The Joke's on Al is the 27th and final episode of Season 10, along with being the 238th overall episode.
Directed by Amanda Bearse and written by Calvin Brown Jr, the episode originally aired on FOX on May 26, 1996.
Synopsis[]
Al and Jefferson have a contest to see who is the king of practical jokes. Sometime later, a woman claiming to be a friend of Peggy's stays with the Bundys and begins to flirt with him, leaving him feeling uncertain if she really is a friend or part of Jefferson's prank.
Meanwhile, Griff is spending his one year anniversary as a member of NO MA'AM in jail and trying to convince anyone he can that he is innocent.
Plot Summary[]
To celebrate Griff's one year anniversary as a member of NO MA'AM, the guys decide to pull a prank on him. In order to keep him away from the group meeting and ruin their plans, they convince Officer Dan to have Griff arrested and brought up on charges of cannibalism, murder, and indecent exposure. Al tries to convince the group that the true prank to pull on Griff would be to have 10 pizzas sent to his apartment, while Jefferson convinces the group that a better idea would be to convince a cross-dresser to go and pick up Griff and seduce him, while recording it on tape.
With Al becoming upset after his joke idea is shot down, he and Jefferson decide to compete against each other in a practical joke contest to prove who is the best. Jefferson convinces the Bundys that they won a sweepstakes and have actor Gary Coleman provide the check, only for it to be fake. Al then one ups him by applying superglue to the D'Arcys' toilet seat, forcing Jefferson to awkwardly walk over and confront Al while the seat is glue onto his buttocks.
Meanwhile, due to Officer Dan's incompetence, Griff is left in jail for much longer than expected. He soon is put on trial, being labeled as the "Chicago Cannibal". Within 8 minutes, he was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death later that night.
Sometime later, Al is surprised to see a beautiful woman in the kitchen cooking for him. The woman reveals that her name is June Morgan and is claiming to be an old friend of Peg's. When the woman starts coming on to Al, he is sure it is one of Jefferson's practical jokes. He goes along with the idea and even takes it as far as planning a mock-wedding to get the upper hand. As the wedding proceeds and they are about to exchange vows, a bitter Al is trying to get Jefferson to admit that June Morgan was his joke and for Al to admit defeat. Unaware of what's going on, he then reveals to Al what his true prank was: bringing Peggy back home to Chicago, along with her father, Ephraim.
It turns out that June Morgan was actually Peggy's rival from Wanker County, and had held a grudge against Peg for many years. Her goal was to marry Al as revenge for Peggy stealing her finance when they were younger. Peggy quickly proceeds to knock her out. After seeing the wedding set up in their living room, Al is forced to renew his vows to Peggy, with a drunk Ephraim standing behind Al with a shotgun, just like when he first married Peg.
During the ending credits, Griff is shown being strapped to the electric chair, trying to convince himself that Al and his friends will pop up at any moment to reveal that it was all a joke. The executioner then tightens the straps and exits the chamber, leaving Griff even more concerned in his final moments.
Recurring cast[]
- Tim Conway as Ephraim Wanker
- Harold Sylvester as Griff
- Dan Tullis, Jr. as Officer Dan
- E.E. Bell as Bob Rooney
- Tom McCleister as Ike
Guest Stars[]
- Deborah Harmon as June Morgan
- Mark Sellers as Male Detective
- G. Jordan Moore as Female Detective
- Bert L. Cook as Executioner
- Gary Coleman as himself
Quotes[]
- [Kelly enters the house, with an angry Bud quickly following her in.]
- Bud: And will you please stop erasing the messages before I hear them, you human futon!
- [They suddenly stop in front of the kitchen telephone]
- Kelly: Bud, you didn't get any messages. Believe me. With my eagle ears, I listen very carefully to each and every message before I erase them.
- [Kelly slams her finger down on the answering machine, revealing that there was indeed a message on the machine.]
- Griff [v.o., frightened] Al, it's Griff! You gotta help me! I'm in...
- [Kelly presses the button and erases the message]
- Kelly: Besides, Bud, your girlfriends can't call you here. You have to call them, and it costs $3.95 a minute.
- [In the Bundy living room, Kelly is watching television]
- News Reporter: [v.o.] In national news, with the capture of the notorious "Chicago Cannibal"...
