Ronald N. Michaels was the producer of the fictional TV series Pease in a Pod, which was featured in the Season 9 episode of Married... with Children titled "No Pot to Pease In".
The part of Michaels is played by George Wyner.
Description[]
He appears to be a bespectacled, balding middle aged man with no scruples, as he is willing to steal ideas from Kelly and later, pays off the Bundys so he never has to deal with them in regards to how they were portrayed. He also mentions that he has a wife, who is significantly younger than him.
Background[]
When Kelly is auditioning for a part in a new TV series titled "Pease in a Pod", she eventually realizes that she probably won't get the role. She then tries to ask Ronald, the show's producer, a question, and he quickly tells her that the room would be just as cold if she was a man (implying that he's keeping the room cold to see her nipples get hard). She tries to redirect it and asks him when did television shows become weird, noting how people don't eat breakfast at the table or even have cereal.
During her talk, she unwittingly told Ronald, who was quite an opportunistic, but unscrupulous sort, about her family and her neighbors. Michaels liked the idea better than his own, as he then pitched the revamped idea to FOX TV execs.
Some time later, the show aired on FOX and was notably different from what Kelly read during her audition. Eventually, Peg, Bud, Kelly and The D'Arcys realize that they've been plagerized, much to the chagrin of everyone except for Al, who seemed to like the way they developed the "Mel Pease" character.
When the Bundys visit the set, and Al, who really likes the show's concept, confronts Ronald about stealing the idea from Kelly. Ronald justifies himself by noting how he has been in the business since his wife was a baby and how he's worked with the greatest, stating "Bertinelli, Danza, Lenny, Squiggy, all of them". He then points out that in the end, he has never learned anything from working in Hollywood and would rather be directing a play by Shakespeare, but will take any project that is a hit among viewers.
Unmoved by Ronald's speech, Al tells him: "Now, look here...You betrayed the trust of my little girl and I think she deserves an apology. I mean, not one of those phoney-baloney, show-biz types but I mean a really, truly heartfelt."
Ronald quickly cuts him off and is able to bribe him, responding "How's $500 an episode and I never see your wage-slave faces again?!" which Al gladly accepts believing the show is a hit that could be on television for years. Despite Kelly seeing it and upset with how things went, Al tries to comfort her with the keys to Ronald's Cadillac.
Unfortunately for Al, despite believing it was a hit, the show was suddenly cancelled after Marcy stops by and informs them that it was cancelled because "Some woman in Michigan didn't like it!"
Trivia[]
- Ronald's name is a play on "Ronald and Michael's", referring to the creators of Married... with Children, Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye.
- Ronald Michaels might be based on any one of a number of people in the TV industry infamous for such unscrupulousness.