Reverend Al was the 4th episode aired in Season 10 of Married... with Children and the 215th overall series episode. Directed by Gerry Cohen and written by Kim Weiskopf, the episode originally aired on FOX, premiering on October 8, 1995.
Synopsis[]
When the beer tax increases, NO MA'AM is not able to afford good beer. To make some money and gain tax-exempt status, NO MA'AM becomes a church, with Al as the reverend. Peg buys gifts for herself for her birthday and asks the kids to give it to her. Marcy exposes them, but guys across the country support him and send him $10 each. They hold a function to collect more money and Al address all. He then loses all when his news of wooing Peg comes out.
Storyline[]
There is a problem in NO MA'AM land as a beer tax forces the group to go with a cheaper beer. But Ike provides a way around the tax when it is reveled that his marriage is declared legal. The reason is because "Reverend Flashback" is a qualified minister. As a result, Al and his friends declare NO MA'AM to be a church with Al as the reverend. This enables the group to purchase everything tax free. When Marcy and her women's group FANG expose Al's plan to the public, NO MA'AM surprisingly receives sympathy and donations from thousands of long-suffering married men in America, including a man named B. Clinton, which makes it possible for them to open their church. Al becomes a televangelist and preaches the NO MA'AM way of life. However, Marcy and her group finally get the church shut down when she reveals slides showing Al enjoying a birthday date with Peggy.
Recurring cast/character regulars[]
- Lucky the Dog as Lucky Bundy
- Harold Sylvester as Griff
- E.E. Bell as Bob Rooney
- Tom McCleister as Ike
- Teresa Parente as Miranda Veracruz de la Hoya Cardinal
Guest starring[]
- Benjamin Lum as Sticky
- Andrew Craig as Splib
- Rob Skyler as Mail Carrier
- Dot-Marie Jones as Dot
- Harvey Blanks as Congregation member
- Prince Hughes as Archimedes
- Lisa Marie Scott as Halla
- Jeanine Michelle as Luyah
- Kevin Curran as Voice of Lucky (Uncredited)
Quotes[]
- Al: Now, last meeting, we argued about which Big 'Uns centerfold was sexier, July or August. We couldn't decide, so we ripped them out put them down our pants, and danced around. Then we each drank about 30 beers. Now, wait a second. That's how we started the meeting.
- [Al and the rest of the NO MA'AM members laugh]
- Griff: [laughing] That's the only reason we had the meeting.
- Al: That's right. Then let's get underway. Treasurer Bob Rooney, pass out the liquid gold.
- [Bob Rooney gets up with two 6-packs of beer in his hands and the members start taking a can. They then realize that something is off]
- Sticky: Hey, this isn't our regular beer.
- Al: [looking over the label] "Yeast 'N Stuff"?
- Bob Rooney: Sorry, guys, but they raised the beer tax again. So this is it. Unless we wanna go back and have sex with our wives for more beer money.
- Jefferson: No way. [the other members express the same sentiment]
- Al: Well... I guess beer is beer. We didn't become NO MA'AMers by being discriminating.
- Jefferson: Or employed.
- Griff: Or happy.
- Splib: Or bathed.
- Sticky: Or documented. [the rest of the group give him an odd look]
- Al: Down the hatch.
- [As the guys start drinking, they immediately become disgusted with the taste and run out of the garage together. They end up spitting the beer out on an unexpecting Ike, who had just came up the driveway to join the meeting]
- Ike: [walking in, covered in beer] Hey, if I wanted to reek of cheap booze, I'd just go kiss my wife.
- [After Ike reveals to the group that his marriage to Frannie is legal, and that person who conducted it, a nudist named "Reverend Flashback", is now one of the most richest televangelist, the group have a discussion]
- Jefferson: If Reverend Flashback can call himself a church and not pay taxes then why can't we?
- Ike: Because our wives would take the money and waste it on charities, health insurance... lingerie. [he and the other guys shutter at the thought]
- Al: Then we'll keep it a secret. Jefferson, not a word to [makes chicken noises to refer to Marcy]
- Jefferson: [laughing] You got it, buddy.
- Al: Then it's settled. [bangs gavel] We will become a church, a sacred organization of peace and brotherhood.
- Ike: I'll drink to that. [pulls out a can of beer from his pocket]
- Bob Rooney: Hey! He's got good beer!
- Jefferson: GET HIM!
- [Ike immediately gets up and runs as the rest of the group chase him out of the garage. A moment later, Al is shown walking briskly with the gavel in his hand]
- Al: Hold him down! Hold him down for me!
- [Al, wearing a pompadour hairstyle and dressed in a glittery preacher's robe, begins his sermon at the Church of NO MA'AM, speaking in a passionate, southern preacher style]
- Al: Believers, guests those of you with the deep pockets that got the cushioned seats up front let me tell you a little story. God created man. Everything was going great, then Eve came around and said, "Apple?" The one time they offer us something to eat we wind up selling women's shoes. Now, I know that a lot of you are wondering what the Church of NO MA'AM is all about.
