Route 666 (Part 1) is the 23rd episode of Season 5 of Married... with Children, also the 103rd overall episode of the series. Directed by Gerry Cohen, and written by Katherine Green, the episode originally aired on FOX, premiering on April 28, 1991.
Synopsis[]
Part one of two. While on a road trip to Los Angeles, the Bundys' car breaks down in a backwards, New Mexico town, where an old prospector (John Byner) gives Al a map to a gold mine. Al phones Jefferson to help finance the gold strike on his new property.
Plot summary[]
While on their way to Los Angeles for a "Shoe Convention," the Bundys' car breaks down in the small town of Lucifer, New Mexico where they meet an old prospector (who "looks like John Byner") who gives them a map to an old gold mine in the area in exchange for their car. They phone Marcy and Jefferson who come to the rescue, having been duped into thinking that the kids are dying. But it turns out that Al and Peggy want their money for the mine deal. Then the six of them go off in search for the gold...
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
Recurring cast members[]
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy D'Arcy
- Ted McGinley as Jefferson D'Arcy
- Buck the dog as Buck Bundy
Guest starring[]
- John Byner as The Prospector
- Carmen Filpi as Codger #1
- Owen Bush as Codger #2
- Michael G. Moye as Young Zeke
- Buddy Matlock as Banjo Player
Quotes[]
- Codger #1: Chill in the air, heh Zeke?
- Codger #2: I though you were Zeke.
- Codger #1: [ponders for several seconds while looking around him] ...Maybe I am.
- Peggy Bundy: Look, there's a cool 25 cents for you if you'll haul our car to a station.
- Codger #1: Normally, we'd do it for $400.
- Codger #2: But we'll do it for $200, if you'll let us take our picture with you, leopard woman.
- Peggy Bundy: Oh, Al. These rubes think I'm sexy.
- Al Bundy: I would too if I drank whisky for breakfast.
- Young Zeke: Dodge is a damn fine car. Ran over my wife with a Dodge.
Notes[]
Title[]
- The title of this episode is a play on the historical U.S. Route 66 which runs from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California and the number 666, often referred to as the "Number of the Beast".
- Although there is an actual Route 666, it only runs through Utah, Colorado and New Mexico and as of 2003, has been renamed to U.S. Route 491.
Trivia[]
- Young Zeke, one of the codgers that the Bundys meet, is played by Michael G. Moye, the co-creator and Executive Producer of Married with Children.
- Al mentions one of the highlights of the shoe convention is the shoe groupies. Al would later have his opportunity with a shoe groupie named Ricki in "So This is How Sinatra Felt".
- While waiting for the D'Arcys to wire them money, Kelly refers to Marcy by her first name. This is a rather odd occurrence, as Bud and Kelly usually address her as "Mrs. Rhoades" or "Mrs. D'Arcy".
- She also did this in the previous episode as well as in the Season 3 episode, "The House That Peg Lost" when she mentions Marcy and her then-husband Steve Rhoades by their first names.
- In the close up shot of Al digging through the laundry basket to get his lockbox, his Polk High School diploma is visible, with "Polk High School" and "Al Bundy" clearly readable.
Cultural References[]
- When Bud lifts up his shirt and hands over the Playboy magazines to Peg, the issues he hands her appear to be from February 1989, January 1991 and February 1991.
- The issue that is prominently seen in the pile, featuring a woman in a red dress and "LOVE" written on the bottom of the cover, is the February 1989 issue. The cover model for that issue is Michele Smith, who previously appeared on MWC as Bunny, one of the assistants to Jim Jupiter in the Season 4 episode, "Dead Men Don't Do Aerobics".
- One of the Playboy issues (the one with the red cover) is the February 1991 issue, which features Pamela Anderson on the cover. She would appear in the next episode during Al's dream fantasy.
- Jefferson makes a reference to actor Ricky Schroder, who at the time was known for his role on the 1980s sitcom Silver Spoons, which was developed by MWC creators, Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye.
