A heat wave bakes Chicago, and Al and his family wind up moving into the local supermarket after his attempts to hook up a cheap World War II surplus air conditioner result in the unit short-circuiting and blacking out the entire neighborhood. The Bundys wind up competing with the D'Arcys for $1000 worth of free food in a contest to see who can gather up that amount of food first. Al, of course, rigs his shopping cart ("The Cart of Death") to knock the Darcys out of the running, but things don't quite work out as well as he planned. This is a very funny episode, with some great sight gags and a self-deprecating cameo by Jerry Mathers, aka "The Beaver" from the classic '50s sitcom "Leave It To Beaver". Funniest gag: Jefferson temporarily blinds Al by spritzing a bottle of feminine hygiene spray directly into his eyes, and Al howls, "I'm blind! And I smell like summer rain!" The ending is a bit of a letdown compared to everything that went before it--it's a gag I've seen in everything from Laurel & Hardy to The Three Stooges--but overall this is one of the better episodes of the series.
Review of You Better Shop Around: Part 2
