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Death Has a Shadow

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Death Has a Shadow
Season 1, Episode 1
Air date January 31, 1999
Episode Guide
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I Never Met Mr. Deaddy

Death Has a Shadow is the first episode of the first season of Family Guy, as well as the series premiere to the entire show.

Synopsis[]

In the town of Quahog, Rhode Island, a dim-witted fat man named Peter Griffin has to find a way to provide for his family when he gets fired from his only job at a children's toy factory.

Plot[]

A suburban family in the town of Quahog, Rhode Island called the Griffin Family joins together for dinner. Stewie Griffin, the youngest sibling, is finalizing a mind-control device, to aid him on his mission for achieving world domination. Lois Griffin, the mother of the family, takes it away from him, telling him that toys are not allowed at the table, unknowing of the device's true intent. Peter Griffin, the father of the family tells Lois that he'll be attending a stag party at his friend's house, but Lois doesn't allow this unless he promises not to drink. Peter makes this deal with her, but immediately breaks it, almost instantly upon arrival. He overdoses and wakes up on the kitchen table the next day, to his angry wife, and his impressionable children, witnessing the whole scene. Peter goes to work at The Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory that day, falling asleep on the job, missing dangerous objects such as a butcher knife, a surge protector, a gasoline can, razor blades, a porcupine, a toaster with forks inside and a plug in water. The company receives bad press after releasing unsafe toy products, and Peter is promptly fired by Mr. Weed.

At dinner, Peter breaks the news to his family. He applies for other jobs, such as cereal mascot and sneeze guard, but fails miserably. Down on his luck, Brian and Chris Griffin, the dog and middle sibling in the family, insist Peter must look out for his family's welfare and give him the idea based on their . With the word "welfare" in his mind, Peter soon applies for government assistance at a welfare office. But a processing error creates a weekly check for $150,000. Telling Lois he received a job with a big raise, Peter spends his money on many foolish and extravagant things, such as renting the Statue of David, treating Meg Griffin, the oldest sibling in the family, and Chris to cosmetic lip injections and breast implants respectively, and even going so far as to surround his house with a moat to protect them from the Black Knight, complete with a drawbridge and a miniature cruise ship, for travelling the sparkling waters. Unfortunately, Lois is given the welfare check by the mail lady and scolds at Peter. Peter decides to return the money to the taxpayers by dumping it from a blimp during Super Bowl XXXIII, with Brian accompanying him. They are immediately shot down and sent to prison.

Eventually, Lois receives the bad news and goes to court, still angry at Peter for lying to her in the first place. After Peter apologizes for lying to Lois and accepting the money instead of reporting the welfare error, the judge sentences him to 24 months in prison for welfare fraud. Lois, Brian, Chris and Meg exclaim, "Oh no!". Lois tries to explain he's not that bad and she loves him, and insists that, no matter what, she will always stand by her husband. The judge agrees and sends her to jail with him. Stewie, being a baby, must have his parents by his side, regardless of his burning hate for them, especially Lois. He then whips out his mind control device and forces the judge into letting his father go free and get his job back.

Peter states that he has learned his lesson and will never do it again. Instead, he is going to try for such things as a minority scholarship, sexual harassment suit, and a disability claim.

Characters[]

Major Roles[]

Minor Roles[]

Quotes[]

