Kelly's Gotta Habit is the third episode of Season 11, and the 241st overall episode of Married... with Children.
Directed by Amanda Bearse and co-written by Laurie Lee-Goss and Garry Bowren, the episode originally aired on FOX on October 12, 1996.
Summary[]
In order to secure an acting gig for a olive oil brand made by nuns, Kelly has to sign a morals clause, which requires that she remain chaste. This proves to be a difficult task, until she learns some tips from Peggy. Meanwhile, Al hears that Officer Dan is appearing in Al's favorite TV show Cops and blackmails him to become his partner.
Plot[]
With Bud as her agent, Kelly auditions for an olive oil commercial dressed in a nun's habit. Sister Benedicta, who is overlooking the proceedings, believes Kelly isn't pure enough to represent the brand - a suspicion proven correct when Kelly immediately makes passes at her male coworker. Bud convinces Sister Benedicta that Kelly is chaste, and Kelly must sign a morals clause to prove it.
Kelly has a hard time upholding the clause, but thanks to her mother's advice, she blocks out her urges by taking up pottery. This isn't enough, however, and Kelly soon breaks down and flirts with the cab driver who drove Sister Benedicta back to the Bundy house. The flirting becomes a full out party at the Bundy residence, forcing Sister Benedicta to rip up the contract. She refuses to hire any of Bud's numerous clients until Bud comes up with the perfect candidate for the commercial - his mother. But, even Peggy can't control herself during her audition, costing the Bundy family $20,000.
Meanwhile, the Bundys are robbed and Al's prized bowling shirt is amongst the items taken. Al finds out that Officer Dan is going to be on COPS, his favorite show. He convinces Dan to bring him on the ride-along, which eventually gets interrupted by a burglary in progress at the D'Arcy house. After destroying the D'Arcys' living room, he tracks the burglar back to his own house and apprehends him. Al is a hero - until another officer arrests Al for impersonating a cop and hauls him away with the burglar.
Recurring Cast[]
Guest Cast[]
- Nancy Linari as Sister Benedicta
- David Pressman as Mike
- Peter Kerr as Cab Driver
- Terrence Flack as Real Cop
- Bryan Rasmussen as Burglar
- Gerry Lock as Old Lady
- Lewis Dauber as Sketch Artist
- Bert L. Cook as Cab driver #2
- Tina Yothers as Herself
Quotes[]
- [Al and Jefferson are watching the FOX television show, COPS, in the Bundy living room]
- Singers: Bad boys, bad boys! Wha'cha gonna do? Wha'cha gonna do when they come for you? Bad boys, bad boys! Wha'cha gonna do? Wha'cha gonna do when they come for you? [fades out]
- Al: Man, I love COPS.
- Jefferson: Yeah, definitely the best show on FOX.
- Al: Yeah, like that's saying much. [he and Jefferson both chuckle] The American justice system at work. Beating the crap out of people before judges let them go. Almost makes me want to pay taxes.
- Jefferson: Or vote. [they both burst into laughter again] ..vote. Hahaha!
- Al: You know, I could have been a great cop. Well, with my catlike reflexes and keen senses...
- [As Al continues talking, the camera widens, revealing that Peggy is bound and gagged by the study desk, as a criminal thief is stealing several items from the house]
- Al: I got eyes in the back of my head, you know.
- Peg: [muffled, struggling to break free] Hey Al! Looook!
- Al: [yelling] Peg! Peg! Could you keep it down?! We're trying to watch TV, here!
- [Just then, "Love and Marriage" , the opening theme song to MWC begins to play. Al and Jefferson point to the television set and nod.]
- Jefferson: Do you believe that show is still on the air?
- Al: [shrugs] It's a classic. I love it... Except for the stupid neighbors.
- Jefferson: Hehe, yeah.
- [After the Bundys were robbed, Officer Dan is talking to Al and writing down the information]
- Officer Dan: Okay. For your insurance report, we got you down for a bowling shirt, a Maserati, and a Picasso.
