Rock of Ages is the ninth episode of Season 7 of Married... with Children that aired on FOX on November 15, 1992, also the 140th overall episode in the series. The episode, directed by cast member Gerry Cohen, was written by Al Aidekman.
Synopsis[]
When his paycheck is taken by bill collectors, Al competes in a shoe selling contest to the point that he resorts to having Seven swipe Marcy's shoes so he can sell her a new pair. Al wins a first class trip to Honolulu, but Peggy trades it in for four standby tickets. Therefore, to get his time in a first-class lounge, Al poses as aging rock star Axel Bundy of Shoes N' Socks fame.
Storyline[]
When his paycheck is taken by bill collectors, Al decides to do something with his life; compete in a shoe-selling contest. Al resorts to many tactics, such as working overtime as well as selling Marcy a pair of shoes that match her dress (after having Seven swipe her shoes). To the family's surprise, Al wins the contest. Al's prize is one first class ticket to Honolulu, but Peg trades it in for four standby tickets so the family can go, infuriating Al. After dumping Seven off with the D'Arcys, the Bundys travel to Chicago's O'Hare Airport where they will probably never get a flight. In a surprising twist, Al masquerades as an aging 1960s rock star, named 'Axel Bundy' from the group 'Shoes and Socks' in which they hob-nob into the first class lounge with six famous musicians, Richie Havens, Spencer Davis, John Sebastian, Robby Krieger, Peter Noone, and Mark Lindsay. Al pretends his musicial ability is to play a pastrami sandwich, which actually impresses the aging rockers. When it comes time for the rockers to leave, Al thinks to himself the ruse of "Axl Bundy" has gone on long enough and prepares to return to the regular lounge for what will seem like an eternity, but the real rockers invite him to come with them to Arizona. Al then sees what they got together in Arizona to do, which is something he did not expect of rock stars, a benefit concert for senior citizens!
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Cast regulars
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck as Buck Bundy
- Shane Sweet as Seven
Guest starring[]
- Richie Havens as Himself
- Spencer Davis as Himself
- Robby Krieger as Himself
- Mark Lindsay as Himself
- Peter Noone as Himself
- John Sebastian as Himself
- Aaron Lustig as First Class Lounge Attendant
- Teresa Lee as Petal (as Theresa Lee)
- Mark J. Goodman as VJ (as Mark Goodman)
Quotes[]
- Bud: Hi, Dad. This is Petal.
- Petal: It's part of a flower.
- Bud: Isn't she great? I met her in quantum physics. Hold my calls. [the couple begin walking towards the staircase]
- Al: There never are any, son.
- Bud: [annoyed] Never mind that now, Dad. See you tomorrow. [the couple begins to go up the staircase]
- Al: Uh, young lady. Young lady, you do realize that's my son's bedroom you're going to?
- Petal: Yes. Heh heh.
- [Al, with a proud look on his face, throws out his arms to congratulate his son. Bud, with a smile on his face, comes down and the two embrace and share a laugh. Petal then notices the shoe boxes on the counter]
- Petal: Heeeyyy, nice shoes!
- [As Petal walks over to look at the shoes, Al suddenly perks up while Bud realizes that he's about to lose out on having sex so Al can sell her the shoes and win his vacation trip to Hawaii]
- Bud: Dad, don't! [Al begins walking over to her as Bud desperately tries to hold him back and pleads with him] No, Daaaaddd! Dad, noooo!
- [At the airport lounge, Peggy begins approaching the musicians to flirt with them, starting with Spencer Davis]
- Peggy: You are who I think of when I have sex with my husband! Hahaha! [Davis smiles and blushes]
- [Peggy then walks over to Peter Noone, who is sitting next to Davis and puts her hand on his shoulder]
- Peggy: You are who I think of when I have sex with my husband! Hahaha! [Noone smiles and tugs on his shirt]
- [Peggy then walks over to Richie Havens, who is reading a newspaper and grabs him by his wrist, startling him]
- Peggy: You are who I think of when I have sex with my husband! Hahaha! [Havens is left speechless and then turns to Noone and Davis]
- [Peggy then walks over to a man who has his back towards her and his head down on the bar counter, and strokes his back]
- Peggy: You are who I think of when I...
- [the person immediately turns around, revealing that it is Al, who looks disgusted at Peggy's shameless flirting]
- Peggy: Oh, hohoho ...when I clean up the floor around the toilet.
- [At the airport lounge, musicians Richie Havens, Spencer Davis, Robby Krieger, Mark Lindsay, Peter Noone, and John Sebastian are sitting on a couch with their guitars out and call Al "Axl" Bundy to join them]
- John Sebastian: Hey, Axl, come on! Join us over here! We're jamming!
- Mark Lindsey: Yeah, come on man, it wouldn't be a jam without, uh... [struggling to remember his name before turning back to the group] ...who is that guy?!
