Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 1)

Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part 1) is the fourth episode of Season 11, the first part of the two parter involving Al's car, and the 239th overall episode of Married... with Children. Marcy does not appear in this episode.

Plot Synopsis

Al's Dodge starts sputtering so he sends the rest of the family to find a fuel pump for it. Al starts to reminisce about the car, flashbacking to talking with his father as they fix the car where his father hits Al's head when he gives him the wrong screwdriver both times, and the night Kelly was conceived due Al using the same condom again. Lastly, he reminisces about the early 1970s where Al reminisces about how the incident where a Japanese car cuts them off and he has to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting it, and a young Kelly, who always has her head in a book and has learned things that her parents have no clue about, hits her head and suddenly becomes an airhead. Peggy suggests that Kelly give baby Bud one of her rubber dollies to play with, which neither Peggy nor Al thinks will be a negative influence on him in the future. At the end of the episode, the car starts to die. Al tries to save it, but it flatlines. He muses over the times he has had with the car, saying for the car to drive towards the light.

Kelly, at a young age

Guest Cast

• Rick Overton as Dr. Fisher
• Cliff Bemis as Al's Dad
• Hannah Swanson as Young Kelly

Notes

Title

• The title of this episode is a pun on Requiem for a Heavyweight, a movie based on a story by Rod Serling and references the Chevrolet brand of cars, colloquially called "Chevy".
  • Two other MWC episodes share similar story titles, season 3's "Requiem for a Dead Barber" and season 10's "Requiem for a Dead Briard".

Trivia

• Cliff Bemis, who plays Al's dad in the flashback, previously appeared on MWC in the season 2 episode "The Great Escape" as the Termite Boss.
• Cliff Bemis plays Al's dad in this episode, even though he is two years younger than Ed O'Neill.
• After saving the Dodge, Al mentions that he'll have to dig into the college funds, which upsets Bud as he mentions that he just graduated.
  • In the season 7 episode, "The Old College Try", it was mentioned that Al and Peggy did start a college fund for Bud, but it barely had anything in it until Bud's grant money was accidentally deposited into it.
  • Bud in fact had graduated near the end of season 10 in "Bud Hits the Books".
• This episode does not end with an epilogue.
• It revealed in this episode that Kelly was conceived in Al's Dodge the night he scored four touchdowns in a single game after his condom broke. In several past episodes, it was stated that she had been conceived in the Dodge, but not exactly when.
• Some say Al’s dodge car is part of the Bundy Curse. Al’s life was ruined when he got this car.
• During Al's flashback to when he and Peggy went to the drive-in theater, she mentions that she had fallen asleep during home economics.
  • In the season 4 episode, "Peggy Made a Little Lamb", it was revealed that Peggy didn't graduate from Polk High as she had failed home economics and is forced to retake the class alongside Kelly. She is also seen napping during class.

Cultural References

• The opening scene with Al, Kelly and Bud trying to save the car as if they were in an operating room is a spoof on the NBC medical drama series, ER.
• After Bud cries out about Al wanting to perform a gasket massage, he reassures Bud by telling him that he saw it once at Pep Boys an automotive retail chain that provides items for cars as well as automotive repair.
• During the flashback, Al is confused when his dad asks for a screwdriver, both the tool and the cocktail of the same name, made with orange juice and vodka.
• Al mentions that he is going to see the British band The Rolling Stones on their farewell tour with Peggy.
  • The farewell tour is likely a reference to bands like the Rolling Stones who have often claimed to be doing a farewell tour only to come out with new material and tour a few years later.
• Dr. Fisher reveals that he received his doctorate from Quaker State which is the name of a motor oil brand.
• When Al is taking to the car doctor about a new pump and the doctor tells him it would be nearly impossible to find one, Al shouts at him "Oh yeah, if it was Larry Hagman's car, you'd find a donor pump". This was a reference to actor Larry Hagman who underwent a liver transplant in 1995.
• After Al kicks Dr. fisher out, he calls him a "Jiffy Lube reject!", in reference to the chain of auto repair shops that specialize in oil changes.
• Al mentions Lee Iacocca, who was the CEO of the Chrysler Corporation (the manufacturer of Dodge and Plymouth automobiles) and was responsible for reviving the brand in the 1980s.
  • He had been referenced on the show in season 6's "Al Bundy, Shoe Dick" and season 8's "Nooner or Later"
• When Al sees Bud on the computer, he finds a printout and asks him why does he have a picture of "Pamela Lee naked on a slip-n-slide"
  • Pamela Lee is a reference to actress and Playboy Playmate, Pamela Anderson, who at this time was married to drummer Tommy Lee and went by "Pamela Anderson Lee". She had guest starred in two episodes of MWC during season 5.
  • Slip 'N Slide is a children's toy that consist of a long plastic sheet that, when watered properly, allows kids to slide on it.
• When Kelly is on the phone with someone in Zurich, Switzerland wanting to buy the pistons for 1000 Francs, she confuses the currency of Switzerland with franks, a slang term for frankfurters or hot dogs.
• When Bud reveals that the part Al needs for the Dodge is in Cuba, he grumbles "Damn Castro! Damn Khrushchev! Damn Steve Allen!"
  • Castro is in reference to Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
  • Khrushchev is in reference to Soviet politician Nikita Khrushchev, who was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis that eventually led to the U.S. placing a trade embargo on Cuba.
  • Steve Allen was an American actor and talk show host.

Locations

• Bundy Residence
• Al's Childhood Home
• Drive in Movie Theater
• Country Road

Sets

• Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
• Bundy Garage
• Al's Childhood Home Garage
• Dodge interior / Drive-in Theater / Country Road

Goofs

• Al notices that Bud has a printout and says it is "Pamela Lee naked on a slip-n-slide". In several shots, it is clearly not the actress nor a naked model on a Slip 'N Slide. It is in fact one of the Big 'Uns magazine covers that features a woman in gold striped bikini kneeling on an orange sheet. It is the most commonly seen cover on the show and can be seen in the next episode where it was modified for Cub'Uns.
• In this episode, it is revealed that Kelly was conceived the night Al scored four touchdowns. This contradicts her giver birth year of 1971, as Al would have graduated from high school around 1966.
  • This would also contradict Al's story in "Top of the Heap", in which he told Charlie Verducci that both Kelly and Bud were conceived at home when he was trying to watch the television series, Get Smart, although that show ended in May 1970, more than a year before Kelly's given birthdate of November 1971.
    • It is very likely Al was watching Get Smart in syndication as that series had 138 episodes through 5 seasons on two networks.