For full transcript, see: Death Has a Shadow/Transcript

[In the cold opening, the camera pans to the Griffin Family in front of their house]
Peter: Hi! We're the Griffins. You know, our family shares the same values that your fam-
[Peter's interrupted by a short, loud fart coming from the left, catching the family off-guard. They look to Peter who has a surprised look]
Peter: Brian!
Brian: Oh sure, blame the dog!
Meg: Mom, do you my lips are too thin? I'm thinking about seeing if I can get collagen injections.
Lois: Meg, you don't need to change the way you look. You know, most of the world's problems stem from poor self image.
[Cutaway gag to Adolf Hitler as a scrawny little weakling working out at the gym]
Hitler: YOWCH! I've schprained mien muskel! Damn these schtupid weighten!
[Hitler sees a muscular Jew getting adored by two sexy ladies]
Lady #1: Oh, Mr. Goldberg. You're so strong.
Mr. Goldberg: Well, you know us Jews pride ourselves on our strength.
Lady #2: Your Polish culture turns me on.
Hitler: [growls]
Stewie: Excellent. The mind control device is nearing completion.
Lois: Stewie, I said no toys at the table.
Stewie: Damn you, vile woman! You've impeded my work since the day I escaped your wretched womb!
Lois: Oh, don't pout honey. You know, when you were born, the doctor said you were the happiest looking baby he'd ever seen.
Stewie: But of course, that was my victory day. The fruition of my deeply laid plans to escape from that cursed ovarian Bastille. Return the device, woman!
Lois: No toys, Stewie.
Stewie: Very well, then. Mark my words. When you least expect it, your uppance will come.
Meg: Mom, it's kinda cold in here. Can I turn up the heat?
Lois: N-N, don't touch the thermostat, Meg, your father gets upset.
Meg: Oh, come on. This thing goes up to 90.
[Meg adjusts the heat, and Peter enters the room quickly]
Peter: Whotouchedthethermostat?
Meg: Man, how do you always know?
Peter: Brain implant, Meg. Every father's got one. Tells you when the children are messing with the dial.
Father #1: Hey, Peter, my thing went off, your thermostat okay?
Peter: Yeah, s'alright.
Father #2: Hey, is my kid over here?
Father #1: Forget it, false alarm.
Brian: [cutting around Peter's behind] Whoa, ass ahoy. Say, uh, Peter, it's seven o' clock, and you still got your pants on. What's the occasion?
Lois: He's going to a stag party.
Priest: And so, the lord God smote poor Joe with festering boils all over his body.
God: Aw, God. I hate it when he tells this story.
Peter: I got it. That's the guy from Big. Tom Hanks. That it's. Aw, funny guy, Tom Hanks. Everything he said is a stitch.
Tom Hanks: I have AIDs.
Peter: KAHAHAHAHA!!!
Quagmire: Hey, who wants to play drink the beer?
Peter: Right here.
Quagmire: You win!
Peter: Alright! What do I win?
Quagmire: Another beer!
Peter: Oh, I'm going for the high score.
Cleveland: Hello, Peter. I didn't expect to see you here.
Peter: Oh, hey, Cleveland! Hey, it's quick-lipped Cleveland. Cleveland, recite all the states in 60 seconds, go.
Cleveland: Oh, okay then. Alabama ... Alaska ... Arkansas ...
Peter: Oh, heh, wait. I forgot. You don't talk fast at all.
Quagmire: No, you're thinking of me, quick-lipped Quagmire, but I don't use my lips for talking fast. [pretends to motorboat a girl]
Quagmire: Hey, Peter. Check this out. [dumps beer on his face] Look at me, I'm a black guy! [imitating Sanford] I'd never hit a lady, but I'd hit her.
Peter: Oh, that's hilarious. Let me try. [dumps beer on his face] [imitating George Jefferson] Ay, gimme money, jive turkey!
