Get the Dodge Outta Hell

Get the Dodge Outta Hell was the 16th episode of Season 9 of Married... with Children, also the 199th overall series episode. Directed by Gerry Cohen, and written by Larry Jacobson, the episode originally aired on FOX, premiering on February 5, 1995.

Synopsis

Al's Dodge mysteriously disappears during a family visit to a local car wash while on their way to Wanker county. Meanwhile, Marcy's ex-husband Steve Rhoades mysteriously reappears at the car wash to show her his new life while she is trying to get the lazy Jefferson to work there.

Storyline

On their way to Wanker County, the Bundys and the D'Arcys stop at the car wash, where Al can't find his car as Marcy makes Jefferson apply to get a job there; they also run into Steve Rhoades, Marcy's ex-husband once again, who pretends to be a big-shot businessman but turns out to be a chauffeur instead. The Dodge is finally located and is discovered to be red after all the brown dust was washed off, and Al suddenly remembers that he did in fact buy a red and not a brown car. And inside the trunk is an issue of Big 'Uns—with an old picture of Al and his family taken outside their home that he hid inside for safekeeping (it seems that Al really does love his family after all). Michael Faustino guests.

Recurring Cast/Regulars

• Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
• Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
• Buck the Dog as Buck Bundy
• Harold Sylvester as Griff

Guest starring

• David Garrison as Steve Rhoades
• Ian Gomez as Employee #1
• Rick Batalla as Employee #2
• Pierre Gonneau as Mr. D'Player
• Michael Faustino as Mikey

Notes

Title

• The title of this episode is a reference to the saying "Get the Hell outta Dodge", meaning to get out as quickly as possible. It superficially refers the town of Dodge City, Kansas, which was a wild frontier town of the Old West and featured in many cowboy / western themed films.
  • This episode also share a similar title to the season 8 episode, "Get Outta Dodge"

Trivia

• Mikey, the car wash manager, is played by Michael Faustino, the real life brother of David Faustino.
• This episode ended with Al holding a promotional picture of MWC from 1987 and the on-screen caption: "For Your Emmy Consideration, Thank You Very Much."
  • Married... with Children never won an Emmy during its production run, even after 200 episodes.
• David Garrison makes his 2nd guest appearance as Steve Rhoades in this episode.
  • The audience didn't expect David Garrison to appear on the stage and went mad with cheers and applause. David makes fun of this long applause by checking his watch before the applause died down.
• The name of the car wash in this episode is "Traugott's House of Scrubbin'", which was also the name of Walter Traugott, the man looking for Jefferson in season 8's "The D'Arcy Files"
  • The second part of the name "House of Scrubbin'" is likely a nod to House of Buggin', a short lived Latino-themed sketch show that ran on FOX from January to April 1995.
• Ian Gomez, an actor best known for his roles in sitcoms such as The Drew Carey Show and Cougartown appears in this episode as the car wash employee who informs Al about the Dodge going missing.
  • He also starred in the WB drama series Felicity with Keri Russell, who later appeared on MWC as April Adams in "Radio Free Trumaine".
• Marcy comments to Steve "I though you were out in the desert protecting the wildlife and performing 'Guys and Dolls' with your little cactus friends". This was an inside joke as David Garrison departed the series during the fourth season to do theater, which included a touring production of 'Guys and Dolls' as well as his previous guest appearance as a wildlife ranger.
  • This is also a reference to "Peanuts" character Spike. He is the most prominent of Snoopy's brothers in the strip. Among his activities is talking with his little cactus friends. Spike lives in the Needles, CA area which is a barren desert.
• As Al goes through the car wash an Intellivision II can be spotted in the store.

Cultural References

• Marcy comments to Steve "I though you were out in the desert protecting the wildlife and performing 'Guys and Dolls' with your little cactus friends", in reference a short story by Damon Runyon, which also inspired the 1955 film and musical.
  • David Garrison had in fact starred in the touring production of Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit between 1992 and 1994.
  • It was also the inspiration for the season 2 episode, "Guys and Dolls" where Steve and Al go look for Marcy's Barbie doll after they sold it.
• While at the car wash, Al picks up a cassette called "Ned Beatty Sings the Blues", a reference to American actor Ned Beatty, who was best known for his role as Bobby Trippe in the 1972 film, Deliverance (a film which Ed O'Neill is often mistakenly believed to also appeared in)
• Steve asks Marcy where Jefferson is and wonders if he is watching Richard Bey, referring to the daytime talk show, The Richard Bey Show which ran from 1992 to 1996.
• After Al tells Peggy "I want my Dodge, dagnabit!", Mikey mocks him and asks "What did you do? Get the 'Hooked on Phoneics Yosemite Sam' tapes?"
  • Hooked on Phonics is a commercial brand of educational material that teaches children how to read through phonetics.
  • Yosemite Sam is a WB cartoon character, depicted as a cowboy with a southern accent who is known for his short stature but aggressive attitude and red hair. He typically served as an adversary to Bugs Bunny.
• After Bud wonder how the car could have disappeared, Kelly tells him "Well Siegfried and Roy make that tiger disappear", while Al says "Well, we all know where that goes!".
  • Siegfried & Roy were a German-American duo of former stage magicians and entertainers who became known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers.
• Steve mentions that he is driving a Lincoln Town Car a full size luxury sedan.
  • Al previously test drove a Lincoln Town Car in the season 7 episode, "Old Insurance Dodge".

Locations

• Bundy Residence
• Walter Traugott's House of Scrubbin'

Sets

• Bundy Living Room
• Walter Traugott's House of Scrubbin' Store / Detailing lot

Goofs

• Al's Dodge is revealed to be the color red, which Al confirmed that was the color when he bought it. Yet, five years earlier when Al purchased apparently that same used Dodge vehicle in season 4's Oh, What a Feeling, the color of the Dodge was brown. Before that, the Dodge he owned from season 1 until was blue.
  • When Al goes to the trunk of the Dodge to see if anything was missing, you can see clearly the original color of the car - a dark gold/bronze that had been used since season 4.
• After checking the lost and found, Kelly says she found a nice Plymouth, which Al replies, "I don't want a Plymouth, I want my Dodge, dagnabit!" In reality, the car serving as Al's Dodge is a Plymouth Duster.
• Al goes through the car wash, getting sprayed, waxed and partially dried. When he emerges from the wash and employees are hand-drying him, his jacket and head are still wet, yet his dress shirt and pants are totally dry.
• When Peggy and the kids walk outside to start looking for the car, part of the studio lights and studio equipment can be seen reflecting off of the glass on the door.
• When Mikey belittles Jefferson after being caught in the bathroom, Michael Faustino appears to break character and smiles while calling Jefferson "Mr. Ivy league pervert in the bathroom looking up women's skirts" .