MARRIED WITH CHILDREN: "ROCK AND ROCK GIRL" (1990)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *naturalistic* 
MYTHICITY: *good*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *comedy*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*                                                                                                                                                       Although the "Rock and Roll Girl" of the title is indubitably Kelly, she, Peg and Bud are equally complicit in contriving a new set of tortures for the Bundy paterfamilias. As in many other episodes, the series of unfortunate events comes about when Al dares to go against his destiny to ceaselessly dispense his hard-earned money to his ungrateful family members. Al declares that he will match, at triple value, any money that the three parasites can manage to earn on their own. The declaration is even stupider given that the matching concept comes from Marcy, which should have been enough to warn him off.                                                                       

 Peg, for her part, starts off poorly, though as usual she manages to transfer the penalties of her failure to Al.                                               

Thanks to Bud's talent for scheming, though, he and Kelly come off much better. Bud manages to set Kelly dancing sexily in a music video and he even helps her eliminate some of the competition while scoring with other female performers. Kelly herself even shows a bit of cleverness in getting rid of a rival, though the usual dumb jokes are never in short supply. Al-- who suffers from tunnel vision regarding Kelly's obvious promiscuity-- finds out about the video and charges to the studio, intent on beating down anyone who compromises Kelly's non-existent virtue.                                             

  In the BLONDIE comics, punching-bag Dagwood often gets either physically or financially clobbered, but usually not both, at the same time. Not Al, though. The video-makers turn aside Al's wrath by casting him in the video, as a guy who gets blown up in a car, for realsies, when a cute blonde girl presses a plunger. Who's the cute blonde girl? Who else? (And she does it twice, no less.) Thus not only do Bud and Kelly make money that Al is forced to triple, Peg uses the occasion to profit from Al's injury, and she gets in on the bonanza. Then off the three demons go to spend Al's money, leaving Al to suffer yet more torments.