10 'Family Guy' Season 1 Jokes That Flew Over Most People's Heads – ryan
Currently in Season 23, Family Guy has been a cultural phenomenon for over 25 years. It was canceled multiple times but revived each time after a fierce backlash from audiences. The Griffin family from Quahog have become iconic characters in the television landscape and the show has been filled with memorable moments and episodes. It premiered after the Super Bowl in 1999, which is fitting because part of the first episode was set during the Super Bowl.
Family Guy
- Release Date
-
January 31, 1999
- Network
-
FOX
- Showrunner
-
Seth MacFarlane
- Directors
-
Peter Shin, Pete Michels, John Holmquist, Greg Colton, Brian Iles, Julius Wu, Joseph Lee, Joe Vaux, Mike Kim, Steve Robertson, Dan Povenmire, James Purdum, Dominic Bianchi, Dominic Polcino, Bob Bowen, Monte Young, Zac Moncrief, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bert Ring, Seth Kearsley, Scott Wood, Chuck Klein, Brian Hogan, Gavin Dell
- Writers
-
Steve Callaghan, Patrick Meighan, Mark Hentemann, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Tom Devanney, Alex Carter, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild, Gary Janetti, Andrew Goldberg, Mike Desilets, Anthony Blasucci, Matt Weitzman, Kirker Butler, Damien Fahey, John Viener, Brian Scully, Ted Jessup, Chris Regan, Matt Pabian, Garrett Donovan, Ricky Blitt, Aaron Lee, Julius Sharpe
Cast
-
Alex Borstein
Lois Griffin / Tricia Takanawa / Loretta Brown / Barbara Pewterschmidt (voice)
-
-
Julia Sweeney
Naomi Robinson (voice)
-
Michael York
Documentary Speaker (voice)
Season 1 ran for seven episodes from January to May 1999, earning it a pickup and full season order for Season 2. Seth MacFarlane’s animated comedy hit has had highs and lows over the years, including great Halloween episodes, standout full seasons, and a cutaway regarding just about any topic you can imagine. While everyone may lose count of all the bad things Peter Griffin has done over the years, it’s hard not to love him all the same. But when audiences fell in love with him, it was in Season 1, and there were plenty of jokes that probably flew over many people’s heads.
10
Jemima’s Witnesses
Season 1, Episode 1 – “Death Has a Shadow”
In the premiere episode of the series, titled “Death Has a Shadow,” Peter and his family are sitting on the couch and watching The Brady Bunch. The clip from the show highlights Greg and Jan Brady getting punished for lying and tattling with outlandish punishments like spending hours in a snake pit. It’s a play on the silly dynamic of the show’s unique family setup.
But Lois comments on how it is surprising that the kids in the show were smoking. Peter says he’s not surprised because the Brady family lived in a bad neighborhood. Then, Aunt Jemima, the spokesperson for Aunt Jemima pancakes and waffles, shows up at their window asking them if they want pancakes. Peter quips that the worst their neighborhood has is “Jemima’s witnesses.” This is an obvious spin on Jehovah’s Witnesses who tend to go door-to-door to spread religious beliefs.
9
Charles Manson Says “If I Haven’t Seen It, It’s New to Me”
Season 1, Episode 2 – “I Never Met the Dead Man”
In the second episode of Season 1, titled “I Never Met the Dead Man,” Peter is reluctantly teaching Meg how to drive. He’s bothered that he’s taken away from watching TV to do so. Meg fails her first driving test because of the poor tutelage Peter gives her. On the way home from her test, Peter, distracted by watching TV in another family’s home, crashes into the satellite, knocking out cable for the entire town. He suffers withdrawal from no TV, completely losing grip on reality by watching his own life as if it’s TV.
He eventually realizes it is not good to rely on TV so much and he tells Lois as much. He even says he hears “that Manson guy watches it in jail all day.” The cutaway shows Charles Manson in jail watching TV saying, “If I haven’t seen it, it’s new to me.” This is a spoof on the then-current commercials by rival network NBC which was trying to rebrand their summer slate of reruns with “if you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you.”
8
“Beam Me Up, God”
Season 1, Episode 2 – “I Never Met the Dead Man”
In that same episode, Peter discovers a thirst for real life, compared to TV. He meets William Shatner because his car breaks down in front of their house. While everyone else is exhausted from Peter’s insistence on living their lives to the fullest, Peter goes with Shatner to a nearby festival. They both decide to walk home barefoot in the rain afterward.
Meg, who is practicing driving with Lois, is driving through the bad weather and hits Shatner and Peter. As he’s lying in the street, Shatner ends a short rant with “Beam me up, God.” This is a spoof on the famous Star Trek line of “Beam me up, Scotty,” which his character, Captain Kirk, used to say when he wanted to return to the U.S.S. Enterprise. This time around though, his stomach flops out of his tucked-in lederhosen and he passes away.
Related
Family Guy: The 10 Most Rewatchable Episodes
For more than two decades, Family Guy has provided episodes filled with humor, satire, and pop culture, but some are more rewatchable than others.
