Al Goes to the Dogs

Al Goes to the Dogs is the 21st episode of season 10 of Married... with Children and the 230th overall series episode. Directed by Sam W. Orender and written by Laurie Lee-Goss & Garry Bowren, it premiered on FOX-TV on March 24, 1996.

Synopsis

After taking Lucky out daily at 3:00am, Al decides to build a dog house. Marcy calls a building inspector to trouble him. Kelly tries to woo Carlos by changing her looks. Finally with Carlos's money & help Al gets the dog house up with all permissions intact.

Plot Summary

Al decides to build a dog house for Lucky. But when he makes an absurd amount of noise in the back yard, Marcy bribes a building inspector to inspect Al's work just to harass him. When the inspector tells him that the house is not up to its "code," Al, with Kelly's wealthy boyfriend Carlos, tear it down and rebuild it again and again to get it right. Meanwhile, Kelly desperately tries to get Carlos's attention. She spends a lot of Al's money (which he swindles from Carlos) to go to the salon to achieve the natural look of the women of his village. Thus, she is spending a lot of money to look like she has spent no money on her looks. Bud says, " you are your mother's daughter." Kelly says, "Well, duh..." Carlos has spent a lot of money to come to America to get away from women of his village! Al ends up with a lot of Carlos's money. Lucky also refuses to sleep in the dog house and Al gets revenge on Marcy by having the construction workers dump the remaining concrete onto her Mercedes. 

Recurring Cast/Regulars

• Mark Espinoza as Carlos

Guest Stars

• Ian Patrick Williams as Inspector Fitzpatrick
• Angela Strader as Turquoise
• Don Dowe as Foreman

Notes

Title

• The title of this episode is a reference to the saying, "...goes (or is going) to the dogs", meaning that something is decreasing in quality.

Trivia

• Katey Sagal does not appear in this episode due to her pregnancy/childbirth.
• Ian Patrick Williams, who plays Inspector Fitzpatrick, previously appeared on MWC in the season 2 two parter, "Poppy's by the Tree (Part 1)" and "Poppy's by the Tree (Part 2)" as Beany the cook.
• This episode marks the second and final appearance of Mark Espinoza as Carlos, Kelly's boyfriend,
  • He has the distinction of being one of three guys that Kelly has dated more than once in different episodes, the others being Vincent "Vinnie" Verducci and Genghis.

Cultural References

• Al mentions the series Party of Five and how they were the perfect family, before Kelly tells him that the parents on the show died in a fiery car crash, causing him to smile.
  • The series, which ran on FOX from 1994 to 2000 (and was produced by Colombia Pictures, which also produced MWC), focused on the lives of five children who have to raise themselves and run the family restaurant after their parents are killed by a drunk driver.
• When Al sees Bud in his pajamas, he calls him "Hef" and "Boy Wonder", referring to Playboy magazine found Hugh Hefner and comic book character, Robin from the Batman franchise.
• Before Bud talks to Turquoise, he is watching Red Shoe Diaries, an erotic drama series that aired on Showtime from 1992 to 1997.
  • Previously MWC guest stars Matt LeBlanc, Heidi Mark, and Lisa Boyle appeared on the show.
• During his speech to Kelly about why she is not his dream girl, Carlos mentions the cake mix brand, Duncan Hines.

Music

• Al briefly sings the opening verse to the 1966 song, "Wild Thing" by The Troggs as he makes noise with his chainsaw in the backyard. Carlos later sings it as he walks inside and sees Kelly with her total make under.

Location

• Bundy Residence

Sets

• Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
• Bundy Backyard

Goofs

• During the scene in which Al decides to keep Lucky outdoors, it's the middle of winter and you can see the snow-covered ground and trees. However, during the next scene, which takes place the very next day, Al is shown building a dog house outside, the grass is green, the flowers are blooming, and there is no snow in sight.
• When Jefferson tells Al that he could have bought a premade dog house instead of building it himself, Al's left arm is slightly bent as he leans onto the workbench and Jefferson is holding a beer in his right hand. The camera then switches angles as Al jokes about not having sex with the wife, and his left arm appears to be straightened as he leans away from the workbench, while Jefferson suddenly has the beer in his other hand
• When Al tells Carlos to give him the 2x4 in Spanish, ("Carlito, dame este dos por cuatro" with the subtitles reading "Carlos, give me that two by four"), Al uses "Este", which means "this" instead of "Ese" which would mean "that".
• Al refers to Kelly "Lil Pumpkito", but "Pumpkito" is already in diminutive form, meaning Al is essentially calling her "Lil lil Pumkin". Also, it should be "Pumpkita" as he is referring to a female.
• In Season 9 Episode 23 "User Friendly", it establishes that not only did Buck have a doghouse, but the switch under the counter controlled it's electricity so they shouldn't need another one. Though, following Buck's death in "Requiem for a Dead Briard", Al was suggesting to Bud to help him chop up the dog house for firewood, before Kelly stops them and insist that Buck's personal items not be destroyed.