Mr. Empty Pants is the 16th episode of Season 7 of Married... with Children, also the 147th overall episode of the series. Directed by Gerry Cohen and written by George Tricker, the episode originally on FOX, premiering on February 14, 1993.
Synopsis[]
Peggy becomes famous for her cartoon of Al, which she titles "Mr. Empty Pants". When Al gets selected for the centerfold of Playgirl, Peggy becomes jealous.
Storyline[]
Peg decides to take up a hobby by drawing Al and in so doing, creates her own magazine cartoon of Al makes him famous: the hapless shoe salesman titled "Mr. Empty Pants". Al would much prefer the fame to be fleeting, until another magazine (Playgirl) declares him to be a sex symbol!!
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Cast regulars
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck as Buck Bundy
Guest starring[]
- Cynthia Szigeti as Bertha
- Steve Bean as Steve
- Cain Devore as Man (as Cain DeVore)
- Brian Jensen as Antoine
- Jack Kenny as Fredo
- Kristi Ducati as Candy
- Avalon Anders as Sandy
- Jayne Halskov as Mandy
- Arthur Hanket as Anchorman (voice)
Quotes[]
- Al: Peg! Everywhere I go, people are pointing at me and laughing!
- Peg: That can't be a recent thing.
- Al: Let me finish! Now they're calling me "Mr. Empty Pants"! Is that some kind of new hip, rap term, you know, for "Full Pants"?! You know, sorta like how "Bad" means "Good" and "Dis" means "Dat"?!
- Peg: [stares blankly at Al] ...Dat's All, Folks!
- Peggy: Al, can't you handle the fame? I mean, they still call Carroll O'Connor "Archie." They still call that Winky guy "The Fonz." And, you know, they still call the fat girls on The Facts of Life "The Fat Girls on The Facts of Life."
- Peggy: Oh, come on, honey! How could you not get some joy out of a busload of Japanese tourists, taking pictures and screaming out [in a mock Japanese accent] "Me rike empty pants".
- Al: Well they found out that my pants weren't so empty when I mooned them! [pauses] That oughta pay them back for Pearl Harbor!
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the cartoon that Peggy Bundy created.
Trivia[]
- Avalon Anders, who plays Sandy, one of the bikini models in this episode, was a member of the Swedish Bikini Team, who previously appeared on season 6's The Gas Station Show, although she didn't appear with the team in that episode.
- Al mentions that he was previously deported to Mexico after Peggy stole his wallet and left him with no personal identification.
- Steve Bean, who plays Steve the Playgirl photographer in this episode, previously appeared on MWC as Fred, the man who brings Al's wallet back to the Bundy residence, in the Season 3 episode, "The Gypsy Cried".
Cultural References[]
- When Al finds Jefferson, he asks Al what he think about the bulls. He then tells Jefferson that "They'll be fine as long as they got Jordan", before Jefferson clarifies that he meant the women in the chairs.
- Al was referring to the NBA team, the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. At this time, during the 1992-93 basketball season, the team was the defending back-to-back champion and by the end of the season, would win a third time.
- When Jefferson explains what he's getting done at the salon, he described it as "The Bogie", This is in reference to actor, Humphrey Bogart.
- Peg tells Al that he should "Be like Homer Simpson and 'd'oh!'". This is a reference to the FOX animated series The Simpsons and it leading character and his catchphrase.
- The voice actor for Homer Simpson, Dan Castellaneta had previously appeared on MWC twice, as Pete in "The Dance Show" and the funeral director in "Death of a Shoe Salesman".
- Al mentions being on the show COPS, which was a popular FOX reality show that ran on the network from 1989 to 2013.
- Al would eventually end up as a fake cop on COPS in the season 11 episode "Kelly's Gotta Habit".
- Although COPS was airing at the time, during the 1992-1993 season, they did not film in Chicago or Illinois at the time. The first episode to be filmed in Chicago was in the late 2000s
- After telling Peg that he'll be featured on COPS, he mentions that he'll appear alongside Todd Bridges and refers to him as a nice kid. Todd Bridges is an actor who is best known for playing Willis on the 1970s/1980s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.
- At the time this episode aired, he had been in trouble with the law for drug and weapon possession multiple times, the most recent being two months before this episode aired. Incidentally, 10 days after this episode first aired, he quit drugs altogether and has remained sober since.
- His Diff'rent Strokes co-star, Gary Coleman would later appear on MWC during season 10.
- Bud introduces himself as Lorne Michaels to the models, referring to the producer of Saturday Night Live.
- Marcy mentions comedians Martha Raye and Joe Piscopo when telling Al about his newfound fame.
- Peg tells Al how some actors are refereed to their past characters and brings up actors Carroll O'Connor who was known for his role as Archie Bunker and Henry Winkler as The Fonz.
- Al mentions mooning the Japanese tourists who recognized him as Mr. Empty Pants, claiming it to be payback for the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
- After Al appears to be confused and asks if empty pants means full pants, Peggy says "That's all, folks!" in reference to Porky Pig and his saying during the end of a Warner Bros. cartoon.
- Peggy had used a similar line in the season 5 episode "Wabbit Season"
- As Kelly leaves for the city records, she tells Al "Once upon a midnight dreary, as I wandered weak and weary, quoth the Raven, 'Demi Moore'. Edgar Bergen Poe" mixing up several things.
- The poem that Kelly recites is The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, though she left off several verses to get to the Raven's line.
- She mixes the final line "Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore'" with actress Demi Moore.
- She then mixes up the author Edgar Allen Poe with actor and ventriloquist Edgar Bergen.
- Al does the Duckwalk during his photo shoot as he makes his way to the bear skin rug.
- The photo shoot could possibly be a reference to the infamous 1972 Cosmopolitan centerfold with actor Burt Reynolds lying on a bear skin rug.
Music[]
- The song that plays when Al starts to get ready for his photo shoot is "Tuff Enuff" by The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Clip & Curl Hair Salon
- Photography Studio
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- Hair salon
- Photography Studio
Goofs[]
- At one point, Buck is shown lying on his side with his head stuck below the staircase rail and tells the viewers that he can't get out. Yet about a minute before that part, he is clearly seen sitting in the middle of the staircase normally without being trapped. Then about a minute after announcing that he is stuck, after Al gets home and then notices Peggy's drawing, Buck is sitting normally again by the middle of the staircase and remains that way until the commercial break.
- When Al comes back to the store to explain that he will be on COPS and was beaten with a new type of nightstick. Despite his claim, he looks relatively uninjured.