Believe it or not, Peggy’s maiden name, Wanker, is actually a swear word in British and Australian slang. This was, of course, unintentional, because the word was not used that way in 1987 America. The producers would not have used it had they known its common use in other parts of the world.
With the internet and globalization revealing the other shade to Peggy’s Wanker moniker, it’s become a hilariously awkward maiden name for the character to bear. No modern show would use the word as a name. However, this was definitely not the case at the time the show was made. The word only became popular in British slang in the late 80s and early 90s. Knowledge of it didn’t really spread to the States until the advent of the internet.
The Big 'Uns
Do you remember how complex Al was as a character? You might remember that most of his scenes were just him sitting and watching TV. However, he actually had other stuff under his sleeve. He may have appeared to be conservative, but the character had his own blunders.
You may have noticed, Al had a fascination for adult magazines called “the Big ‘Uns.” This demeanor made the character even more funny and spirited. Did he ever wonder how his daughter’s generation might be affected by this? Of course! He didn’t like how flirty she was, but we’ll get to that soon.
A Change Of Address
At some point, you might have thought that the Bundys have moved from one address to another during the show, because their home address kept on changing. Sometimes it was 9764 Jeopardy Lane, and at others it became 9674 Jeopardy Lane. We’re betting you didn’t even notice this, did you?
It was just one of those tiny, but very funny errors. It makes you think whether they are done on purpose (as Easter eggs for observant viewers) or if they were really just honest mistakes. Jeopardy Lane was a fictional street to begin with, so the street numbers obviously were, too. This little mix up with the street numbers made the show even funnier for those who took notice.
Mixing Plots
Ed O’Neill appeared in the 1991 movie, Dutch . A typical comedy-drama film about a working class man who volunteered to drive his girlfriend’s teenage son from his school to his mom’s house, with the intention of getting to know him. The trip led to some mishaps, but later on to bonding, and of course, the two became close.
The movie was pointed out twice on the sitcom Married With Children . It was certainly intentional, in order to promote the movie. One time was when Al was on an airplane, and another when he and his wife Peggy rented a movie to watch together at home.
Many Emmy Nominations
Married With Children was nominated for an Emmy award, not just once, but seven times. Unfortunately, they never actually took an award home to Jeopardy Lane! It was hard to believe, because the show was very successful. The same goes for Baywatch . These two are the only shows that never won the award despite the fact that they were running for so long.
As a very successful show, Married With Children really deserved an Emmy award. It can be hard to understand why it didn’t take one home, because many people loved the show, and it was consistently popular over its ten year run. It might be because of the controversies? We’ll probably never know for sure.