Requiem for a Dead Barber is the nineth episode of Season 3 of the FOX sitcom Married... with Children, as well as the 44th overall episode in the series. Written by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt, the episode was directed by James E. Hornbeck and premiered on FOX on February 12, 1989.
Synopsis[]
Al is devastated when his favorite barber dies, prompting him to go to a salon and risk losing his masculinity.
Plot[]
To be added.
Cast[]
Regular Cast[]
- Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy
- Katey Sagal as Peggy Bundy
- Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy
- David Faustino as Bud Bundy
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy Rhoades
- David Garrison as Steve Rhoades
- Buck the dog as Buck Bundy (uncredited)
Guest Stars[]
- Kenny Sacha as Mr. Adonis
- Charlie Spradling as Murphy (as "Charlie")
- Steven Levy as Mr. Ron
- Stacey Alden as Fran (as Stacy Alden)
- Garrett Morris as Russ
- Harry Hart-Browne as Eduardo
- Steve Susskind as Barney
- Frank Lloyd as Norris
- Vito D'Ambrosio as Louie
- Jennifer Diane Hanson as Salon Receptionist (uncredited)
Quotes[]
- Al: Peg, whom am I going to get my hair cut? I called all my friends last night.
- Peg: What did he say?
- Al: [sarcastically] He said, "Yep, I'm still in San Quentin for killing the wife, but it was worth it." [pauses and becomes serious] And the rest of them said that they're gonna start going to... [disgusted] salons. Peg, these are plumbers, construction workers, auto mechanics...
- Peg: Oh! Unlike you, skilled illiterates.
- Peg: C'mon, honey. What's wrong with going to salons?
- Al: Do they have regular checker games in salons, Peg? Do they run the numbers in salons, Peg? Will they laugh in a salon when you say, "What do women and dog doody have in common? The older they get, the easier they are to pick up." Will they, Peg?
- Peg: [hesitates] Probably not, Al.
- Al: Then I'm not going. And I'll tell you something else. I need a place that'll cut my nose hairs. Tony would. He was the greatest. [reverently] He would really get in there. Will a salon cut my nose hair, Peg?
- Peg: Probably not, Al.
- Al: Then I'm not going.
- Peg: Then what are you gonna, Al? [Al starts to get up from the kitchen table and head to the door]
- Al: Die broke, Peg. But first, I'm going to find a barber. A real man. A man who likes girls but hates women.
- [After two months of going without a haircut, Peg and the kids mock Al's long, messy hair from the kitchen]
- Al: Don't you think I want to get a haircut, Peg? Do you think I like fat guys in granny glasses asking me if I like the new "Dead" album? But I'm trying to make a statement here. I'm saying let's not let the barber disappear. God knows they've taken everything else away from us in the so-called name of progress. They take the pinball machines and give you video games. What do I care if a monkey can make it to the top of a building? Unless he's going up there to throw off his wife - doesn't matter to me. I want flippers. I want steel balls. And I want my barber, damnit! [walks over to the kitchen stove]
- Bud: [to Peg] Is he brain dead? 'Cause we just might be able to collect.
- Al: And cartoons. Has anybody here seen cartoons lately?
- Kelly: No. We're grown up, Dad.
- Al: Well, I have. And they stink. Peg, remember when a mouse could hit a cat over the head with a frying pan and flatten his head? Now you know what they do? They go into therapy and talk it out. And you know who's to blame? Women and pacifists. And you know where they go to make my life miserable? Salons! Now, come on, family. Can't you get behind ol' dad on this one?
- Kelly: Well, we can't get in front of you. Your nose hairs would spear us.
- [Peg and the kids are sitting in the Bundy living room with the lights out]
- Bud: Mom, how long do we have to sit here in the dark?
- Peg: Until your father comes out of the bushes. He won't come in the house unless he thinks we're sleeping.
- Kelly: Well, what if he looks like a geek? Can we laugh?
- Peg: Kelly, he's your father... Of course we can. [all three start laughing and smiling] Oh, shh! I think I smell him coming.
- [After a moment, Al quietly opens the door and tries to sneak in, in the hopes that everyone is asleep. After he turns on the lights, he reacts as he sees his family sitting there and laughing at his new perm hairstyle]
- Al: [meekly] Well, how do you like it?
