For Whom the Bell Tolls is the seventh episode of Season 2 of the FOX sitcom Married... with Children, as well as the 20th overall episode in the series. Written by Richard Gurman and Katherine Green, the episode was directed by Linda Day and premiered on FOX on October 25, 1987.
Synopsis[]
The Bundys struggle with not having phone service after Al refuses to pay for a phone call to Canada. Al is also furious about the crime light installed in the neighborhood which shines on his face at night.
Plot[]
To be added.
Cast[]
Regular Cast[]
- Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy
- Katey Sagal as Peggy Bundy
- Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy
- David Faustino as Bud Bundy
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy Rhoades
- David Garrison as Steve Rhoades
- Buck the dog as Buck Bundy (uncredited)
Quotes[]
- Peggy: Now Mom, just because the kids don’t write, doesn’t mean they don’t love you. [pauses] Oh, they told you they didn’t love you? Well, they didn’t mean it. You know our kids. You know, I’m sure if you sent them some money, they’d love you.
- Al: Pig Latin, Peg? It must be your mother. Tell her I said 'oink'.
- [Al sits down and goes over the phone bill with the family]
- Al: Wait a second! Wait!... Vancouver?! 80 Dollars?! Kelly?!
- Kelly: Oh sure, all eyes turn to me! Well, let me ask you this: If I did know someone in Vancouver, don't you think I'd be living with them and not here?!
- Al: True enough! Bud?!
- Bud: America first, Dad!
- Al: How about it, Peg? Your mother gotten so fat she’s spread across the border?
- Peggy: Al, I did not call Vancouver. And Mom is down to nearly 200.
- Al: So nobody called Vancouver? Okay, it’s a mistake. I'm not paying for mistakes. I've been doing that since the day I got married.
- Peggy: Well, you know, there's still some things we can do for free. You know, like dust off Mr. Van Winkle and bring him over for a visit. Sex, Al.
- Al: Great, the one thing I would pay for.
- [Bud comes down the stairs as Peg folds the laundry]
- Bud: [loudly] Hi mom!
- Peggy: [folding a dress shirt] Hi, honey.
- Bud: [yelling] What!
- Peggy: [annoyed after realizing what's going on] What'cha been doing?
- Bud: [yelling] What!
- Peggy: [yelling] Bud, you’ve been listening in on Kelly’s call, haven’t you? You remember what I told you about that?
- Bud: [yelling] Yeah, you said 'be careful, she's got a whistle now'. [pulls on his ear and plugs his nostrils to hear again]
- Marcy: I was on the telephone taking messages for your family. Peggy, your mother called. [removes a yellow sticky note and puts its on her chest] Peggy, your mother called. [removes a yellow sticky note] Peggy, your mother called. [removes a yellow sticky note] And Peggy, Dial-a-Stud called. They wanted to know if you were okay and to tell you Juan is back. [Peggy giggles with excitement]
- Kelly: [emerges from the top of the stairs] A-Anything for me?!
- Marcy: [checks her pad] No.
- Kelly: [sadly] Oh... [walks back to her room]
- Peggy: Hi Mom. What do you want?
- Steve: Your recipe for raisin bread.
- Peggy: Tell her to get a fresh loaf of bread, a box of raisins and a hammer.
- Peggy: Al, why don't you just break down and pay the phone bill?
- Al: I'm not giving in! Nobody every died because they didn't have a telephone.
- [Kelly is sitting on the staircase, clutching the phone to her face and silently crying while rocking back and forth]
- Al: Kelly! Would you go upstairs?! You're depressing us! [Kelly slowly gets up and goes upstairs while still crying and holding the phone]
- Peggy: We want a phone, Al!
- Al: Hmm, I want a life! Good luck to us all!
- [Steve arrives at the Bundy residence and announces that he has one more message for them]
- Kelly: [runs downstairs while praying] Please God! Let it be for me!
- Steve: Its for Peggy.
- Kelly: YOU LIE! ITS FOR ME! [stomps and breaks down]
- Peggy: [runs over to hug Kelly] Oh-ho, she's been under a lot of stress lately.
- Kelly: [looks at her arms] Oh my God!... Who put these bugs on my arms?! [Peg pats her on the head as she begins frantically scratches her arms]
Notes[]
Title[]
- "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a novel by Ernest Hemingway, as well as part of a line from a sermon by John Donne.
