The Proposition was the 26th episode and finale episode of Season 7 of Married... with Children, also the 157th overall episode of the series. Directed by Gerry Cohen and writen by Arthur Silver, the episode originally on FOX, premiering on May 23, 1993.
Synopsis[]
Al's old girlfriend (played by Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White) wants to buy Al from Peggy for $500,000. It makes Peg realize how much she really loves her husband.
Storyline[]
A rich, hot babe from Al's past thinks Al is a disgusting pig - but she likes that in a man. So she offers to buy Al for half a million dollars. The babe, Coco, or Helen Granowinner, who was a year behing Al and Peg at Polk High school, appears in a commercial; Peg doesn't initially remember, but Al, who does, claims that Coco, or Helen "Rode the Bundy Starship a couple of seasons"! Bud pokes fun at his claim: "Dad, You've never had a beautiful woman in your life", which alienates and insults Peg, too!
Anyways, when Coco, or Helen, as Al and Peg both remember her, drops by Gary's Shoes, she, claiming that no one had ever before or since had made love to her the way that he did, again has that hots for him, although she finds him to be a pig, which she strangely likes in a man! Al allows her to drop by the Bundy house, but only if she brought a pepperoni pizza with her! Needless to say, the kids, Kelly and Bud, are amazed when Al's claim is proven true at Coco's presence, as well as astonished that such a hot lady could be interested in someone like him! When Coco offers Peg $500.000 to buy him from her, at first Peg is happy to sell Al, but later she starts to have second thoughts. When the D'arcys drop by, they, needless to say, can't believe what they see, either, as Marcy says, "This is impossible...someone wants Al for sex!?What do you have, a pet urangutan who's lonely, and not picky?"
When Vanna shows up a second time whie Peg is away with Bud and Kelly checking out the new lakeshore condiminum that was part of the deal, Al, who also has some reservations about the deal, is ready to dive in head first at seeing the lovely Coco in a nightie! But, when Peg returns to pick up a few more things, and she then catches Coco. or Helen, in bed with Al, she changes her mind, and gives Coco back her money, and tells her "This is my bed, and my man...here's your check, and get out!" When Peg tries to hand her a blank piece of paper, with Helen responding "This isn't my check...It's a blank piece of paper!", Peg, who tried to pull a fast one, responds "It's funny how you can confuse a blank piece of paper with a cashiers check!"
A rejected Coco nonchalantly says "It's times like this that I'm glad there's a Ben and Jerry's!" When Peg asks, "You're gonna buy ice cream!?" Coco responds "No, I'm going to buy Ben and Jerry!"
Guest stars/Recurring[]
- Cast regulars
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck as Buck Bundy
Guest starring []
- Vanna White as Coco/Helen Granowinner
- Kevin Schon as Phil
- Jane Childerhose as Customer in Store
Quotes[]
- [Kelly and Bud enter their parents' bedroom in their nightclothes and turn on the light.]
- Kelly: Hey Mom, Dad?
- Peg: Kids! Don't just burst in like that! What if we'd been doing something intimate?
- [Kelly and Bud look at each other and burst out laughing. Al and Peg then do the same.]
- Kelly: No, we have to turn on the television. [turns it on] That lady, Coco's on. You know, the one with the beauty empire?
- Bud: Yeah, she said she graduated from Polk High. She's supposed to be the most famous graduate Polk High ever had.
- Al: The SECOND most famous graduate! I don't think this Coco broad scored four touchdowns in a single game! Or would've played pro ball if it wasn't for a bummed knee and an even bummer wife.
- [The D'Arcys are visiting the Bundys after Coco has arrived, with Jefferson trying to get some advice on how to use her products for his thighs]
- Al: Hey, she didn't come here to talk shop! She came here to purchase me as a sex toy.
- Marcy: Oh, this is impossible. Someone wants you for sex? [looks at Coco] What do you have, a pet orangutan who's lonely? And not picky?
- Al: [to Coco] Oh, I'm sorry, you two weren't properly introduced, I don't think. This is Marcy, our next door neighbor. [Marcy smiles and nods] As you can see, she's probably used some of your vanishing cream on her breasts. [grinning while pointing at Marcy's chest] See, not a trace!
- [The family is standing around in the living room and debate about whether to let Coco buy Al for $500,000. Peggy begins pressing on Al's body to examine him.]
- Peg: Five hundred thousand dollars for this? I don't get it! But then I haven't been getting it for 20 years, so what's the difference? [sits on the couch] We can't sell Daddy.
- Kelly: [moves over and stands next to Al] Uh, Mom? When you say "we", I hope you mean "oui" as in French for, "Hell yes, we'll sell Daddy and collaborate with the Germans"? Ergo, which is French for, "Yes, take our country, but please let us live to make our creamy sauces," I say we take the five hundred thousand and bid Daddy adieu. Which is French for "a deer, a female deer." So, in closing, I'd like to say one simple thing.
