Requiem for a Dead Briard

Requiem For A Dead Briard was the 3rd episode aired in Season 10 of Married... with Children and the 212th overall series episode. Directed by Gerry Cohen and written by series co-creator Michael G. Moye, the episode originally aired on FOX, premiering on October 1, 1995.

Synopsis

Buck the dog dies; in Heaven, he is sent back to Earth, reincarnated as the Bundys' new dog, Lucky!

Summary

The family and the D'Arcys arrive home after burying Buck (for $1,200, which makes Al cry), and Peggy advises Al to not be so insensitive to Kelly about Buck, as she was the closest to him. However, after Al brings up replacing Buck's old stuff, Kelly cries out against the idea. Jefferson comes up with an idea to get a new pet from a friend who smuggles in pets (and porn), though Al wants to get a pet for a cheap price.

To replace Buck (and to spend as little as possible), Al gets an ant farm, a gold fish, and a moth. Kelly rejects all three do to not being able to do things that Buck did, like taking Buck out for a walk, scratching behind his ear, and teaching him to pee in Bud's shoes. Jefferson and the others arrive with a cockatoo, who apparently knows over 250 words and costs $1,000. Kelly likes the bird after it calls her pretty, and she names it him Tweedy.

A day later, the family is arriving home with food for Tweedy, when they find his cage empty. It seems he flew out, into the upstairs section of the house. Al runs up to find that Peggy's mother ate Tweedy. Kelly cries out, now not wanting any animal, just Buck. Marcy comes up with an idea to give Kelly closure, by contacting Buck from the dead with Father Guido Sarducci, who claims to contact spirits.

Meanwhile, Buck is animal Heaven, explained to him by Thomas (a man dressed up as a chicken there due to human error), where it will be decided if Buck will be reincarnated in his choice, and Buck wants to be an eagle. The judge turns out to be a cat, who is particularly harsh on Buck's history with cats (most notably the total amount of cats ran up under the wheels of a Mack truck: 197), as the cat goes to find an appropriate sentence.

Sarducci attempts to join the spirit, and after a few mishaps, Al tells him to lie and tell Kelly that Buck will be fine. He breaks through and tells Kelly to move on and get a (cheap) dog, along to share herself with others. Lastly, he tells here to give him a hug, a kiss, and a tummy rub, and Kelly does only the first two before Al convinces (by threat) Sarducci to say the spirit is gone.

Suddenly, a magical beam appears in the middle of the coffee table, with a puppy inside. It turns out to be Buck, reincarnated as a dog once again. Kelly decides to name him Lucky as he realizes in horror that he is in care of the Bundys once again.

The episode ends with the following note:

"Dedicated to Buck the dog.
Who with this episodes begins
a well earned retirement and
hopefully a nice gig at stud.
We'll miss you, buddy.
Lift a leg.
- The Producers."

As the credits begin, a picture of Buck is shown on the coffee table, just like in the opening.

Recurring cast/character regulars

• Buck the Dog as Buck Bundy
• Lucky the Dog as Lucky Bundy

Guest starring

• Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci
• Kathleen Freeman as Peg's Mom (voice)
• Kevin Schon as Felix D. Katt/Mouse Lawyer (voice)
• Roger Rose as Tweety/Bailff (voice)
• Ben Stein as Thomas

Notes

Title

• The title of this episode is a play on the 1978 novel Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby, Jr.
  • This is also the second episode that plays on Requiem for a Dream (along with "Requiem for a Dead Barber" and followed later by "Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 1)" and "Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 2)")

Trivia

• This episode marks the final appearance of Buck Bundy and the first of Lucky Bundy.
  • Buck the dog, who played Buck Bundy, was retired from the show at his trainer, Steven Ritt's request, as he already reached the age of 12 (as the average lifespan of a briard is about 10-12 years) and it was getting hard for him to distinguish hand signals at a distance.
  • Buck the dog passed away on May 28, 1996, about 9 months after filming this episode.
• After Peggy says that she could have had any man on the Polk High Panthers football team, Al states that she did in fact have everyone on the team. Al had previously referenced this in "It's a Bundyful Life (Part 2)", when Peggy Jablonsky mentioned that she saved herself for marriage. Al then quips that the football retired her jersey and then asks "I mean, what kind of guy would marry her if she wasn't putting out?!".
• Father Guido Sarducci, the priest who leads the séance, is a fictional character who originated on Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s and has appeared in various films and television shows throughout the years, with the latest being The Colbert Report in 2010.
• This is the first episode where the official website scrolls in the credits, telling viewers to check out MWC at the Sony website.
• Buck mentioned in "Kids! Wadaya Gonna Do?" that he expected to live until he was 13. He was approximately 9 years old when he said that, and since this episode takes place five years later it seems as if he lived to the age of 14, one year longer than he expected.

Cultural References

• After seeing the bill for the funeral, Al mentions Egyptian ruler King Tut and how he was buried with his wives for less than Buck.
• Al calls his mother-in-law as "Free Willy", in reference to the 1993 film of the same name.
• While mourning for Buck, Kelly says "Buck! Wherefore art thou, Buckeo?". This is a reference to a line said by Juliet Capulet from the tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.
• The name of the judge preceding over Buck's case, Felix D. Katt, is a play on the cartoon character Felix the Cat.
• The lawyer for Buck, Ira Mousekewitz, may be a reference to Feival Mousekewitz, the young mouse from the animated film An American Tail.
• After seeing the judge and his defense lawyer, Buck says "Houston! We have a problem!", which is taken from the 1995 historic space film Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard.
  • Ron Howard's parents, Rance Howard and Jean Speegle Howard, as well as his brother Clint Howard, have guest starred on MWC, as recently as "And Bingo Was Her Game-O". All three also appeared in Apollo 13.
• After Al sarcastically quips about going back to town for a hernia operation and asking if anyone else wants 100 pounds of something, his mother-in-law says "Jujubes".
  • Jujubes is a type of fruit flavored gummy candy.
• Thomas comes out with a roll call sheet and says "Bundy?... Bundy?... Buck Bundy?". This is a nod to Ben Stein's character from the 1986 comedy film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
  • In that film, Stein played a high school economics teacher who calls out "Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?" in a slow, deadpan style to a group of bored students.
• While confronting his mother-in-law about eating Tweety, he mentions that the bird was able to do an impression of actor Marlon Brando.
• After getting frustrated with Peggy and the speed of the séance, Al refers to Father Sarducci as "La Toya", in reference to La Toya Jackson.
  • La Toya Jackson is a singer and television personality and sister to pop star Michael Jackson. At the time this episode originally aired, she was serving as a spokesperson for the Psychic Friends Network after previously appearing in Playboy. By the mid 1990s, her career had dwindled and she was often designated as the "Black Sheep" of the Jackson family.
  • La Toya and her psychic abilities were previously mentioned by Bud in the season 9 episode, "Business Sucks (Part 1)".

Music

• An instrumental version of "Amazing Grace" is heard at the very beginning of the episode.

Locations

• Bundy Residence
• Heaven

Sets

• Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
• Heaven

Goofs

• Al says that King Tut was buried with his wives. In realty, King Tut had only one wife and it is believed that she was buried in a separate tomb.
• When Al is telling the family that Peg's mother had eaten Tweety you can see Ed O'Neill is struggling not to laugh he takes a pause for a second when he grips the railing to stop from laughing.