Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 2)

Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part II) is the fifth episode of Season 11, the second part of the two parter involving Al's car, and the 240th overall episode of Married... with Children.

Plot Synopsis

Al buries the Dodge in the backyard and has a funeral for it (complete with his buddy Ike playing the bagpipes) and leases a new sports car, the Testica 2000. However, the car is overly responsive, leaving Al on the roof when he tries to shut it off. Meanwhile, Peg, Kelly and Bud dig up the Dodge so they can sell the engine to a collector for $10,000, but ex-CIA operative Jefferson makes a quick trip to Cuba to ask a favor of his old nemesis, Fidel Castro: since there are so many old cars there due to the trade embargo, maybe one of them has a fuel pump that might fit in the Dodge. As it turns out, the fuel pump works, and so the car survives for another day, leaving the three without an engine to sell.

Jefferson and Castro, old adversaries...now working together.

Recurring Cast

• Harold Sylvester as Griff
• Tom McCleister as Ike

Guest Cast

• Rick Overton as Dr. Fisher
• Michael Sorich as Fidel Castro
• Gary Grubbs as Cal Stevens

Notes

Title

• The title of this episode is a pun on Requiem for a Heavyweight, a movie based on a story by Rod Serling and references the Chevrolet brand of cars, colloquially called "Chevy".
  • Two other MWC episodes share similar story titles, season 3's "Requiem for a Dead Barber" and season 10's "Requiem for a Dead Briard".

Trivia

• Al reveals that he had bought the car 25 years ago on a used car lot on route 12.
• Gary Grubbs, who plays Cal Stevens previously appeared on MWC as Delbert in the season 2 two parter, "Poppy's by the Tree (Part 1)" and "Poppy's by the Tree (Part 2)".
• The building used for Cal Stevens Motors was previously used in season 4's Oh, What a Feeling, as Scott N Gary Motors.
• The "Kiwi" featured is actually a real car. It's an electric vehicle from Norway called the Kewet El Jet that was first introduced in 1991.. As of 2000, the vehicle is now sold as the "Buddy".
• Al's shiny new "Testica" is actually a 1996 Ford Mustang.
• In this episode, Jefferson is shown to be on good terms with Fidel Castro and reveals to the Cuban leader was let go from the C.I.A. after failing to kill Castro as part of his assignment.
  • In the season 8 episode, "The D'Arcy Files", a man named Walter Traugott revealed that Jefferson had betrayed the U.S. government and sold classified information to foreign leaders. He then showed Al pictures that included Jefferson talking with Fidel Castro among other leaders.
• Ike has a brief cameo in this episode, but does not speak as he is playing the bagpipes.

Cultural References

• Cal Stevens' accent and fashion is based on used car salesman Cal Worthington, who was known for his chain of dealerships along the west coast and their commercials.
• Both Al and Fidel Castro refer to Marcy as "the kid from 'Home Improvement'.", a sitcom that ran on ABC from 1991 to 1999 and likely a reference to cast member Johnathan Taylor Thomas.
  • The show also featured former MWC guest stars Pamela Anderson and Debbe Dunning.
• After Jefferson shows a picture of Marcy to Fidel Castro and then remarks that he's staying with her because she has money and buys him things. Castro then chimes in "So did Russia and look what that got us.", referring to the relations that Cuba had with the Soviet Union that deteriorated after Soviet politician Nikita Khrushchev made an agreement to dismantle the missiles that they had given to Cuba earlier to defend themselves.
• When Fidel reveals that he still has plenty of old car parts on the island, he says "Damn trade embargo! Damn Kennedy! Damn Steve Allen!", in reference to:
  • The U.S. trade embargo against Cuba which prevented U.S. companies from doing businesses with or providing aid to Cuba and essentially banned direct commercial flights to the country.
  • John F. Kennedy - U.S. President who was involved with the Cuban Missile Crisis and the trade embargo.
  • Steve Allen was an American actor and talk show host. Al also made a seemingly random complaint about Allen in part 1 of this episode. The episode’s repeated jabs at him may be motivated by the fact that he sat on the board of the conservative Parents Television Council, which harshly criticized Married…With Children
• Jefferson promises to give Castro "America's greatest export" called SnackWells in exchange for helping with the old car part.
  • SnackWell's is a brand of healthy, fat free snack food that was popular during the early to mid 1990s.

Music

• Ike plays "Amazing Grace" during the burial of Al's car.
• Peggy sings an adaptation of the song "I've Been Working on the Railroad" called "I've Been Working in the Backyard".

Locations

• Bundy Residence
• Cal Stevens Motors
• Cuba

Sets

• Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
• Bundy Backyard
• Bundy Garage
• Cal Stevens Motors Car Lot / Showroom
• Fidel Castro's Office / Balcony

Goofs

• Jefferson goes to Cuba and gets a fuel pump for Al's Dodge. However, the trade embargo with Cuba went into effect in February 1962. Al drives a 1974 Dodge Dart, so the Cubans shouldn't have any post-1962 auto parts.
• Al claims that he got the car 25 years ago. As this took place in 1996, that would mean he bought it in 1971, but this would create some contradictions:
  • Al was born in 1948 (as his driver's license stated in "Un-Alful Entry"), so he would have been around 21 years old in 1971. Yet, he is shown to have owned the car while still in high school in the previous episode and it was also stated in several past episodes, such as "I Who Have Nothing" that he owned it while in high school. Someone born in 1948 would have likely graduated in 1966 at the age of 17-18 (unless they had been held back or were drafted into the military due to the Vietnam War).
  • Kelly was born in 1971, but Al already had the 1971 Dodge the night she was conceived, which, in the previous episode, showed that it happened the night he scored four touchdowns in a single game. That game would have taken place in November 1966.
• When Al "returns" the Testica to Cal, he watches out of the car window, but when he drives through the window of the shop in the next shot, the car window is up again.
• Al buries the Dodge in the backyard while Ike plays "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes; the piper is obviously not playing as his hands never move during the note changes.