Recap / Married With Children S 9 E 17 Something Larry This Way Comes

"Something Larry This Way Comes" is an episode in the ninth season of Married... with Children.

Al, with Griff in tow, tries to promote a midnight sale at the shoe store. Larry Storch makes an appearance as Kelly's acting coach and, after learning of Al's interest in meeting him, heads to the shoe store to meet Al, only for the occasion to go wrong because Gary, who had a failed investment in one of Larry's business schemes and is still bitter about it, happens to make a visit to the shoe store as well, culminating in Al having to fill in for Larry in an unauthorized theatrical production that stars Kelly.

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Tropes in this episode include:

• Accidental Misnaming: Peg doesn't remember F Troop being the show that starred Larry. As a result, she addresses the name of the show wrong (once as "D Cup" and the other time as "G-Spot").
• Actor Allusion: Al loves Larry Storch for having played Agarn on F Troop and describes how Agarn would react to one of the troopers annoying him.
• Air-Vent Passageway: When Al accidentally sets off the alarm as he tries to flee the theater by exiting through the main doors, Kelly guides the audience members to the nearby air vent for them to make their exit out of the building. ^note  Considering the unauthorized status of the theatrical production and that Al manages to trigger the alarm just by leaving through the main doors, they might have had to enter the building this way as well.
• Brick Joke: Bud lists some of Larry's prior business schemes that turned out to be scams, including a school for heating and air conditioning repair. Later, after talking about how she got screwed over in a business venture, Gary reveals that was the one she lost her shirt on.
• Death Glare: Gary's reaction to Al suggesting he and Griff are owed commissions on the cash register's meager contents.
• Determinator: The reason why Gary keeps trying to turn the shoe store around is because she put considerable effort into amassing her personal fortune after being cheated by a former business partner.
• Double Entendre: Al's line when he's supposed to play the piano (or synthesizer in this case):
  I'll just sit here and play with my organ...
• Epic Fail:
  • Al and Griff dress as werewolves for "Midnight Madness Shoe Sale", because, as Al puts it, "Wolves, night, moon, shoes". No fat woman comes, though some tumbleweed goes flying into the store when Al opens the store door.
    • It gets better when Gary shows up and checks out the cash register. She's incredulous that the measly amount is today's take, but Griff tells her it's yesterday's take and that they couldn't go to the bank because of a 50 cent minimum deposit.
  • The unauthorized theatrical production of The Phantom of the Opera gets derailed before it even begins due to Gary knocking Larry out out of sheer spite, so Al ends up being his last-minute replacement. Given that Al doesn't know the lines, can't play the piano (or a synthesizer in this case), and still has his werewolf costume underneath his formal attire that's barely holding together, the production turns out badly.
• "Eureka!" Moment: How Peg realizes who the Phantom really is.
  Peg: Tail? Moons? Feet? Al!
• Gilligan Cut:
  • When Peg explains to Larry about Al's absence in the house, she mentions the shoe sales Al's attending and states "he's probably in a selling frenzy right now", only for the scene to cut to Al and Griff sitting in the shoe store by themselves and looking bored.
  • After the disastrous unauthorized theatrical production of The Phantom of the Opera concludes, Al remarks at home that Griff must be having it rough for having to watch the empty shoe store by himself. The scene then cuts to Griff charging women who swarm the store to have pictures taken with Larry Storch.
• Insane Troll Logic: Al's big midnight sale idea involves him and Griff dressing up like werewolves.
  Griff: Tell me again what werewolves have to do with shoes.
  Al: Again? Wolves. Night. Moon. Shoes. See, wolves are nocturnal. They hunt at night, hence wolves, night—
  Griff: [irritated] Moon, shoes.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: For all his antagonism, Bud genuinely thinks Kelly is being unfairly taken advantage of and pressures Al to go on in Larry's place so that her big night isn't ruined.
• Music at Sporting Events: The only thing Al can play on the synthesizer is the "Charge" fanfare from baseball games. During the third runaround, Jefferson can't help but stand up and shout, "CHARGE!"
• No Fourth Wall: In-Universe. The unauthorized theatrical production of The Phantom of the Opera gets peppered with audience reacting to the scene at the time and Kelly reciprocating said reaction.
  • The rendition starts with Kelly, as Christine, entering the stage. One audience member wolf-whistles at her.
    Kelly: Thank you.
  • Bud's reaction to Kelly messing up a line causes Kelly to repeat it badly.
    Kelly: I shall search for the "e".
    Bud: That's "thee", you idiot!
