Season 4 (1989/90)

Married with Children: Season 4
"Married... with Children" Season 4 DVD cover.
Program information
Episodes aired:
23
Dates aired:
September 3, 1989 - May 13, 1990
Network/Country:
FOX-TV / United States
Previous Season: Season 3
Next Season: Season 5

This season saw the departure of Marcy's original husband, Steve Rhoades. Marcy remained single for the remainder of the season. This was also the first season where the audience would applaud when a major character would enter a scene for the first time in the episode, the first time that Buck "speaks", as well as a Bundyesque rendition of the classic film It's a Wonderful Life. In the episode "It's a Bundyful Life (Part 2)," Ted McGinley makes a guest appearance as Norman Jablonsky, before reappearing as a regular cast member in the next season as Jefferson D'arcy. Also, Michael Faustino makes his third guest appearance.

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
58	1	"Hot Off the Grill"	Gerry Cohen	Michael G. Moye & Ron Leavitt & Gabrielle Topping	September 3, 1989	4.01
Al has a Labor Day barbecue, where he becomes aroused by the sight of Peg actually doing housework, and Steve and Marcy bring along the ashes of Marcy's aunt, whom Steve hated.
59	2	"Dead Men Don't Do Aerobics"	Gerry Cohen	Katherine Green	September 10, 1989	4.02
Peggy wins the chance to exercise with Jim Jupiter, a local aerobics instructor with his own TV show, for two weeks, but she ends up killing Jim by introducing him to the world of smoking, eating junk food, and watching TV.
60	3	"Buck Saves the Day"	Gerry Cohen	Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung	September 24, 1989	4.03
To earn money for a concert, Bud rents out Al as a professional woodsman who takes the neighborhood kids (and Steve and Bud) on a camping trip. They all have a miserable time there and put all their hopes on Buck to save them. Meanwhile, Kelly earns money for the same concert by fleecing Peggy's friends at poker. Michael Faustino guests.
61	4	"Tooth or Consequences"	Gerry Cohen	Sheldon Krasner & David Saling & Will Rogers	October 1, 1989	4.04
Al gets a toothache and goes to a dentist, who is bitter over his wife divorcing him.
62	5	"He Ain't Much, But He's Mine"	Gerry Cohen	Lisa Rosenthal	October 8, 1989	4.05
Peg thinks a new customer at the hair salon may be having an affair with Al. She soon gets jealous and acts weird.
63	6	"Fair Exchange"	Gerry Cohen	Al Aidekman	October 29, 1989	4.06
The Bundys can feast on the $500 a month they receive for hosting a French foreign exchange student. But the beautiful French girl, Yvette (Milla Jovovich), soon turns Kelly's social life into famine, which prompts Kelly to take action to get her own social life back.
64	7	"Desperately Seeking Miss October"	Gerry Cohen	Arthur Silver & Steve Bing	November 5, 1989	4.07
When Al recognizes a female customer at the shoe store as Playboy Magazine's Miss October, Al goes searching for his old issues of Playboy, only to find out that Peg sold them to buy a good luck charm named Tubro. He finally makes her get all the Playboys back.
65	8	"976-SHOE"	Gerry Cohen	Sandy Sprung & Marcy Vosburgh	November 12, 1989	4.08
Al asks Steve for a loan of $50,000 so he can finance his own shoe help hotline. To win a Hawaii trip, Steve sanctions it and ends up with a warning from his boss that he would be fired if Al Bundy did not come through with results. To save his job, Marcy gives Al a second $50,000 loan to pay back Steve, but Al spends that on his shoe hotline too. It costs Steve his job at the bank and Marcy gets demoted to drive up window teller.
66	9	"Oh, What a Feeling"	Gerry Cohen	Ron Leavitt & Michael G. Moye	November 19, 1989	4.09
Al decides to get a new car, but finds out that Peggy spent all his saved-up money, and he has to buy an old, used car. After a lot of tries, he ends up with his old car, remodeled. Note: David Garrison and Amanda Bearse do not appear in this episode.
67	10	"At the Zoo"	Gerry Cohen	Katherine Green	November 26, 1989	4.10
Steve begins spending his time taking Peg, Kelly, and Bud to the zoo instead of looking for a job, which doesn't sit well with the recently-demoted Marcy.
