NO MA'AM is the 9th episode of season 8 of Married... with Children, also the 166th overall series episode. Directed by Tony Singletary and written by Larry Jacobson, it premiered on FOX-TV on November 14, 1993.
Synopsis[]
This episode revolves around NO MA'AM, Al's anti-feminist organization. After women are given their own bowling night and the Nudie Bar is turned into a women's coffeehouse, Al organizes a group called NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood) and face off against a talk show host (played by real-life talk show host Jerry Springer) known as "The Masculine Feminist."
Storyline[]
Al and his friends all get fed up with the women taking over their night at The Jiggly Room by having it turned into a coffee house as well as their bowling night, which becomes Women's Bowling Night, thanks to both Jerry Springer, who hosts a feminist-friendly local talk show called The Masculine Feminist, and Marcy, who like Peg, is a devoted watcher. Anyhow, Al and his buddies form a secret organization called NO MA'AM and hold Jerry hostage in his own show in an audience filled with men wearing the NO MA'AM shirts. They intend to perform television's first "sexorcism", which includes them forcing him in watching hours of pro-wrestling! They'll also force him to wear a stinky, yellow undershirt and a pair of boxers with the words "It's All Me" until the women who took over their Jiggly Room and their bowling night comply with their demands.
Recurring Cast/Regulars[]
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck the Dog as Buck Bundy
- E.E. Bell as Bob Rooney
- Dan Tullis, Jr. as Officer Dan
Guest stars[]
- Jerry Springer as Himself
- John Mariano as Pete
- Trip Hamilton as Jim
- Steve Susskind as Barney
- Chris Latta as Roger (As Christopher Collins)
- Harriet C. Leider as Velma (as Harriet Leider)
- Ingrid Berg as Waitress
- Lisa Boyle as Bubbles Double Dee
- Timothy Omundson as Bartender
- William Palmieri as Guy #1
- Frank Noon as Guy #2
Quotes[]
- [After telling his family and Marcy why he came home early on his bowling night, Al gets up off the couch after seeing the phone number for the Masculine Feminist's viewer hotline]
- Al: Well, believe you me, this outrage shall not go unavenged!
- Marcy: Al, don't you think women deserve....
- Al: NO! [picks up the phone and aggressively dials the number to the Masculine Feminist show]
- Peg: Just don't embarrass us, honey.
- Jerry Springer: [sitting on a chair with the number "555-7272" displayed on the screen] Is the caller there?
- Al: Al Bundy here!
- Bud, Kelly, Peggy: Too late!
- [Al has decided to call Jerry Springer on his viewer hotline to complain about how he lost bowling night]
- Al: Now listen here, Jerry. Bowling is a man's sport. If God had wanted women to bowl, he would have put their breasts on their backs so we would have something to watch while waiting our turn.
- Jerry Springer: And where are you calling from, sir? 1952?
- [Marcy turns to point and laughs at Al]
- Al: I wish. Ike was in the White House, women were in the kitchen, and you were in the closet.
- Jerry Springer: And you forgot to mention where you were, sir. I suspect in a zoo someplace throwing your feces at a passing tourist.
- Al: Once again, I wish.
- [Marcy has arrived at the studio and taken the microphone from Al. She beings walking and talking while looking directly into the camera]
- Marcy': Now, about your demand to not talk during sex? The only reason we ask you to is so that we know when you're finished. [stops to turn and look at Al]
- Al: Oh, yeah?! Well... [pauses while thinking of a comeback] YOU'RE A CHICKEN!
- [The NO MA'AM members in the audience cheer]
- Marcy': And if it's true we spend so little time in the kitchen, then how come you spend so much time in the bathroom?!
- Al: Because... Because... [pauses while thinking of a comeback] YOU'RE A CHICKEN!
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the group Al and his friends start, NO MA'AM.
Trivia[]
- Jerry Springer, who plays a fictionalized version of himself in the episode, was known at the time for hosting his own talk show, The Jerry Springer Show which aired in syndication from 1991 until 2018.