Cleveland: Oh, that's funny. Okay, let me try with my vanilla beer. [dumps vanilla beer on his face] Hi. I'm white. [imitating Archie Bunker] You're a meathead. [chuckles]
[Peter and Quagmire glare at Cleveland]
Peter: That's not funny.
Quagmire: Yeah, that's offensive!
Peter: How dare you?
Quagmire: Racist!
Cleveland: ... I guess I misread the room.
[The family eats breakfast, while a hungover Peter lies down on it]
Lois: Meg, finish your pancakes. Chris, elbows off your father.
Peter: Thanks, son.
Meg: I kind of don't wanna eat my pancakes.
Brian: Yeah, feels weird eating off his crotch.
Chris: Heh-heh, that's cool that dad slept in the kitchen.
Peter: Now, kids, this is not a good example. Daddy only drank so The Statue of Liberty would take her clothes off.
Lois: Peter, I honestly don't believe you. You spent the night on the kitchen table and you're still drunk.
Peter: I'm sorry honey, are you mad?
Lois: No, I'm just very dissa-[her chair collapses and she falls]
Meg: Mom, are you alright?!
Lois: My goodness, this chair leg was loose. Isn't that silly I almost broke my neck.
Stewie: Damn! [violent music plays]
Peter: Look honey, I-I'm late for work, can we talk about this when I get back?
Lois: Alright Peter, but we haven't finished this conversation.
Peter: Okay, bye.
[Peter then passed out rolling off the table along with the family's breakfast.]
Tom: Welcome back to Action News 5. As always, I'm Tom Tucker.
Diane: And I'm Diane Simmons. Our top story tonight: When toys attack. Quite a situation we've got here, Tom.
Tom: Quite a situation we've got here, Tom, indeed, Diane.
Mr. Weed: Peter, I am appalled! Your negligence has damaged this company's reputation! You're fired!
Peter: Aw, jeez. For how long?
Lois: I don't believe Peter, you got fired!?
Chris: Way to go, dad. Fight the machine!
Stewie: How do you know about the machine?
Peter: Now don't worry, kids. We're still gonna put food on this table. Just not as much. So, uh, things might get a little competitive at the table.
Meg: Who cares about food. Now we'll never be able to afford my lip injections!
Brian: Hey, uh, Peter, can we put her out on the yard for a while?
Lois: Peter, you know this is all because you drank at the stag party.
Peter: I know, Lois, honey, you were right. Alcohol is trouble. Now I feel kinda guilty I ever gave Chris his first taste of beer. [to Chris] Eh, but you turned out okay, didn't ya, pal?
Chris: I'm gonna go get wasted. [leaves]
Peter: Okay, look both ways.
Stewie: What the deuce are you staring at? It's tuna fish and nothing else.
[Peter works as a sneeze guard at a salad bar and an old lady is about to sneeze]
Peter: [points gun at lady] Take it outside, lady.
[cut to a scene from "The Sound of Music"]
Max Detweiler: And the grand prize goes to: The Von Trapp Family Singers!
[Peter is dressed in leiderhosen with a sousaphone]
Peter: Oh, that is bullshit!
Peter: Chris, that's it! I'll go on welfare!
Lois: Stewie, why don't you play in the other room?
Stewie: Why don't you burn in Hell!?
Lois: Well, no dessert for you, young man.
Peter: Boy, who would have thought getting drunk at a stag party would get me $150,000 a week from the government?
Brian: This is why I don't vote.
Brian: Peter, you-you might want to call the welfare commission, that-that check is obviously an oversight.
Peter: Well, not necessarily, uh, Maybe I'm like their one millionth customer.
