1989–90 season of American TV series Season of television series
| Married... with Children | |
|---|---|
| Season 4 | |
 DVD cover | |
| Showrunners | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | September 3, 1989 (1989-09-03) – May 13, 1990 (1990-05-13) |
| Season chronology | |
| ← Previous Season 3 Next → Season 5 | |
| List of episodes | |
The fourth season of the television series Married... with Children aired on Fox from September 3, 1989 to May 13, 1990.
Plot
This season saw the departure of Marcy's husband Steve Rhoades. Marcy remained single for the remainder of the season. This was also the first season where the audience would applaud when a major character would enter a scene for the first time in the episode, the first time that Buck "speaks", as well as a Bundyesque of the classic film It's a Wonderful Life. In the episode "It's a Bundyful Life (Part 2)," Ted McGinley makes a guest appearance as Norman Jablonsky before reappearing as a regular cast member in the next season as Jefferson D'Arcy. Also, Michael Faustino makes his third guest appearance.
David Garrison missed two episodes this season. Amanda Bearse also missed one episode.
This would also be the final season for writers Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung.
Episodes
See also: List of Married... with Children episodes| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | 1 | "Hot Off the Grill" | Gerry Cohen | Story by : Gabrielle Topping Teleplay by : Michael G. Moye & Ron Leavitt | September 4, 1989 (1989-09-04) | 401 | 17.9 | |||||||
| Al has a Labor Day barbecue, where he becomes aroused by the sight of Peg actually doing housework, and Steve and Marcy bring along the ashes of Marcy's aunt, whom Steve hated. | ||||||||||||||
| 59 | 2 | "Dead Men Don't Do Aerobics" | Gerry Cohen | Katherine Green | September 11, 1989 (1989-09-11) | 402 | 22.2 | |||||||
| Peggy wins the chance to exercise with Jim Jupiter, a local aerobics instructor with his own TV show, for two weeks, but she ends up killing Jim by introducing him to the world of smoking, eating junk food, and watching TV. | ||||||||||||||
| 60 | 3 | "Buck Saves the Day" | Gerry Cohen | Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung | September 25, 1989 (1989-09-25) | 403 | 17.3 | |||||||
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To earn money for a concert, Bud rents out Al as a professional woodsman who takes the neighborhood kids (and Steve and Bud) on a camping trip, and the trip turns into such a disaster that Al sends Buck home to get someone to rescue them. Meanwhile, Kelly earns money for the same concert by fleecing Peggy's friends at poker. Michael Faustino guest stars as one of the neighborhood kids. | ||||||||||||||
| 61 | 4 | "Tooth or Consequences" | Gerry Cohen | Story by : Will Rogers Teleplay by : Sheldon Krasner & David Saling | October 2, 1989 (1989-10-02) | 404 | 20.4 | |||||||
| Al gets a toothache and goes to a dentist (played by former SCTV cast member Joe Flaherty), who is bitter over his wife divorcing him and his sexy dental hygienist assistant (played by former porn star Traci Lords) spending his money. | ||||||||||||||
| 62 | 5 | "He Ain't Much But He's Mine" | Gerry Cohen | Lisa Rosenthal | October 9, 1989 (1989-10-09) | 405 | 21.3 | |||||||
| Peg thinks a new customer at the hair salon may be having an affair with Al. She soon gets jealous and acts weird. | ||||||||||||||
| 63 | 6 | "Fair Exchange" | Gerry Cohen | Al Aidekman | October 30, 1989 (1989-10-30) | 406 | 21.5 | |||||||
| The Bundys can feast on the $500 a month they receive for hosting a French foreign exchange student. But the beautiful French girl, Yvette (Milla Jovovich), soon turns Kelly's social life into famine, which prompts Kelly to take action to get her own social life back. | ||||||||||||||
| 64 | 7 | "Desperately Seeking Miss October" | Gerry Cohen | Arthur Silver & Steve Bing | November 6, 1989 (1989-11-06) | 407 | 19.1 | |||||||
| When Al recognizes a female customer at the shoe store as Playboy Magazine's Miss October (starring Brandi Brandt as herself, Playboy's Playmate of the Month for October 1987), Al goes searching for his old issues of Playboy, only to find out that Peg sold them to buy a good luck charm named Tubro. He finally makes her get all the Playboys back. | ||||||||||||||
