User Friendly

User Friendly is the 22nd episode in Season 9 of Married... with Children, and the 205th overall episode. Directed by Sam W. Orender and written by Russell Marcus, the episode originally aired on FOX, premiering on April 9, 1995.

Synopsis

Bud experiences cyber sex with a cyber rendition of Amber at a computer lab, and gets hooked on it. Meanwhile, Al discovers a mysterious light switch that seems to have no use in the house. With Jefferson and Bob Rooney, he tears down the entire house in an effort to locate the effect of the switch which operates a light inside Buck's doghouse.

Storyline

"User Friendly" opens with Peg discovering sabotage of the worst kind - someone has changed her TV channels. Al, it turns out, bought the Guy Package from the cable company with "FemBlock", so Oprah and company will no longer be available to her. Al settles down for a marathon session of relaxation, and Bud comes in with the news that he is being paid to take part in some human behavior research, which he hopes will buy his way back into Amber's . . affections. Amber wants him to show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, which his male role model, sitting on the couch, indicates is going to be hard.

Jefferson's arrival further derails Al's plans, leading him to wonder about the switch under the telephone, and to pull it out in order to find what it's connected to. The two guys demonstrate complete technical ineptitude while trying to deal with this issue of wiring, which the ladies treat as in-house entertainment. Al is in full Wile E. Coyote mode, getting zapped regularly by the electricity every time he tries - well, anything.

At the lab, beautiful blonde Sandy breaks it to Bud that this is to be a cybersex experiment, and when she turns around again, he's ready to go. She presents him with the cybersuit he is to wear, and introduces him to Dr. Kessler, the originator of the project. The two scientists then go off to create Bud's electronic Eve.

Recurring cast regulars

• Harold Sylvester as Griff
• Juliet Tablak as Amber (last appearance)
• E.E. Bell as Bob Rooney

Guest starring

• JD Cullum as Dr. Kessler (as J.D. Cullum)
• Elaine Hendrix as Sandy
• John Kendall as Bruno
• Gita Isak as Screaming voice (Uncredited)

Notes

Title

• The title of the episode is a reference to the term "User Friendly" meaning that something, especially in terms of technology, is easy to operate and understand.

Trivia

• This episode marks the final appearance of Juliet Tablak as Amber.
  • In a 2017 radio interview, Juliet Tablak said that Amber was supposed to be carried over into the planned spin-off, Radio Free Trumaine which would have focused on Bud's life at Trumaine. She had in fact signed on for the show, but the character was suddenly removed at the last minute without explanation and instead replaced with a new character April Adams.
• Elaine Hendrix, who plays Sandy, the doctor who introduces Bud to the machine would later appear on MWC as Elaine, the owner of Frisky in the season 11 episode, "Lez Be Friends".
  • Hendrix and David Faustino who plays Bud dated in real life around 1996.
  • It was also rumored that he dated Juliet Tablak as well during season 9.
• It is revealed that Bud has had sex four times
• Starting with this episode, Marcy has a noticeably shorter hairstyle, similar to the one she had during season 5.

Cultural References

• Peggy tells Kelly that her favorite talk shows have been replaced, saying Oprah Winfrey is now Monster Truckin, The Phil Donahue Show is midget wrestling and Richard Bey is a wet t-shirt contest, but realizes that it is actually Richard Bey
• When Amber says she's free for Bud's invitation on Friday, he answers: "Good, good. You can spend it hanging with Mr. Cooper." This is in reference to the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Location

• Bundy Residence
• Research Lab

Sets

• Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
• Bundy Backyard
• Research Lab / Testing area

Goofs

• After Bob Rooney arrives the and the men go to the backyard, they walk past the staircase and the wiring is off to the side. Shortly afterward, Kelly and Amber arrive and the wires are now spread out over the staircase
• When Bud returns and Amber says that she is free and wants to go out with him on Friday, her hands are first in front of her. Immediately, in the next shot they are behind her as Bud tells her she can spend it watch Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.