Lois: Peter, you bought the statue of David?!
Meg: God, it so embarrassing in the sky.
Peter: Chill out, I just rented it. They're gonna be ticked, though, the penis broke off when I was loading it into the car.
Brian: Yeah, well that's a bad part, anyway.
[Peter throws the penis, and it breaks into Quagmire's house]
Quagmire: [pulls out a horseshoe] Shoot, these things are lucky!
Lois: I am so mad I can't see straight!
Peter: Oh, no problem. We got the money to get that fixed with enough left over for us to buy our way out of any trouble our kids might get into ... just like the Kennedys.
Lois: You know, I-I feel like I don't even know you anymore, Peter. The man I married would never think he could fix a problem just by fixing money!
[Lois storms off]
Peter: Ah, boy she's pretty pissed huh?
Brian: [sarcastic] Yeah, who would have thought welfare fraud would be one of her buttons?
Brian: Amazing, you can barely drive a car and yet, you're allowed to fly a blimp?
Peter: Yeah, America's great, isn't it? Except for the south.
Peter: Ah, boy, I really let Lois down this time. You think she'll wait for me?
Brian: [sarcastic] Oh come on, if every woman dumped her husband just for crashing a blimp into The Superbowl, no one would be married.
Peter: Yeah, you're right.
Brian: Well, I think it's time to hit the hay.
Peter: Okay, I got the top bunk.
[Peter jumps on the top bunk and it crushes Brian on the bottom]
Brian: Ow.
Peter: Okay, everybody, I feel really bad about what I did. I just... I don't know. I just saw one chance I'd ever have to give my family the things they deserve. I guess I screwed it up. I cheated the government. And worst of all, I lied to my wife. And she deserves better. I'm sorry, honey.
Judge Blackman: Mr. Griffin, I think your words have touched us all. I'm sentencing you to 24 months in prison!
[Judge Blackman bangs his gavel]
Lois: Oh no!
Brian: Oh no!
Chris: Oh no!
Meg: Oh no!
[The Kool-Aid Guy breaks in]
Kool-Aid Guy: Oh yeah!
Stewie: Let us see how the iron constitution of American justice fairs against .. the device!
[Stewie uses his mind control device in Judge Blackman; It doesn't work but Judge Blackman is swayed by Stewie's cuteness]
Judge Blackman: [to Peter] Is that your boy?
Peter: What? Uh, oh, uh, yeah, that's Stewie.
Judge Blackman: Gosh, I can't separate a kid that young from his father. It's ... It's unjust. Ah, hell you've learned your lesson, right?
Peter: Yeah!
Judge Blackman: Alright, you're off the hook.
Peter: Oh wow! Can you give me my job back?
Judge Blackman: No.
[Stewie uses the mind control device and it actually works, indicated by swirly lines appearing in Judge Blackman's eyes]
Judge Blackman: I mean yes.
Meg: I sure am gonna miss being rich.
Peter: Oh, don't worry. I got a way to get money.
Brian: Not another welfare scam.
Peter: No, no, no. [puts on an afro wig] Minority scholarship. Hehehehehe...
[Peter then winks at the audience as he gives a thumbs-up at his next misadventure as if the show is over]
Meg: Probably not a good idea.
Lois: No, ... no.
Brian: No, no.
Chris: Bad idea, Dad.
Stewie: Are you insane?
Peter: Uh, okay, I mean, uh, uh, sexual harassment suit! [takes the ushanka off and puts on a blonde wig and rips his shirt open] Hehehehehehe...
Lois: I don't think so.
Meg: No way!
Brian: No no no.
Chris: That's terrible.
Stewie: Absolute outrageous!
Peter: I mean, uh, uh, okay, uh, disability claim!
[Peter knocks himself out cold with a baseball bat and lays there unconscious; The episode ends]