- Richie Havens: His name's uh "Awful Grungy" or something.
- Mark Lindsey: [looking over his shoulder] I don't... I don't know him, [pointing] but I know that's Peggy, and I believe we ALL remember her.
- [The musicians smile and wave to Peggy, who then smiles and waves back at them, while Axl is eating a sandwhich]
- Spencer Davis: I think I remember him... Didn't he used to be the "Fifth Monkee". [gestures to Al] Hey, "Ankle", we're waiting on 'ya! Come on!
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of the episode is likely a reference to the 1983 rock song of the same name by Def Leppard.
- It may also be a play on the topic of the episode of Al performing with a group of aging rock stars.
Trivia[]
- In the episode "Christmas", Kelly receives a copy of Herman's Hermits' single, "I'm Henery the VIII, I Am". The singer of that song, Peter Noone appears as himself in this episode.
- Al says that he had sex with Peggy the night before his famous Four Touchdowns.
- Al's faux rock star name is butchered multiple times and is referred to as:
- Awful Grungy
- Ankle
- Maxwell
Cultural References[]
- Al's faux rocker name "Axl Bundy" as well as his fictional group, Shoes N' Socks are both parodies of rock band Guns N' Roses and its' front man, Axl Rose.
- While trying to convince John Sebastian that they played together the previous year, he mentions Live Aid among other names including Kool-Aid.
- The song that Al and the musicians sing, "We Are The Old", is a parody of the 1985 charity single, "We Are The World", while the supergroup they form, Old Aid, is a parody of the 1984 charity supergroup, "Band Aid".
- The end of the episode ends with a picture of Al and the musicians on the cover of Spin, a music magazine that was in publication from 1985 to 2012. It currently exist as a webzine.
- When John Sebastian accidentally bumps into Al at the first class area and Al recognizes him, he tells Al "Believe in Magic, buddy.". This is a reference to Sebastian's 1965 single "Do You Believe in Magic".
- When Al questions how long can they be stuck on standby for, a person covered in spiderwebs is holding a newspaper with the headline "FDR PROMISES NEW DEAL". The New Deal program was created by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt that was enacted between 1933 and 1938 to help America after the Great Depression.
- When Al and the guys about to board the plane, he runs back and grabs a sandwich, saying "I need Lucille", a reference to B.B. King and his guitar which is also named Lucille.
- After Al and the kids grab the sandwiches from the attendant, Kelly says "Can you imagine living like this all the time? No wonder Fergie is such a piglet". This is in reference to Sarah, Duchess of York, who was often informally referred to as "Fergie" and her weight issues. Following the birth of her daughters, she gained significant weight, despite being a member of the Royal Family and living a wealthy lifestyle, with the press labeling her as "Duchess of Pork" and "Fat Fergie". She later would become a spokesperson for Weight Watchers after losing weight with their program.
- Contrary to what Kelly said, it is very doubtful that the British Royal Family flies commercial. Besides, the living situation would be more luxurious than a first class lounge at an airport.
- When the group tries to figure out where they met "Axl", Spencer Davis suggest that he might have been "The fifth Monkee" in reference to the American band, The Monkees and the term "Fifth Beatle", meaning someone who was a former member of or had a strong connection to the British band The Beatles.
- While berating his family, Al calls Bud "The lonely Mr. Cherry", which may be alluding to the slang term "Cherry Boy", which is used to refer to a male virgin.
Music[]
- The musicians and Al perform an instrumental blues piece while waiting to board their flight.
- The supergroup Old Aid perform their single, "We Are The Old" at the end of the episode.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Chicago Airport
- Video Channel Studio
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Chicago Airport Standby area
- Chicago Airport First Class Lounge
- Video Channel soundstage
Goofs[]
- When the guys try to convince "Axl" to jam with them, Robbie Krieger refers to him as Al, even though the rest of the guys know him as "Axl".
- While on the couch, Al refers to Bud as "The lonely Mr. Cherry". Bud then takes his hands out of his pockets, hangs his head in shame and folds his arms. Yet, immediately after that, the camera shifts to Al getting up, but Bud now has his hands in his pockets.
- After buying the shoes from Al, Marcy takes the box of shoes from Al's hand as mentions that she is tired of seeing her reflection in Al's bald spot. Immediately after finishing her line, the camera jumps to a wider shot and somehow Marcy already has the shoes on her feet and the box has disappeared altogether.
- When Marcy grabs Jefferson by the hair after he complained about the wind and drags him home, the Bundy's front door is left wide open. A moment later, when Bud and Petal arrive, the door is fully shut, despite the other Bundys remaining on the couch after the D'Arcys left.
- Al comes home and announces he won the shoe salesman of the month competition, winning a first class ticket to Hawaii. Peggy then tells him she already called the airline and traded in his ticket for four standby tickets. Peggy couldn't have known Al won until he came home and told them, nor could she have known which airline to call.