| 65 | 8 | "976-SHOE" | Gerry Cohen | Sandy Sprung & Marcy Vosburgh | November 13, 1989 (1989-11-13) | 408 | 18.7 | |||||||
| Al asks Steve for a loan of $50,000 so he can finance his own shoe help hotline. To win a Hawaii trip, Steve sanctions it and ends up with a warning from his boss that he would be fired if Al Bundy did not come through with results. To save his job, Marcy gives Al a second $50,000 loan to pay back Steve, but Al spends that on his shoe hotline too. It costs Steve his job at the bank and Marcy gets demoted to drive up window teller. | ||||||||||||||
| 66 | 9 | "Oh, What a Feeling" | Gerry Cohen | Ron Leavitt & Michael G. Moye | November 20, 1989 (1989-11-20) | 409 | 20.3 | |||||||
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Al decides to get a new car, but finds out that Peggy spent all his saved-up money that he buried in the backyard. Note: Amanda Bearse and David Garrison do not appear in this episode. | ||||||||||||||
| 67 | 10 | "At the Zoo" | Gerry Cohen | Katherine Green | November 27, 1989 (1989-11-27) | 410 | 18.9 | |||||||
| Steve begins spending his time taking Peg, Kelly, and Bud to the zoo instead of looking for a job, which doesn't sit well with the recently-demoted Marcy. | ||||||||||||||
| 68 | 11 | "It's a Bundyful Life: Parts 1 & 2" | Gerry Cohen | Michael G. Moye & Ron Leavitt | December 18, 1989 (1989-12-18) | 412 | 31.4 | |||||||
| 69 | 12 | 413 | ||||||||||||
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Al promises his family a wonderful Christmas when he reveals that he put money away in a Christmas club account, but fails to get it when the bank closes early for a party. After Peg and the kids blow off Al to have Christmas dinner at Denny's, Al is stuck at home fixing the Christmas lights (which almost electrocute him), and meets a loud, obnoxious guardian angel (Sam Kinison) who shows Al what life would be like if Al was never born. Note: David Garrison does not appear in the second part of this episode. | ||||||||||||||
| 70 | 13 | "Who'll Stop the Rain" | Gerry Cohen | Kevin Curran | January 8, 1990 (1990-01-08) | 411 | 20.1 | |||||||
| During a rainstorm, Al tries to fix the roof and the TV antenna. Meanwhile, Marcy is upset when Steve gets a new job at a pet store and she ends up getting bitten by one of his "pets." | ||||||||||||||
| 71 | 14 | "A Taxing Problem" | Gerry Cohen | Paul Diamond | January 15, 1990 (1990-01-15) | 415 | 23.6 | |||||||
| Al is faced with an audit following some "creative accounting" done by Peg (claimed that she could get more money for 23 kids if claiming 2 children as dependents got them $200), and plots to sell Peggy's hair to a desperate woman in order to pay the owed tax money. | ||||||||||||||
| 72 | 15 | "Rock and Roll Girl" | Linda Day | Ellen L. Fogle | February 5, 1990 (1990-02-05) | 414 | 22.6 | |||||||
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Al challenges the family to go out and make their own money so he doesn't get shaken down for his meager change every allowance day, prompting Peg to open her own tollbooth and Kelly to get a job as the eye candy in a rock video by The Gutter Cats (guest starring as themselves). Note: This was David Garrison's final episode as a series regular. | ||||||||||||||
| 73 | 16 | "You Gotta Know When to Hold 'Em: Part 1" | Gerry Cohen | Sioux Doanham | February 12, 1990 (1990-02-12) | 416 | 23.1 | |||||||
| Part one of two. Marcy stays at the Bundys' after Steve leaves her to pursue his dream of being a forest ranger, and Peg takes Marcy to Las Vegas to cheer her up — but not before selling Al's TV and maxing out his credit cards to pay for the trip. | ||||||||||||||
| 74 | 17 | "You Gotta Know When to Hold 'Em: Part 2" | Gerry Cohen | Kevin Curran | February 19, 1990 (1990-02-19) | 417 | 25.2 | |||||||
| Conclusion. Al, Kelly, and Bud track down Marcy and Peg in Vegas, who are desperately trying to raise money to get home — and sign Al up in a wrestling match against Big Bad Mama. | ||||||||||||||