- [the television screen shows a picture of Griff in a straitjacket and looking deranged. Al then arrives home, carrying a six pack of beer and a camcorder]
- Kelly: [turns off the tv, concerned] Dad, Guess who's in prison?!
- Al: Unless it's Pauly Shore, I do not care.
- [After knocking out June Morgan, Peggy decides to punish Al by using actor Gary Coleman, who was serving as the reverend for Al and June's wedding, to renew their vows]
- Gary Coleman: For the 37th time, Bundy, do you take this woman to be your wife?
- Al: For the 37th, 8th, and 9th times: No, no, no. [Peg shoots him a dirty look]
- Peg: Come on, Al. It's not like we're really getting married. We're just renewing our vows. Besides, Dad's got you covered.
- [Al looks behind him and sees Ephraim holding a flask and pointing a shotgun at him]
- Al: Just like old times, eh, Ephraim?
- Ephraim: [in a drunken stupor] Only this time the... the gun is loaded. [takes a swig from his flask] And so am I!
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the saying "the joke's on you".
Trivia[]
- Amanda Bearse does not appear in this episode, although she directed it.
- Deborah Harmon, who played June Morgan, previously appeared on MWC in season 2's "Alley of the Dolls" as Peggy's high school rival, Mimi Stoatz.
- This episode marks the return of Katey Sagal after being away to give birth to her second child.
- Buck the dog, who played Buck Bundy died two days after this episode aired on May 28, 1996 . He was thirteen years old.
- In the original airing of this episode, during the end credits, Griff is showing being strapped to the electric chair and nervously comments that the joke should be over now. The executioner adjusts the straps as Griff nervously fidgets and then slams the door.
- On the DVD version, a still frame of Griff already strapped to the chair is shown while "Love and Marriage" plays over the credits.
- The original dialogue from the ending credits:
- Griff: (nervously) Hey, I know what this is. This is a practical joke because I've been in NO MA'AM one whole year. Annnyy minute now, you're going to rip that hood off and say "Gotcha!"
- Executioner: (tugs on the chest strap) You bet I am!
- The executioner in the original ending credits is played Bert L. Cook, who was a production staff member for the show.
Cultural References[]
- After Kelly sees Griff's mugshot and asks Bud to guess who went to jail for eating a lot of people, he quips "Tommy Lasorda?".
- Tommy Lasorda was a former baseball pitcher and manager, who was best known for managing the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976 to 1996. He retired from the Dodgers about two months after this episode originally aired.
- Bud's line is likely a reference to Lasorda being known for having a large belly and eating large portions of food. Ironically, he had been a spokesman for the weight loss food company, Slim Fast, during the late 80s and into the 1990s.
- After Kelly sees Griff's second mugshot on the TV and tries to get Al to guess who is in jail, he tells her "Unless its Pauly Shore, I do not care".
- Pauly Shore is an actor and comedian who at the time this episode originally aired, was known for appearing in several box office flops.
- He had previously appeared on MWC in the season 3 episode, "A Three Job, No Income Family" as Al's boss at Burger Trek.
- Gary Coleman is continuously misidentified throughout the episode, mostly by Al. Instead of being recognized as either himself or his Arnold Drummond character from Diff'rent Strokes, he is confused with:
- Webster Long from Webster
- Steven Q. Urkel from Family Matters
- Freddy "Rerun" Stubbs from What's Happening!!
- Isaac Washington from The Love Boat
- After Lucky sees June and Al, Lucky says "I've seen 15 'Murder, She Wrotes' that started like this." This is in reference to the CBS mystery drama series.
- After Bob Rooney believes Gary Coleman is Issac from The Love Boat, he calls Bob Rooney "Free Willy" in reference to the 1993 film about a killer whale.
Music[]
- The song "Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke is heard while Griff sits in jail and admits that he didn't eat anyone.
- The NO MA'AM members play "The Wedding March" on a kazoo.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Chicago Police Department Station
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Bundy Backyard
- Chicago Police Department Holding Cells
- Execution Chamber
Goofs[]
- The Chicago Cannibal is sentenced to die by electrocution. In Illinois, a criminal's death is carried out by lethal injection, not electrocution.