Hood 'n the Boyz

Hood 'n The Boyz was the second episode of Season 8 of Married... with Children, also the 159th overall episode of the series. Directed by Tony Singletary and writen by Michael G. Moye, the episode originally on FOX, premiering on September 12, 1993.

Synopsis

Al and Peg go to the big city for their second honeymoon where Al is called to help his childhood girlfriend deal with a young tough guy and his gang.

Storyline

Al is thrilled when his childhood girlfriend, Mary Ellen Litchfield (Debra Engle) asks for his help in dealing with a young thug named Ray-Ray (Matt Bornlenghi) and his gang, who have been harassing her at the inner city convenience store, which her father owned, and which she now owns. But how does Al explain it to Peg? Simply put: Al checks himself and Peggy into a local hotel near the rough neighborhood and sneaks out to confront the thug Ray-Ray and his gang, only to get beaten up by the youths again and again. 

When he first visits Mary Ellen's store, he meets her young niece named Jackie (Kimberly Paige), who recognizes his face from a flyer on the cash register saying "Do not accept checks from this person"!

In the first confrontation with Ray-Ray, Al brags of his exploits on the football field at Polk High upon introduction before threatening the punk saying "I was king of these streets when you and your boys were gleams in the eye of a couple of strangers at an Eagles concert!  And that lady you're picking on is a friend of mine...So, as a former king of the streets to a pretender to the throne, we can handle this two ways...either in here like gentlemen, or out there like Ren & Stimpy!"  To Al's dismay, Ray-Ray, who suggests a "third option", summons several members of his gang, and they soundly thrash him, before he goes home beaten up, and, as seen in his eyes, adding insult to injury, promptly has to have sex with Peg!

When Al, at home in the bathroom, comes out of it bloodied and beaten, he, after making an excuse that he must have cut himself while shaving, asks Peg, "Hey Peg, I was king of the streets once, wasn't I ?" When she replies "Sure you were, honey, you remember! Crazy Andy Guzick Pete the Beat Rumballo, Tony the Tounge McCullough! When he responds "I don't remember a Tony The Tounge McCullough!" Peg reveals a few bones from a romantic skeleton in her closet when she responds "Oh, that must have been one of my boys!"

In the second confrontation, Al gathers up several of his old Polk High football teammates in an attempt to squash Ray-Ray and his gang; when Ray-Ray summons what seems like a whole battalion of fellow thugs, Al, with his buddies speeding off in their car, is left alone to face the even larger gang. Needless to say, Al faces defeat again, having again to go home beaten and bloody, and forced to romantically appease his again love-starved in the mood wife Peg!

In the third and final confrontation with Ray-Ray, the tough replies "Hey, what is it with you, Bundy? I mean, we knock you around, you still come back, why?" When Al explains "the meaning of male bravado". in that men sometimes do stupid things to impress a woman, Ray-Ray, his girlfriend, and he, Mary Ellen, Ray-Ray and his gang strangely back off!

Guest stars/Recurring

Cast regulars

• Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
• Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
• Buck as Buck Bundy

Guest starring 

• Matthew Borlenghi as Ray-Ray (as Matt Borlenghi)
• Debra Engle as Mary Ellen Litchfield
• Kimberly Paige as Jackie
• Alex Zonn as Bum
• Skye Bassett as Ray-Ray's girl
• Chuck Le Fever as Skippy
• Nicholas Brendon as Ray-Ray's boy (uncredited)

Trivia

• The title of this episode is a parody of John Singlton's 1991 film "Boyz N The Hood", which was produced by Columbia Pictures, which also produced MWC through its television division.
• The song that plays when Al and his friends go and challenge Ray-Ray and his gang is an instrumental version of "Beat It" by Micheal Jackson. The music video for the song also features a street fight between two rival gangs.
• Skippy, Al's heavyset friend in this episode, would later die and be remembered in the season 9 episode, "Dud Bowl".
• Matt Borlenghi, who plays Ray-Ray in this episode would later reappear on MWC in the season 10 episode "Enemies" as Tom.
• Nicholas Brandon, who plays one of the boys in Ray Ray's crew, starred in the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer with David Boreanaz, who also appeared on MWC in the season 7 episode "Movie Show", as one of Kelly's boyfriends.
• Peg mentions that she hadn't seen Al so excited "'...since Ginger Week on 'Gilligan's Island'". Tina Louise, who played Ginger on Gilligan's Island previously appeared on MWC as Miss Beck in the season 5 episode "Kelly Bounces Back".
• Al tells Ray-Ray when he confronts him the first time that they can handle the situation "...out there like 'Ren and Stimpy"", referring to the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series, "The Ren and Stimpy Show" that was known for its violence as well as its dark humor and sexual innuendos.
• When Al tries to confront Ray-Ray and his crew for a second time and is abandoned by his friends, he asks Ray-Ray and his crew before they beat him "C-C-Can't we all just get along?", a reference to a line Rodney King said to the media during the L.A. Riots in 1992. Al uses the line again when Peg tries to have sex with him for the third time.
• Al has sex with Peg a total of 3 times during this episode.

Goofs

• Peg mentions that she can't remember the last time Al took her to the beach, even though he did take her and the family to the beach in season 3's "Life's A Beach" and the end of season 5's "Route 666 (Part II)"