It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This is the 14th episode of Season 7 of Married... with Children, also the 145th overall episode of the series. Directed by Sam W. Orender and written by Michael G. Moye, the episode originally on FOX, premiering on January 24, 1993.
Synopsis[]
Peggy and Marcy ruin Al's fishing trip by insisting on joining him, and then constantly fighting with each other. Meanwhile, back home, Jefferson and the kids spend Marcy's money on food, massage and women.
Storyline[]
It's no vacation at all for Al when Peggy and Marcy decide to join him on his winter fishing trip and make him referee to their constant bickering. Meanwhile, Kelly, Bud and Seven, left behind with no food or money, help Jefferson spend all of Marcy's money when he maxes out all of her credit cards.
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[]
- Joel Gretsch as Johnny
- Terri Wilgren as Mindy
Quotes[]
- [An upset Marcy visits Peg and Al, who was about to leave for a quiet trip at his boss's cabin]
- Marcy: Listen to this! Even though Jefferson has a job, he is still charging his lunches on my credit card... and you should see the size of the tips he leaves the waitresses! and you know what he said when I called him on it? [in a sexy tone] "Hey babe, I'm good-looking." That's his answer to everything!
- Al: Well, what is his answer to the cries of "Hey there! Where are you going with that little boy?"
- [An upset Al is being forced to take Peggy and Marcy on his vacation and carry the luggage]
- Peg: Oh, stop pouting, Al. If I don't see a smile, I will forbid you to come with us!
- [Al shows her a forced smile]
- Peg: That's better! [pats Al on the arm, as the trio start to head to the front door] Now come on, let's go!
- Al: You didn't forget anything did you?
- Peg: Nothing that matters.
- [Bud and Kelly, wearing their pajamas, suddenly appear at the top of the staircase]
- Bud: Uh, what's going on?
- Peg: [panicking] Cheese it! The kids!
- [ Al, Peggy and Marcy run out of the house]
- Bud / Kelly: VACATION!
- [the duo quickly run downstairs and towards the front door, just as the sound of a car speeding off is heard]
- Bud: [yelling at the now-empty street] CURSE YOU! I CURSE YOU TO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE: AN ETERNITY OF BEING TOGETHER!... AND YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE BEDROOM!... AND GRANDMA'S THERE!... AND SHE'S OUT OF DEPENDS!
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title is likely a reference to the slogan used by Old Milwaukee beer, which, in the early 1990s, featured the Swedish Bikini Team in a set of commercials where they make things better for a group of beer drinking friends out in nature who thought it didn't get any better than that.
- It may also be a reference to the actual idiom, meaning that something is at its peak of enjoyment.
Trivia[]
- Al mention that the cabin he is going to belongs to his boss.
- Marcy mentions that Jefferson still has a job, which would imply that he is still working as a topless bartender at the Manhole bar that was previously seen in Al on the Rocks.
- When Al finally has the room to himself, he cries and says "Look dad! Its all mine!". Al previously cried and asked his dad to look down at his own room previously in If Al Had a Hammer.
- At one point, Al puts a noose around his neck and tries to kill himself, but fails. Al did a similar thing in "The Egg and I" when he put a noose on his neck while looking at the bills and then tries to hang himself after screaming "I don't want to be on ABC!"
Cultural References[]
- Al wears a shirt that says "I FISH, (image of a fish) Therefore I am". This is a spoof on Rene Descartes' famous declaration "I Think, Therefore I Am."
- During Marcy's rant about if men were all dead, she mentions that there would be "No Howie Mandel", a Canadian actor and comedian who at the time this episode originally aired, was known for his stand up comedy as well as his FOX animated series, Bobby's World.
- After Al gets his own room, he begins to ponder about why he never had his own room, saying "Ozzie had his own bed, Father from "Father Knows Best" had his own bed, Mr. Donna Reed had his own bed! Well Mr. Peggy Bundy's gonna have his own bed!" This is in reference to:
- Ozzie Nelson from the ABC television series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
- James "Jim" Anderson Sr. from the television series, Father Knows Best
- Donna Reed, an actress who starred in films such as From Here to Eternity and It's a Wonderful Life (a film that Al despises). Here, he is likely referring to her 1960s sitcom, The Donna Reed Show.
- From Day two onward, the cabin scenes featuring sped up footage of Marcy and Peggy chasing Al around the cabin as they argue while instrumental music plays. This is a reference to the closing scene from the British television comedy show, The Benny Hill Show, which typically featured sped up footage of a chase involving scantily clad women with the instrumental song, "Yakety Sax" (sometimes referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme") playing in the background.
- While Bud admires Mindy the model in her lingerie, she mentions that department stores usually have lingerie shows instead of sending models to a person's living room, before telling him, "But then you Kennedys go your own way". He then tells her that she can call him "Bud-Bud".
- This is in reference to the wealthy and politically connected Kennedy family while "Bud-Bud" is a reference to John F. Kennedy Jr. who was sometimes called "John-John".
Music[]
- The instrumental song that plays from day 2 on as Peggy and Marcy chase Al around the cabin is "Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Mountain Cabin
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Mountain Cabin Living Room / Al's Bedroom
Goofs[]
- Al mentions that the cabin belongs to his boss, but doesn't mention Gary by name. Although Gary is the owner of Gary's Shoes and implied to be Al's boss (as there doesn't appear to be anyone above Al's position working at the store), he doesn't formally meet her until season 9. Additionally, in the Season 1 episode, "Where's the Boss?", Al tried to meet Gary, before getting his friend Nick to play him. So it would be rather strange to let a shoe store employee who works for less than minimum wage have access to a private mountain cabin when they didn't even know each other at this point.
- Al mentions that he is going to a mountain cabin. The state of Illinois, where Chicago is located, is a prairie and would not have any mountains.
- During day 3, when Peggy and Marcy join Al on the bed, Katey Sagal appears to be laughing even though it supposed to be an intense argument between the two ladies and can still be seen laughing as she and Marcy get up and follow Al into the bathroom.
- After Marcy arrives back at the Bundys and goes after Jefferson for buying expensive things, Mindy the lingerie model can be seen still posing for Bud. But after Marcy gives him a "Melvin" and escorts him out, Mindy has disappeared altogether, while Johnny the massage therapist is still there.
- After Bud puts the blanket over Seven, he says "Well, its going to be a week.", noting that they will unsupervised for a week. But he didn't even know that his parents and Marcy were leaving until they ran out the door, so how would he have known how long they were actually going to be away for?
- Bud and Kelly are mad about being left home alone without parental supervision. However, while Seven would be reasonable upset due to him being a child, this is not valid for Bud and Kelly, because both are adults over the age of 18 at this point.
- They also complain about not having food or money, despite Kelly still being a waitress at this point in the show (as the next episode showed her still working at the diner and had enough money to buy a motorcycle, as well as in "Kelly Doesn't Live Here Anymore" where she was able to bring leftover food home.)
- After realizing that their parents are gone, Kelly tells Bud that it'll be the first time that will be at home with no parental supervision since they were in diapers. Bud and Kelly were previously left by themselves in "My Dinner with Anthrax" (although Marcy did stop by simply to check up on them before staying to hang out with the band). It is also possible that they were left without supervision earlier in "The Gypsy Cried" after their parents and the Rhoades go on a last minute flight to New York.