Sue Casa, His Casa was the third episode of Season 5 of Married... with Children, also the 83rd overall series episode. Directed by Gerry Cohen, and written by Kevin Curran, the episode originally aired on FOX, premiering on October 7, 1990.
Synopsis[]
After Al refuses to get insurance for his car, Bud and Kelly get in an accident with a man in a Mercedes. The Mercedes owner sues them for a million dollars and they counter-sue for a jillion dollars, using fake injuries and Marcy's testimony. Dr. Joyce Brothers makes a guest appearance.
Episode summary[]
In this episode, Al sees a golden opportunity when a Mercedes plows into the Dodge with Kelly and Bud in it. Despite the Bundys' long history of coming out on the wrong end of lawsuits, with Marcy as an independent witness, Al is determined to sue. After Al refuses to get insurance for his car, Bud and Kelly get in an accident with the man in the Mercedes. The Mercedes owner sues them for million dollars, so they counter sues them for a jillion dollars using fake injuries and Marcy's perjurious testimony!
Cast[]
- Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy
- Katey Sagal as Peggy Bundy
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy Rhoades
- Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy
- David Faustino as Bud Bundy
- Buck as Buck the dog
Guest starring[]
- Mark L. Taylor as Mr. Lincoln
- Dr. Joyce Brothers as Judge Muffy Carter
- Rif Hutton as Baliff
Quotes[]
- Al: Now Peg, what can you do without?
- Peggy: Apparently an orgasm.
- Al: ...and may I add that it's nice to see a woman in a robe whose not wearing fuzzy pink slippers and a bag of Doritos in her lap!
- Al: And now, onto the lawsuit. While carrying canned goods to their local church group, my beloved children [turns to face his family], Bud, and, uh...[Kelly looks up at him as he struggles to think] the girl, had their futures maliciously torn asunder by the merciless destruction of an Aryan Supercar! This, your honor, is the nightmare of your unified Germany! Thanks to my witness, [turns to point to Marcy, who then waves at the judge], a professional banker and brother woman, we plan to prove that we deserve a jillion dollars, [picks up a suitcase from underneath the table] in cash, [unlocks the suitcase] and we humbly await your decision.
- Judge: Mr. Bundy, before we begin, could you tell me why your wife is wearing a neck brace when she wasn't involved in the accident?
- Peg: Let me answer that, your Honor. You see, it's sex whiplash. But it IS accident related. You see, my husband got so excited over this jillion dollars, that he, uh, just lost control of himself last night in bed. He kinda caught me off guard... he moved!
- Lawyer: Miss Bundy, how many fingers am I holding up? [holds up three fingers]
- Kelly: [in dark glasses and a cane] Oh, you're not going to catch me with that one! I'm BLIND!
- Lawyer: Alright, would you please point out the man who hit your car and blinded you?
- Kelly: Sure. It is that guy right there [points to the table across from the witness stand] in the grey suit and little band-aid on his forehead. [Al and Peggy lower their heads in shame]
- Lawyer: You may step down.
- Kelly: C'mon [Kelly steps off the stand and grabs Buck's leash to walk to her table, and then sticks her tongue out at the other driver before arriving back at the Bundy's table]
- Lawyer: Mr. Bundy...
- Bud: Please, uh, just call me "Big B".
- Lawyer: No! [Bud is taken aback by the response] Mr. Bundy, I bet you're a good driver.
- Bud: [smugly] 98 on the written test, babe.
- Al: My boy is a winner, Peg, not like your girl.
- Peg: Brush your teeth, honey.
- Lawyer: Now, you're a fine, young man. [Smirks, then motions with his right index finger for Bud to lean forward] Do you know what they do to fine young men in the Big House? [Bud suddenly becomes nervous as he readjusts his collar]. That's right, "Big B"! And that is where you're headed if you perjure yourself! [turns to face the courtroom] So I ask you one time, and one time only:[turns around] How did this accident occur?
- Bud: [rapidly] W-w-well, we were playing "Eye-ies Close-ies" and my sister put her hands over my eyes and I couldn't see and I hit the gas and I heard a terrible crash! [Stands up] But the part about us being hurt was the idea of THAT MAN ! [Pointing to Al]
- Peg: Now, show some gumption! You know what we say back home in Wanker County?
- Al: Nothing spells loving like marrying your cousin?
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title is a play on the Spanish idiom, "Mi casa (es) su casa" ("My house (is) your house"), meaning that visitors should make themselves at home and also that Al is being sued.
Trivia[]
- Bud gets his driver's license in this episode and boasted that he scored 98% on the written part of his license exam.
- Bud reveals that he is 16 years old in this episode.
- Al's car insurance is from Jim's Fish, Chips and Insurance.
- Al indicates that his Dodge is worth less than $100. After bringing in the kids following the accident, Peg points out that according to the Kelley Blue Book, it is worth $70.
- Peggy reveals that they previously tried to sue the Girl Scouts but lost.
- The car that hit the Dodge is a Mercedes-Benz R129 500 SL.
