Death Has a Shadow
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| Family Guy Episode | |||
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| "Death Has a Shadow" | |||
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| Episode no.: | 1 | ||
| Prod. code: | 1ACX01 | ||
| Airdate: | January 31, 1999 | ||
| Writer(s): | Seth MacFarlane | ||
| Director: | Peter Shin | ||
| Guest star(s): | None | ||
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"Death Has a Shadow" is the first episode of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. First aired after Super Bowl XXXIII. Much of this episode is based off of what Seth MacFarlane sent in to Fox.
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[edit] Plot summary
When Peter is invited to a stag party, Lois allows him to go, but only on the condition that he refrain from drinking while he's there. At the party, Peter breaks his promise and wakes up the next morning with a large hangover, causing him to fall asleep at his job as a toy inspector at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Company.
Peter's negligence costs him his job, but he can't bring himself to tell Lois about having been fired. After hiding his unemployed status for a while, Peter realizes he'll need some source of income, so he decides to go on welfare. When he receives his first check, Brian points out that due to a clerical error Peter is receiving $150,000 per week from the government.
Peter goes on a spending spree, telling Lois that he actually got a promotion at work. But when Lois catches wind on what's really going on, she's furious. Peter realizes he has to make things right, so he decides to return the money to Joe Taxpayer by dropping it from a blimp into the crowd at the Super Bowl, which only results in him being shot out of the sky and subsequently arrested by the police.
Peter goes on trial for welfare fraud and gives an impassioned speech in his own defense. But when the judge threatens to put Peter and Lois away for a long time, Stewie (who grudgingly realizes his own dependence on his parents) uses his mind control device on the judge to get him to reconsider the sentence.
[edit] References
The Brady Bunch, Aunt Jemima and Jehovah's Witnesses
An episode of The Brady Bunch shows Greg being thrown into a pit of snakes for possessing cigarettes and Jan is put in a chamber of fire for telling on him. Peter states that the Bradys lived in a crummy neighborhood, and then states that the worst thing in the Griffin's neighborhood is Jemima's Witnesses, a combination parody of Aunt Jemima and Jehovah's Witnesses.
In a cutaway, a wimpy Adolf Hitler is shown struggling to lift weights at a gym, and looks over to see a muscular rabbi being doted on by two women. This is the implied reason for Hitler initiating the Holocaust.
G.I. Joe and Woody Allen
At Peter's job, a co-worker creates a new toy line known as G.I. Jew. Which is a reference to G.I. Joe. His catchphrase is "You call these bagels?", delivered in a voice similar to Woody Allen's.
In a commercial, Peter (dressed as the Cocoa Puffs mascot) says "I'm caca for Cuckoo Puffs!"
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Peter was apparently at the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, but wouldn't stand up to the tank because he "only came over to buy some fireworks."
Then-President Bill Clinton is shown as drunk and hostile at a press conference. When a large reporter asks why Clinton is so popular (at the time, his poll approval ratings were at a high 69 percent [1]), he responds with "Probably because you're so fat!"
The jester that Peter hires for Lois is Jerry Seinfeld.
Peter says that they now have enough money to get their kids out of any problem, "Just like the "Kennedys."
Super Bowl, John Madden and Pat Summerall
At the Super Bowl, announcer John Madden is trying to make conversation with Pat Summerall during a commercial break but can only talk about "FOOTBALL!!!" in his announcing voice.
In the courtroom scene, the Kool-Aid Man bursts through the wall, shouting his catchphrase, "Oh yeah!" after numerous characters consecutively said, "Oh no!" which mimics advertisements for Kool-Aid.
Dick Clark and TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes
Nearing the end of the episode, the family is watching Dick Clark's TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes.
The pornographic movie the guys watch at the party, titled Assablanca, is a parody of the movie Casablanca.
[edit] Goofs
- When Peter is being questioned by the judge, a microphone in front of him is shown in some scenes, but in others there is no microphone.
- When Peter winks at the camera wearing an Afro wig, the wig is black, but when he sits back down, the wig is brown.
- At certain times during the episode you can clearly see the eyes of the Family Guy characters being larger at times and smaller at times as well.
[edit] References
- Callaghan, Steve. "Death Has a Shadow." Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1-3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 14 - 17.
- Delarte, Alonso. "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 1." Bob's Poetry Magazine March 2005: 7 - 8. http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Mr.pdf
| Preceded by: "Death Has a Shadow" |
Family Guy Episodes | Followed by: "I Never Met the Dead Man" |