- Jefferson: [offscreen] Hooters! [the crowd goes wild and cheers]
- Al: Yes, but we are also about making the world something it used to be.
- Ike and Bob Rooney: [nodding with the rest of the congregation] Mm-hmm.
- Al: Back when men were men and women were ribs.
- Sticky: Tell it, Reverend Al! [slides his hand across the piano as Jefferson raises his hand in praise]
- Al: When a driver's-side air bag was called a "mother-in-law". When a frank conversation with the wife used to begin with: "What's for dinner?" and ended with "YOU CALL THAT DINNER?!"
- Halla: Would you like a squeeze?
- Al: [flustered] Oh, yes. [takes a sip from a bottle]
- Luyah: Wipe your brow?
- Al: Bless you, my child. [leans his head forward, while staring down at her cleavage] Though I see you've already been blessed.
- [After getting his head wiped, he resumes his southern preacher style of talking to the congregation]
- Al: But it is our mission to bring back the natural order of things.
- Congregation Member: [offscreen] Mm-hmm
- Al: Guy things.
- Bob Rooney: [fanning himself off with a stack of cash, while raising his hand in the air] Amen.
- [Sticky slides his hand across the piano again as Jefferson raises his hand in praise]
- Al: Like barber shops, hardware stores those calendars, you lift the cellophane, she's naked in there. [the congregation goes wild and cheers again] I want to bring us back to those times. This is an engine that runs on money. I'm not talking about that unleaded, eco-friendly tree-hugging, girlie-jiggling money.
- Ike: You go, preacher man!
- [Sticky slides his hand across the piano again as Jefferson raises his hand in praise]
- Al: I'm talking about beer-guzzling, truck-driving, low-riding belching, biting, folding money. Now, if no one wants to testify, we will pass the collection plate.
- [Marcy and her feminist group have infiltrated the church and are set on ruining Al's reputation]
- Marcy: My women's group has commandeered the video booth. [the members immediately turn around to the back of the room] There's something we'd like to show you to put a smile on your snouts.
- Congregation Member: [offscreen] Girlie porn? [the groups erupts in cheers]
- Marcy: Even better. Let's go on a date with Reverend Al. Roll it, girls. [Presses a button. On the monitor behind Al, a black and white picture of a smiling Al and Peggy dancing at a fancy restaurant] Here he is, dancing with his wife.
- Al: Take her down, Archimedes! [the massive Archimedes begins walking onto the stage]
- Marcy: Take him down, Dot. [the massive Dot also walks on stage from the other sides, then stands directly in front of Archimedes]
- Archimedes: [stunned] Damn... [nodding, while looking her over] You a lot of woman.
- Dot: I'm a lot of everything. [grabs Archimedes by his suit lapels and walks him off the stage]
- Marcy: [presses down on the button. now showing a picture of Al and Peggy laughing while dining in a restaurant booth] And here's your man's man at a restaurant called "Potpourri", eating quiche.
- Al: [turns to the congregation] Now, I can explain that! I had ordered a meatball sandwich, extra ball... [becomes flustered before Marcy moves on]
- Marcy: Let's see where they went next. Bowling, perhaps? Why, no. [presses the button, now showing Al and Peg sitting next to each other at a musical play] They're attending a performance of Cats, with all proceeds going to the Chicago Ballet. [the congregation becomes upset] And finally, [presses the button, now showing Al and Peg next to a window neon sign that reads "ROCK 'EM SOCK 'EM MOTEL"] behold your beloved Reverend Al and the missis outside the "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Motel". So there you have it your leader on a date with his wife, deeply in love.
- Congregation Member: [stands up, in disbelief] Say it ain't so, Reverend Al. Tell us you were with a hooker, or at least a guy dressed like one. [the congregation agrees with him]
- Marcy: [smugly] Oink your way out of this one, Reverend Fatback.
- [Al lowers his head in shame and slowly walks to the pulpit, where he takes a few moments to figure out what to say]
- Al: [looks upward, crying] I have sinned! I have consorted with my wife!
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to Al Bundy becoming a reverend in the Church of NO MA'AM.
Trivia[]
- Starting with this episode, the opening credits for this season have been updated and feature footage from the previous season to introduce the main cast:
- Ed O'Neill - Al sitting on the couch wearing greyish-brown pants, holding the remote in one hand and heavily sighing before putting his other hand down his pants.
- Katey Sagal - Peggy smiling and clapping upon hearing the topic of an Oprah episode (“Sluts Who Hang Out at 7-Eleven”) from "25 Years and What Do You Get?".
- Amanda Bearse - Marcy coming in to tell Al about Psycho Dad's cancellation from "I Want My Psycho Dad (Part 1)".
- Christina Applegate - Kelly looking up and bringing her hands to her chest from "Something Larry This Way Comes".
- David Faustino - Bud rubbing his face on a mannequin's foot from "Naughty but Niece".
