User Friendly is the 23rd episode in Season 9 of Married... with Children, and the 206th 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. Later, during one of Bud's sessions, Kelly seduces Dr. Kessler, allowing Amber to come in and sabotage Bud's fantasy - giving bud a new interest in primates.
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)
Quotes[]
- Bud: Amber, my sweet. It has come to my attention that I may have been a bit forward with you in the past.
- Amber: [annoyed] You mean like when you grabbed my shirt and went "Honk! Honk!"?
- Bud: Yeah. And I was thinking that maybe I could make it up to you this weekend. [pauses, then with a grin] Your pants or mine?
- Amber: [disgusted] You're amazing. Where do you learn this kind of behavior?
- Al: [giddy, talking to the television set while watching a movie] No, you can't hide under the tree stump! He can burrow! [gestures burrowing]. Don't you see?! He's half mole! Ahahahahaha!
- Amber: Well, anyway. For your information a woman is more than a loose assortment of body parts put here for your entertainment. We have minds too.
- Kelly: [coming down the stairs with a TV Guide in her hand] Hey, guys. This is so funny. What a great idea. Look. [stands in-between the couple while pointing to a page] "Beverly Hills, 90, 210". Boy, they must be really dumb. That far in the future they're still in high school.
- [From a control room, Dr. Kessler and Sandy are watching Bud perform in a virtual reality sex experiment. While Bud seems himself with Amber as she leads him to a nearby table for sex in his virtual world, the actual Bud in lying on a chair in a black suit with a headset and wires running through it.]
- Bud: [giddy, while fondling an invisible pair of breast] Honk! Honk!
- Sandy: Oh, I recognize this. It's foreplay.
- Dr. Kessler: Either that or he has a spastic colon.
- Bud: [offscreen] Oh, baby, what you do!
- Dr. Kessler: Yeah, it's his colon. [jots down some notes on his clipboard]
- Sandy: Let's get a second opinion.
- [Sandy turns around and call over the nearby janitor]
- Sandy: Hey, Bruno. What does this look like to you?
- Bruno: [stands next to Sandy and silently observes for a moment] Looks like I'm gonna need a bigger mop.
- [After trying to convince Al to talk to Bud about his sudden change in appearance and attitude, a concerned Kelly walks over to the couch to talk to her brother.]
- Kelly: Hey, Bud. [points to a box on the coffee table while taking a seat next to him] What's in the box?
- Bud: Ehhh, just some old things that I don't need anymore.
- Kelly: [leans over the box and examines the contents] Your porno magazines and your rubber dolls?! Ok, Bud, I don't understand. First, you blow off Amber, the only woman who has ever touched you without saying "Excuse me, sonny". Now this?!
- Bud: Look, Kelly, I don't need Amber, okay? I have her. Dr. Kessler introduced me to cybersex and I can create Amber any time I want.
- Kelly: But she's not the real Amber.
- Bud: Oh, oh, she's better. She does what I want, whenever I want it. You see, Kel, this is the breakthrough that men have been waiting for since the beginning of time. You know what? [gradually becomes more snarky] It looks like you and your cross-legged, "let's talk," gift-expecting, ordering-the-most-expensive-thing-on-the-menu, "what about me?" bimbo sapiens are about to be made obsolete. Ahahaha! [points at Kelly and then gets up and walks to the door]
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. [1]
- 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 Kelly comes down and shows Bud and Amber the TV Guide, she points to a show that she read as "Beverly Hills, 90, 210", before commenting that they must be incredibly dumb to still be in high school that far into the future.
- This is in reference to the FOX primetime teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210, which originally depicted a group of teen friends attending high school in Beverly Hills, California. When this episode originally aired, Beverly Hills, 90210, was in its fifth season and the characters were already in the second year of college. Though when the show premiered, the cast were already in their early to mid 20s but playing 13-14 year old high school students.
- Several cast members appeared on MWC prior to joining Beverly Hills, 90210 including Ian Ziering and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.
- 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.
Reference[]
- ↑ The lovely Juliet Tablak takes us back on The Stoop!. The Yo Show! On The Stoop Radio Network.