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The England Show, Parts I, II and III was a three-part trilogy of episodes of Married... with Children in season 6 that aired on FOX on May 3, 1992,  May 10. 1992, and  May 17, 1992. These episodes, were the 25th, 26th, and 27th episodes of Season 6, along with being the 129th, 130th, and 131st overall episodes in the series. All three episodes were directed by Gerry Cohen, with the first episode written by Ellen L. Fogle, the second by Stacie Lipp, and the third by Kevin Curran. The trilogy was also the season finale and was filmed in England.

Short Summary

Wikia MWC - Seamus Bundy curse

Seamus Bundy provoking the curse

The Bundys win a free trip to England, but the villagers of Lower Uncton, England, want to bring all male Bundys in the world to their village and kill them, to break a curse that places their town in eternal darkness, brought upon their village by Al's ancestor.  Meanwhile Upper Unctonites are trying to kill the Bundys in their own village which has become a popular destination for tourists who want to see the cursed town of Lower Uncton.

Part I: (The Curse/The Bundys Trip to England)

Wikia MWC - Bundy London shoe test

Guard vs. shoe

The story begins back in 1653 in the small village of Lower Uncton, where a blacksmith name Seamus McBundy insults a old woman who turns out to be a witch who places a curse on the all the male Bundys, and makes the entire village of Lower Uncton be surrounded by darkness. Three hundred and thirty-nine years later, we are in the present-day Lower Uncton, and find out that the curse will only be lifted if all the MALE Bundys are killed within the limits of the town, and that Al and Bud are the last two remaining males. The Bundys subsequently receive a letter, saying that they've won an all expenses paid trip to England, more specifically Lower Uncton. Marcy and Jefferson also come along, though their luggage is soon stolen.

Part II: Wastin' the Company's Money

Wikia MWC - Al's Savile Row suit

Al making sure his new suit really fits

Having essentially shopped 'till they dropped at the end of last episode, the Bundys now send Lower Uncton further into debt by ordering practically everything on the room service menu at the Savoy, one of London's most prestigious, and pricey, hotels. The family wants to sightsee, provoking various, and failed, murder attempts by Upper Uncton, and Al gets a Savile Row suit. Finally, the family are ready to set out for Lower Uncton, all that is except Kelly, who, as a "city girl" doesn't want to waste herself in, as she puts it, " a one-whore town". Marcy and Jefferson, meanwhile, stranded penniless and passport-less in London, make some new friends at a "special interests" club, and Kelly, with her English to English dictionary, is informed of the plot against her family. In Lower Uncton, the Bundys settle in and make themselves comfortable, for what looks like Al and Bud's last night. Bud's visit from the ghosts of his ancestors makes this graphically clear to him.

Part III: We're Spending as Fast as We Can

Wikia MWC - Uncton border

Bundys on the border

The whole of Lower Uncton naturally gathers for the momentous event, the killing of the last two male Bundys, which will see the curse broken, and sunlight return to their fair village once more. Al, in blissful ignorance, is convinced his high school football glory days are back, and prepares to give an uplifting speech. Bud, as usual, spots the flaw, in the form of the nooses behind them, before his father, and Kelly, hidden among the crowd, steals a cart and turns into their getaway driver. The family, however, soon loses its wheels, and is forced to flee on foot from the pursuing villagers. When they hit the boundary marker for Upper Uncton, they suddenly find themselves in daylight, and Al works out that, on the exact border, they are temporarily safe. Upper Uncton tries to move the men by threatening the women, a ludicrous proposition that provokes laughter all around, even from Lower Uncton, who tried the same thing centuries before.

Wikia MWC - D'Arcys' London

Jefferson's stomach is rumbling

Back in London, a now fetish-clad Marcy makes her farewells at the club, but has time for one last game.

On the Uncton border, Igor, last descendant of the witch, demands satisfaction from Al for the original insult, and the stage is set for a joust. Al, of course, hasn't a clue what a joust is, and gears up in his old football uniform, with a declaration of "Let's joust!" The battle goes extremely badly for him, given his lack of basic horse and sword skills, until Igor is stood poised over him for the coup de grace, at which point his football instincts kick in and he low-blows Igor. With the witch's line defeated, the curse is lifted, and Lower Uncton, in all its dilapidation, is exposed to sunlight once more. Upper Uncton has lost its tourist attraction, Lower Uncton is a collection of eyesores, so the villagers unite in a decision to still kill the Bundys, this time all of them. The family beats a very hasty retreat to London.

Peggy picked up a little reminder of her own, a hotel towel, for which Al is found imprisoned in the Tower of London, looking at a diet of bread and water, and truly happy.

