What Goes Around Came Around is the 18th episode of the fourth season of Married... with Children, also the 75th overall episodes of the series. Directed by Gerry Cohen, the episode was written by Ellen L. Fogle. The episode originally aired on FOX on February 25, 1990.
Synopsis[]
Bud tries to get revenge on a girl (played by Saved by the Bell's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) who humiliated him in sixth grade. Meanwhile, Al prepares a speech for the homecoming dance, warning teens of the dangers of marriage.
Episode summary[]
Al prepares a speech for his high school reunion dance, warning teens of the dangers of marriage. He gets all excited when he's asked to speak at the high school reunion dance at Polk High. At the dance, while Al rambles on and on about the unhappily married man, Peggy finds herself being wooed by a teacher, Kelly trying to please two dates, and Bud plotting revenge against his date, Heather McCoy, who humiliated him years earlier by running his underwear up a flagpole. Bud tries to make amends with Heather (played by Saved by the Bell's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) who humiliated him in sixth grade.
Recurring cast/Guest stars[]
- Regulars
Guest starring[]
- Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as Heather McCoy
- Joel J. Edwards as Jeff
- Bojesse Christopher as Rick (as Bojesse Christopher Graham)
- Carol Gustafson as Principal Ravinko
- Mik Scriba as Mr. Blum
- Steven Sprung as Clyde (as Steve Bruskin)
- Joshua D. Howard as Guy #1
- Cory Tyler as Guy #2 (as Corey Tyler)
Quotes[]
- Segments of Al's speech at the dance:
- "Thank you. [holds up an egg] This is your brain."
- "Sure, before you marry them, all women say they like football. But as soon as you say "I do", they put on about 40 pounds. And the only "hike" you see is them hiking up their pants before they weld their butts to the sofa for the rest of their worthless lives! I work for a living!"
- "[As Peggy asks men for a light] Next, so I drop her home, swerve to the right, swerve to the right and still, she came down the aisle and married me. Sports, the ultimate training for life. Nothing prepares you...I was something...No choice! Ran right through him!...Then came my second failure. "
- "And you want to talk about flying wenches? Let's talk about my mother-in-law. People often overuse the phrase "as big as the Earth". But kids, try to picture everyone you know under one muumuu.
- "...Well, [takes the microphone from the stand and walks across the stage] I can't say that football is a metaphor for every aspect of life, there are similarities...[Al clubs Blum over the head with the microphone] my wedding night, [returns to center stage] for example..."
- "Shoes. No kind of life for a man..."
- " Now, the moment you've all been waiting for; the recount of my last game at Polk High: It was a frosty evening in November... [Peggy then comes on stage and pushes him away from the podium]"
- Bud: Dad, I need to talk to you for a second.
- Al: Bud, I'm working on a speech right now.
- Bud: Dad, when you were in school, did a girl ever do something to you... something so rotten that it actually ruined your whole life?
- Al: Yes, and you call that girl "Mom" now.
- Al: Son, let me tell you something about revenge. Now, this is something that you're going to have to learn before you can truly call yourself a man. Revenge... is great. It's phenomenal. It's the only thing that separates us from the animals. It's why I stay with your mother. Now, son, if you have a chance to get back at a girl who has wronged you... do it! Do it now! Do it good! Do it twice! There'll be many women in your life, son, but the one you got revenge on will always be the sweetest of them all.
- [Bud smiles proudly at his father as they both share a hug]
- Al: Hehehe
- Bud: Thanks, dad! [begins to walk towards the stairs]
- Al: Hey! [Bud stops and turns around, as Al smiles] Humiliate her for me, son!
- Bud: [points at Al and smiles] You got it, Dad!
- [As Al writes his speech for the dance, Peg emerges from the basement while holding something behind her back]
- Al: Hey, did you find any of my football mementos to show the fans?
- Peg: Oh, I certainly did, hehe... your athletic supporter. [holds up a small and dirty athletic supporter, then reads the label on the inside] Gee, "XS". [smugly] Must stand for "Extra Snug", huh? Now honey, would you like me to write "front" and "back" on these like I do on your underwear? Or do you think that this "R-I-P" says it all?
