Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part 1) is the fourth episode of Season 11, the first part of the two parter involving Al's car, and the 242nd overall episode of Married... with Children.
Directed by Gerry Cohen and co-written by Steve Faber and Bob Fisher, the episode originally aired on FOX on November 10, 1996.
Summary[]
With his beloved Dodge on its last legs, Al takes desperate measures to keep it alive. As he reminisces about the good times he had with the car, the rest of the Bundys are trying to find some buyers who'll take the remaining parts of the car once it passes on.
Plot[]
Al's beloved Dodge is starting to fade away. Through a frantic "emergency operation," Al manages to "stabilize" the Dodge's condition, but it still needs constant "life support". As he stays by its side and comforts it, he starts to reminisce about the car and how it is connected to his youth. As he talks to Peggy, he has a flashback which involved him talking with his father as they fix the car. He then warns the young Al to not let Peggy get her claws into him, though he assures his father that it won't happen because she worships him.
Back in the present day, a car specialist doctor named Dr. Fisher arrives to assess the Dodge's condition. Al is horrified upon learning that the fuel pump is in significantly bad shape. The doctor informs Al that the only way for the Dodge to survive is to get a "donor" gas pump to be "transplanted" into the Dodge. But Dr. Fisher also noted that it would extremely difficult to find one, due to the high value of Dodge parts, which gets the attention of Bud, Kelly, and Peggy. He then suggests that it might be better to take the car off of life support now and harvest the remaining parts while they are still lubed. The infuriated Al chases the doctor out of the garage, calling him a butcherer and "Jiffy Lube Reject".
While Peg, Kelly, and Bud agree to help Al find the part he needs, it turns out that they have ulterior motives. Knowing that the parts are quite valuable, the rest of the Bundy clan work the phones trying to find buyers across the world. Al soon begins to worry again about his life without the Dodge and tries to get Peggy to remember the good time they had in the car. He then has a flashback to the night he scored four touchdowns in a single game and took Peg to the drive-in movie theater, which also became the night Kelly was conceived, due to Al using the same condom twice.
Kelly, at a young age
Jefferson stops by and offers his condolences, along with an air freshener. He then tries to convince Al to move on and get a new car. Bud then informs Al that there is a chance he can get the pump in Cuba, though it would impossible, due to the trade embargo. Still determined to keep the car alive, Al reminds the family that the car is still part of the family. He then reminisces about the early 1970s, particularly about the incident where a Japanese car cut him off and he had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting it. The incident turned young Kelly, an intelligent bookworm, into an airhead marveling at her "shiny, shiny shoes" after she hit her head. Peggy suggests that Kelly give baby Bud one of her rubber dollies to play with, which neither Peggy nor Al thinks will be a negative influence on him in the future.
After learning that a buyer from Germany is willing to pay $5000 for the Dodge's engine, Peg tries to convince Al to let the Dodge go and die with dignity. Just as Peggy threatens to "kill" the Dodge herself, the car lets out one last burst before it suddenly flatlines, indicating that it has finally passed on. Al drops to the floor and weeps, wishing that it was him (or Peggy) instead of the Dodge, before blaming the car's passing on her. As the rest of the Bundys leave the garage to celebrate, Al shuts the engine hood one last time and urges the car to drive towards the light.
Guest Cast[]
- Rick Overton as Dr. Fisher
- Cliff Bemis as Al's Dad
- Hannah Swanson as Young Kelly
Quotes[]
- [As Bud and Kelly fighter over a sample box of breakfast cereal in the living room, Al, covered in grease, runs out of the garage]
- Al: [panicking] Kids, we have an emergency!
- Bud: An emergency? What is it?
- Kelly: An unforeseen circumstance that calls for immediate action, but that's not the point right now.
- Al: Come on! The love of my life's in trouble!
- Bud: [concerned] Oh my God! Something's wrong with Mom?
- Kelly: [gasps] Oh, my...!
- Al: No, you idiot! It's the Dodge! Hurry! [the group run towards the garage]
- Dr. Fisher: Mr. Bundy?
- Al: Yes?
- Dr. Fisher: I'm Dr. Fisher, the specialist.
- Al: Oh, thank God you're here, doctor!
- Peggy: Doctor?