Sub-Plot

Marcy and Jefferson, meanwhile, stranded penniless and passport-less in London, make some new friends at a "special interests" club, Passing through Customs in the airport at London, Marcy's bag sets off the metal detector, and is found to contain numerous souvenirs from the club, on which she now offers to pay the duty

Trivia

Part I

  • On the airplane ride to England, the pilot announces over the speaker for Al to put his shoes back on, as he is choking to death. Al then comments "Oh, please. They show us the movie, Dutch and they think I stink?". Ed O'Neill actually starred in that movie, which was released in May of 1991 and considered a total flop, due to poor reviews and earning less than $5 million (on a $17 million budget) during its theatrical run. It would be referenced again in season 9's Dial B for Virgin.
  • When the Bundys arrive at the airport, in the background there is a person holding a sign that says "Leavitt". Another person holds a sign that says "Moye". This is a reference to the creators and executive producers of Married...With Children, Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye (who also wrote this episode).
  • Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye provided their voices in this episode as a couple of dogs near Buck's cage while he is in the dog pound.
  • While Al asks Bud to hurry up and take a picture of him and the rest of the Bundys, a couple walks by and points out that Al is a shoe salesman, before walking away and laughing at him. The couple is Stacie Lipp and Larry Jacobson, writers for Married...With Children.
  • Al keeps forgetting Winston's name and refers to him by names of cigarette brands, even though Winston is the name of a brand of cigarettes. Throughout the episode, Al refers to him as Marlboro, Lucky Strike, Camels and Benson and Hedges.
  • Jefferson mentions Michael Caine, a British actor best known for his Cockney accent and in recent times, portraying Alfred in the Christopher Nolan Batman movie trilogy.

Part II: The Exposition

  • The official title of the episode is listed as England Show II: Wastin' The Company's Money
  • As with the previous episode, Winston is refered to by other cigarette brand names or elements of cigarettes: Salem, Menthol and Smokey, though Al does actually call him Winston while the Bundy's are at the London Dungeon.
  • The Bundys go shopping at Poole and Co. Tailor, which is an actual gentleman's bespoke tailor. It has been family owned and run since 1806 and historically known as the creators of the dinner jacket.
  • When Marcy and Jefferson enter the club, after they are referred to as "Bad Americans", a man in leather comes by and ask them if they want a drink or a spanking. That man is played by MWC co-creator Michael G. Moye
  • The song that is played when Al is shopping at Poole and Co. Tailor and is fitted for a suit is "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred.
  • The song that is played when Kelly is running around and asking people where Lower Uncton is, is the theme song for Lassie.
  • In a scene that was cut from the original airing, but later shown in syndication, Peggy tells the family to loot the hotel room. At the time of the original broadcast, the L.A. Riots were still part of the public consciousness, and any references to loot was considered to be in bad taste, even for Married with Children.
  • While the Bundys are staying at the Savoy, the assassin from Upper Uncton tries to kill them by wheeling in a fancy dessert called "A Bombe" with a real bomb on the cart underneath it. This is identical to a scene in the James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever, where a waiter brings him a dish named "Bombe Surprise".
  • When Bud sees the ghosts of his ancestors, it appears that they were killed in various ways: Hanging, impaled with a sword, beheaded and shot with a cannonball.
  • The voiceover at the end of the episode asks the question "Was 'Brooklyn Bridge' really worthy of an Emmy?", making a reference to the television show, which focused on the life of a Jewish-American family during the 1950s in Brooklyn, New York. It was nominated for an Emmy in outstanding television series (comedy/musical) in 1992 after only one season. It may also be poking fun at the fact that Married...With Children has never been nominated for an Emmy in outstanding television comedy, even though it had been on television longer than Brooklyn Bridge.
  • Mark Addy, who plays the Lower Uncton gallows builder, later came to international attention as one of the stars of 1997's The Full Monty.

Part III

  • The official title of this episode is: England Show III: We're Spending as Fast as We Can

Goofs

Part I

  • When the family arrives at the airport in England, Al mentions how impressive England is and his hands are in his pockets. When Bud reminds him that they're just in an airport, Al's arm is somehow already around Bud's shoulder without him moving it
  • At the beginning of this episode, the town historian of Lower Uncton says that it was not hard to find and kill the male Bundys since they all worked in shoe stores, but in the episode And Baby Makes Money, we see several male Bundys, and Al is the only one who works as a shoe salesman.
  • Since Al and Bud are the only male Bundys said to be alive, that would probably mean that the other male Bundys from the episode And Baby Makes Money (as well as any other male Bundy located in the world) were killed in England at some point within a span of less than 2 years, which would be a rather impossible tasks.
  • Even though the villagers said that it was a pretty good year for killing Bundys it really seems as if they are doing it for the first time. They do mention that Bud and Al are the last male Bundys so they must have done it a couple of times before, but they seem extremly unexperienced in getting them into England and then into their village.

Part III

  • The British theater Marcy and Jefferson end up at is called "The Red Fanny" according to Jefferson's shirt ("I was a bad boy at the Red Fanny"). However, it makes little sense that a theater in England would be called this, because in British English, "fanny" refers to the female genitalia, not one's bottom as it does in US English.
  • When Marcy decides to play "Bad Americans" again while waiting for the money to be wired to them, she and Jefferson walk back to the dance area with and as the camera pans out, a girl is shown in a cage on the left side and she is obviously smiling and staring directly into the camera, until Jefferson quickly waves at her.

Guest stars/Recurring cast

Cast regulars

Guest starring

External links

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