Johnny Be Gone is the thirteenth episode and season finale of Season 1 of the FOX sitcom Married... with Children, as well as the 13th overall episode in the series. Written by Katherine Green and Richard Gurman, the episode was directed by Linda Day and premiered on FOX on June 28, 1987.
Synopsis[]
The closure of Al's favorite burger joint sets the clock ticking but he and Peg can't make it there until they solve Bud and Kelly's problems, and deal with Marcy, who is trying to impress her bosses and using the Bundys' fridge for storage.
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[]
- [Al walks towards the middle of the living room with Kelly clinging onto him]
- Al: Honey, I know how you're feeling right now. But look... [moves Kelly aside] things aren't as bad as they seem. Even nerds get married... look at Marcy! [Marcy is sitting on the couch in a towel next to Buck and trying to fix her fish plate with her bare hands]
- Kelly: Great. That's just how I want to spend my life... sitting there in my natural hair color, fondling a dead fish.
- Kelly: Now look, you guys go on and have a good a time. I'll be ok. If I'm going to be a nerd, fine! I can deal with it. In fact, I'll start practicing right now.
- [Kelly sticks her upper teeth out and skips to the kitchen where Marcy is fixing her fish plate]
- Kelly: [mockingly] Read any good books recently, Mrs. Rhoades?
- Marcy: [smiling, unaware of Kelly's mockery] As a matter of fact, I have. It's called The Living Planet.
- Kelly: Would you kill me with it, please?!
- Bud: Nice to spend these father-son moments together, Dad.
- Al: [looking at the instruction booklet] Shut up, I'm trying to read! Oh great, this is Japanese. Oh, here we go. [turns the booklet over] Er, "Achtung hier hat der kab". These aren't instructions, it's the history of World War Two. [opens the booklet] Ah. Here it is, er, "Attention, vous avez". Oh hell. More people we should have killed! Where's American? Er, here it is, here it is. "Battery check before to put cable on be sure".
Notes[]
Title[]
- The episode title refers to the departure of Al and Peggy's favorite burger joint Johnny B. Goode's.
Trivia[]
- It is revealed that Peggy and Al met at Johnny B. Goode's (when they were in high school).
- Al calls Marcy a "chicken" for the first time.
- The towel Marcy is wearing when her dress is in the dryer reads "Come 'n Go Motel". It is one of the towels Al and Peggy stole when they stayed at the Come 'n Go Motel in Married... without Children and as Al mentions also his favorite.
- The first instructions for Bud's car that Al reads out loud are supposed to be German but make no sense.
- The second line, which is in French, is "Attention, vous avez...", which would translate in English as "Watch out, you have..."
- Peggy mentions that she got Woolite as a gag gift for her birthday. Woolite is a brand of laundry detergent.
- This episode takes place in real time from start to finish in one continuous scene, an experiment which was only repeated ten years later in The Desperate Half-Hour (Part 1).
- This is a "bottle episode", an episode with limited cast and sets produced due to limited budget. The entire episode takes place in the Bundys' living room, with only the main cast appearing and no other characters (save for some voices heard on the radio).
- On the Season 9 special, My Favorite Married, David Faustino mentions that this was one of his favorite episodes.
- Kelly implies that she is naturally a brunette after Al tells her that even a nerd like Marcy can get married.
- Marcy reveals that was hosting her dinner part for the Takahashi brothers in order to get the managerial position at Kyoto National Bank, which would then allow Steve to have her current position at The Leading Bank of Chicago.
- It is confirmed later in the Season 2 episode, "If I Were a Rich Man" that Marcy did get the new managerial job and Steve got her old position.
Cultural References[]
- The burger joint is named after the song "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry.
- After Marcy finds out that her pink dress has shrunk, she sarcastically remarks that she "should put on go-go boots and sing Nancy Sinatra songs!".
- Go-go boots are a type of fashion boot worn by Go-go dancers of the 1960s.
- Nancy Sinatra is a singer, who is best known for her cover version of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" in 1965. The song is associated with promoting go-go boots.
- She is also the daughter of singer, Frank Sinatra, who sang the MWC opening theme song, "Love and Marriage", among his other hits.
- Bud mentioned that old men around him sang Beach Boys songs as he stood in line for the Johnny B. Goode's tickets.
- The Beach Boys is an American rock band who became well known in the 1960s for their beach and surf themed music, such as "Surfin' U.S.A." and "I Get Around" (which was later used in the Season 4 episode, "Oh, What a Feeling")
Locations[]
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room/Kitchen
Goofs[]
- After Peggy bends down to help Marcy get up, her necklace moves up to her neck so it is hanging down her back rather than her chest. In the following shots it continues to switch back and forth until she tells Kelly "If they were really your friends, they would have invited you."
- Bud had put the batteries into a radio to check if they work. Later he gives the batteries back to his father to have them inserted into the remote control for a radio controlled model car. After Al tests the car the radio sounds again - without batteries.
- When Al gives Peggy the tickets and tells her to go by herself, her arms are clearly folded across her chest. The camera immediately cuts to a close up of her and it appears that her hands are now on her waist instead, as she has to bring right hand up instead of across to touch his hand and tell him that she won't go without him.
- As Al gives Peggy the tickets and tells her to go by herself, he pulls it out of his shirt pocket and presents it to her with his right hand. When the camera does a close up of Peggy's reaction, the ticket is now in Al's left hand.
External Links[]
Johnny Be Gone at the Internet Movie Database- Johnny Be Gone on Bundyology
- Johnny Be Gone - Illustrated Transcript on albundy.net
- #13 Johnny Be Gone - MWC Podcast on Horrorphilia
