Season 5 Episode 11: And Baby Makes Money

December 16, 1990

Published 12/16/90

Money has a way of making the Bundys behave, and in “And Baby Makes Money” it almost makes them affectionate. The episode opens in mourning. Al’s uncle Stymie Bundy has died, and the extended Bundy clan gathers to see what the old man left behind. Stymie was always Al’s favorite uncle for the simple reason that he was the only wealthy one, and the reason he was wealthy is that he never married. That bit of family arithmetic sets up everything that follows. When the will is finally read to the assembled male Bundys, Stymie’s fortune of five hundred thousand dollars is not handed to anyone outright. It goes instead to whichever Bundy is the first to produce a child born in wedlock, a condition that instantly turns a funeral into a race. For Al, who has spent five seasons treating his marriage bed as a place strictly for sleeping and sulking, half a million dollars is suddenly a very persuasive argument. He starts courting his own wife, stocking up on magazines for inspiration, and talking himself into a level of enthusiasm he has not shown since high school. Peg, who has spent those same five seasons being refused, is not nearly as motivated by the money as she is amused by watching her husband beg. She has plans of her own, and they do not necessarily involve cooperating on schedule. Meanwhile Kelly wanders through with a home pregnancy test and an explanation of chemistry she picked up from reruns, and Marcy delivers a fantasy monologue that leaves Peg speechless. The whole thing is built on the show’s favorite joke, which is that the Bundys will do almost anything except what is good for them.

Episode Facts

Original air date: December 16, 1990
Season and episode: Season 5, Episode 11
Overall episode number: 91
Written by: Art Everett
Directed by: Gerry Cohen
Production note: The title plays on the 1949 film And Baby Makes Three, a joke that lands harder once you learn the baby in question is worth $500,000.