- Dr. Fisher: Yes ma'am, Doctor of Automotive Engineering, Quaker State. [turns to Al] I'll need to see her chart.
- Al: Oh, yeah. [grabs a chart near the engine hood ] See, here. Her air-to-fuel ratio is 180 over 90.
- Dr. Fisher: Hmmm... That's a little high.
- Al: [becomes emotional, grabs the doctor's arm] Is she going to be all right, doctor?
- Dr. Fisher: Yes, I'm sure she'll be fine.
- [The doctor begins to look under the hood, as Al slowly walks over to Peg]
- Dr. Fisher: [extremely concerned] Oh, dear God!
- Al: What? What?
- Dr. Fisher: It's exactly what I feared, Mr. Bundy... The fuel pump.
- [Al lets out a loud gasp while clutching his chest]
- Dr. Fisher: What have you fed her?! She has the hoses of a car with twice her mileage!
- Al: [regretful] Well, I didn't always buy her the best gas when she was young.
- Dr. Fisher: [puts his hand on Al to comfort him] Don't blame yourself. If we only knew then what we know now about octane.
- Bud: There's a rumor that the fuel pump you need is in Cuba. Good luck getting it out of there.
- Al: [bitterly] Damn Castro! Damn Khrushchev! Damn... Steve Allen!
- Bud: Dad, what... what... what's Steve Allen got to do with it?
- Al: Nothing. [shrugs] Just... It's that I just hate him.
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a pun on Requiem for a Heavyweight, a movie based on a story by Rod Serling and references the Chevrolet brand of cars, colloquially called "Chevy".
- Two other MWC episodes share similar titles borrowing from the film’s, season 3's "Requiem for a Dead Barber" and season 10's "Requiem for a Dead Briard".
Trivia[]
- Amanda Bearse (Marcy D'Arcy) does not appear in this episode.
- The post-teaser scene featuring Al, Kelly and Bud in the garage trying to save the Dodge was presented in the FilmLook format, an image processing effect developed in 1989 by the Burbank, California-based post-production company of the same name. The process deinterlaces videotaped material (recorded at 60 frames per second), alters gray scale/contrast and creates simulated grain patterns to produce a faux film effect on the video product (usually at 29 fps, although some parts of that scene are also rendered at 25 fps).
- Cliff Bemis, who plays Al's dad in the flashback, previously appeared on MWC in the season 2 episode "The Great Escape" as the Termite Boss.
- Although cast as Al's dad, Bemis is actually only two years younger than Ed O'Neill. who appears with Bemis in the flashback scene as a teenage Al.
- After saving the Dodge, Al mentions that he'll have to dig into the college funds, which upsets Bud as he mentions that he just graduated.
- In the season 7 episode "The Old College Try", it was mentioned that Al and Peggy did start a college fund for Bud, but it barely had anything in it until Bud's grant money was accidentally deposited into it.
- Bud, in fact, had graduated near the end of season 10 in "Bud Hits the Books".
- This episode does not end with an epilogue.
- It revealed in this episode that Kelly was conceived in Al's Dodge the night he scored four touchdowns in a single game after his condom broke. In several past episodes, it was stated that she had been conceived in the Dodge, but not exactly when.
- Some say Al’s Dodge is part of the Bundy Curse. Al’s life was ruined when he got this car.
- During Al's flashback to when he and Peggy went to the drive-in theater, she mentions that she had fallen asleep during home economics.
- In the season 4 episode "Peggy Made a Little Lamb", it was revealed that Peggy didn't graduate from Polk High as she had failed home economics and is forced to retake the class alongside Kelly. She is also seen napping during class.
Cultural References[]
- The opening scene with Al, Kelly and Bud trying to save the car as if they were in an operating room spoofs the 1994–2009 NBC medical drama series ER.
- After Bud cries out about Al wanting to perform a gasket massage, he reassures Bud by telling him that he saw it once at Pep Boys, an automotive retail chain that provides items for cars as well as automotive repair.
- During the flashback, Al is confused when his dad asks for a screwdriver, both the tool and the cocktail of the same name, made with orange juice and vodka.
- Al mentions that he is going to see the British band The Rolling Stones on their farewell tour with Peggy.