- [Kelly moves a few steps back and starts acting out her cheer]
- Kelly: S-E-L-L! Sellllll Daddyyy! [jumps] Yayyy.
- [Kelly takes a bow and walks off. Bud approaches Al and stands in front of him]
- Bud: Dad, [pauses while looking over Al with disgusts] take a long hard look at yourself, pal. You tell me what other possibility there is out there for a man made of fudge. [slaps Al across the face twice] Snap out of it, man! Sell your worthless damn body and soul. It's better than selling shoes. At least we'll finally be able to tell people what you do. You'll be "Al Bundy, male hooker".
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to Coco's proposition of buying Al from Peggy for $500,000.
Trivia[]
- After this episode, MWC co-creator Ron Leavitt and writer/producer Arthur Silver exited the series, eventually moving onto the similar themed show Unhappily Ever After on the rival network, The WB.
- Vanna White, the actress who played Coco, was previously mentioned in season 2's The Poker Game, when Al and his friends discuss the parts needed to make the perfect woman.
- In the season 9 special My Favorite Married, Katey Sagal, Amanda Bearse and Ted McGinley mentioned that they enjoyed working with Vanna White for this episode.
- Al is shown stealing lunch from a fellow mall employee in this episode.
- Al reveals that anytime he has asked a woman to order him a pizza with extra cheese they never seem to get it right.
Cultural References[]
- The theme of this episode is similar to the 1993 film Indecent Proposal, in which a billionaire offers a husband and wife money to pay off their gambling debts in exchange for the billionaire spending a night with the wife.
- The MWC plot dealt with Peggy giving up Al in exchange for $500,000. Given how Peggy likes to spend money, there is no way that the money would last a month outside of a second husband. In "Tis Time to Smell the Roses," the $12,000, which was supposed to last a year, was spent in less than a week.
- Marcy mentions they have video of Jefferson's father fan dancing for J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States.
- He was previously mentioned in an earlier episode alluding to rumors of him being a cross dresser and also using blackmail techniques against his enemies.
- After Jefferson and Marcy passionately make out as they leave the Bundy residence, Al mentions it's better to have the D'Arcys as neighbors rather than Siegfried & Roy. Siegfried & Roy were a German-American duo of former stage magicians and entertainers who became known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers.
- During Kelly's butchering of the French language to explain why Peggy should sell Al to Coco, she makes several references:
- " 'We' as in French for 'Hell yes we'll sell daddy for money and collaborate with the Germans!' " - The French word for yes is "Oui" (pronouced like "We") and Kelly is alluding to France surrendering to the invading German army during World War II.
- "Ergo, which is French for ' Yes, take our country, but please let us live to make our creamy sauces' " - Further alluding to France surrendering to German during World War II (and the common stereotype that the French are cowards) as well as French cuisine, which renowned for its French Mother Sauces and its rich, decadent cuisine.
- " I say we take the $500,000 and bid daddy adieu, which is French for ' A deer. A female deer' " - "Adieu" is the French term for "Goodbye" while Kelly is confusing it with a line from the song "Do-Re-Mi" from the musical The Sound of Music.
- Peggy passes Coco a page of the TV Guide instead of her check.
- Coco mentions that she is going to buy Ben & Jerry's. She however does not mean ice cream, but is referring to buying the actual founders of the ice cream brand that is their namesake.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Television Studio
- Gary's Shoes & Accessories for Today's Woman
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Al & Peggy's Bedroom
- Talk Show set
- Gary's Shoes & Accessories entrance / cash register
Goofs[]
- During the mall scene, the directory sign in front of Gary's Shoes reads "Lakeside Mall". Al works at the New Market Mall, while the Lakeside Mall is their rival.
- After Coco visits Al at the mall, he has a sandwich in his left hand as he gets up and tells her that he knows why she's there. The camera then zooms in on Al and the arm that had the sandwich is in a different position, as if he was putting his left hand on his waist. Then when the camera shows her pressing up on him saying that she wants him from her backside, his left hand is on his waist, and the sandwich has now disappeared.
- When Al gets up to greet Coco, his shirt is dry, but when the camera zooms in on him asking her why she's there, there is a noticeable wet spot near his right shoulder / chest area. It disappears after he breaks away from her embrace and goes to dry his pants with a fan. It reappears when he says "I'm sorry to say it" and disappears again when he tells her that they will have pizza and she will bring it there.
- After Al spills soda on his pants, the spill pattern changes between shots. It appears to be a light spill on several spots when he gets up to greet Coco, but after he breaks away from her embrace to shake the ice cube out of his pants, his pants to be heavily soaked in a different spot.
- When Peggy tells Al that he has a disgusting piece of cheese on his chin, and Coco eats it, we can see that Ed O'Neill is trying hard not to laugh.