Al on the Rocks is the fourth episode of Season 7 of Married... with Children that aired on FOX on October 4, 1992, also the 135th overall episode in the series. The episode, directed by Gerry Cohen, was written by Andrew Smith.
Synopsis[]
Peg coddles a sick Seven and kicks everyone out the house who may be a threat to him. To pay for Seven's doctor bill, Al becomes a bartender at a topless bar — where the bartender is the one who's topless.
Plot[]
When Peggy uses up the monthly mortgage to pay Seven's doctor bill, Al is forced to take a second job bar-tending at a topless bar, but its a male strip club where the bartender and all other men are topless. Al enjoys his job, where he's become a big hit with the ogling ladies, but when Jefferson covers for Al for one day, he takes over Al's job, becoming an even bigger hit then the now has-been Al, much to the delight and relief of Peg, who was suddenly jealous of all the female attention Al was getting. Meanwhile, Peggy starts banning Kelly and Bud from the house to protect Seven from their germs.
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[]
- Diane Delano as Gladys
- Sherlock Ganz as Patron #1
- Laurel Ollstein as Patron #2
Quotes[]
- [Marcy arrives at the Bundy's veranda, where Kelly and Bud are standing and shivering in the cold after Peg kicked them out of the house]
- Kelly: [shivering] Help us!
- Marcy: I can't, I'm a republican! [shuts the door]
- Seven: Daddy, what's retirement?
- Al: Uh, its what men do when they die and women do when they marry.
- [Al takes a seat next to Peg on the couch]
- Peg: Aw, Honey, feeling a little glum? Well, this'll cheer you up. You know how you're always saying if I want money I should get it myself? Well, today I needed money to pay Seven's doctor bills. [smiling proudly] Get ready to be proud of me.
- [Al does a facepalm, knowing something bad is about to happen]
- Peg: All by myself, I took cash that was sitting doing nothing out of that pretty red envelope.
- Al: [lifts head up, with a sarcastic smile] You mean, the one in the mailbox? That was addressed to our mortgage company, "Eviction Trust"?
- Peg: Well, I wouldn't know about that, Honey. When I open envelopes not addressed to me, I just take the money. But I never read them. I feel that would be an invasion of privacy. [Al nods with a defeated look on his face]
- Al: And yet you have no problem living in my bedroom. Peg, don't you see the envelope was a pretty red one because the bank is a little mad at us because we haven't paid them low these many months. But, on the good side, we'll be moving to a roomier space now. It goes by the name "outside".
- [Marcy and Jefferson walk in as Al starts to flex his muscles in front of Peg and then begin to laugh at him]
- Al: [offended]: What's the matter?!
- Marcy: [smirking] Oh, nothing, I just had a Village People flashback.
- Al: People pay to see me like this.
- Marcy: Oh, okay. So will I. [walks over and gives him money] Here's a dollar. Sing "YMCA". [laughs] No, wait, here's two dollars. [walks over and gives him another dollar] Put a shirt on. I can't stand to see you topless.
- Al: [hurt] At least people know when I'm topless... My back has bigger breasts than you! [smugly grins]
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the idiom "...on the rocks", which can refer to either serving an undiluted alcoholic drink with ice, as Al works as a bartender in this episode, or that something is in danger of failing or being destroyed.
Trivia[]
- Starting with this episode, the opening credits has a new scene for Ted McGinley. He is working as a server at Manhole bar and as he turns to face the camera. he drops the beer bottles from his serving tray and then shrugs it off.
- In the syndicated version, this scene is used starting with the season premier episode, "Magnificent Seven"
- Al mentions that the family is several months behind on their mortgage and now even further behind after Peg spent the money that was going to pay the previously due amount.
- Al reveals that he is willing to sue his mother for the $5 she owes him.
- After Kelly and Bud ask Marcy for help, she tells them that she can't because she is a Republican.
- Jefferson reveals that he gets his body waxed.
- Sherlock Ganz, who played the bar patron in the red flannel shirt who yells at Al to hurry up with the drinks and then jokes about Al being shy when he comes out shirtless, was previously on MWC as Olga, the Chicago Bowling Team driver in "The Gas Station Show"
- Later in the episode, when Jefferson begins working at Manhole, two women can be seen wearing a blue "Chicago Bowling Team" shirt. The shirt was previously worn by Olga and the other women who picked up Al at the end of "The Gas Station Show".
Cultural References[]
- When Jefferson tells Al about how he changes the subject of finding a job with Marcy, he tells Al that he gives her "...a ride on the ol' Jefferson Airplane" which is the name of a 1970s psychedelic rock band.
- After giving Peggy money from his bartending job, he tell hers that he doesn't mind "shaking Al Jr. and The Pips" referencing to the group Gladys Knight & the Pips.
- When Al begins to flex his muscles for Peggy and the D'Arcys walk in, Marcy jokes that she had a flashback of the 1970s disco group, The Village People and pays Al a dollar to sing their song "Y.M.C.A.".
- The actual group would later appear on MWC as themselves and perform "Y.M.C.A." for Marcy and her women's group in the season 8 episode, "Take My Wife, Please"
- After Jefferson pleads with Al about having to get a job, Al advises him "When you're with Marcy, shut your eyes real tight and picture one of the Golden Girls.". The Golden Girls was an NBC sitcom about 4 elderly women who share a house in Miami, Florida. It ran from 1985 until 1992.
Music[]
- The song that plays when Al and later, Jefferson begin their jobs at Manhole is "Tuff Enuff" by The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Manhole
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Bundy Front Porch
- Manhole Bar