Death Is a Bitch

One of the finest standout early episodes of Family Guy, blending sharp writing, dark humor, and clever satire in classic Seth MacFarlane fashion. The plot kicks off when Peter, trying to avoid paying a medical bill, lies on his HMO paperwork - which leads to Death himself showing up at his door. Voiced hilariously by Norm MacDonald, Death is portrayed as sarcastic, laid-back, and oddly relatable, making every scene he's in a highlight. When Death gets injured and Peter has to take over his job, the episode takes a delightfully absurd turn that showcases Family Guy's early knack for mixing the ridiculous with the profound.

What really makes the episode memorable is how it balances the main story with random, perfectly timed side gags - especially the subplot involving Dawson's Creek. The moment on the airplane when a random guy asks James Van Der Beek to sign his rear end is pure Family Guy gold. The writing feels tight and the jokes land one after another without dragging. Between Norm MacDonald's brilliant guest performance and the show's signature cutaway humor, "Death Is a Bitch" stands as one of the funniest and most iconic episodes from the show's early years.

Norm Macdonald as Death is like peanut butter and jelly. It's such a shame he didn't keep this role.

Peter becomes death in a humorous accident and then must perform his duties to claim souls after the world discovers there is no death.

Norm McDonald kills it as death. His voice acting is perfecting for the role with his sarcastic tone. Episode would hit differently if someone was voice acting death.

The best joke in this is when death asks Peter "can you imagine if hitler was still alive?" and hitler has a game show interviewing Christian Slayer.

Family Guy is slowly - but inevitably - gaining momentum. This was the first episode that really made me laugh. All the fans of Norm MacDonald will like this one. It's a bleeding shame Norm didn't reprise the role later during the series, but it was recast to some "nobody".