Harold Sylvester Movies
- 1996
Moving from its longtime Sunday-night timeslot to a Saturday-evening berth, Married. . .With Children launched its eleventh and final season on September 28, 1996 with an extended takeoff of the then-current film hit Twister. Bud Bundy (David Faustino) fakes a tornado in order to frighten his girl Ariel (Jennifer Lyons) into his arms--and, hopefully, into the sack. Alas, a real tornado foils this scheme, forcing the Bundys and the D'Arcys to take shelter in Bud's bedroom. This episode was slightly edited for content when it entered off-network syndication, but was subsequently seen intact on the FX cable channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In this spoof of a popular mid-1990s TV advertising campaign, erstwhile talent agent Bud (David Faustino) arranges for Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Jefferson (Ted McGinley) to costar in a coffee commercial. The ad proves to be a huge hit with the public--so much so that the agency demands that Kelly and Jefferson exchange a kiss in their next appearance. Naturally, Kelly's dad Al (Ed O'Neill) and Jefferson's wife Marcy (Amanda Bearse) are dead set against this display of public affection, so Bud tries to mollify them by inviting them to the filming...where, unbeknownst to him, a conjugal bed is a prominent fixture of the set! Katey Sagal (Peggy) does not appear in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Kelly (Christina Applegate) arrives in Fort Lauderdale, where she immediately enters the "Miss Spring Break" bikini contest judged by Jefferson (Ted McGinley). Hoping to cop the $10,000 prize, Al (Ed O'Neill) and Griff (Harold Sylvester) offer their services as co-judges, with Al going to great and ridiculous lengths to hide the fact that he's Kelly's father. But his little scheme may be foiled when Jefferson's wife Marcy (Amanda Bearse) shows up in Lauderdale with blood in her eye. Katey Sagal (Peggy) does not appear in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
It's Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) vs, Jefferson D'Arcy (Ted McGinley) in a no-holds-barred practical joke contest. With this in mind, Al thinks that Jefferson is merely pulling his leg when a woman (Deborah Harmon) claiming to be an old friend of his wife Peg (Katey Sagal) suddenly begins "coming on" to him. As it turns out, however, the "friend" is actually an old enemy who intends to get even with Peg by stealing Al--even if she has to marry him! And can it be that Al's coworker Griff (Harold Sylvester) is doomed to roast in the electric chair? This final episode of Married. . .With Children's tenth season was originally shown in tandem with the previous nstallment, "Torch Song Duet". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Banned from participating in a radio sports quiz, Al (Ed O'Neill) feeds his answers to his coworker Griff (Harold Sylvester). As a result, Griff wins a trip to the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch from Chicago to Altanta. This sparks a huge fight between Al and Griff, which reaches its climax when the media shows up at the shoe store--and culminates in a spectacular "dousing." Several professional athletes make guest appearances as themselves, as do former Playboy centerfolds (Renee Tenison, Petra Verkiak and Victoria Fuller. Katey Sagal (Peggy) does not appear in this episode, which originally aired in tandem with the Season Ten finale "The Joke's On Al". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In the first episode of a two-part story, Bud (David Faustino) and his frat brothers are foiled in their plan to spend Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale when Kelly (Christina Applegate]) and her gal pals turn on the charm and gyp the guys out of their plane tickets and hotel reservations. Meanwhile, Al (Ed O'Neill) and Griff (Harodl Sylvester) elect to head to Lauderdale when it turns out the Jefferson is going to be a judge for the "Miss Spring Break" bikini contest. Unfortunately, Marcy (Amanda Bearse) catches on to what Jefferson is up to, and she also sets out for Florida to break up the party. Katey Sagal (Peggy) does not appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Bud (David Faustion) will not graduate from Trumaine if he can't pass the finals, but his efforts to study are constantly thwarted by his preoccupation with sex. Even though he has agreed to remain "chaste" for the duration of the exams, Bud is bombarded with carnal messages and temptations of the flesh at every turn. Finally he can stand no more, and "gives in" in a library study room--right in front of a battery of surveillance cameras! Katey Sagal (Peggy) does not appear in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Marcy (Amanda Bearse) had hoped that Jefferson (Ted McGinley) would spend an intimate evening with her for their anniversary, but instead he parties on with Al (Ed O'Neill) and the guys at the local nudie bar, "The Jiggly Room." Drunk as a skunk, Jefferson decides to honor his wife by getting an "I LOVE MARCY" tattoo. Unfortunately, the tattoo artist is just as blotto as everyone else at party--and the "love letter" on Jefferson's epidermis winds up reading "I LOVE MARY." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
