Steve and Marcy have a tradition of going to the beach on the first sunny day in May, and the Bundys decide to do the same, which is how a family with no aptitude for leisure ends up spending a day on the shore of Lake Michigan. The episode is structured as a series of small catastrophes rather than one plot, which suits it: this is a family outing, and family outings do not have arcs.
The beach gives the series somewhere to put all four Bundys plus both Rhoades outdoors and in swimwear, which it had not done since the Florida two-parter, and the contrast between the two households is at its sharpest. Steve and Marcy have a tradition, a plan and a named car: the Mercedes is Klaus. The Bundys have a cooler and Al, who destroys a child’s sandcastle without noticing.
The episode’s most-discussed moment is a line of Kelly’s. Peggy, investigating an envelope of Steve’s for money, prompts Kelly to express hope about what is inside, and she misremembers the slang term for a ten-dollar bill in a direction the censors could not accept. The line was cut from the original syndication prints and survives on the DVD and in later streaming versions.
It also quietly establishes something about the parents. Al and Peggy did not know that Kelly’s birthday had been the day before, and had to have it confirmed by their children, a failure the series ran again in season seven’s “Movie Show.” Michael Faustino, David’s younger brother, appears again as one of the children on the beach; Vanessa Cherié Guarnera, a beach girl here, turned up eight seasons later in “Live Nude Peg.”
Episode Facts
- Original air date: May 14, 1989
- Season 3, Episode 21, and the 56th episode of the series
- Written by Ralph R. Farquhar
- Directed by Gerry Cohen
Guest Cast
- Morgan Brittany as Marilyn Beamis
- Candace Hutson as Tina
- Brice Alan as Chris
- Peter Steinfeld as the lifeguard
- Christi Allen as Lucy
- Sandra Alexander as Wendy
Kelly’s Birthday, Missed
The forgotten birthday is the detail that lands hardest, and the show did the same thing again in season 7, which suggests it was a deliberate running fact about these parents rather than a one-off gag.
One line here was cut for syndication. Kelly mishears “ten spot” while Peg is going through an envelope of Steve’s money and offers a different two-word phrase. It was removed from the syndicated print and restored on the DVD and streaming versions.
Small continuity note worth having: the Rhoades Mercedes is named Klaus, which comes up here for the first time.
Famous Quotes
- Al: “The fat one they call Dad, he had this great idea where they all get together, and… I don’t really know what it was about.” Al, describing a family show.
- Al: “Now, Bud, quick: when’s Kelly’s birthday?” Bud: “It was yesterday, Dad.” Al: “Gee, I’m sorry I missed it, honey.” The apology.
- Steve: “We really didn’t come over to throw our happiness in your face.” Al: “What? Grab one of your wife’s legs and make a wish?” Al, declining the favour.
Notes
- Marcy dates the episode to the first sunny day in May.
- Steve admits he has faked whiplash to get out of trouble after a car accident.
- Goof: Bud’s line about the name of the show is clearly dubbed, and his lips keep moving after the audio stops.
- Goof: placing Kelly’s birthday in May contradicts the date the show gives it in later seasons.
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