Luck of the Bundys is the fourth episode of Season 8 of Married... with Children, also the 161st overall episode of the series. Directed by Tony Singletary and writen by Richard Gurman, the episode originally on FOX, premiering on September 26, 1993.
Synopsis[]
Al is worried that his and his family's sudden string of good luck will come to a screeching halt because nothing good can ever come from being a Bundy. Finally everything goes wrong and Al is happy.
Storyline[]
Based on the advice of her horoscope, Peggy buys a new dress. She then reads Al's horoscope to him: "Good luck's a-comin'!" Al is unhappy with this revelation, knowing that any good luck that comes his way will be countered by bad luck—"the Bundy curse."
Things start turning around for Al. Attractive women enter his shoe store all day long, Kelly gets a job as the Verminator, and Bud gets into a college fraternity. The kids will be leaving the house! Jefferson wants in on the run of luck and gets Al to play poker, promising him that he can buy a new big-screen TV with his winnings. Sure enough, Al wins every hand against Jefferson's former prison mates. Jefferson then convinces everyone to play one more hand—the guys' cars (three in total) for the money Al has taken from them, winner take all.
Al is dealt a royal flush and discards four cards, believing that his luck is too good and will come back bite him. He gets new cards and ends up with four aces instead—another winning hand! Just then, Officer Dan and his fellow cops barge in and break up the illegal poker game. It turns out that they ran the plates on the cars out front and found out they were stolen. The owner those cars after his big win? Al.
The cops pocket the poker money. As Al is taken away in handcuffs, he asks one of the officers to turn on the TV. A newscast reveals that a motorcycle stunt Kelly tried as the Verminator ended up setting Bud's fraternity house on fire; she had been temporarily blinded by a photo taken by Peggy. The weather report then says that the weather is clear and balmy—except for a storm cloud over one unlucky person's house. As Al is taken outside to the squad car, it starts to thunderstorm.
Al's Luck[]
Good
- Kelly gets a new job as the Verminator that will allow her to move out of the house.
- Bud gets accepted into a fraternity and will be able to move into the frat house. He also had to clean the toilets with a toothbrush and used Peg's, even though he thought he took Al's.
- Only attractive women came into the shoe store.
- Al hit all green lights while driving to and from work.
- The songs played on the radio were ones Al liked.
- A police officer pulled Al over for a broken tail light and gave Al his tail light to replace it.
- Al won every hand in poker game organized by Jefferson. The final hand included the other players' cars (a Mercedes-Benz, a BMW and a Porsche) and Al exchanged a Royal Flush and ended up with 4 Aces.
Bad
- The police arrested everyone involved in the game due to the wagered cars all being stolen.
- The trio point to Al as being the owner of the stolen cars.
- Kelly was blinded by Peg's camera flash and crashed her motorcycle into Bud's fraternity house, causing it to burn down, and since she had no insurance Al would have to pay for the damages.
- Bud's fraternity house was damaged by Kelly's motorcycle stunt and he will have to move back home for the semester.
- The police took all of Al's poker winnings so he couldn't use them to pay for said damages.
- Al gets struck by (individually targeted) lightning as he's being taken to jail.
Guest stars/Recurring[]
- Cast regulars
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck as Buck Bundy
Guest starring []
- Tom LaGrua as Weasel
- Lee Arenberg as Sal
- J.J. Johnston as Louie
- Dan Tullis, Jr. as Policeman
- Sean N. Sickner as Policeman #2
Quotes[]
- Peg: Look, my horoscope says, "Buy a new dress. You are about to embark on a new and unique undertaking". Isn't that great?
- Al: Well, the "undertaking" part has a kind of a nice ring to it... But Peg, I don't believe in horoscopes.
- Peg: And yet you believe in a nineteen year-old in Playboy pouring honey on her tush is really interested in saving the environment.
- Al: Hey, I never said I believed her, just that I supported her and loved her very much.
- Jefferson: Anyway, Al, I've been a little worried about this lucky streak you've been having. I'm afraid it might wear off before I've had a change to take advantage on it.
- Al: Hells bells, we can't have that!
- Jefferson: [pats Al's shoulder] Agreed. So, naturally I just... [looks around the room] happen to know a few well heeled rubes who are always in the mood for a little poker game. [gestures dealing cards in a poker game]
- Al: Oh, that's a good idea. I better check my cash reserve. Or maybe I better call my broker: E.F. Nuttin'.