En route to Wanker County, the Bundys take the Dodge to Traugott's Car Wash--where the old heap promptly disappears. This is unsettling enough, but it's nothing compared to the family's surprise when their former next-door neighbor Steve Rhodes (David Garrison) appears out of nowhere (Apparently it was a big surprise to the studio audience as well; when Steve comes into camera range, the spectators respond with longest sustained applause ever heard on the series!). Though advertised as Married. . .With Children's 200th episode, this is actually the 199th to be filmed; it was originally shown in tandem with The Best O' Bundy, a retrospective hosted by George Plimpton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Peggy (Katey Sagal) wins $10,000 in a bingo tournament on the same night that Al's group NO MA'AM calls an emergency meeting to choose a new official beer. The result: Al (Ed O'Neill) drinks so much that he forgets to pick up Peg, who must spend all her winnings for carfare home (what a tip THAT must have been!). The supporting cast in this episode features the mother and brother of filmmaker Ron Howard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In his efforts to figure out the function of a mysterious light switch, Al (Ed O'Neill) ends up pulling miles and miles of wire from behind the Bundy walls. Meanwhile, Bud gets hooked on a V.R. sex experiment, enjoying a cyberspace rendezvous with his dream girl Amber (Juliet Tablak). Featured in the cast as Sandy is Elaine Hendrix, at that time the girlfriend of series regular David Faustino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Camera in hand, aspiring moviemaker Kelly (Christina Applegate) follows her dad Al (Ed O'Neill) around during a typical day at the shoe store. The result is the stirring documentary "SHEOS" (well, heck, no one should expect an "auteur" to know how to spell). The film proves so impressive that the National Endowment of the Arts offers Kelly $10,000 to make a sequel, whereupon Al proposes his own personal epic, replete with bikini girls. This episode was originally shown in tandem with My Favorite Married, a half-hour special in which the cast of Married. . .With Children introduced clips from their favorite episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Al (Ed O'Neill) has come up with the perfect Christmas present for his co-worker Griff (Harold Sylvester): twenty free minutes on the phone-sex line 1-900-YUMMY. Before long, Griff is not only "hooked" on the service, but he has fallen in love with the velvet-voiced operator "Butter." Little does Griff realize that the unseen Butter is actually Al's behemoth mother-in-law (Kathleen Freeman)--but Al knows this fact only too well! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In order to become a member of Al's macho NO MA'AM organization, Bud (David Faustino) must go through an initiation ritual that is seemingly dreamed up on the spot. Bud's challenge is to crash the nationally televised "WrestlePalooza" match and get his picture taken with the legendary King Kong Bundy (no relation, of course). The result: Dressed in an idiotic bumblebee costume, Bud finds himself squaring off against Bundy in a no-holds-barred grappling match! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
After being tied up by a burglar at the shoe store, Al (Ed O'Neill) claims to be so traumatized by the experience that he is afraid to wear shoes. Actually, this is a clever ploy to bilk an insurance company out of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately for Al, a relentless insurance agent dogs his trail to make certain that he is truly incapable of donning shoes--and even more unfortunately, Al is slated to bowl in a tournament where the judges frown upon barefoot contests. The two traditional Queen sports-event songs (YOU know the titles), heard in the network version of this episode, were replaced by stock music in the syndicated version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Al (Ed O'Neill) and his buddies try to weasel out of paying beer tax by organizing "The Church of NO MA'AM." Donning an ostentatious pompadour, "Reverend Al" spreads his gospel as a televangelist on Channel 83, asking for donations from the Faithful. An outraged Marcy (Amanda Bearse) plans to expose Al as a fraud with a series of incriminating photos--a plan which backfires when Al wins public sympathy by pulling a "Jimmy Swaggart". . .tears and all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Kelly (Christina Applegate) makes cosmetic history when, while researching her acting role as a scientist, she combines blood and spleen--and invents the color Bleen. Subsequently, Al (Ed O'Neill) discovers that Bleen has capacity to grow hair on the baldest of bald men...but not without devastating consequences. Watch for the extended