- Ted McGinley - Jefferson quickly shutting the door as Marcy is about to knock from "Sleepless in Chicago".
- Starting with this episode, the couch gag at the opening credits has changed, festering a now-older Bud and Kelly as well as the newest family pet, Lucky. The previous version had been used since season 4.
- One of Al's altar girls is played by former Playboy playmate Lisa Marie Scott, who, eight months before this episode aired, appeared in the magazine as its Playmate of the Month for February 1995.
- Channel 83 Action News, which covers Marcy's exposé on NO MA'AM, was previously featured in season 4's "At the Zoo" and "Rain Girl", and season 7's "The Chicago Wine Party".
Cultural References[]
- When Al says that the women can no longer "whip us like a nation of Gerry Cooneys", he is referring to the 1980s heavyweight boxer. Cooney had a good record but is most remembered for two knockouts he suffered in heavyweight title fights: to Larry Holmes in 1982 and later to Michael Spinks in 1987. The 1982 Holmes-Cooney fight was the most watched fight in televised boxing history.
- When Al cries and says he has sinned by consorting with his wife, he is alluding to Jimmy Swaggart, a television evangelist who in 1988 emotionally stated to his congregation that he had "sinned" for having an inappropriate affair with a prostitute.
- Al's pulpit consists of beer cans, many of which are well known brands such as Bud Light, Old Milwaukee, Miller Lite, and Miller Genuine Draft, as well as a can of Girlie Girl Beer, the beer of choice for NO MA'AM.
- The song played at the beginning of the mass is an instrumental version of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown, which is also sung by Al and his friends in "Flight of the Bumblebee" a few episodes later.
- The Pope and Dionne Warwick are mentioned as being on the "Forbes Top 500 of Wealthiest Televangelists", a parody of Forbes magazine’s annual list of the wealthiest people in the world. Warwick was a regular fixture on the Psychic Friends Network infomercials featuring Linda Georgian as the most prominent psychic; it later went bankrupt. Not bankrupt is the Vatican, which is the Pope's seat of power.
- One of the letters that the group receives mentions that he is "under the iron rule of a woman" and is signed "B. Clinton". This is in reference to then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, who became well known for engaging in extramarital affairs with other women before and during his presidency.
- The line about being under the iron rule of a woman is a reference to his wife, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. The media often portrayed Hillary as the real decision maker and the more dominating of the pair.
- After delivering the letters to Al, the postal worker tells him that he and his co-workers are willing to put down their mail pouches and assault rifles to follow Al and his church before saluting him.
- The mention of postal workers carrying assault rifles is in reference to multiple cases of United States Postal Service workers going on mass shooting sprees since 1983, citing excessive stress from their jobs or suddenly losing their jobs. In 1993, these types of shootings led to the creation of the slang term "Going Postal".
- These incidents were previously referenced in "I Want My Psycho Dad: Second Blood (Part 2)" and "Kelly Takes a Shot".
- After counting the money and reading letters, Jefferson suggests that they do what what all churches do and open a theme park.
- Jefferson is referring to Heritage USA, a Christian theme park founded by televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye Messner that operated from 1978 to 1989.
- Bakker became well known for his affair with Jessica Hahn, who later posed for Playboy and played Al's shoe groupie Ricki in "So This is How Sinatra Felt" and later married the show's creator Ron Leavitt.
- Right after their discussion, when Peggy calls out to Al, he addresses her as "Tammy Faye".
- When Peggy tries to remind Al what day it is, he suggests "Come as your favorite 'Hee Haw' character day at Kmart?"
- Hee Haw was a variety show that aired on CBS from 1969 to 1971 and in syndication from 1971 to 1993. The show was known for showcasing country music and themes of living out in the country.
- Kmart is a big box retailer that is headquartered just outside of Chicago, Illinois. At the time this episode aired, the retailer was a successful chain that had stores across the U.S. and several other countries. As of 2025, there is only one store that is still operating within the continental U.S. while Kmart Australia still has 200 stores in operation.
- When the mailman asks whether Al is the NO MA'AM guy, Marcy says: "He's also Arnold the pig from 'Green Acres'."
- Green Acres was a television sitcom that ran on CBS from 1965 to 1971.
- Arnold Ziffel was a pig who was raised as the son of Fred and Doris Ziffel, and is treated like a human in the town of Hooterville.
- When Marcy first confronts the NO MA'AM members, she refers to Al as "Reverend Half Moon Pits", which may be a nod to Reverend Sun Myung Moon, a Korean religious leader who founded the Unification Church, while also claiming to be the messiah. In 1984, he was charged with filing false federal income tax returns and served 13 months in a U.S. prison before being released on good behavior. His supporters claimed that it was politically motivated.
Music[]
- Jefferson and Sticky perform an instrumental version of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown during Reverend Al's introduction.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Church of NO MA'AM
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Bundy Garage
- Church of NO MA'AM Seating Area / Pulpit