Married... with Children (season 11)
This is a list of episodes for the eleventh and final season (1996–97) of the television series Married... with Children.
| Married... with Children | |
|---|---|
| Season 11 | |
 DVD cover | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | September 29, 1996 – June 9, 1997 |
| Season chronology | |
Fox moved the show's time slot several times throughout the course of the season, which cost the show ratings. Rising production costs and decreasing viewer shares led to the show's cancellation on April 17, 1997, after the final taping for Season 11. Due to this decision, there is no official "final" episode of Married... with Children. While the "Desperate Half-Hour"/"How to Marry a Moron" two-parter is considered to be the final episode,[1] "Chicago Shoe Exchange" was the last episode that Fox broadcast (and is often listed as such on channel guides and even on Married...With Children's DVD sets.[2][3][4] This was the only season to feature teaser scenes before the opening credits and a few episodes during this season also featured tag scenes just before the closing credits. For this season, the still of Al and Peggy sitting on the couch was dropped from the closing credits, which for this season are shown against a black background and in a separate card format, instead of scrolling. The opening theme was also greatly shortened, dropping the highway scenes taken from National Lampoon's Vacation, as well as the scene of Al on the couch giving money to Bud, Kelly, Peg, and the dog (now Lucky, as Buck is dead).
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 236 | 1 | "Twisted" | Gerry Cohen | Richard Gurman | September 28, 1996 | 11.01 | 8.30 |
| To scare a woman into having sex with him, Bud simulates a tornado – which turns all too real when an actual tornado is headed for Chicago. Marcy takes up as their leader and the Bundys and D'Arcys move into the Bundy house basement. Kelly goes out to look for Lucky. It is revealed in this episode that the Bundy Basement has a "Secret Escape Route" (behind the large picture of the busty blonde in a bikini on the far wall) that leads to the underlying part of the stage in the Jiggly Room. | |||||||
| 237 | 2 | "Children of the Corns" | Amanda Bearse | Matthew Berry & Eric Abrams | October 5, 1996 | 11.02 | 7.40 |
| Al and Griff blackmail Gary, because of a bad promotion contest, when they find the shoes from the shoe store are made by children in sweatshops. They rope in Jefferson and Bud's help. Meanwhile, Peggy wins a microwave and recruits Kelly to help her hide it from Al. | |||||||
| 238 | 3 | "Kelly's Gotta Habit" | Amanda Bearse | Laurie Lee-Goss & Garry Bowren | October 12, 1996 | 11.03 | 6.70 |
| Kelly must abstain from sex to get a part as a nun in a commercial for "extra extra virgin olive oil", while Al poses as a police officer and appears with Officer Dan on the TV show COPS. Tina Yothers appears at the end of the episode. | |||||||
| 239 | 4 | "Requiem for a Chevyweight: Part 1" | Gerry Cohen | Steve Faber & Bob Fisher | November 10, 1996 | 11.04 | 13.30 |
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Part one of two. Al's Dodge starts sputtering so he sends the rest of the family to find a fuel pump for it. The episode also includes flashbacks of how The Dodge has always been with Al, from his days as a high school athlete to his descent into becoming a reluctant husband and father to Peg, Kelly (who became stupid when Al hit the brakes on his car and she hit her head while reading), and Bud (who became a pervert when Peg gave Bud one of Kelly's rubber dolls to play with). Note: Amanda Bearse does not appear in this episode. | |||||||
| 240 | 5 | "Requiem for a Chevyweight: Part 2" | Amanda Bearse | Russell Marcus | November 17, 1996 | 11.05 | 9.10 |
| Part two of two. Al buries the Dodge in the backyard and has a funeral for it (complete with his buddy Ike playing the bagpipes), and leases a new sports car, the Testica 2000, which turns out to be a lemon. Meanwhile, Peg, Kelly and Bud dig up the Dodge so they can sell the engine to a collector for $10,000, but ex-CIA operative Jefferson makes a quick trip to Cuba to ask a favor of his old nemesis, Fidel Castro: since there are so many old cars there due to the trade embargo, maybe one of them has a fuel pump that might fit in the Dodge. | |||||||