parody of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Al (Ed O'Neill) scoffs when Peg (Katey Sagal) and Marcy (Amanda Bearse) enroll in a self-defense class, dismissing all women as weaklings. But the tables are turned when Peg beats up a pickpocket while Al watches helplessly from the sidelines. Mocked by the media (one headline reads "CHOP-SOCKY MAMA SAVES WUSSY-HUBBY'S WALLET") and treated like a leper by his male buddies, Al takes desperate measures to reassert his manhood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Anticipating a cornucopia of sexy "eye candy", Al (Ed O'Neill) persuades his boss Gary (Janet Carroll) to open up an aerobics studio next door to the shoe store. Unfortunately, the studio's clientele is comprised entirely of women who are "metabolically challenged"--a new P.C. term for "fat as pigs." In hopes of attracting a more curvaceous flock of females, Al prevails upon Kelly (Christina Applegate) to talk her handsome boyfriend Ramon (Marco Sanchez) into getting a job as an aerobics instructor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Kelly (Christina Applegate) is thrilled when she is accepted for enrollment at the Larry Storch School of Acting; after all, she insists, she has always wanted to be a "lesbian" (try "thespian", stupid). It is even more thrilling when Larry Storch himself allows Kelly to do a dramatic scene with him. Alas, Kelly's career may be over before it begins when Storch is accidentally knocked cold by Al's boss Gary (Janet Carroll). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The true story of a mother's search for her daughter's killer is the subject of this intense made-for-TV movie. Markie Post stars as Laurie Philips, a waitress living in a trailer park whose daughter is murdered. The movie follows her as she tirelessly tries on her own to track down the killer and get justice for the crime. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Markie Post, Gerald McRaney, (more)
- 1994
For full appreciation of this episode, it should be noted that it was originally telecast during a particularly contentious Major League baseball strike. Yearning for the sound of the crack of a bat and the roar of a crowd, Al's all-male organization NO MA'AM organizes a blue-collar baseball league, underwritten by several of the country's better nudie bars. The resulting team names include the Chicago Cleavage, the Boston Bazooms, and the Buffalo Bodacious Tat-Tas. Without any further elaboration, be it noted that real-life baseball stars Mike Piazza, Bret Saberhagen, Danny Tartabull, Frank Thomas] and Dave Winfield appear as themselves--and also watch for the scene in which the entrepreneurial Al is interviewed by sportscaster Joe Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this comedy-drama set in the late 1950s, Manny Singer (Ray Liotta) is a songwriter who makes his living penning jingles for radio and television commercials. Manny's wife has recently died, leaving him an emotionally broken man; Manny buries himself in his work rather than deal with his grief. His young daughter Molly (Tina Majorino) is taking it even harder; since her mother's passing, Molly has refused to speak. Manny realizes that he needs help taking care of the house and looking after Molly, so he places an ad looking for a maid who can double as a nanny. After a long series of unsuitable applicants, Manny meets Corrina Washington (Whoopi Goldberg), who isn't much on cooking, cleaning, or domestic chores -- but who strikes an immediate chord with Molly. Corrina gets the job, and her vivacious, unconventional personality brings the joy of living back to the Singer home. A romance also begins to bloom between Manny and Corrina, though Manny quickly discovers that being in an interracial relationship in 1959 is not always easy or pleasant. Joan Cusack and Don Ameche highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, (more)
- 1994
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Al (Ed O'Neill) and his NO MA'AM group continue their protest against the cancellation of the TV series "Psycho Dad." With the help of neighbor Jefferson (Ted McGinley), Al is able to plead his case before the US Senate. Ironically, this episode was originally intended to air during Married. . .With Children's eighth season, but was postponed until Season Nine because of an ongoing Congressional probe of excessive violence on TV! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Recognizing his problem, Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) attends an open AA meeting. Donna (Gail O'Grady) has high hopes when she learns that Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) has again left his wife. Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) sparks racial tensions when, after shooting a black motorist, he is unable to prove that the man drew on him first. And seeking spiritual solace, Janice (Amy Brenneman) confesses to a priest (Dean Norris) that it was she who killed mobster Marino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
