The Chicago Wine Party was the seventh episode of Season 7 of Married... with Children that aired on FOX on November 1, 1992, also the 138th overall episode in the series. The episode, directed by Gerry Cohen, was written by Stacie Lipp.
Synopsis[]
The Bundys get political when Al protests against a two-cent beer tax.
Storyline[]
On a stroll home through the city (because the Dodge has broken down yet again) in the seventh season's seventh outing, Al finds himself unexpectedly moved to politics, when he is informed of a soon-to-be-introduced two cent tax on beer. He decides he must mount a campaign of resistance to this completely unfair burden on the ordinary working man, and sets out to be heard around the city.
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Cast regulars
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck as Buck Bundy
- Shane Sweet as Seven (credited but doesn't appear)
Guest starring[]
- Kari Coleman as Muffy
- Pearl Shear as Volunteer #1
- Michael Goldfinger as Doug
- Cynthia Allison as TV News Anchor
- Hartley Silver as Storekeeper Jim
- Flora Burke as Volunteer #2
- Jim Chiros as Activist #1
- Cynthena Sanders as Activist #2
- Ed Burke as Man
- Cindy Margolis as Beer Girl #1
- Robin Killian as Beer Girl #2
- Tonya Poole as Beer Girl #3
- Larry Jacobson as 1st Passerby with Beer Bottle (uncredited)
- Derek Sellers as 2nd Passerby with Beer Bottle (uncredited)
- Ron Leavitt as Passerby with 'Big 'Uns' magazine (uncredited)
Quotes[]
- [Peg, Kelly, and Bud look at some signs that Marcy gave them to put on their lawn]
- Bud: Wait a minute, Mrs. D'Arcy. [turns sign over] "Support Toxic Waste Dumps"? You'd... You'd never vote for this.
- Marcy: Of course not. I've given you posters of the issues that I oppose. Because if people think the Bundys are for them, we know the whole neighborhood will vote the other way. We like to call it "Harnessing Hate".
- Jefferson: Actually, I wouldn't mind having a woman as president, especially if it was you, Marcy. [he and Marcy hug] 'Cause I'd make a great first lady. [Marcy gives him an odd look as he keeps his arm around her] Yep, and I'd have a big, important issue like, uh, no littering or, uh, or nice hair for everyone. You know, national hair-care centers.
- Kelly: [amazed] God, how cool!
- Jefferson: Well, I think I could do a lot of good being in bed with the president. And I really believe that if anybody could, I could make them forget about Jackie Kennedy. And you know I don't mind prancing it for the voters. [starts to dance and then points to Marcy] And then, when you get shot... [Marcy turns away with a worried looked] I'd marry a rich Greek. 'Course, she'd have to shave her legs ...and under her arms, ...oh, and her lip. Then she'd die, leave me a fortune and I'd become an editor.
- [Bud leans back and gives Jefferson an odd look]
- Jefferson: [offended] Oh, what are you staring at?! Like you've never thought about being First Lady?!
- [Bud looks around, then swallows and lowers his head in shame, as Jefferson nods and grins]
- Marcy: Honey... shut up and look beautiful!
- Jefferson: I'll sign THAT bill! [fixes his hair and sits down]
- [Al stops by the beer headquarters with his family after finding out that the tax had passed]
- Al: Tell you the truth, I'm never voting again. Like marriage, no matter who you choose it turns out bad. Unless you're rich. They get everything they want. Well, fine. Let them have their birds and their air and their... Even their presidents. But we cared about beer, and they took it away from us. [a large group of men gather around Al and listen] Yeah, sure, what do they care if a man who sells shoes or fixes cars or totes that barge or spears that doody in the park has to use his whole paycheck to buy one beer? What do they care? They're at their outdoor restaurants eating their little pizzas and drinking some fine wine in a no-smoking section with their sexy, skinny second wives while we're breeding with peasant stock! [Peggy has a hurt look on her face] No offense, Peg. One thing I know, we're never going to win through the system. Voting has never been the American way. We didn't get away from that pansy country England by voting. We did it by throwing their stinking tea in our American harbor. And why? Because Americans don't like tea. We like coffee. And Americans don't like wine. We like beer. Ice cold. Ice cold, best in a bottle, but fine anyway you can get it, belching, burping, wake-up-in-a-pool-of-it beer. So let's show 'em how a beer man votes. Let's get blitzed and take it to the streets. Let's strike a blow anywhere they dine alfresco, anywhere they eat Brie cheese and anywhere they wear their pants up high around their waist in the European way. [the men begin to nod in approval] The only thing that Americans understand is mindless Tom and Jerry cartoon-like violence. So let's go kick some elite butt. Give me beer or give me death! [the now very large crowd around Al cheers] ...Or both. Let's pillage.
- [A news crew is covering the riot that Al started following the passing of the beer tax]
- Muffy: And in the biggest election-related story, people are being urged to eat at home, or at a rib joint. Whatever you do, stay away from any restaurant that starts with 'Chez'. Frenchmen, as if they had to be told, should stay at home. An angry mob led by a balding madman screaming: "I sell shoes, damnit, and I'm stinking drunk!" has run amok. And they've turned the streets white with foam.
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the historical event known as the Boston Tea Party.