Trivia[]
- When Al walks in, Peggy speaks Pig Latin to her mother on the phone. Pig Latin is a form of verbal code in the pseudo-English language in which one must simply remove the first letter of a word, place it at the end and add '-ay'.[1] So when Peggy says "Al just alked-way in the oor-day" it simply translates to "Al just walked in door."
- Al says that Peg's mom is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This would imply that Wanker County is within or close to Milwaukee County, where the city is actually located.
- The scene with Kelly standing in the kitchen and blowing a whistle into the phone would later be used in the opening credits for Seasons 1 and 2 of the U.S. syndicated version.
Cultural References[]
- Peggy tells her mother that she could not watch You Be the Judge, a television game show, which aired on New York City television WCBW in the 1940s.
- Al mentions that he had to listen to the muzak version of "Muskrat Love" while trying to talk to the phone company.
- "Muskrat Love" is a 1972 soft rock song originally written and performed by Willis Alan Ramsey, but is mostly commonly associated with the 1976 pop cover version by Captain and Tennille.
- In the Season 5 episode, "The Godfather", Al mentions that he had to listen to the muzak version "Muskrat Love" while City Hall placed him on hold when trying to talk to the Mayor about the pot holes in front of his house. The song is also mentioned by Marcy in the Season 8 episode "A Tisket, a Tasket, Can Peg Make a Basket?" when she and Jefferson plan to go see "Captain and Tennille, Unplugged".
- Muzak (also known as "Elevator Music") is a type of instrumental background music played on elevators/lifts or when someone is placed on hold during a phone conversation.
- "Muskrat Love" is a 1972 soft rock song originally written and performed by Willis Alan Ramsey, but is mostly commonly associated with the 1976 pop cover version by Captain and Tennille.
- Peggy mentions Mr. Van Winkle, a character from the short story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving, in which he falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains and wakes up 20 years later, having missed the American Revolution.
- Peggy mentions Columbo, the main character in the detective crime drama series Columbo, whose trademarks include his relentless investigative approach.
- In 1973, Katey Sagal starred in an episode of Columbo titled "Candidate for Crime" as a secretary.
- During his talk with Bud, Al mentions that American used to have slogans like "Don't Tread on Me", "54-40 or Fight", and "Tippecanoe and ...somebody too" of which are political slogans:
- "Don't Tread on Me" is a slogan from the Revolutionary War and is often associated with the Gadsden flag.
- "54-40 or Fight" is a slogan that was often associated James Polk during the U.S. Presidential Election of 1844, though came much later from a different source. Its meaning referred to Oregon boundary dispute, with "54-40" meaning 54°40′, an area that was disputed between the United States and what was then the British Colonies, during America's westward expansion. This eventually became the U.S.-Canadian Border
- Polk High School, where the Bundys attended is named after James Polk.
- "Tippycanoe and somebody too" is actually "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", which was a campaign song used by the Whig party during the U.S. Presidential elections of 1840. Tippecanoe in this case refered to The Battle of Tippecanoe in which Whig candidate and eventual winner of the election, William Henry Harrison served as Governor.
- Al later compares himself to U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, though mistakenly connects him with the Boston Tea Party and the Salem Witch Trials.
Locations[]
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room/Kitchen
- Al & Peggy's Bedroom
Goofs[]
- Peggy tells her mother that she could not watch You Be the Judge that day because she was watching the men outside putting up the crime light. Another reason she would not have been able to watch it is that she is referring to a television game show, which aired on New York City television WCBW in the 1940s. As there was no live television recording methods when the show aired and therefore, no preserved episodes, it would have been impossible for Peg to watch it in the 1980s.
- When Al is in bed and the new crime light is shining in through the window, Al asks Peg to switch with him. All he had to do was get up and close the curtains for the window. Yet, for some reason, the curtains that are normally there are missing the entire episode. The curtains were clearly there in the previous episode and can be seen in other episodes.
- At the end, when Al is on the couch and the light is shining in on him, he is shown as if he had no other way to avoid it. Yet, all he had to do was lay down on the other side with his feet toward the door, as the light only reached that one particular end of the couch.
Links and References[]
References[]
External Links[]
For Whom the Bell Tolls at the Internet Movie Database- For Whom the Bell Tolls on Bundyology
- For Whom the Bell Tolls - Transcript on albundy.net
- #19 For Whom the Bell Tolls - MWC Podcast on Horrorphilia