- In contrast to The Masculine Feminist, his show mostly deals with topics such as people cheating on their spouses or revealing deviant behavior, with the audience often getting involved as well. Springer played the straight man in contrast to the rambunctious guests and audience members.
- Springer would later play another fictionalized version of himself in the 1998 film, Ringmaster.
- This is the debut episode of the group NO MA'AM, which stands for "National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood".
- Out of all the members there, Barney is Al's oldest friend, as he has appeared on MWC since season 1.
- Out of all the members in this episode, only Jefferson and Bob Rooney would continue to appear in the group as regular members. Barney and Roger would appear in one more episode ("The Legend of Ironhead Haynes") and this was the only appearance of Pete and Jim.
- This is the only episode featuring the Five Demands that the group presents.
- Lisa Boyle, who plays Bubbles Double Dee, would later appear on MWC as Kelly's high school friend, Fawn.
- Bud asks Kelly what can she spell when they try to find a new last name. She then says that she can spell "Cat" and insist they look in the "K" section of the phonebook. Earlier in the season 5 episode, "One Down, Two to Go" Kelly is shown trying to spell "Cat" during the "Daddy's Little Girl" montage, but ends up spelling it as "Kat".
- This episode is the first "officially" credited appearance of Officer Dan. Although Dan Tullis Jr., who plays the character, has appeared on MWC as a Chicago PD Officer since season 5 (and a Chicago Sheriff in season 4), he was not officially credited as "Officer Dan" until this episode.
Cultural References[]
- At the beginning of the episode, Kelly mentions actor Christian Slater and that he would be showing off his bare backside to the United States due to the fact that its sweeps month.
- At the time, Slater was a teen heartthrob/bad boy actor. It may also be a reference to several films in which Slater did actually show off his bare buttocks, such as the 1986 film The Name of the Rose.
- "Sweeps Month" as Kelly mentions refers to 4 particularly crucial months for television networks (November, February, May and July), when the Nielson ratings are measured. November is considered one of the most important months, as it allows the networks to determine which new shows that debuted in September would continue on or be cancelled. The networks would go all out to make it the most watched month by featuring blockbuster films debuting on television and celebrities brought in as guests star to help boost the ratings. [1]
- Coincidentally, this episode aired in November and along with the two episodes that followed (Dances with Weezie and Change for a Buck) featured celebrities such as Jerry Springer, Joe Namath and Cheech Marin.
- After Peggy and Marcy sit down, Kelly points out that they were watching the President speak, before Peggy notices Christian Slater's bare backside and comments that jogging has really done him some work.
- This is in refence to then-U.S. President, Bill Clinton, who was an avid jogger and would go running in public areas for both health reasons and to connect with people, making it difficult for the Secret Service to protect him.[2]
- In his introduction, Jerry Springer mentions that he wants to "apologize on behalf of all men for the disgusting way Burt has mistreated Loni" causing Peggy and Marcy to say "Woof! Woof! Woof!" while pumping their fists in a circular motion. He then says "Good move, Burt. And uh, 'Cop and a Half', good movie too."
- "Burt" and "Loni" are in refence to actors Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson who were married from 1988 until 1994. At the time this episode originally aired, they were in the process of separating after he claimed to have fallen love with a cocktail waitress.
- Peggy and Marcy's reaction are taken from the late night talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, in which his audience would use that to cheer on Arsenio Hall and his guests.
- Cop and a Half was a 1993 buddy-cop film which starred Burt Reynolds as a detective partnered with an 8 year old child to help solve a murder. The film also starred Tom McCleister who played Al's friend and NO MA'AM member, Ike starting in season 9.
- The product that Jerry advertise, "I Can't Believe It's a Tampon" is a parody of the butter substitute spread, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.
- After Jerry asks if Al was calling from 1952, Al says "I wish! Ike was in the White House, women were in the kitchen and you were in the closet!"
- "Ike" is a reference to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower who used the nickname "Ike" and served from 1953 until 1961.
- Actually Al is partially correct as "Ike" was President-Elect in 1952. The outgoing President was Harry S. Truman who is most famous for scoring an upset victory over Thomas E. Dewey in the previous election in 1948.
