Season 7 Episode 20: Un-Alful Entry

March 28, 1993

Published 03/28/93

A burglar breaks into the Bundy house at night. Al, half asleep, mistakes the intruder for his wife and makes contact accordingly, and the resulting discovery wakes him up fast. When the man threatens him, Al knocks him out and holds him until the police arrive, and overnight Al Bundy becomes a neighborhood hero. He gives a statement to the press describing his actions as pure heroism not to be cheapened by crass commercialism, and comes down the stairs in the next scene wearing sponsor patches. Then the burglar sues him for his injuries, and the Bundys are back in court. Al’s choice of counsel is his daughter. Kelly’s opening statement to the bench is one of the most purely stupid things the series ever committed to tape, built around spelling a word she cannot spell, and Al’s immediate suggestion of a different lawsuit the court might consider instead is the correct response. His own closing argument is a genuine barnburner: he concedes that he has lost a thousand previous cases and has no knowledge of the law, states what he does not know about women, and then makes the entire thing about national borders. Randall “Tex” Cobb, a former heavyweight contender, plays the burglar. It is the last of the series’ courtroom episodes and arguably the best, because for once Al is in the right and it makes no difference at all. The episode also holds the distinction of being the one time a camera crew filmed the show being made, for a FOX special that aired the same spring.

Episode Facts

Original air date: March 28, 1993
Season and episode: Season 7, Episode 20
Overall episode number: 151
Written by: Larry Jacobson
Directed by: Amanda Bearse
Taped: March 18, 1993
Production note: Marcy does not appear, as Amanda Bearse directed.
Production note: The making of this episode was filmed for a FOX special, A Day in the Life of, which followed cast from this show, Roc and Martin through a full working day. The crew tracked Amanda Bearse and Ted McGinley from their homes to the set and the director’s booth.
Title note: A play on “unlawful entry,” and probably on the 1992 film of that name.