- Al: Well, as long as we're writing on each other's underwear, why don't you pass me a pair of yours so I can draw the skull and cross bones?
- Marcy: Hiiii. [walks in and sits next to Al] Hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just wanted you to know I'm holding up well after being deserted by my husband. What was his name? Oh yes, "Doodie Face".
- [Al isn't paying attention to Marcy as he is focused on writing his speech. She then turns to Peg who joins them on the couch]
- Marcy: Anyway, I know you're concerned, despite the fact that you haven't called, or stopped by, or even veered to the left when I was lying in your driveway.
- Peg: Well, Marcy, it's not that we don't care, it's just that the McNuggets were getting cold.
- Marcy: Oh, well, no one could expect you to care about a friend when you've got a greasy bag of fried viddles a-coolin'.
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the idiom, "What goes around comes around", meaning that if someone treats other people badly, he or she will eventually be treated badly by someone else. In this case, Bud is trying to get his revenge after what Heather McCoy did to him the sixth grade.
Trivia[]
- Bud said that 75 kids tease him every day about Heather humiliating him in sixth grade; this might be a reference to this being the 75th episode.
- Kelly makes a reference to Joey, Bud's friend from season one.
- It is revealed that Al was the MVP for the class of 1966.
- The locker next to Bud's has graffiti on it that reads "SLUG HEAD"
- Peggy reveals that Al used to rub her tush every night before bed, but he points out he only did that to remove the scent of working with feet.
- Marcy implies that she tried to kill herself by laying down in the Bundy's driveway when the Bundys were come back home and that no one has been talking to her since Steve left.
- Marcy is still referring to herself as "Marcy Rhoades" instead of reverting back to her maiden name.
Cultural References[]
- Polk High's invitation was turned down by Gale Sayers, Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary, and Abe Vigoda before they turned to "Alf" Bundy.
- Gale Sayers, Jim McMahon, Walter Payton and Mike Singletary were professional NFL players who played for the Chicago Bears at various times between the 1970s and early 1990s.
- Abe Vigoda was an actor best known at the time for his roles in The Godfather, Barney Miller and Fish (all three would later be referenced during season 5 and 6 of MWC)
- Al is mistakenly called "ALF Bundy", a possible reference to the 1980's sitcom ALF, which ended just a few weeks after this episode premiered.
- A few episodes earlier, in "He Ain't Much, But He's Mine", Marcy tells Peggy that from her impromptu survey, women would rather have sex with ALF than with Al.
- When Al arrives home at the beginning of the episode, he mentions "The Sharper Image", a catalog based retail business that sells high-tech gifts.
- The brand would be parodied later as "The Sharper Infant" during Season 6 and 8.
- One of the commercials Peg watches mentions Gary Coleman, who would later guest star as himself on MWC.
- The commercial also mentions Ned Beatty, an actor best know for starring in the 1972 film Deliverance, which Ed O'Neill is often believed to have appeared in.
- Al's visual demonstration of a skillet and an egg to show what happens to a brain on marriage, is a reference to a popular anti drug PSA during the late 1980s.[1][2]
- The PSA had the brain represented by an egg lying next to a skillet. The egg is then cracked open with the contents being poured onto the skillet. Finally the egg is fried on the skillet with the announcer saying "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?"
- Peggy tells Marcy that she bought Chicken McNuggets from McDonalds and didn't want them to get cold, which is why she didn't hit Marcy in her driveway.
Locations[]
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Polk High School Hallway / Lockers
- Polk High School Gymnasium
Goofs[]
- Bud says it's been 5 years since Heather pulled the last prank on him in 6th grade. This episode take place in early 1990, which means he would have been in 6th grade in 1984 and 1985, but that would be an error considering the season one episode, "Have You Driven a Ford Lately?" when he says he was a 5th grader in 1987. It also wouldn't add up for him to be an 11th grader in early 1990.
References[]
External Links[]
What Goes Around Came Around at the Internet Movie Database- What Goes Around Came Around on Bundyology
- What Goes Around Came Around - Transcript on albundy.net
- #76 What Goes Around Came Around - MWC Podcast on Horrorphilia
