Season 3 Episode 6: Her Cups Runneth Over

It is Peggy’s birthday, and she discovers that her favourite bra, the Fancy Figure 327, has been discontinued. The depression that follows is genuine, and Al and Steve set out to find one, a quest that takes them to a lingerie shop and eventually to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, a real town about two hours from Chicago. Along the way Al has to establish his wife’s cup size from strangers, which the episode makes as difficult for him as possible.

This is one of the half-hours that provoked the most consequential attack the series ever faced. Terry Rakolta, a Michigan housewife and family-values campaigner, found this episode offensive enough to begin a letter-writing campaign to the show’s advertisers. A few sponsors did withdraw, and one episode, “I’ll See You in Court“, was shelved entirely. The campaign’s net effect was the opposite of its intention: the publicity delivered the series an audience it had not previously had, and FOX’s most notorious show became its most watched.

The guest casting is of its moment. Lynne Austin, who plays Peaches, was Playboy‘s Playmate of the Month for July 1986 and the original Hooters model; Devin DeVasquez, who plays Vicky, was Playmate of the Month for June 1985.

The episode also contains one of Al’s most quietly bleak runs: attempting to buy his wife flowers, discovering he cannot afford them, and asking instead for seeds. He manages the seeds, one piece of candy and a card. The final scene continues after the writing and directing credits have rolled, which the series almost never did: Al and Peg get where they were going, eventually. Al implies Peggy was sixteen when they met.

Episode Facts

• Original air date: January 15, 1989
• Season 3, Episode 6, and the 41st episode of the series
• Written by Marcy Vosburgh and Sandy Sprung
• Directed by Gerry Cohen
• A Peggy birthday episode

Guest Cast

• Devin DeVasquez as Vicky
• April Wayne as Muffy
• Lynne Austin as Peaches
• Tally Chanel as Corky
• Deron McBee as the policeman
• Bill Smillie as Pops

The Episode That Made the Show a Hit

Peg turns another year older and finds out her favorite bra, the Fancy Figure 327, has been discontinued. Al and Steve track one down at a lingerie store two hours north in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, which is how a birthday episode ends up set inside Francine’s of Wisconsin with Al fainting on the floor.

This is the episode that changed the show’s fortunes. A Michigan viewer named Terry Rakolta watched it and started a letter-writing campaign to the sponsors, trying to get the advertising pulled and the show pushed to a later hour. A few sponsors did walk, and one episode, I’ll See You in Court, was shelved for years. Everything else backfired on her. The story went national, the ratings jumped, and Married… with Children became the hit that put FOX on the map.

Worth noticing on a rewatch: the B story, in which Marcy hires Peg an exotic dancer and both kids walk in and ask the same question, is better written than the A story it is supporting.

Famous Quotes

• Marcy: “Do you know what would happen if men had breasts?” Al: “We wouldn’t need women anymore?” The exchange that launched a boycott.
• Peggy: “And if you had what other men have, I wouldn’t need batteries anymore.” Peg’s reply, which is why the boycott failed.
• Bud: “Dad dead?” Bud walking in on a stripper on the couch, and then Kelly asking the identical question, with Peg answering “Just in spirit.”
• Vicky: “Excuse me, sir. Are you straight?” Al: “The hairs on my chest are.” The last thing Al says before he hits the floor.

Notes

• The title plays on the line “my cup runneth over” from Psalm 23, and on bra cups.
• Lynne Austin, who plays Peaches, was the original Hooters model and Playboy’s Playmate of the Month for July 1986. Devin DeVasquez, who plays Vicky, was Playmate of the Month for June 1985.
• Francine’s of Wisconsin is a parody of Frederick’s of Hollywood.
• Oconomowoc, Wisconsin is a real town, roughly two hours from Chicago.
• Peg’s favorite bra is identified as the Fancy Figure 327.
• Peg opens the episode singing Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” Katey Sagal is a longtime Franklin fan.
• Kelly’s birthday gift to Peg is an Al Jolson record, on 78, which lands about as well as you would expect.
• One of the few episodes whose final scene continues after the writing and directing credits have run.
• Al’s failed attempt to buy flowers, settling for seeds, is repeated in the season 8 episode “Valentine’s Day Massacre.”