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of the episode is a reference to the idiom, "Luck of the Irish", which is used to denote that those of Irish heritage are inherently lucky as Irish culture is often associated with good luck items, such as leprechauns and four leaf clovers.
- It is also playing on the fact that Al Bundy is experiencing a lucky streak in his otherwise cursed life.
Trivia[]
- After Al mentions that he loved and supported a 19 year old Playboy Playmate who wanted to help save the environment while pouring honey on her tush, someone in the audience can be heard yelling "Yeah, Al!"
- Kelly reveals that she lost her waitress job in the episode.
- After Bud arrives home to tells his parents about joining a fraternity, someone in the audience can be heard yelling, "Yeah, B!"
- After Bud mentions that he will be spanked in public for his pledge initiation, Al tells Peggy that once Bud is arrested, then all four Bundys will have now been arrested for indecent exposure.
- Al explains to Peggy about the Bundy Curse.
- Al says that he was 18 years old when he scored his famous four touchdowns in a single game and that his good luck made him the greatest player in Polk High School history. His bad luck came in the form of meeting and marrying Peggy.
- Lee Arenberg, who plays Sal, previously worked with Katey Sagal on Tales From the Crypt.
- This was J.J. Johnston's second appearance on the show. He previously played Happy in the Season 1 episode, "Where's the Boss?".
- The Bundy Curse is over at the end of the episode and the Bundy bad luck returned.
Cultural References[]
- Peggy mentions the men's magazine Playboy after Al says that he doesn't believe in horoscopes. She points out that he is willing to "...believe in a 19 year old in 'Playboy' pouring honey on her tush is really interested in saving the environment".
- Peggy calls Al "Magoo" after trying to convince him to hear his horoscope. This is a reference to the cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, a man who suffers from near-sightedness but is too stubborn to admit his problem.
- Al was previously called "Magoo" in the season 6 episode, "If I Could See Me Now" after he is forced to wear eyeglasses.
- Kelly explains to Al that her being a local mascot can eventually lead to greater things , "Like Michael Jackson before he became Diana Ross". This is in reference to the pop singer and his constantly changing appearance over the years.
- Kelly tells Al that she was not to tell anyone on what was in the cookies by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, a federal organization that was meant to foster the development of atomic science and technology, but was officially dissolved in 1975.
- The agency that would take over atomic research would be the U.S. Department of Energy which was formed in 1977.
- Kelly tells Al that "With a little luck, I could be a dancing fruit inside someone's underwear", likely referencing the underwear brand Fruit of the Loom.
- When Marcy and Jefferson visit Al, Al tells Jefferson "Don't look now, but something followed you home from El Pollo Loco!". El Pollo Loco is a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in Mexican-style flame grilled chicken.
- The restaurant would be referenced again in "Torch Song Duet"
- Sal owns a Hello Kitty keychain. Hello Kitty is a fictional character who serves as the mascot for the Japanese company, Sanrio.
- After seeing Al's lucky hand, Jefferson runs out and screams "I'm going to Disneyland", an advertisement slogan used by the Disney park resorts.
Locations[]
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
Goofs[]
- Al indicates that his birthday is two months after Peggy's, which, since Peggy's birthday is mentioned to be in April in Every Bundy Has a Birthday, means that Al's would be in June. Then Peggy tells him his zodiac sign is Cancer which would mean it has to be after June 21. However, this conflicts with the episode Un-Alful Entry, where his birthday is given as November 7, 1948 on his driver's license.
- Kelly mentions that the diner was shut down by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, but that group was officially dissolved in 1975, 18 years before this episode took place.
- Al tells Jefferson "Don't look now, but something followed you home from El Pollo Loco!". El Pollo Loco is a fast food chain primarily based in California and several southwestern states, but did not have any locations in the Chicago area at the time the episode was filmed. So it would be rather odd for Al to reference a fast food chain that is based in California and the southwest.
- The chain did not actually open any restaurants in the Chicago area until 2004, some 10 years after this episode aired, but all of those locations had closed by 2012.
- When the officers uses a battering ram to open the door, it can be heard bouncing after it is dropped and the officers run inside. Battering rams are made of a hard heavy material and would not bounce several times when dropped like the one in the episode did.
- When the battering ram is used to open the door, it is dropped outside. Yet, as Al, Jefferson and the trio leave the house, the battering ram is now inside and propped up near the front entrance.