    Kelly: Oh. I shall search for thee, you idiot.
• Old Shame: In-Universe. Gary considers that one time when she invested her money into one of Larry Storch's schemes, which lost all the money she put into it, as this. Even when she's quite well-off in the present time, she still harbors a bitter grudge about it and claims she would exact revenge should she see Larry again. Sure enough, Larry shows up at her shoe store a bare minute later, and Gary proves she meant business by punching his lights out (though she winces from the recoil afterwards).
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: When talking about how a business partner cheated her, Gary says she lost her shirt. Al can be seen resisting the urge to say something, but Griff is a different story.
  Griff: You still had your bra, didn't ya?
  Al: Shut up!
• Quieter Than Silence: The only one that shows up for the Midnight Madness Shoe Sale is a tumbleweed.
• Repeat After Me: Part of Kelly's Bad "Bad Acting" involves her doing this after Bud corrects her due to her messing up a line during the (supposed) theatrical production of The Phantom of the Opera.
  Kelly: I shall search for the "e".
  Bud: That's "thee", you idiot!
  Kelly: Oh. I shall search for thee, you idiot.
• Right Behind Me: When the midnight shoe sales event proves to be a complete failure, Al decides to bolt in order to meet Larry. Gary happens to enter the shoe store at that moment, causing Griff to repeatedly try to warn Al non-verbally, but Al dismisses him. He turns around... and sees Gary staring squarely at him.
  Al: (pitifully) Please don't fire me.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • Attempted when Al, concluding that his "Midnight Madness Shoe Sale" event is a bust and that he'd rather meet Larry Storch than stay inside the vacant shoe store all night, decides to abandon his sale promotion event and leave Griff to handle the store alone, only to find Gary staring at him right as he's about to leave.
  • Attempted again later on. After seeing the beginning of the production, Jefferson says he's going to go get some refreshments. Marcy forces him to stay, though.
  • When Al leaving the theater through the emergency exit triggers the alarm, the announcer says the police are on the way and advises everyone to leave through the Air-Vent Passageway. The attendees oblige.
• Shout-Out: To The Phantom of the Opera, as the unauthorized theatrical production is supposed to be from it, but the performance turns out badly.
• Swallowed a Fly: Griff pretends to catch a fly with his mouth at one point due to sheer boredom because the "Midnight Madness Shoe Sale" is met with Quieter Than Silence, only to accidentally do so for real, making him gag as a result.
• The Show Must Go Wrong: The unauthorized theatrical production of The Phantom of the Opera ends up an Epic Fail because of snags happening before and during production: It begins with Gary knocking Larry out due to the grudge she harbors over losing money in one of Larry's failed business schemes, resulting in Al having to substitute for Larry at the last minute. Then, due to the last-minute nature of Al's substitution, he puts on the tuxedo without taking off his werewolf costume, so the tux barely holds up. In addition, he doesn't know the lines he's supposed to say on stage, so he's reduced to reading off notes he has with him. Then more troubles ensue on stage (Al is no good with playing an organ — or, rather, a synthesizer, in this scenario — beyond the "Charge" fanfare from baseball games, he and Kelly are both bad at acting, the tux that barely stays on rips apart as he tries to leave the stage^note  which tips Peg off about Al as the Phantom, and he triggers the alarm for trying to escape via the front door), ensuring the whole show ends in total disaster.
• Tempting Fate: Gary happens to enter the shoe store right as Al decides to leave Griff to tend to the shoe store on his own after the reality sets in that the "Midnight Madness Shoe Sale" is no good. Griff tries to warn Al non-verbally, but Al dismisses him and states he's getting out of the store, only to turn around and come face-to-face with Gary.
• This Is Gonna Suck: After Gary reveals that Larry was the guy who cheated her all those years ago, he proudly enters the shoe store. Al can immediately tell what's about to happen.
  Al: Hit the deck!
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After getting dragged into Al's "Midnight Madness Shoe Sale" shenanigan, Griff manages to make some money at the end of the episode by charging women who flock to the store to have pictures taken with Larry Storch.
• Troubled Production: In-Universe. The unauthorized theatrical production of The Phantom of the Opera hits a snag before it even begins as the result of Al having to fill in for Larry at the last moment after Gary knocks Larry out out of sheer spite. Since Al doesn't remember the lines, can't play a piano (or a synthesizer, in this case), and still has his werewolf costume underneath his formal attire that's barely holding together, and both Al and Kelly are bad at acting, it turns out badly.