- Peg: You look like a fruit, Al! [her and the kids continue to smile and laugh]
- Al: [sarcastically] Thanks, Peg!
- Bud: Pretty cool, Dad. It gives you that, "No closet can hold me" look. [Al bites his cheek while they laugh]
- Kelly: [to Bud and Peg] Now, leave Dad alone. [to Al, hesitantly] You're still going to wear men's clothing, aren't you?
Notes[]
Title[]
- The episode title is inspired by the movie "Requiem for A Heavyweight".
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the second and final appearance of Al's friend, Russ and the only appearance of Al's friend, Louie.
- Al mentions that he was able to find Tony's father in Cicero. Cicero is a suburb of Chicago, located in Cook County.
- Al makes a remark about how he likes pinball and hates that video arcades have taken over old-time nickelodeons. 20 years after this episode aired, Ed O'Neill starred in the popular Disney film Wreck-It Ralph, voicing a character named Mr. Litwak, who owned and managed a video arcade.
- This episode was nominated for Outstanding Editing for a Series (Multi-Camera Production), Larry Harris (Editor) at the 1989 Emmy Awards.
- This is the first episode that uses "Requiem for" in the title to reference the death of someone/something in the episode.
- In this episode, Kelly tells Al that neither her nor Bud watch cartoons are they are too mature for them. Yet, in later seasons, Kelly clearly watches cartoons and even references cartoon characters and specific scenes.
- This episode features one of the extremely rare instances in which Peggy refuses sex offered by Al.
- The only other times in which this occurs are "The Great Escape" and "He Thought He Could".
- Peggy also tries to refuse sex in the Season 4 episode "Hot Off the Grill" but she is too weak to fight off Al's advances.
- Jennifer Diane Hanson, who plays the salon receptionist later appeared on MWC in the Season 11 episode, "How to Marry a Moron (Part 2)", as Stripper #2 who dance on the pole behind Lonnie Tot at the The Jiggly Room.
Cultural References[]
- When Bud explains his dislike for Tony, he said that Tony told him, after putting a cereal bowl on his head, "I'mma gonna make you look Sinatra", referring to singer Frank Sinatra, who sang the MWC opening "Love and Marriage".
- The hair cut that Bud said he got from Tony as a child is called a bowl cut, due to its shape and method for achieving it, using a bowl to help determine where to cut, as Bud mentioned.
- After Peggy mocks Al by saying he has only one friend to call, he sarcastically tells her that his friend is in San Quentin for killing his wife, but it was totally worth it.
- San Quentin refers to San Quentin State Prison, a correctional facility located in Northern California that is home to the largest death row in the western hemisphere and where all executions in California take place.
- San Quentin would be referenced again later in "The Harder They Fall".
- San Quentin refers to San Quentin State Prison, a correctional facility located in Northern California that is home to the largest death row in the western hemisphere and where all executions in California take place.
- When talking about the pinball machine being replaced by video games, Al rants about a monkey who "can make it to the top of a building", referring to the video game Donkey Kong.
- When talking about cartoons of the past, he mentions "a mouse could hit a cat over the head with a frying pan and flatten his head", referring to the cartoon series Tom and Jerry.
- Al tells his family that because of his long hair, he has to deal with "fat guys in granny glasses asking me if I like the new 'Dead' album". This is in reference to the rock band, Grateful Dead.
- When the guys try to find something they can do without ruining their hair or getting beat up, Louie suggest the musical, La Cage aux Folles, which causes Al and the rest of the guys to give him an odd look.
- The musical is about a gay couple who have to deal with their son bringing his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them. It was later adapted into the 1996 movie The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and Gene Hackman.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Salon
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room/Kitchen
- Salon
Goofs[]
- Al asks Bud's help with chopping up Buck's doghouse for firewood, but the Bundys don't have a fireplace.
External Links[]
Requiem for a Dead Barber at the Internet Movie Database- Requiem for a Dead Barber on Bundyology
- Requiem for a Dead Barber - Transcript on albundy.net
- #46 Requiem for a Dead Barber - MWC Podcast on Horrorphilia
