in 2011, then on the Paramount+ streaming service since 2022.
• Kelly mentions Nirvana, a grunge band associated with bringing the Seattle Grunge music scene to the mainstream in the early 1990s
  • The band would break up 5 months after this episode aired, following the death of guitarist / singer Kurt Cobain.
• Bud mentions Public Enemy, a hip hop group known for its politically charged lyrics and criticism of the American media. They had previously performed with former MWC guest, Anthrax.
• When Al talks to Joe Namath, he mentions that he had followed his career from the Super Bowl to "that pain ointment", referring to Flexall 454, a pain relief ointment that he was a spokesman for during the early to mid 1990s.
• Kelly ask Bud where is the guy who says "Dy-no-mite!" referring to actor Jimmie Walker and his catchphrase from the 1970s sitcom Good Times.
• Bud makes a reference to the 1970s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes by sarcastically calling it "Give Me A Stroke".
• Jefferson applauds when Erik Estrada is announced as the the fill in actor for Ralph the Doorman, and reminds the audience that Estrada was "Ponche" referring to his role as CHP Officer Frank "Ponch" Poncharello on the 1970s crime drama CHiPs.
• Al and Jefferson can be seen doing the "Icky Shuffle" after hearing about the new sports bar. The dance is named after NFL player Ickey Woods. They both do the dance again later at the bar.
• After Jefferson tells Al about the sports bar, they list off some memorabilia that will be there:
  • "Ali's gloves" - Professional boxer Muhammad Ali and his boxing gloves
  • "Mantle's spikes" - New York Yankees baseball player Mickey Mantle and his shoes
  • "Michael Jordan's putter" - Chicago Bulls basketball player Michael Jordan who had taken up golf at the time this episode was filmed.
• Later, at the sports bar, Al and Jefferson look over more sports memorabilia including:
  • "Shaquille's feet" - Orlando Magic basketball player Shaquille O'Neal and his shoe, the Reebok "Shaq Attaq" (now known as the "Shaq Attaq OG")
  • They then look at a giant handprint in cement and believe that it could belong to basketball player Wilt Chamberlain before finding out that it actually belongs to female tennis player Martina Navratilova.
    • Chamberlain was previously mentioned in the Season 6 episode, "My Dinner with Anthrax", when Jefferson tries to help Al prepare to have sex with Peg for their wedding anniversary.
• When Peggy puts on a "Weezy" mask and asks Al to guess who she is, he says "Patrick Ewing?", refereeing to the NBA player.
  • He was previously mentioned in "A Tisket, a Tasket, Can Peg Make a Basket?" as Peggy is shown playing with a "Patrick Ewing Groin Pull Doll"
• The organization that Al calls to confirm who was in the first Miller Lite commercial Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (often shortened to ATF), is a real federal law enforcement group that deal with issues such the selling of firearms, acts of arson and taxation of tobacco and alcohol.
• When Al is watching the television wall, he points out that one of the sporting events is "girls in bikinis wrestling in lettuce". The footage that is shown with the girls wrestling is in fact from a videotape called Foxy Food Fight that was shot in 1987 at the Whisky-a-Go-Go nightclub in Los Angeles.

Music

• "Movin' On Up" the opening theme song to the sitcom The Jeffersons is heard multiple times throughout the episode.

Locations

• Bundy Residence
• Performance Theater
• Bullpen Sports Bar

Sets

• Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
• Performance Theater Seating
• Bullpen Sports Bar Entrance / Dining Area / Television Wall

Goofs

• When Al and Jefferson are leading the sports bar in a vocal battle over who was in the first Lite beer commercial and its shown from an overhead view, a boom mic can been going across the upper left part of the screen.
• When Al and Jefferson first come into the sports bar, Al has the camera in his hand as they stop and look at the televisions on the wall. The camera then shows a close up of the "Girls in Bikinis Wrestling in Lettuce" television. When the studio camera cuts back to Al and Jefferson, Jefferson now has the camera in his hand and Al is clearly eating something as he talks, even though they were standing behind the chairs watching the televisions and not at a table with food.
• As Jefferson says that he would have put the bullet in the back of Al's head for him after comparing the sports bar to heaven, Al is shown from the back laughing and clearly saying something afterward, but it is muted.
• When the sports bar is first shown from an overhead shot, the camera shakes for a brief moment.
• When the sports bar is first shown, there is a brief clip of a man in a suit who is standing next to a guy playing the "Hoop Shoot" game. The next clip is Al and Jefferson arriving and the same man is now walking past them towards the game he was just at.
• When Peggy tells Bud (who is pretending to be Al) about the scene with George Jefferson and Florence talking about his jockstrap, she says that it was Florence who was holding up the jockstrap, before the audio beings. In the actual Jeffersons episode that the audio is taken from, George is the one holding the jockstrap after he was digging through the closet and came across his boxing shorts from when he was serving in the U.S. Navy.
• During the fight scene, an overhead shot is shown as Al jumps off from the bar counter and screams "I'll kill ya! I'll kill ya!". At the same time, a man in a light blue polo shirt and blue jeans is on the stairs grabbing onto a trashcan before falling down. The camera then immediately cuts to Jefferson getting attacked and the same man in the polo shirt is now resting on the wall by the staircase, while two men in sports coats are fighting further up the staircase. After that, it immediately cuts to Al, who is in the same spot that Jefferson was less than a few seconds ago, and is now surrounded by multiple guys, while the guy with the polo shirt that was at the staircase has disappeared altogether, and one of the men in the sports coat is now fighting a different person near the bar.