- Al: Make that two Picassos. Write one down for yourself.
- Officer Dan: [smiling] Hehe. Thanks, buddy.
- Al: Hey, and uh, speaking of "objects de art", I'll see you at the Jiggly Room on Saturday. [points to Dan, smiling then clicks his tongue and winks]
- Officer Dan: [frustrated] I can't go. I'm on duty.
- Al: [upset, stands up] What do you mean you can't go?! If you're not there, we can't do the strip searches!
- Officer Dan: I know. But that stupid show COPS is following me around.
- Al: [in awe] COPS? You're gonna be on COPS? It's my life's dream to be on COPS.
- Officer Dan: But, Al, I work alone. [pauses] You lose three partners in a week and suddenly nobody wants to ride with you.
- [After dispatch informs Al of a robbery at the D'Arcy residence, he decides to take Mike the cameraman and the car and speed off, leaving Officer Dan behind to continue eating his donuts. Upon arrival, Al kicks their door open and fires shots into the living room as the phone rings.]
- Jefferson: [v.o., on the answering machine] Hi. This is Jefferson. [Al fires a single bullet into the machine]
- Marcy': [v.o., on the answering machine] And Marcy. [Al fires several more rounds]
- [Marcy and Jefferson are heard running down the staircase. Marcy is wearing green silk pajamas while Jefferson is wearing only red boxers. Both have rope around their hands and are covered in some sort of white creamy foam]
- Marcy: Officer?! Officer?!
- Jefferson: [pus his hands up] Don't shoot!
- Marcy: We just saw the burglar right next door.
- Mike: [v.o.] You mean he tied you up and smeared you with marshmallow fluff? Oh, that is sick.
- Marcy: [realizes she is on camera, talks stiffly] ...Yeah.
- Jefferson: [awkwardly] The... pervert.
- Marcy: [recognizes Al] Al?! Is that you? Why are you dressed...?
- [Al quickly pulls out his stun gun and uses it on Marcy, shocking her and causing her to drop]
- Al: [stiffly, as he awkwardly walks towards Mike with the stun gun in his hand] She was hysterical. Clearly needed to be subdued.
- Mike: [v.o., concerned] Yeah, whatever you say, chief. This is gonna look great on COPS.
- Jefferson: Wait a minute. You mean, I'm gonna be on TV all covered in fluff? [grabs Al's stun gun and shocks himself]
- Al: Our work here is done. Let's go get that punk.
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the 1986 film, She's Gotta Have It and a religious habit, the clothing worn by the members of a religious order. In this case, a nun's religious habit, as Kelly tries out to play a chaste nun for a commercial.
- Habit may also mean the more literal definition of a person being addicted to something or doing some something on a regular basis without thinking about it, (i.e. "Kelly's got a habit"). In this case, it could refer to Kelly's habit of being promiscuous and sleeping with random men.
Trivia[]
- This originally aired as a cross-over from the FOX reality series COPS, with Al and Jefferson watching the end credits to the show airing before "Married with Children" and making references to events in that show's episode.
- At the time this episode originally aired, COPS had been a long time staple of FOX's Saturday night programming airing at 8pm, while MWC had moved to Saturday nights at 9pm at the beginning of season 11.
- The closing scene with Tina Yothers is edited out of ViacomCBS reruns, as is the part of the cold open with Al and Jefferson commenting on Married with Children still airing while the "Love and Marriage" instrumental plays over the TV.
- The handgun Al uses when he invades Marcy and Jefferson's house is a Beretta 92FS.[1]
- Actress Tina Yothers make a brief cameo as herself during the epilogue, revealing that she is one of Bud's clients.
- As of 2020, this was Tina Yothers final credited acting role, although she still continues to make guest appearances on talk shows and reality television programs.
