Take My Wife, Please was the 7th episode of Season 8 of Married... with Children, also the 163rd overall episode of the series. Directed by Tony Singletary and written by Eddie Feldmann & Brad Yuen, the episode originally on FOX, premiering on October 24, 1993. The episode name references to a famed Henny Youngman one liner.
Synopsis[]
In this Halloween episode, Al wishes he was dead, and is visited by the Grim Reaper with a very familiar face. He can escape death only if someone expresses he were alive or a desire to need him before the stroke of midnight. In a subplot, Marcy hosts a charity party in honor of rehabilitated female convicts. She tried hiring the Village People to perform, but they cancelled at the last minute, forcing her to conscript Jefferson, Peg, Kelly and Bud into impersonating the group. They are told to lip-synch, but the only Village People album Marcy owns is a single-track of their one-hit wonder YMCA. She plays it repeatedly, angering the guests.
Storyline[]
On Halloween night, the Grim Reaper (in the form of a dark-haired, pasty-faced Peggy) finally answers Al's inadvertent long cried call for death and won't leave him until one of his family members say that they need him. Meanwhile, Marcy convinces Peggy, Bud, Kelly and Jefferson to impersonate the Village People at a party she's hosting honoring female spouse murderers.
Guest stars/Recurring[]
- Cast regulars
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck as Buck Bundy
Guest starring[]
- Patrika Darbo as Ethel
- Mindy Seeger as Jeannie
- Joshua Boyd as Kid #1
- Billi Gordon as Belle
- The Village People as Themselves
Quotes[]
- [Al is startled after he shut the door on the Grim Reaper, who then instantly materialized inside right in front of him]
- Al: How'd you do that?
- Death: [in a deep, distorted voice] I'm Death. That's the first thing they teach you in Death School. Got to have a gimmick.
- [Al puts his hand on the hooded figure, and it goes right through]
- Al: Hey, you are Death!
- Death: OOOOOH! You found my G-spot! [Al reels back in horror] Just kidding, you nearly departed hunk of beefcake! You mind if take this hood off? Its hot as hell in here, and uh, I just had my hair done...
- [Death slowly pulls back the hood, eventually taking the form of Peggy with long black hair and darker makeup. Al is left speechless.]
- Al:[with a bitter smile] ...Perfect!
- Death: [in Peggy's normal voice] This? I thought this might get 'ya! [takes Al by the arm and walks with him to the couch] Actually, I can look any way I want. I can be your greatest fantasy. I can be your worst nightmare. I could be MY worst nightmare, but who would want to go around looking like Sally Struthers?
- Death: Any time between now and midnight, if any member of your family says that they need you, in any way, I'll let you live.
- Al: All my family has to do is say that they need me?
- Death: [nods] That's right.
- Al: Just once?
- Death: Just once.
- Al: [thinks for a few moments, then in a defeated tone] ...I'll get my suitcase.
- [Al and Death are watching Peg, Kelly, Bud, and Jefferson dance to Y.M.C.A. on DTV]
- Peg: You know who I wish was here to see this?!
- Al: [yelling at the television] SAY ME! AL! YOUR EVER LOVING HUSBAND, PEG!
- Peg: [v.o.] Cousin Wormy! [Al become enraged upon hear that name] He has all the "Village People" records.
- Al: YES! BUT HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY NOSTRILS, DOES HE, PEG?!
- Death: [slaps Al's arm] Ah, calm down, Bundy! You'll give yourself a stroke.... [looks back at the television, grinning] Hehehehe....
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is based upon Henny Youngman's signature joke, "Now take my wife... Please!"
Trivia[]
- Peggy mentions that some of their neighbors include the Millers and Mr. Grover.
- This is the first time that the D'Arcy's kitchen has been shown.
- In this episode, Death takes on the the appearance of Peggy with long black hair. Earlier, in season 5's "A Man's Castle", the picture of Peggy that Al sees in his bathroom eventually turns into Death.
- In the original airing of the episode, the ending credits continue with Death, the Bundys and the Village People at the Bundy residence dancing and performing "YMCA" while Al continues to inhale the toxic fumes from Kelly's spray canister. In the DVD release and later syndication/streaming reprints, the scene is shown as a still frame as "YMCA" continues playing over the credits.
- Patrika Darbo, who played Ethel, the red-headed woman who comments on Kelly playing the Indian, previously appeared in the 1991 film Dutch as a waitress. The film starred Ed O'Neill and was previously mentioned by name in the Season 6 episode "England Show (Part 1)".
- This is the final appearance of Kelly's red and blue Verminator uniform. Starting in the next episode, her uniform would be changed to red and gold.
