Rerun Anachronisms

Last update September 12, 2010

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When you watch rerun episodes, they are up to fifteen years old. Many things have changed since then. I try to collect on this page these evidences of the past.


Lines, objects and portrayed people in single episodes:

102 - Al asks Peggy if she wants to see The Tonight Show with Johnny CARSON.
106 - The TAX DEDUCTION FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION that the IRS once had was abolished.
108, 202, 203 - PHIL DONAHUE was mentioned as one of Peggy's favourite shows.
203 - Kelly makes a joke about the LEBANON as a terrible country to spend holidays; the civil war ended in 1990.
208 - The ARLINGTON PARK race track, where the horse race in this episode takes place, was shut down in 1998.
220 - Steve's friend he plays chess with is from WEST Germany; West Germany and East Germany were reunified in 1990.
302 - There's a picture of PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN in the library.
308 - There's a picture of PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH in the courtroom.
319 - Al: "Oh God, is it 1989 already?"
415 - JAMES BROWN is in prison.
503 - There's a picture of PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH in the courtroom.
517 - Al speaks about BARBARA BUSH as the FIRST LADY.
602 - Al says he'll soon be partying like 1999.
608 - Al wonders why KNOTS LANDING was never cancelled. The show ended in 1993.
618 - Al says that we were in the 20TH CENTURY.
620 - There's a picture of VICE PRESIDENT DAN QUAYLE hanging on the wall of the party room.
625 - LADY DIANA has a cameo - of course she was played by an impersonator.
702 - This episode includes a joke about Mike Tyson being in jail.
702 - Peggy and Al both hate THAT PAINTING BEHIND JAY LENO. Jay's set has been changed at least twice.
719 - Al and Peg went to see "A Few Good Men" which was released when this episode premiered in 1993.
721 - The movie "Groundhog Day" was released when this episode premiered in 1993.
811 - Mike Tyson and Don King are portrayed as dogs, talking about Tyson being in jail.
822 - Kelly says she can be whatever she wants to be because it's the 90s.
823 - The quiz host asks Al what "OJ" in OJ SIMPSON means. This episode premiered exactly three weeks before OJ's wife and her lover were killed in Los Angeles, so he is not mentioned because of these events.
904 - Al says "if you lose to the [Los Angeles] Rams you get thrown out of the league", but the team moved to St. Louis next year becoming a good team that won Super Bowl another four years later.
909 - A writer is asked if he wanted to return to FULL HOUSE. That show ended in 1995.
911 - This episode is a parody on the Major League BASEBALL PLAYERS STRIKE in 1994.
912 - Marcy gets an orgasm looking at a picture of JOHN F. KENNEDY JR.
913 - Al tells a congressman to cancel BLOSSOM. The show ended a year later.
914 - Somebody mentions SONNY BONO as a Congress member. Bono died in spring, 1998, still in office.
914 - Somebody makes a joke about WASHINGTON having NO QUARTERBACK. This indicated that the 1994 Washington Redskins football team was very bad as there was no competent quarterback.
924 - Oprah's topic "People who survived meeting on the JENNY JONES SHOW" refers to the incident where a gay man confessed his love to a straight man on Jenny Jones. The straight man later killed the gay guy.
1006 - Al & Peggy went to see THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY at the cinema with a TO DIE FOR poster.
1020 - There's FAMILY MATTERS on TV.
1025 - Episode regarding the 1996 ATLANTA OLYMPICS.
1102 - This episode is a parody on the exposure of a story in March 1996 about KATHIE LEE GIFFORD, co-host of the daily morning talk show "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" on ABC. Teenage girls in Honduran sweatshops worked 15 hours a day to sew for her line of women's clothes at Wal-Mart stores. She apologized in a whining statement just like Gary in this episode.
1110 - Griff talks about the DEUTSCHMARK. That currency was replaced by the Euro.
1115 - Kelly wants to have PURPLE M&M'S, but the fool says they don't make purple M&M's. In 2002, purple M&M's were introduced after a world-wide customer poll.


Cast members who died:

Buck (Buck) 1997 [old age]
Ron Leavitt (Series Co-Creator) 2008 [lung cancer]


Guest stars who died:

Don Drapper (103 - Salesman) 1990 [AIDS]
Sam Kinison (413 - Angel) 1992 [car accident]
Christopher Collins (809, 821 - Roger) 1995
Wolfman Jack (919 - Himself) 1995 [heart attack]
Eadie Del Rubio (222 - Eadie Wanker) 1996 [cancer]
Tammy Wynette (1108 - Herself) 1998 [blood clot]
Jean Speegle Howard (921 - Ceil) 2000 [complications of heart and respiratory illnesses]
Dave Graubard (817 - Mobster #1) 2000 [car accident]
Lewis Arquette (111 - Ed) 2001 [heart failure]
Glenn M. Hughes (807 - Himself / Leather Man) 2001 [lung cancer]
Elena Del Rubio (222 - Elena Wanker) 2001 [cancer]
Kathleen Freeman (1002-1003,1008,1010,1012 - Peg's Mom voice over) 2001 [lung cancer]
Benjamin Lum (1004,1007 - Sticky) 2002 [cancer]
Waylon Jennings (821 - Ironhead Haynes) 2002 [diabetes]
Graham Jarvis (307 - Lance) 2003 [multiple myeloma]
John Randolph (611 - Colonel Van Pelt) 2004 [old age]
Wendie Jo Sperber (613 - Sandy) 2005 [breast cancer]
Cynthia Songé (304 - Ms. Mount) 2010 [unknown]
Gary Coleman (816, 1026) 2010 [brain haemorrhage]


Special Hosts who died:

George Plimpton (The Best o'Bundy) 2003



I need your help to complete this very short list. If you have an addition, please e-mail to Bundyology.

Thanks a lot to Carolyn Crapo, Harald van Bebber, Cliff Coleman, StuartM, Konstantin Volkmann, Harrison Inefuku, E.E. Bell, Marriedaniac, Rob Mitarotondo and Kristian Maaten.


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© Andreas Carl 2004