- "Women were in the kitchen" refers to women prior to the 1960s and second wave feminism, who often chose to become stay-at-home wives/mothers instead of joining the workforce. As such, they would be expected to manage and maintain the household by cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids, while the husband earned the money to support the family and would expect dinner to be ready by the time he arrived home from work.
- Staying "in the closet", as Al claimed that Jerry did back in 1952, is a metaphor used to indicate that someone does not want to reveal that they are gay to their family, friends, and/or co-workers out of fear of being ostracized.
- "Ike" is a reference to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower who used the nickname "Ike" and served from 1953 until 1961.
- When Al and his friends are looking at a newspaper to see which movies are playing, the one he found is called Where, Oh Where is the Mayflower Man and noted that it stars Glenn Close and William Hurt.
- The Mayflower refers to Mayflower Transit, a moving company known for its green and yellow color scheme.
- After commandeering the Masculine Feminist set, one of the audience members is seen wearing a rainbow wig and has a sign that reads "John 3:16" on his chest. This is in reference to Rollen Stewart a popular fixture at sporting events during the 1970s and 1980s, known for his rainbow colored afro wig and holding up signs that read "John 3:16" to spread his message about Christianity, until his arrest during a standoff in 1992.
- He was previously referenced by Bud in "Proud to Be Your Bud", when he starts hearing a voice and asks himself if that is how the "Rainbow Wig Guy" got started.
- One of the demands that NO MA'AM mentions is for women to stop talking about Fabio, referring to Italian-American model and actor Fabio Lanzoni who often goes by the mononym, Fabio. At the time this episode originally aired, he was best known for appearing on the cover of various romance novels. Shortly after this episode aired, he became a spokesman for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, a brand that was parodied in this episode.
- While trying to find a new last name to take in the phonebook, Peggy and Bud point out "Berkowitz" and "Borden". Both of those names are references to serial killer David Berkowitz (known as the "Son of Sam") and murder Lizzie Borden.
- Coincidentally, the Bundys also share the same last name as serial killer Ted Bundy.
- Al ask Bubbles Double Dee on her thoughts about Roe V. Wade, the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 that allows a woman to have an abortion, but she believes it to be a boxing match and offers to have dinner with whomever wins the match.
- After Al suggest that lactating mothers get a dairy farmer instead having their own "lactation lounge" at the bowling alley, Marcy says "Quiet, Klingon!" referring to the fictional species from the Star Trek franchise.
- Jefferson says: "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." This references Dorothy's line from The Wizard of Oz (1939).
- The specific way Jefferson holds his hand up to indicate Demand number 4 when talking about the Five Demands is similar to the hand gesture made by wrestling team, The Four Horsemen. [3]
- NO MA'AM the episode and group are most likely inspired by The Three Stooges short "Women Haters."
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Television Studio
- The Nudie Bar / Coffee House
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Bundy Garage
- The Masculine Feminist Set
- The Nudie Bar / Coffee House Performance Stage
Goofs[]
- After Jerry asks if Al was calling from 1952, Al says "I wish! Ike was in the White House, women were in the kitchen and you were in the closet!". While "Ike" (the nickname of Dwight D. Eisenhower) was elected President of the United States in November of 1952, he did not actually take office until January 20, 1953.
- After Al pleads for the rest of the family to help him during his arrest, the Bundy's front door is shown wide open and a tumbleweed rolls on into the empty house. If one looks closely, the head of the person throwing the tumbleweed into the Bundy's house can be seen peaking through the doorframe before they toss it in.
- Around the 4 minute and 35 second mark, the flash from an on-set photographer's camera can be seen very briefly on Al's bowling shirt.
References[]
- ↑ November Use To Be Filled With Blockbuster TV Programming. What Happened?. Forbes (November 9, 2021). Retrieved on July 2, 2023.
- ↑ Bill Clinton's Running Habit: A Secret Service Nightmare. U.S. News (February 29, 2012). Retrieved on July 2, 2023.
- ↑ The 15 coolest Superstar hand signals