- The judge in this episode was played by Dr. Joyce Brothers, a psychologist and columnist who was credited with making psychology more mainstream to the American public with her advice columns and television appearances.
- This was one of her few acting roles where she didn't player either herself or a doctor.
- After the accident, Al is shown going to the closet, picking up a baseball bat and then walks out to check on the kids. A similar scene happened in season 4's "Rain Girl", when Al grabs a bat and walks out to meet Kelly after she crashed her new car.
- Marcy mentions her ex-husband Steve Rhoades and his love of German cars, though she doesn't says his name directly.
- Even though Marcy rants on about how much she hates German cars after claiming that they took her ex-husband, she still owned a Mercedes-Benz into Season 11.
- Rif Hutton (the Bailiff) and Mark L. Taylor (Mr. Lincoln, the plaintiff's attorney) previously appeared in an episode of the ABC television series, Doogie Howser, M.D., titled "Simply Irresistible" as Dr. Welch and Dr. Price.
Cultural References[]
- Al mentions that a cop pulled him over because of the loud radio and then beat him to the tune of the 1968 song, "Hey Jude" by The Beatles.
- Bud tosses Al the "Bon Jovi hair" before they go out for the night, referring to the musician Jon Bon Jovi and his 80s' hairstyle.
- Peggy makes a sarcastic remark after Al puts on the "Bon Jovi hair", calling him an older and gay Tarzan. He then comments that if she was Jane, Tarzan would be gay.
- While first on the witness stand and being "blind", Kelly rhythmically waves her head around, similarly to the blind musician Stevie Wonder.
- Al tells Peg that it'll be her job to "...make sure Old Glory is flying high above our heads as we wait in line for free cheese", referring to Government Cheese, which is processed cheese that the government gives to those on welfare, social security, food stamps and those who get food from food banks.
- As Marcy is dragged out of the courtroom following her rant about her ex-husband and his love for German cars, she tells the judge and audience, "Ask me what 'Fahrvergnügen' means!".
- Fahrvergnügen is a German neologism that literally means "Driving Pleasure/Enjoyment". It was used as a slogan for German automaker, Volkswagen, in the early 1990s to describe the unique handling of Volkswagen compared to other cars on the market. [1][2]
- During Al's opening statement, he mentions an "Aryan Supercar" and the nightmare of a unified Germany.
- "Aryan" is a common word in white power terminology that describes people of Nordic descent and having certain physical traits as a superior race. The term was originally used in Nazi Germany during World War II.
- The term was previously used in the Season 3 episode, "Poke High", as the name of the team that Polk High Panthers played against.
- "Unified Germany" refers to the reunification of Germany in 1990. About a year before this episode originally aired, the European country of Germany had been split into West Germany and East Germany, with a wall that divided the two states, since 1961. The Berlin Wall which divided the two sides, started coming down slowly in November 1989 as East Germans eventually were allowed to visit Western German, with demolition of the Wall officially beginning in June 1990.
- In the Season 6 episode, Cheese, Cues and Blood, Jefferson pointed out that Al said, "Damn a Unified Germany" after convincing Kelly to keep playing pool.
- "Aryan" is a common word in white power terminology that describes people of Nordic descent and having certain physical traits as a superior race. The term was originally used in Nazi Germany during World War II.
- Peg mentions that the Bundys previously lost a court case against the Girl Scouts. They also mention that Al found a bone in his butter cookie and the judge in the case may have been bribed with chocolate mints. This likely in reference to two of the most common flavors that the organization sells, trefoils and thin mints.
- A portrait of 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is behind Judge Muffy Carter in the courtroom as well as a portrait of then-current U.S. President George H.W. Bush hanging in the gallery of the courtroom.
Music[]
- As Al and Buck head out the door, Al starts singing the opening theme to North to Alaska, a 1960 comedy western starring John Wayne and Kathleen Freeman.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Courtroom
- Hospital
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Courtroom
- Hospital Room
Goofs[]
- During the courtroom scene, the paper in the court reporter's machine never moves, indicating that it is either turned off or a non-functioning prop.
- After the accident happens, Al is shown with a baseball bat as he walks out to check on the kids. After he and Peggy bring them back inside, he doesn't have the bat with him.
- While holding the plungers, Peggy says to Al: "If they're good enough for the toilet, they're good enough for you". However, the plungers she was holding were sink plungers and not toilet plungers. Sink plungers are noticeably smaller and have a different shape, which would make them rather ineffective to fix a clogged toilet.
- Al claims that a cop pulled him over on his way home, beat him with a nightstick and then wrote him 18 tickets, including one for bleeding on the officer's ticket pad. Yet, Al clearly doesn't haven't any bruises or marks on him, nor any blood on his clothes, considering how he described the beating.
References[]
External Links[]
Sue Casa, His Casa at the Internet Movie Database- Sue Casa, His Casa on Bundyology
- Sue Casa, His Casa - Transcript on Springfield! Springfield!
- #84 Sue Casa, His Casa - MWC Podcast on Horrorphilia