- Al also references the event during his speech.
Trivia[]
- This episode aired two days before the United States presidential election of 1992, which Democratic candidate Bill Clinton won over the Republican incumbent George H.W. Bush.
- This episode is similar to the Season 5 episode, "The Dance Show" in that they both feature a more liberal side to Al’s normally conservative politics. In "The Dance Show", he becomes close friends with a gay man and even tells him (platonically) “I love you”, and in this episode he stands up for the working class against exploitation by the rich.
- Beer Girl #1 from the video Al watches is played by internet model Cindy Margolis, who was named by Guinness World Record as "the most downloaded woman on the internet" in 2000.
- Margolis and Tonya Poole, who plays Beer Girl #3 appeared in the same special edition of Playboy from 1992, Playboy's Garters and Lace. The special issue also featured MWC guest stars Petra Verkaik, Pamela Anderson, and Renee Tension.
- Robin Killian, who plays Bikini Girl #2, later appeared on MWC as Natalie, an attractive woman who appears in Al's dream before Peg wakes him up in "Wedding Show".
- A sign for Final Vinyl, the record shop where Al goes to find the name of a song in season 5's "Oldies But Young 'Uns" , can be seen in this episode as the Bundys walk away after the election results.
- Cynthia Allison, who plays the TV news desk reporter, was an actual news reporter for KNBC and KABC in Los Angeles during the 1980s.
- Kari Coleman, who played Muffy, the reporter who shows off her stockings and garter belt to get viewers' attention, later appears on MWC in "Un-Alful Entry" as the news desk reporter covering Al's self defense case.
- MWC co-creator Ron Leavitt makes a cameo in this episode as the drunk person who shows the news reporter the centerfold from a nudie magazine
- MWC writer Larry Jacobson makes a cameo in this episode as a drunk man who puts his arm around the news reporter after the election results are revealed.
- Jefferson reveals that Marcy votes for him absentee to ensure he votes for what she wants.
- It is actually illegal for Marcy to fill out Jefferson's ballot and cast his vote.
- The Bundys watch the voting results covered by Channel 83 Action News. The station was previously seen in "Rain Girl" and later in "Un-Alful Entry".
- The rerun airing on ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks (such as Logo TV and Pluto TV) omits the first half of the opening with Al walking as "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" plays. Instead, it immediately starts as the man standing outside of the hardware store mocks Al for not having a ride home.
Cultural References[]
- When Muffy, the news reporter mentions how there is low voter turnout and viewership and eventually pulls her skirt up to show her thigh high stockings and garter belt to get attention. This is a reference to voter apathy, which has caused low turnout during elections in the United States.
- During Al's speech about voting, he tells the crowd that "We didn't get away from that pansy country England by voting! We did it by throwing their stinkin' tea in our American harbor!" referring to the events of the Boston Tea Party. The event wad done in protest against the British taxing the colonies for tea.
- Jefferson mentions Jackie Kennedy who was the former First Lady of the United States from 1961-1963. Jefferson also mentions events of her life:
- Her first husband's (John F. Kennedy) assassination as he mentions that Marcy would be shot during her presidency.
- Marrying a Greek man (Aristotle Onassis), as he goes on about marry a rich Greek woman while implying that she would have to shave off a lot of body hair.
- Inheriting $26 million after her second husband died and eventually became a book editor, as he mentions that his Greek wife would die and leave him her wealth so he could become a book editor.
- Jackie was still alive when this episode aired, passing away two years later in 1994.
- The TV News reporter mentions the TV series F Troop. This was a sitcom about U.S. soldiers and American Indians in the Wild West during the 1860s that originally aired from 1965-1967 on ABC.
- One of the actors from the show, Larry Storch would later appear on MWC as Kelly's acting coach during the Season 9 episode, "Something Larry this Way Comes."
- Al mentions the animated TV show Tom and Jerry, specially the cartoon violence of that show.
- Al's line at the end of the episode, "Read my lips, don't tax beer" is a reference to a line made by then Vice-President George H.W. Bush, "Read my lips, no new taxes" during his election bid in 1988.
- After Al is asked if he wants a beer he says "Why ask why?". This is a reference to the slogan used by Bud Dry.
- At the closing of Al's speech, he tells the crowd, "Give me beer, or give me death!" in reference to the line "Give me liberty, or give me death!" said by Patrick Henry.
Music[]
- The opening scene of Al Bundy's slow walk in decrepit shoes is set to the instrumental tune of "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Downtown Chicago
- Laundromat/Voting Center
- Channel 83 Studio
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Downtown Chicago Streets/Final Vinyl Exterior
- Laundromat/Voting Center
- Channel 83 Action News Set
Goofs[]
- The voting center where the Bundys go to vote is covered by a news crew from TV station KLDB. However, this show is set in Chicago, where TV station call letters for states east of the Mississippi River all start with a W.
- For most of the episode they talk about a 2 cent beer tax increase, but near the end, when the news reporter is talking about it, she mentions a 2 percent beer tax increase.
- When Muffy begins her news report, as she walks past the dry cleaners' door, it appears to be dark outside, as if it is early evening. But when the Bundys arrive a few minutes later, it is suddenly sunny and bright.