'Married...With Children' cast members David Faustino, Katey Sagal, Ed O'Neill, and Christina Applegate pose with Lucky the dog for a promotional photo.

‘Married…With Children’: Controversial Christmas Episode Was Inspired by Real-Life Event

A controversial Christmas episode of 'Married...With Children' was inspired by a real-life incident that took place in the 1930s.

by Carol Cassada

Published on December 10, 2022

2 min read

A Season 2 ‘Married…With Children’ Christmas episode was deemed graphic

The holidays tended to be a chaotic time for the Bundys. Their bad luck was evident in the Season 2 Christmas episode “You Better Watch Out.” The Married…With Children episode was considered graphic for young viewers and came with a parental guidance episode before it aired.

The plot has Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) and his family celebrating the holidays with their neighbors, Steve and Marcy Rhoades (David Garrison and Amanda Bearse). Everyone gathers around the TV to watch a parachuting Santa land at the mall to hand out gift cards. However, Santa accidentally ends up in the Bundy’s backyard, where he dies from the fall.

As the police investigate the scene, Steve comforts a traumatized Marcy. Meanwhile, neighborhood kids converge outside the Bundy’s home, inquiring about Santa. Al puts on a Santa suit and assures the kids that he’s fine.

While the episode was a bit sad, it ended happily for the Bundys, who found Santa’s sack and went shopping with the gift cards.

A real-life event from the 1930s inspired the Christmas episode

“You Better Watch Out” is a bit controversial; however, the Christmas episode is considered one of the best Married…With Children episodes. When it came time to write the holiday special, the writers drew inspiration from real life. According to IMDB.com, the episode was based on a 1932 incident involving a man named John McPhee.

McPhee, a toy shop owner, planned to drum up sales by having Santa parachute and hand out toys. However, the man McPhee hired ended up drunk at a bar. McPhee quickly devised a new plan involving a mannequin dressed as Santa.

The mannequin would have a self-deploying chute and land in a remote area. McPhee, dressed as Santa, would arrive and distribute toys to the boys and girls. However, the dummy’s chute failed to open, and onlookers watched in horror as Santa plummeted to his death.

McPhee was unaware of the incident, and kids asked how he was alive when he arrived. The owner explained that magic protected Santa. While angry parents brought toys for their kids, the incident shattered McPhee’s business.

How to watch other ‘Married…With Children’ holiday episodes

Watching classic TV shows like Married…With Children is a great way to spend the holidays. You can escape from the stress with laughter as the Bundy deal with their own Christmas chaos. “You Better Watch Out” and other episodes currently air on Logo.

Entire seasons of the Fox series are available on Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime, and Pluto TV. So this holiday season, kick back and enjoy some humor and good moments from the Bundys. Let’s hope your Christmas isn’t as bad as theirs.