| 241 | 6 | "A Bundy Thanksgiving" | Amanda Bearse | Vince Cheung & Ben Montanio | November 24, 1996 | 11.06 | 10.10 |
| When Jefferson cannot find a turkey for Marcy to cook, Bud, Jefferson, and Peg go after Kelly's pet turkey so they can kill it and cook it for Thanksgiving. Kelly tries to save Hank the turkey, by throwing it out of the window so that it flies away, but it instead dies and becomes their dinner. Meanwhile, Al and Griff go to a black neighborhood to find Al's favorite pie maker and end up in her funeral. He steals the pie from the funeral. NFL on Fox personalities James Brown, Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, and Howie Long guest star. | |||||||
| 242 | 7 | "The Juggs Have Left the Building" | Gerry Cohen | Vince Cheung & Ben Montanio | December 1, 1996 | 11.07 | 8.50 |
| Peg wants to go to Branson, Missouri, and the Bundys end up there with no money by chaining their car to a bus. The prize for the local talent contest is $500, so Peg and Kelly enter as a singing duo called "The Juggs", and turn out to be talented enough to win not only the money, but a gig touring with Tammy Wynette for a year – until they all manage to screw it up and she fires them. Meanwhile, Jefferson and Marcy agree to feed Lucky while the Bundys are gone and start feeling a little amorous, but they can't decide on what bedroom game to play. They try a new one: they dress up as Al and Peg and do a little role-playing, which leads to a hot time in Al's and Peg's bedroom. | |||||||
| 243 | 8 | "God Help Ye Merry Bundymen" | Amanda Bearse | Steve Faber & Bob Fisher | December 22, 1996 | 11.08 | N/A |
| Gary hires two young men to help out Al and Griff for the Christmas sale. They take advantage of them and make them do all the work. When the boys are trained, Gary fires Al and Griff and they end up taking menial jobs at the mall. When the new boys quit, Al and Griff get their jobs back. To win the neighborhood decoration competition, Marcy gets life-sized Virgin Mary and Joseph statues, which gets kidnapped by Kelly and Bud. When they try to get a ransom from the D'arcys, it goes horribly wrong. Peg gets into making gingerbread houses and bakes a replica of the entire neighborhood, which gets her the first prize in the decorating contest. | |||||||
| 244 | 9 | "Crimes Against Obesity" | Amanda Bearse | Russell Marcus | December 29, 1996 | 11.09 | 12.40 |
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On his birthday, when Al insults fat women on the way to the Jiggly Room, he is put on trial in the shoe store by a group of fat women who accuse him of being prejudiced against the obese. Meanwhile, Bud and Kelly attempt to tint the Dodge's windows as a birthday present to Al. Peg bakes him a cake and eats it. She later comes to the shoe store to watch Al getting tried and tortured by the fat women by having them rip up the free coupons that he accumulated over the years in each insult he makes about them. Despite being sympathetic to the women's plight since her mother was obese, Peg openly insults them for ruining the free coupons. Note: Amanda Bearse does not appear in this episode. | |||||||
| 245 | 10 | "The Stepford Peg" | Amanda Bearse | Valerie Ahern & Christian McLaughlin | January 6, 1997 | 11.10 | 7.80 |
| Peggy slips on a candy bar wrapper and hits her head on the table, giving her amnesia. With no memory of how she used to be, Al brainwashes Peg into acting like the perfect housewife. Even when Marcy tries to tell her the truth, Peg doesn't believe her. When she and Al are trying to have sex, her memory comes back and she makes him have sex again as a punishment. | |||||||
| 246 | 11 | "Bud on the Side" | Sam W. Orender | Valerie Ahern & Christian McLaughlin | January 13, 1997 | 11.11 | 8.20 |
|
Al tells Bud to lower his standards in finding women when he can't get a date. Al and Griff take off to avoid explaining to Gary why the sales have dropped 500% and still they are asking for a break room. Bud stops by and Gary finds him attractive. Al, Peg and Kelly later catch Gary trying to sneak out of Bud's room, much to Al's horror. But all is okay when she decides to build them a break room at the shoe store and install a big-screen TV and a refrigerator stocked with beer. After a while, Bud doesn't like being treated as a piece of meat that exists only to satisfy Gary's carnal desires. Note: Amanda Bearse does not appear in this episode. | |||||||
