Death Has a Shadow

The first episode of Family Guy is one of those rare things: something that comes off as even more hilarious and offensive years after it first aired than when American audiences first saw it. Seeing it now, with the show's well known troubles an essential part of pop culture trivia (the series has been canceled twice due to its controversial content, a fact that is sometimes referenced in the show), makes one realize that Fox did have a point: this is, at times, pretty excessive in its satirical depiction of American life. And, for that same reason, a masterpiece of television comedy.

Death Has a Shadow introduces the main character, Peter Griffin (voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane), in the only way that was possible: as an unrelenting moron who does only what he pleases, not caring about anyone else's opinion. Peter makes his grand entrance by laughing at a trashy TV program and subsequently attending a stag party. Despite his promises to the missus (Lois, voiced by Alex Borstein), he gets drunk and spends the next day with a hangover, which causes him to lose his job. Naturally, he can't find it in his heart to tell Lois. Instead, he lets her believe he's received a substantial raise when a paperwork mistake grants him several thousands of dollars in welfare checks. In the meantime, Lois also has to deal with the perks of her children: Meg (Lacey Chabert, uncredited), a typical teenage girl with loads of issues; Chris (Seth Green), a boy with a very puerile sense of humor; and Stewie (MacFarlane again), a talking toddler whose obsession is to rule the world and kill his mother.

With the exception of that last part (plus the family's talking dog Brian, also voiced by MacFarlane), it could all sound like an episode of The Simpsons, which coincidentally airs on the same network. Difference is, The Simpsons has never faced the risk of cancellation. How come? Simply because Family Guy is a bit too much for mainstream television (South Park does much worse, but that's on Comedy Central, which is a cable network): whereas Homer Simpson is a moron with a heart, Peter Griffin has no redeeming values at all, just an astounding level of stupidity that makes it easy to laugh at his antics but rarely sympathize with them. And what about Stewie? No other TV show features an infant who says to his own mother "Damn you, vile woman. You have impeded my work ever since I escaped from your wretched womb!".

And let's not forget the zany pop culture references and fake flashbacks, which are inserted with no consideration whatsoever for relevance with the plot (well, except for that one bit where Peter gets drunk in church). With merciless takes on everything from Seinfeld to Philadelphia, it's a celebration of creative madness and the real reason why Family Guy is such a blast to watch. I mean, how many animated sitcoms have the guts to begin with the suggestion that Hitler might have declared war on the Jews because they had better-looking abs?

Very, very wrong. Oh, and funny as hell.

Started watching from this episode. The cartoon seems a bit dull but the storyline was decent and the quick gags are humorous.

Story: 7/10 The premise is simple but effective: Peter loses his job, lies about it, and ends up collecting a hilariously massive welfare check. Chaos follows, of course. It's a solid setup for the show's mix of satire, absurdity, and family dysfunction. The story has a clear structure, even if the logic goes out the window pretty fast.

Characters: 7/10 All the core characters are here, though some are still in beta mode. Peter is already a lovable idiot, Lois is the concerned wife, and baby Stewie is fully in "evil genius" mode. Brian's more of a regular dog than he'll later become, but the foundation is set.

Humor: 7.5/10 There are some genuinely funny moments, especially for 1999. The cutaway gags are already in full force, with the infamous "Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man" ad standing out. Some jokes miss the mark or feel dated now, but the comedic tone is confident from the jump.

Pacing: 7/10 The episode moves quickly, jumping from unemployment to welfare fraud to televised courtroom chaos. It doesn't waste time, though the transitions can feel sudden or forced.

Writing: 6.5/10 The jokes are uneven, and some character dynamics feel undercooked. But there's cleverness here, even if it's rough around the edges. You can tell the writers are going for both smart and stupid humor in equal measure.

Animation: 6/10 Let's be real-it's janky. The animation is basic, stiff, and a bit ugly by today's standards. But there's charm in the roughness, and it gets the job done for a pilot.

Voice Acting: 8/10 Seth MacFarlane hits the ground running, voicing half the cast with impressive range. Even this early on, Stewie's voice is iconic and Brian's dry delivery works well.

Watching this again makes me ache for old Family Guy! I only wish this show had stuck with its roots. These older episodes have aged like fine wine.

"Hey man, your clock won't flush!"

Watching the first episode of Family Guy is like taking a time machine back to the Clinton administration. Not only does it give the world a snapshot of the grotesque underbelly of American culture as it stood just before the turn of the millennium, but it also establishes Family Guy as a television sensation.

All the show's trademark comedic devices are here: the random cutaway sequences; the grotesque slapstick American jokes; and the oddball socio-political commentary. Many of the tropes evident in Seth McFarlan's later work are here, too. The use of animals, freakish characters, and inanimate objects as major plot devices which pop up again in American Dad and Ted and its sequel, and the strong male archetype with a warped sense of patriarchal control over his family, present in American Dad, are examples of this trend.

The animation in the first episode is crude for the period, which is a disappointment. And the voice acting is inconsistent with later seasons, a problem seen in other adult animated series such as The Simpsons. The humour offsets these problems to a large extent, although it doesn't entirely eliminate them.

Overall, this is a solid start to what later became a fixture of American Television Culture, despite some strange flaws and a strange obsession with death that hangs over the rest of the season. I strongly recommend it to anybody with an interest in American animated adult television.