- Bert L. Cook, a production crew member on MWC play the second cab driver in the red shirt and black hat who refuses to take Sister Benedicta back to her hotel.
- When Kelly puts her arms up after Officer Dan kicks the Bundy's front door in, you can see Christina Applegate's ankle tattoos on both legs.
Cultural References[]
- Bud tells Sister Benedicta that Kelly has an offer from the Jehovah Witnesses to be their next "Watchtower Girl".
- The Watchtower is an illustrated magazine published by Jehovah Witnesses.
- Sister Benedicta mentions that she could tell Bud stories about Mother Teresa a nun who was known for her charity work, but had also been criticized for things that she had done.
- She passed away less than a year after this episode originally aired.
- Kelly (and later, Tina Yothers) reveal that they played Pebbles and Dino in the production of Flintstones in the Park.
- Flintstones in the Park is a reference to the Shakespeare in the Park festivals, where productions of William Shakespeare's plays are done on an outdoor stage instead of an indoor theater, and the cartoon series, The Flintstones.
- Pebbles Flintstone is the daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone and Dino was a dinosaur who served as the family's pet dog.
- During Al's attempt to convince Officer Dan as to why Al should be his partner, his list off famous duos from cop shows:
- While sitting in the car, Al grabs the speaker and says "Car 54, where are you?" a reference to the NBC sitcom of the same name than ran from 1961 to 1963 that focused on the life of 2 cops from the Bronx.
- Al later makes references to police dramas Hawaii Five-O ("Floor it, Danno!") and Hill Street Blues ("Let's be careful out there.").
- When Kelly works with clay in the kitchen, she was able to make:
- Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy
- Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
- Washington Monument in Washington D.C.
- When Sister Benedicta arrives and sees Kelly molding clay, she mentions that she and the other nuns make dozens of elongated shaped ceramics and she had sent the Pope one of hers made in the shape of the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.
- When Bud and Sister Benedicta sort through other head shots, she rips up the one featuring actress Tina Yothers. After his dismay, Bud claims she was the best thing on Family Ties, while Sister Benedicta says that she preferred Skippy.
- Family Ties was an NBC sitcom about parents who were hippies during the 1960s and now are raising kids in the conservative 1980s. It ran from 1982 to 1989.
- Tina Yothers played the youngest daughter, Jennifer Keaton, on the show, while Skippy is in reference to Irwin "Skippy" Handelman, the family's nerdy neighbor who is friends with the oldest child, Alex Keaton, and had a crush on the oldest daughter, Mallory Keaton.
- Both David Faustino and Christina Applegate appeared on Family Ties in the early to mid 1980s, while Tina Yothers would later appear as herself at the epilogue of this episode.
- After Al captures the burglar and the cameraman for COPS sees the party at the Bundy residence, he say that he thinks he can sell "Nuns in an Orgy" to Hard Copy.
- Hard Copy was an American syndicated tabloid show that ran from 1989 to 1999.
- One of the show's hosts, Terry Murphy, previously appeared on MWC as herself in the season 9 premiere, "Shoeway to Heaven".
Music[]
- "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle plays as Al and Jefferson watch the end of COPS.
- "Love and Marriage" by Frank Sinatra plays after COPS has ended.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Chicago P.D. Patrol Car
- Downtown Chicago
- Elder Woman Residence
- Rhoades/D'Arcy Residence
- Commercial Sound Stage
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Chicago P.D. Patrol Car
- Elderly Woman's Front Yard
- Johnson's Market Exterior / Downtown Chicago Sidewalk
- D'Arcy Front Yard / Living Room
- Extra Extra Virgin Olive Oil Commercial Set
Goofs[]
- When Peg says she just finished her painting, its obvious that its a brand new paintbrush that had not even been used yet.
- When Al accidentally fires off the shotgun in the squad car, it ends up going through the roof of the car and killing a spotted owl, Yet, when the car is shown later in a wider shot, there is no visible damage to the roof.