- The farewell tour is likely a reference to bands like the Rolling Stones who have often claimed to be doing a farewell tour only to come out with new material and tour a few years later.
- Dr. Fisher reveals that he received his doctorate from Quaker State, which is the name of a motor oil brand.
- When Al is taking to the car doctor about a new pump and the doctor tells him it would be nearly impossible to find one, Al shouts at him "Oh yeah, if it was Larry Hagman's car, you'd find a donor pump". This was a reference to actor Larry Hagman, who underwent a liver transplant in 1995.
- After Al kicks Dr. fisher out, he calls him a "Jiffy Lube reject!", in reference to the chain of auto repair shops that specialize in oil changes.
- Al mentions Lee Iacocca, who was the CEO of the Chrysler Corporation (the manufacturer of Dodge and Plymouth automobiles) and was responsible for reviving the brand in the 1980s.
- He had been referenced on the show in season 6's "Al Bundy, Shoe Dick" and season 8's "Nooner or Later".
- When Al sees Bud on the computer, he finds a printout and asks him why does he have a picture of "Pamela Lee naked on a slip-n-slide".
- Pamela Lee is a reference to actress and Playboy Playmate, Pamela Anderson, who at this time was married to drummer Tommy Lee and went by "Pamela Anderson Lee". She had guest starred in two episodes of MWC during season 5.
- Slip 'N Slide is a children's toy that consist of a long plastic sheet that, when watered properly, allows kids to slide on it.
- When Kelly is on the phone with someone in Zurich, Switzerland wanting to buy the pistons for 1000 Francs, she confuses the currency of Switzerland with franks, a slang term for frankfurters or hot dogs.
- When Bud reveals that the part Al needs for the Dodge is in Cuba, he grumbles "Damn Castro! Damn Khrushchev! Damn Steve Allen!"
- Castro is in reference to Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
- Khrushchev is in reference to Soviet politician Nikita Khrushchev, who was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis that eventually led to the U.S. placing a trade embargo on Cuba.
- Steve Allen was an American actor and talk show host, best known for being the co-creator and first host (from 1954–57) of NBC’s pioneering late-night talk/variety show The Tonight Show. In the next episode, Fidel Castro also made a seemingly random complaint about Allen.
- The two-part episode’s repeated jabs at him may be motivated by the fact that he co-founded and sat on the board of the conservative media advocacy group, Parents Television Council (despite Allen being a registered Democrat and having liberal viewpoints on other topics), which harshly criticized Married… with Children, calling it “the crudest comedy on primetime television” in 1996 and placing it at #1 on its list of the “Top 10 Least Family Friendly Shows” of 1996 and 1997.[1][2][3]
- Kelly elaborating on the word "emergency" and its definition is a possible reference to the 1980 film Airplane!, which used a similar joke format several times throughout the movie.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Al's Childhood Home
- Drive in Movie Theater
- Country Road
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Bundy Garage
- Al's Childhood Home Garage
- Dodge interior / Drive-in Theater / Country Road
Goofs[]
- Al notices that Bud has a printout and says it is "Pamela Lee naked on a slip-n-slide". In several shots, it is clearly not the actress nor a naked model on a Slip 'N Slide. It is in fact one of the Big 'Uns magazine covers that features a woman in gold striped bikini kneeling on an orange sheet. It is the most commonly seen cover on the show and can be seen in the next episode where it was modified for Cub'Uns.
- In this episode, it is revealed that Kelly was conceived the night Al scored four touchdowns. This contradicts her giver birth year of 1971, as Al would have graduated from high school around 1966.
- This would also contradict Al's story in "Top of the Heap", in which he told Charlie Verducci that both Kelly and Bud were conceived at home when he was trying to watch the television series, Get Smart, although that show ended in May 1970, more than a year before Kelly's given birthdate of November 1971.
References[]
- ↑ MARRIED WITH CHILDREN — 10 FACTS ABOUT THE GROUNDBREAKING SITCOM. Great Entertainment Television. Retrieved on July 22, 2024.
- ↑ ‘Married… With Children’ animated reboot with original cast in the works. WFTV9 (May 14, 2022). Retrieved on July 22, 2024.
- ↑ Organization History. Parents Television Media Council. Retrieved on July 22, 2024.