| 75 | 18 | "What Goes Around Came Around" | Gerry Cohen | Ellen L. Fogle | February 26, 1990 (1990-02-26) | 418 | 26.1 | |||||||
| Bud tries to make amends with a girl (played by Saved by the Bell's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) who humiliated him in sixth grade. Meanwhile, Al is chosen to speak at the homecoming dance and uses it as a chance to speak out against the dangers of marriage. | ||||||||||||||
| 76 | 19 | "Peggy Turns 300" | Tony Singletary | Katherine Green | March 26, 1990 (1990-03-26) | 420 | 28.2 | |||||||
| Al plans a special evening for Peg's birthday by taking her out to the Bowlarama where he hopes to finally beat his arch rival's high game score, but Peg bowls a perfect game and destroys Al's self-esteem. | ||||||||||||||
| 77 | 20 | "Peggy Made a Little Lamb" | Gerry Cohen | Ellen L. Fogle | April 16, 1990 (1990-04-16) | 421 | 28.6 | |||||||
| While going through her high school memorabilia, Peggy discovers that she never passed home economics class in high school and must make up the lost credit by going to Kelly's Home Economics class. | ||||||||||||||
| 78 | 21 | "Rain Girl" | Gerry Cohen | Kevin Curran | April 30, 1990 (1990-04-30) | 419 | 27.1 | |||||||
| Kelly gets an internship at Channel 83's local news station, which turns into a $250,000-a-year paid position when the executives look to her for a way to boost ratings. | ||||||||||||||
| 79 | 22 | "The Agony of De Feet" | Gerry Cohen | Diane Burroughs & Joey Gutierrez | May 7, 1990 (1990-05-07) | 422 | 25.0 | |||||||
| Kelly tricks Marcy into thinking she slept with Bud after Marcy scares off Kelly's date and off-handedly calls her a "simpleton". Meanwhile, Al, who lately has been freaking out over feet, is chosen to be a judge in an odd beauty pageant. | ||||||||||||||
| 80 | 23 | "Yard Sale" | Gerry Cohen | Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung | May 14, 1990 (1990-05-14) | 423 | 25.5 | |||||||
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When Al discovers that Peg has been spending money on old junk from yard sales, the Bundys have one of their own...then turn it into a cheap carnival when no one buys what they're selling. Note: This was the final episode of the series to be written by Marcy Vosburgh & Sandy Sprung. | ||||||||||||||
References
- Andreas, Carl (April 10, 2001). "Changes throughout the Seasons". Bundyology. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
- "'Bad Girls' boosts champ NBC". Life. USA Today. September 7, 1989. p. 3D.
- "A 'Cheers' nightcap for NBC". Life. USA Today. September 13, 1989. p. 3D.
- "'Cosby' reclaims the top spot". Life. USA Today. September 27, 1989. p. 3D.
- "NBC wins but loses viewers". Life. USA Today. October 4, 1989. p. 3D.
- "Baseball a base hit for NBC". Life. USA Today. October 11, 1989. p. 3D.
- "NBC's hits beat ABC baseball". Life. USA Today. November 1, 1989. p. 3D.
- "NBC sweeps the week, 1-2-3". Life. USA Today. November 8, 1989. p. 3D.
- "Brokaw still 3rd despite coup". Life. USA Today. November 15, 1989. p. 3D.
- "'Small Sacrifices' wins big". Life. USA Today. November 22, 1989. p. 3D.
- "NBC sweeps up another win". Life. USA Today. November 29, 1989. p. 3D.
- "'Rudolph' shines for CBS". Life. USA Today. December 20, 1989. p. 3D.
- "Football fumbles for ABC". Life. USA Today. January 10, 1990. p. 3D.
- "49ers are ratings winners, too". Life. USA Today. January 17, 1990. p. 3D.
- "'Amen,' wedded to ratings win". Life. USA Today. February 7, 1990. p. 3D.
- "'Faith' abides for No. 1 NBC". Life. USA Today. February 14, 1990. p. 3D.
- "'Home Videos' a hit for ABC". Life. USA Today. February 21, 1990. p. 3D.
- "'Videos' is a repeat winner". Life. USA Today. February 28, 1990. p. 3D.
- "Fox builds Sunday strength". Life. USA Today. March 28, 1990. p. 3D.
- "For the week, a network tie". Life. USA Today. April 18, 1990. p. 3D.
- "'Caroline?' a hit, no question". Life. USA Today. May 2, 1990. p. 3D.
- "NBC barely sweeping by CBS". Life. USA Today. May 9, 1990. p. 3D.
- "Sunday night sinks NBC". Life. USA Today. May 16, 1990. p. 3D.
External links
| Married... with Children | |
|---|---|
| Characters (Al Bundy) | |
| Seasons | |
| Spin-offs | |
| Remakes |
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| See also | |