My Uncle the Car

My Uncle the Car is the 15th episode of the third season and the 61st episode overall.

Will and Grace sell an old car left behind by her Uncle Jerry. Karen finds out that Rosario has been working for her rival Beverly Leslie behind her back. Jack finds out he is black.

Synopsis[]

We're going to the zoo[]

When the rent on her storage space goes up again, Grace decides to sell the old car from her late Uncle Jerry which she had kept for its sentimental value.

Ep 03 16 — "God, it's like a Cheech & Chong movie".

She then finds a tape of Uncle Jerry telling her, "this Chevy Citation represents my deep, deep affection for you, as long as you have this car I'll always be with you". She decides to take the car back from the buyer, a wisecracking nun who plans to use it for her cheesecake business.

The nun, Sister Louise, agrees to return it in exchange for $3000 against the $400 that the car was initially sold for. When Will refuses to pay that much money for a worn-down, old car, Grace feels sad and says her goodbye to her Uncle Jerry. Will feels sorry for Grace so he negotiates with Sister Louise to get the car back by helping her deliver her cheesecakes and taking the nun to the zoo.

A woman and her housekeeper[]

While playing pool with her "dearest white friend" Beverly Leslie, Karen notices that Rosario knows Beverly too well and deduces that he had stolen her maid. She confirms this when she finds Rosario sneaking in the middle of the night, and wearing a new Members Only jacket Beverly had given her.

When Karen confronts Beverly, she challenges him to a game of pool, the winner of which will get Rosario. Despite both parties cheating, Beverly wins but Rosario catches them and expresses her disgust that she is treated like a prize object. While Karen mourns the loss of her closest friend, Rosario chooses to return to her.

Jack's black[]

Following the revelation that Jack's biological father is not the man he grew up with but rather a man his mother had anonymous sex with at a party, he receives a letter from her saying that his father is "a black boy". Immediately, Jack begins to think that he is black and is being discriminated against because of it. Later, his mother clarifies that his father is actually one of the "Black boys", an Irish-Catholic family from her hometown.

Cast[]

Main[]

Guest[]

Media[]

Notes[]

Title is a play on the 60s sitcom My Mother the Car.
This is the first appearance of Karen's friend/rival, Beverley Leslie. This is also the only time he is seen wearing his toupee.
Jack finding out that his father Daniel McFarland is not his biological father is revealed in the episode Homo for the Holidays when her mother visits. Later in the season, he finds out that his father is named Joe Black.
This episode was originally to be the return of Joan Collins' character, Helena Barnes. However, Joan Collins did not like the script, so they changed the character to Beverley Leslie. Even though Beverley is a man, they did not have to change any of the lines.^[1]
Ellen DeGeneres' favorite episode, according to her.^[2]

Cultural references[]

Will and Grace's drunken outgoing voicemail message is to the tune of the theme from The Brady Brunch (1969–74).
Will insults Karen by saying that it would take a silver bullet and a stake to the heart to kill her. This is a reference to the belief that silver bullets are the only thing that can kill monsters or that only a stake to the heart can kill the vampire Dracula.
When Grace's car starts to be filled with smoke, Will compares it to a Cheech & Chong movie during the 1970s, famous for showcasing hippie culture and cannabis use.
Karen refers to Beverly as "cup-sized Capote", a reference to openly gay writer Truman Capote who was also noted for his short stature.
Will tells Grace that he sold the car "to a family with a farm. There's lots of room for him to roam, and lots of other cars for him to play with," sarcastically referring to the popular lie adults tell children, usually when a pet dies.
When Sister Louise refuses to return the car, Grace rhetorically asks her, "can't you fly?," a reference to the sitcom The Flying Nun (1967–70). Interestingly, Shelley Morrison (Rosario) starred in the show as Sister Sixto.
Sister Louise runs a cheesecake business under the name "What a Friend We Have in Cheesecake", after the Christian song What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
During their fight, Karen refers to Beverly Leslie as Tattoo, after the short sidekick from the TV series Fantasy Island (1977–84), played by Hervé Villechaize.
When Jack asks Karen if she loved Rosario, she answered that she answers with the lyrics to I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face from the musical My Fair Lady.

Quotes[]

Male's here, and he is hot! Oh, we also got some letters. — Jack

Will:	I salute you, my proud black brother.
Jack:	Thank you, Will. It's nice to have your support. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find out what it means to be black like me.

—find out Jack is "black"

Grace:	It's family. Look. You wouldn't understand that, because you're tiny-hearted.
Will:	Did you just call me Tonya Harding?

Grace:	That's weird. Will, what do you think's wrong?
Karen:	She just asked a fairy an engine question. Oh, my God. We're all gonna die in this car.
Will:	Karen, you're not gonna die. It'd take a silver bullet and a wooden stake to do that.

—turning the ignition on the old car

Jack:	I think there's something wrong with your car.
Grace:	What are you talking about? It's purring like a kitten.
Karen:	Yeah, a kitten who smokes 10 packs a day!

Jack:	I just stood in the freezing cold for 40 minutes, trying to get a cab. I finally had to walk halfway across town.
Will:	Why couldn't you get a cab?
Jack:	Why do you think? Because I'm black.
Grace:	Maybe you should go down to Boy Bar and try and get a little affirmative action.

You guys better climb out of your ivory tower and smell the coffee, because it's here, it's hot, and it's black! — Jack

Don't insult me with your lies. I know where you were: scrubbing floors for Beverley Leslie. I can smell his generic cleaning products all over you. — Karen, to Rosario

I think it is so wonderful that you're married to God. Me, I'm still looking. — Grace, meeting the nun

Sr. Louise:	The Bible does teach the value of charity and helping your fellow man.
Grace:	Yes. It does.
Sr. Louise:	But God's no fool. I want $3,000 in traveler's checks.

Grace:	I hope that you never have to feel what I'm feeling right now.
Will:	Me, too.
Grace:	And when you do, I hope it hurts!

Karen:	You came between one of the most sacred relationships there is: a woman and her housekeeper.
Beverly:	Well, what can I say? She just prefers being around masculine energy.
Karen:	Let's leave your wife out of this.

Tell it to the marines, if you already haven't! — Karen

References[]

↑ rob’s Will & Grace page. "My Uncle the Car" http://www.durfee.net/will/0314.htm
↑ ellen degeneres: Will&grace cast

[1] rob’s Will & Grace page. "My Uncle the Car" http://www.durfee.net/will/0314.htm

[2] res: Will&grace cast

[1]

[2]