- After Al tells the family that they can't go with him to L.A., Bud ask "Can we drop in on Hef?", in reference to Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, and the Playboy Mansion.
- Kelly tells Al that she wants to see Garfield's house, in reference to the fictional cartoon cat.
- It is implied that Garfield and his owner Jon Artbuckle live in an unidentified Midwest US town. The comics, TV shows, and specials make this very clear.
- The best example is the special "A Garfield Christmas" which features a heavy layer of snow on the ground throughout the special, and the majority of the show takes place on a farm.
- Peggy asks if they can stop by Fredericks's of Hollywood to buy a bra.
- Frederick's was a chain of lingerie shops and would likely have been locations within malls near the Bundys, though it is possible she is referring to the flagship store, which was based in Hollywood.
- As Katey Sagal mentioned during an interview in 1989, the flagship store has a museum that has Peggy Bundy's bra on display.[1]. In a later interview, she mentioned that during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, someone broke into the museum and stole the bra, but eventually returned it out of guilt.[2]
- Al refers to the codgers as "ZZ Tops" in reference to the Texas based rock trio, known for their long beards.
- One of their songs "Sharp Dressed Man" would later be heard in the season 6 episode, "If I Could See Me Now"
- The prospector keeps using the "A horse is a horse, of course, of course" while talking to Al. This is in reference to the opening theme song to the 1960s television show "Mister Ed".
- Marcy says that the neighborhood was singing "Ding dong the shoe man is dead", in reference to the film The Wizard of Oz and the song "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead" .
- In the later half of the episode, the soft drink brand Coca-Cola is prominently seen in the background and serving the only source of refreshment for the Bundys and D'Arcys.
- Notably, The Coca-Cola Company was one of the companies involved with the Rakolta Boycott, with the company's president at the time disapproving of the show's content and personally apologizing to Rakolta.
Music[]
- The Bundy family sings "99 Bottles of Beer" during their car trip.
- The Bundys sing a variation of "The Umbrella Man" by Flanagan and Allen during their car trip.
- "Camptown Races" is played on the banjo as Kelly dances in front of the codgers.
Locations[]
- Bundy Residence
- Kansas
- Oklahoma
- Lucifer, New Mexico
Sets[]
- Bundy Living Room / Kitchen
- New Mexico Desert
- General Store
Goofs[]
- When Al tells Bud about the shoe convention, Bud points out that Al was banned from the shoe convention for life after starting a "...failed, beer induced Shoe d'etat back in '87", yet in season 3's "The Dateless Amigo" he did go to a shoe convention to show off his "Bundy Shoe Lights", which would have been around 1989, 2 years after his supposed ban for life.
- At the end of the show, the voice over asks if Al will finally "...be able to afford his own bathroom, with toilet paper as soft as a mother's kiss?", yet he built and has had his own bathroom back in season 3's "A Dump of My Own".
- While Al did build his own bathroom, it is unlikely he is able to afford "toilet paper as soft as a mother's kiss" because he is poor.
- The studio lights can be seen reflected on Young Zeke's glasses.
- There is a continuity error when Al sits on the couch to go through his lockbox:
- When he first sits down and puts the box on the table, the remote control is right next to it. Right after Bud peeks from the closet door, the control is now about 3-4 inches away.
- Then, when Al starts pulling out the smaller boxes, the maroon colored one is placed on top of the remote, causing it to be slanted. Then when Bud comes and greets him, the box is suddenly flat on the table and the control is back in it original spot, right next to the first box.
- A Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) can be seen prominently behind where the Bundys and D'Arcys pan for gold, yet Joshua Trees do not grow in New Mexico as they are only found in the Mojave desert which is in eastern California, southern Nevada and some parts of western Arizona and Utah.
References[]
External Links[]
Route 666 (Part 1) at the Internet Movie Database- Route 666 (Part 1) on Bundyology
- Route 666 (Part 1) - Table Draft Script on albundy.net
- Route 666 (Part 1) - Transcript on Springfield! Springfield!
- #103 Route 666 (Part 1) - MWC Podcast on Horrorphilia