| 247 | 12 | "Grime and Punishment" | Sam W. Orender | Steve Faber & Bob Fisher | January 20, 1997 | 11.12 | 6.90 |
| Kelly takes an improvement class and Al takes advantage of her by asking her to act{work} like him. Bud asks Al to repair the basement after Al starts charging him rent. When Al refuses, Bud calls a health inspector who makes Al live in the basement after it is deemed uninhabitable. Bud then gets Marcy, Kelly and Peg to torture him so that he repairs the basement. | |||||||
| 248 | 13 | "T*R*A*S*H" | Amanda Bearse | Story by : Todd Newman & David Faustino Teleplay by : Terry Maloney & Mindy Morgenstern[5] | January 27, 1997 | 11.13 | 7.10 |
| Seeking regular meals, Al and Griff join the Army with Jefferson's help. Marcy makes Kelly and Bud pick up all the garbage they threw into her yard. After training, Al and Griff end up cleaning up due to a garbage strike with Jefferson as their leader. | |||||||
| 249 | 14 | "Breaking Up Is Easy to Do: Part 1" | Mark K. Samuels | Eric Abrams & Matthew Berry | February 24, 1997 | 11.14 | 11.90 |
| Part one of three. Bud gets Kelly a new acting gig, where she has to compete with Heather, her nemesis. They end up challenging each other to a boxing match. After a lot of training, Kelly beats Heather. When Al and Peggy lose badly in a "Know Your Spouse Board Game" against Marcy and Jefferson and Griff and his girlfriend, they decide to see a marriage counselor on Marcy's and Jefferson's suggestion. They fight and break up. Al moves out of the house and into an apartment near an airport. He invites Griff and Jefferson over to celebrate. Peg is heartbroken and the kids try to cheer her up. Marcy and the rest of the neighborhood celebrates with fireworks and parade. The girls and the guys go to the same bar to pick up guys/girls. Peg ends up finding herself a man, whom the kids love. | |||||||
| 250 | 15 | "Breaking Up Is Easy to Do: Part 2" | Gerry Cohen | Russell Marcus | February 24, 1997 | 11.15 | 11.90 |
| Part two of three. Bud gets Kelly a new acting gig, where she has to compete with Heather, her nemesis. They end up challenging each other to a boxing match. After a lot of training, Kelly beats Heather. When Al and Peggy lose badly in a "Know Your Spouse Board Game" against Marcy and Jefferson and Griff and his girlfriend, they decide to see a marriage counselor on Marcy's and Jefferson's suggestion. They fight and break up. Al moves out of the house and into an apartment near an airport. He invites Griff and Jefferson over to celebrate. Peg is heartbroken and the kids try to cheer her up. Marcy and the rest of the neighborhood celebrates with fireworks and parade. The girls and the guys go to the same bar to pick up guys/girls. Peg ends up finding herself a man, whom the kids love. | |||||||
| 251 | 16 | "Breaking Up Is Easy to Do: Part 3" | Gerry Cohen | Russell Marcus | March 3, 1997 | 11.16 | N/A |
| Part three of three. Al keeps striking out with women. Bud and Kelly break up Peg and her new boyfriend after discovering that he'll put the entire family to work. Peg admits that she misses Al and goes to meet him. They go out together and make up. | |||||||
| 252 | 17 | "Live Nude Peg" | Amanda Bearse | Matthew Berry & Eric Abrams | March 10, 1997 | 11.17 | 9.70 |
| Peggy poses as a stripper in the Jiggly Room's talent search to trick Al and wins. She has to keep her identity a secret because Al loves Peggy's stripper persona more than herself. Bud forces Kelly to gain weight for a weight-loss commercial, which all goes to her butt. | |||||||
| 253 | 18 | "A Babe in Toyland" | Gerry Cohen | Valerie Ahern & Christian McLaughlin | March 17, 1997 | 11.18 | 7.80 |
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Kelly takes over for a surly kids' show host after he goes insane on the set. She entertains the kids with a puppet that looks like Bud. She belittles all the other characters in the show and fires Bud. Finally Bud gets her fired by getting the old host back. Meanwhile, Al and Peg experiment with sleeping in separate beds; first twin beds and then bunk beds. Note: Amanda Bearse and Ted McGinley do not appear in this episode. | |||||||