Cultural References[]
- The first trick-or-treater who is a dinosaur and spits in Al's face is a reference to the 1993 film Jurassic Park. Specifically the boy's costume is based on the Dilophosaurus and Al's reaction is a parody of Dennis Nedry's last moments in the film.
- When Death introduces herself, she tells Al that she could be her own worst nightmare, "But who'd want to go around looking like Sally Struthers", referring to the actress who has been the butt of several jokes on the show.
- During Al's plea to Death to not take him, he suggests the singer Michael Bolton or "whoever wrote that 'Facts of Life' theme!" go in his place.
- Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter, who, after a brief stint in the hard rock/metal scene in the late 1970s, became known for his pop rock ballads in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was previously mocked by Al in "Old Insurance Dodge".
- The Facts of Life was a 1979–88 NBC sitcom about a group of girls living in a boarding school who deal with the trials of growing up with the help of their housemother. The opening theme song was previously heard on MWC during season 6.
- One of the writers of the theme song, actor Alan Thicke, starred in the sitcom Growing Pains, which is mentioned later in this episode as one of the shows airing on DTV. He would later guest star on MWC as Henry in season 10’s "Enemies" and Bruce in season 11’s "Breaking Up Is Easy to Do (Parts 2 and 3)".
- While waiting to see if his family will need him, Death shows Al that they have their own cable network called DTV, which is a parody of MTV.
- Death mentions that upon having to take Elvis, required six other Deaths to help carrying him while slipping on Ho Hos before finally getting him out of the bathroom.
- This is a reference to singer Elvis Presley, who had gained a significant amount of weight from his heyday, which contributed to his death in 1977 while on the toilet bowl at his estate. He had been mentioned in several MWC episodes and was the subject of the Season 3 episode "I'm Going to Sweatland".
- While showing off the people she has taken in her photo album, Death mentions Al's personal hero, actor John Wayne and Al's favorite comedic trio, The Three Stooges.
- Specifically she said that she took "all six of The Three Stooges". This is a reference to the six actors who made up the variations of the Three Stooges throughout the comedy troupe’s long career:
- Moe Howard, Shemp Howard, and Larry Fine (the original trio, with Moe and Larry being the only consistent members throughout the troupe’s entire run);
- Jerome "Curly" Howard (replaced Shemp from 1934 to 1946, forming the classic Columbia shorts team; Shemp would rejoin the trio after Curly became ill and died in 1952);
- Joe Besser (replaced Shemp after his death in 1955);
- Joe DeRita (replaced Joe Besser after the end of the shorts’ production in the early 1960s).
- Specifically she said that she took "all six of The Three Stooges". This is a reference to the six actors who made up the variations of the Three Stooges throughout the comedy troupe’s long career:
- Peggy mentions that she wishes The Supremes were there to see them perform and then says that she is better at singing "Love Child".
Music[]
- Throughout the episode, "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People is played.
- Peggy and the Kids sing "Macho Man" by the Village People after Marcy bribes them with $500.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- D'Arcy Residence
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- D'Arcy Living Room
- D'Arcy Kitchen
Goofs[]
- When Marcy announces that she got the Village People to perform at her house, Peggy and the kids give her a blank look and imply that they never heard of them before. But after Marcy offers them $500, they suddenly know the chorus to one of their songs "Macho Man".
- Additionally Bud mentioned in the Season 6 episode, "Rites of Passage" that Kelly gave him a poster of The Village People for his previous birthday and the she glued his face onto the cowboy, which would mean the kids were at least aware of them before this episode.
- While on stage, Peggy says that she wishes that her cousin Wormy was there to see them perform, and says he has all of The Village People's records. Yet as mentioned earlier, she didn't even know who they were in the first place, so why would she know that one of her cousins has their albums.
- When Al is saying that "Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving, Sunday through Monday, Halloween's gotta be the worst day of the year" he says Sunday through Monday, instead of Monday through Sunday.
- When Kelly arrives home from work, she she clearly puts her Verminator uniform down on the chair by the kitchen telephone and it remains there as she, Peg and Bud march out of the house to the D'Arcy residence after accepting Marcy's $500 bribe. Then, when Al comes home from work, the Verminator uniform has disappeared from the chair.
- In some of the close up of shots of Death talking to Al, Peggy's red hair is sticking out of the black wig.
- When Jefferson arrives at the Bundy residence in his Village People outfit, he asks Marcy if the lead singer wore his pants that tight. Jefferson is clearly dressed up as the leatherman / biker, but the lead singer is actually the cop. This can be verified when the actual Village People arrive and the cop is the one to lead the group in singing "Y.M.C.A.".