Trivia[]

  • Despite being the first episode to air to the public following the Super Bowl, the series didn't reach premier status until the second episode, "I Never Met Mr. Deaddy" which aired on February 7th, 1999.
  • Being that the pilot was made around 1997, before the show was completely finalized in 1998, there's a few differences compared to the show:
    • Compared to the final show where the animation is done overseas, the animation's done in house. With Seth co-creating it with one-time Jim Keeshen Productions.
    • A few of the character designs are different. Peter and Meg have thicker glasses, Lois is blond and wears a red shirt with blue pants, Chris wears shorts and no shoes, Stewie wears a purple variation of his usual outfit as well as green overalls, and Meg wears a white shirt with blue lining and a blue beanie.
    • The voice acting's also slightly different. Meg and Brian are being voiced by Rachel MacFarlane and William H. Macy respectively, and while Chris is still voiced by Seth Green, he has a deeper voice.
    • The Griffin House has a few differences as well. It's painted peach with brown tiling for the roof instead of being yellow and teal like the final, the garage's driveway is nowhere to be seen and is covered with bushes, the sun porch is replaced with an unknown room, and the establishing shot for the house is shown at a front view instead of the 3/4 angle seen regularly in the final series.
  • Film Roman did a pencil test of the dinner scene to get approval for animation, as revealed on the The Freakin' Sweet Collection DVD.
  • Brian reveals that he doesn't vote because of welfare checks.
  • A wimpy Adolf Hitler is seen being jealous of a beefy Jewish man surrounded by women in the "Das Gym". This is a reference to The Holocaust, a worldwide tragedy, wherein German dictator, Adolf Hitler caused the genocide of over six million Jews, blacks, and homosexuals, and even used the help of thousands of followers, which ultimately led to the biggest atrocity known to man.
  • The family is watching Tom Hanks in Philadelphia. Peter figures out that it's Hanks, recognizing him from Big.
  • Peter auditions to be Sonny, the bird mascot of Cocoa Puffs, but keeps messing up the slogan in very family-unfriendly ways, so he is fired.
  • Stewie uses the mind control device, a "tuna fish" ray gun, a crossbow, and six grenades in this episode.
  • Quagmire's game which when won results in something that the player would've gotten or already had, is played again in "Missionary Impossible". For this game, Peter won another beer.
  • The cutaway of Peter losing a music contest to the Von Trapp family was cut before he could say, "That is bull." and getting drowned out by audience applause, the word "bullshit" was actually spoken as revealed by the uncensored track of this episode found on The Freakin' Sweet Collection DVD, however the DVD commentary revealed that they drowned it out, along with Lois saying "fuck" to get a lower parental rating (the rating at the time for the first season was TV-PG-DL), also to prevent the scene being cut by FOX.
  • The Super Bowl features football announcers John Madden and Pat Summerall.
  • Peter hires a jester with his welfare money. The jester is Jerry Seinfeld, accompanied by a parody of the theme song from his hit sitcom Seinfeld. He is best known for his observational humor, which is parodied in this episode.
  • Peter mentions to the 1970s TV sitcom Diff'rent Strokes as an excuse for his misdemeanors.
  • The Kool-Aid Guy appears and says his catchphrase "Oh, Yeah!"
  • Peter abandons the lone man who stood in front of government tanks attempting to stop them at Tianmen Square in 1989.
  • The episode is "reshot" with the new actors, Francis Griffin, Thelma Griffin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Other Meg, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on The Real Live Griffins in "15 Minutes of Shame".
  • The family watches TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes at the end of the episode.
    • Some of the gags in this episode originated from Seth MacFarlane's animated short, "The Life of Larry", including:
      • God being embarrassed by the priest telling the story of how He treated Job
      • Peter seeing Philadelphia drunk
      • Peter farting for the first time at age 30

Cultural References[]

  • The stag party porn, Assablanca is a reference to the classic film Casablanca, and recreates dialog from the airport scene.
  • G.I. Jew is a reference to the action figure G.I. Joe.
  • Pound Poochies is a reference to the 1980s dolls and the cartoon series Pound Puppies.
  • The FOX security guard gets a weapon from the rack labeled "Just One Gun", a reference to the then-slogan of FOX, "Just One Fox" which is worn on the front of the guard's uniforms.
  • Stewie says "Life is like a box of chocolates" from the Tom Hanks film, Forrest Gump.
  • The episode of Diff'rent Strokes that Peter refers to is "The Bicycle Man".

Deleted Scenes[]

  • During the original airing on FOX, a few gags were deleted from the episode. However, these scenes are available on DVD and have been readded in syndication in 2004.
    • The cutaway gag of Peter taking Holy Communion in church.
    • During the sequence where Peter goes to work hungover, it cuts out the part where one of the workers pitches a new idea for an action figure called "G.I. Jew" on FOX.
    • The part where Peter throws the Statue of David's penis into Quagmire's window is cut.
    • The part where Peter hires a jester for Lois is cut.
    • The part after Peter says he's going to apply for a minority scholarship and the fake credits roll is cut to remove Peter's other two ideas of a sexual harassment suit and a disability claim on FOX.
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