| 254 | 19 | "Birthday Boy Toy" | Gerry Cohen | Terry Maloney & Mindy Morgenstern | March 30, 1997 | 11.19 | N/A |
| Al cuts off Peggy from shopping. Jefferson is very insecure about his looks and turns to Peggy for help. Peggy gets him hooked on shopping. When Marcy objects, he gets a job as exercise coach, where all the girls ogle him. Marcy forces him to resign. Bud directs a commercial for Gary Shoes with Kelly and Al. After a bad performance, Griff replaces Al and Al tries to sabotage the shoot. | |||||||
| 255 | 20 | "Damn Bundys" | Richard Correll | Ben Montanio & Vince Cheung | April 28, 1997 | 11.20 | 9.70 |
| Al makes a pact with The Devil (Robert Englund) to play with the Chicago Bears and take them to the Super Bowl in exchange for his soul. When Al insists on not quitting after his aim is achieved, The Devil sends him to hell, where he meets his entire family (as well as the D'Arcy's) who is now dead. As his life is exactly as in Earth, he challenges The Devil to a football match for returning to Earth. | |||||||
| 256 | 21 | "Lez Be Friends" | Gerry Cohen | Pamela Eells | April 28, 1997 | 11.22 | 10.20 |
| Marcy's cousin, Mandy (Amanda Bearse in a dual role) comes to town and befriends Al. Marcy being very jealous of her cousin asks Al to keep her away from Jefferson. Later Mandy reveals that she is a lesbian (in real life, Bearse really is a lesbian[6]) to Al and then to Marcy, which makes her very angry. Al manages to console Marcy into accepting Mandy. | |||||||
| 257 | 22 | "The Desperate Half-Hour" | Gerry Cohen | Valerie Ahern & Christian McLaughlin | May 5, 1997[7] | 11.23 | 15.20 |
| Part one of two. Bud's pen-pal from prison (Tricia Cast) and her boyfriend (Chip Esten) pay a visit to the Bundy household and take the family hostage. Marcy and Jefferson dress up for a cruise and visit the Bundys to rub it in. Kelly ends up falling in love with the prisoner's boyfriend, Lonnie. Meanwhile, Al and Griff plan to watch a pay-per-view 3D movie at home but end up as hostages too. | |||||||
| 258 | 23 | "How to Marry a Moron" | Gerry Cohen | Story by : Vince Cheung & Ben Montanio Teleplay by : Russell Marcus & Pamela Eells | May 5, 1997[7] | 11.24 | 15.20 |
| After Lonnie is released from jail, he proposes to Kelly. When Al realizes that Lonnie is son of the Tots, he agrees. With hours before Kelly's wedding, Al learns that Kelly's new beau is lusting for other women. He is in a dilemma, but finally ends up breaking the wedding. | |||||||
| 259 | 24[2][3][4] | "Chicago Shoe Exchange" | Mark K. Samuels | Matthew Berry & Eric Abrams | June 9, 1997[2][3][8] | 11.21[2][3][4] | 6.30 |
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Al and Griff turn the shoe store into a barter shop after Gary leaves, so they can get massage chairs. Finally they are forced to reverse their work when Gary returns. Meanwhile, Kelly takes massage lessons and tests them out on Bud, which goes horribly wrong. Notes: Since the show was abruptly canceled, this episode is technically the series finale. Amanda Bearse does not appear in this episode. | |||||||
References
- Andreas, Carl (December 11, 2005). "Series". Bundyology. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- "Married... With Children - Season 11, Episode 24: Chicago Shoe Exchange". TV.com. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- "Married...With Children Episode Guide 1997 Season 11 - Chicago Shoe Exchange, Episode 24". TV Guide. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- "iTunes - TV Shows - Married...With Children, Season 11". iTunes. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- Andreas, Carl (June 28, 1999). "Episode "T*R*A*S*H"". Bundyology. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- "Bearse comes out of the closet". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. October 17, 1993. p. 20H.
- Married With Children episodes Archived 2014-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, epguides.com
- "Married ... With Children - 'Chicago Shoe Exchange' Episode Info". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.