68	11	"It's a Bundyful Life (Part 1)"	Gerry Cohen	Michael G. Moye & Ron Leavitt	December 17, 1989	4.12
Al promises his family a wonderful Christmas when he reveals that he put money away in a Christmas club account, but fails to get it when the bank closes early for a party.
69	12	"It's a Bundyful Life (Part 2)"	Gerry Cohen	Michael G. Moye & Ron Leavitt	December 17, 1989	4.13
After Peg and the kids blow off Al to have Christmas dinner at Denny's, Al is stuck at home fixing the Christmas lights (which almost electrocute him), and meets a loud, obnoxious guardian angel (Sam Kinison) who shows Al what life would be like if Al was never born. Note: David Garrison does not appear in this episode.
70	13	"Who'll Stop the Rain"	Gerry Cohen	Kevin Curran	January 7, 1990	4.11
During a rainstorm, Al tries to fix the roof and the TV antenna. Meanwhile, Marcy is upset when Steve gets a new job at a pet store and she ends up getting bitten by one of his "pets."
71	14	"A Taxing Problem"	Gerry Cohen	Paul Diamond	January 14, 1990	4.15
Al is faced with an audit following some "creative accounting" done by Peg (claimed that she could get more money for 23 kids if claiming 2 children as dependents got them $200), and plots to sell Peggy's hair to a desperate woman in order to pay the owed tax money.
72	15	"Rock and Roll Girl"	Linda Day	Ellen L. Fogle	February 4, 1990	4.14
On Marcy's suggestion, Al asks everyone to earn their own money. Kelly gets a job as a dancer in a rock band's music video. Bud becomes her agent. Meanwhile, Peg tries to find ways to earn her own money by opening her own tollbooth.
73	16	"You Gotta Know When to Hold Them (Part 1)"	Gerry Cohen	Sioux Doanham	February 11, 1990	4.16
Part one of two. Marcy stays at the Bundys' after Steve leaves her to pursue his dream of being a forest ranger, and Peg takes Marcy to Las Vegas to cheer her up — but not before selling Al's TV and maxing out his credit cards to pay for the trip.
74	17	"You Gotta Know When to Hold Them (Part 2)"	Gerry Cohen	Kevin Curran	February 18, 1990	4.17
Conclusion. Al, Kelly, and Bud track down Marcy and Peg in Vegas who are desperately trying to raise money to get home — and sign Al up in a wrestling match.
75	18	"What Goes Around Comes Around"	Gerry Cohen	Ellen L. Fogle	February 25, 1990	4.18
Bud tries to make amends with a girl (played by Saved by the Bell's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) who humiliated him in sixth grade. Meanwhile, Al prepares a speech for the homecoming dance, warning teens of the dangers of marriage.
76	19	"Peggy Turns 300"	Tony Singletary	Katherine Green	March 25, 1990	4.20
Al plans a special evening for Peg's birthday by taking her out to the Bowlarama where he hopes to finally beat his arch rival's high game score, but Peg bowls a perfect game and destroys Al's self-esteem.
77	20	"Peggy Made a Little Lamb"	Gerry Cohen	Ellen L. Fogle	April 15, 1990	4.21
While going through her high school memorabilia, Peggy discovers that she never passed Home Economics class in high school and must make up the lost credit by going to Kelly's Home Economics class. Peggy is soon asked to make a Rack of Lamb for her finals. Kelly now has to attend summer school in order to graduate when Peggy steals her project.
78	21	"Raingirl"	Gerry Cohen	Kevin Curran	April 29, 1990	4.19
Kelly gets a job as a weather girl on a local newscast. She is given a $250,000-a-year contract, but loses it when she is unable to read the Teleprompter.
79	22	"The Agony of Defeet"	Gerry Cohen	Diane Burroughs & Joey Gutierrez	May 6, 1990	4.22
Marcy thinks she had sex with Bud after waking up next to him on the couch, thanks to a scheme by Kelly, who plotted it as revenge because Marcy called her an imbecile (idiot). Meanwhile, Al, who lately has been freaking out over feet, is chosen to be a judge in an odd beauty pageant.
80	23	"Yard Sale"	Gerry Cohen	Sandy Sprung & Marcy Vosburgh	May 13, 1990	4.23
When Al discovers that Peg has been spending money on old junk from yard sales, the Bundys have one of their own. They find it difficult to attract customers and come up with a few ideas.