7
Purina Chuck Wagon Chase
Season 1, Episode 3 – “Chitty Chitty Bang Death”
Season 1’s third episode, titled “Chitty Chitty Death Bang,” is about Stewie’s first birthday party. Peter is supposed to drop off a deposit check to the venue it’s happening and he instead insults the manager who revokes their reservation. Peter then decides he’s going to throw Stewie a party at their house.
While Peter is talking to Brian about a petting zoo he wants to set up for Stewie’s party, Brian abruptly stops talking and a chuck wagon being pulled by two horses comes bustling around the couch. Brian chases them but they vanish into the cabinet of dog food. Brian mutters “Someday.” This is a reference to an old Purina Dog Chow commercial from the 1970s.
6
The Man in White
Season 1, Episode 3 – “Chitty Chitty Bang Death”
In that same episode, Stewie thinks that his first birthday is about someone trying to correct what happened a year ago. Stewie believes that he escaped the womb and had to battle against “the man in white” (the doctor) to do so. He assumes his first birthday party will feature the man in white trying to send him back into the womb and he vows to not let that happen.
In another storyline, Meg accidentally joins a cult. Peter, unknowingly to himself, breaks up the cult and saves Meg by picking her up from a party where everyone is going to mass sacrifice themselves. This is a reference to two different cults that performed mass suicides: Heaven’s Gate and Peoples Temple Agricultural Project. To cap off the man in white storyline, the leader of the cult, dressed in ceremonial white robes, comes looking for Meg and Peter for breaking up the suicide pact and Stewie, seeing him as the man in white, kills him.
5
‘Home Alone’ Meets ‘Three Little Pigs’
Season 1, Episode 3 – “Chitty Chitty Bang Death”
As a part of the petting zoo idea for Stewie’s birthday, Peter and Chris go to get pigs for them. He comes across a house made of sticks, one made from straw, and another made from brick. This is a reference to the Three Little Pigs story where the big bad wolf comes looking for the pigs in their different houses.
The wolf huffs and puffs and blows the houses away. In this cutaway, Peter brings a leaf blower to take out the houses. But when he gets to the third house, he has to pretend he’s a UPS driver to get them to open the door. They open the door and he thinks they are dumb because of it. Just then, he is smacked in the face with a paint can. That’s a spoof on one of the classic Home Alone pranks done by Macaulay Culkin’s character.
Related
The 10 Most Controversial Episodes of Family Guy
In this article, we’ll revisit the 10 most controversial Family Guy episodes of all time.
4
Salieri Amadeus Reference
Season 1, Episode 4 – “Mind Over Murder”
The fourth episode of Season 1, titled “Mind Over Murder,” features Stewie having pain out of nowhere and he can’t figure out why. It also features Peter forced to be on house arrest for punching someone at Chris’s soccer game. He builds a bar in his basement, so his friends can come visit him and Lois takes over the reins as singer for his bar, finding fulfillment but also alienating the other women in the town.
During the beginning of the episode, Lois is comforting Stewie, who is teaching piano lessons. The student makes an error and, while Stewie is trying to soothe his pain, he yells “E flat, Salieri. E flat!” Salieri was the teacher and collaborator of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and their relationship was famously portrayed in the film Amadeus. The yelling at him about specific notes harkens back to scenes when Mozart and Salieri are writing a new composition together.
Season 1, Episode 5 – “A Hero Sits Next Door”
Season 1’s fifth episode, titled “A Hero Sits Next Door,” introduces Joe Swanson as a character and neighbor of the Griffins. The episode revolves around that because Peter is looking for a new player for his company’s softball team. He reluctantly chooses Joe because they just moved in next door, but Joe ends up being a great choice and a gifted athlete.
Earlier in the episode, Peter is seen negotiating a contract with a Japanese baseball player. He is in full uniform, making him seem like a professional. Along with the player is an interpreter/agent, who asks Peter what he can offer his client in compensation. Peter’s response is a shrug and “Me love you long time?” This is a reference to a scene in the film Full Metal Jacket. In the scene in the film, a prostitute approaches two soldiers and says that phrase when propositioning them.
2
The More You Know
Season 1, Episode 6 – “The Son Also Draws”
In the sixth episode of Season 1, titled “The Son Also Draws,” Chris is in Scouts and isn’t enthusiastic about it. He gets kicked out but Peter swears to get him back in. The family drives to New York to go to the Scouts headquarters, but they stop at an Indian casino and Lois becomes addicted to gambling. She loses their car betting and, in order to get it back, Peter has to negotiate with the Native American council leaders of the casino. He gets sent on a vision quest and sees The Fonz as his vision.
At the end of the episode, each Griffin family character is quoted talking about a nationality of people and then highlights some things about the culture. As they do that, a “The More You Know” graphic flies over the head with a star. This is a spoof on the NBC promos that would be public service announcements about serious issues.
Related
The 10 Best Family Guy Celebrity Guests, Ranked
From Will Ferrell to Carrie Fisher, these are the 10 greatest celebrity guests to have appeared on the hit animated TV sitcom.
1
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Hiding Scene
Season 1, Episode 7 – “Brian: Portrait of a Dog”
In the final episode of Season 1 of Family Guy, titled “Brian: Portrait of a Dog,” Peter enters Brian in a dog contest with hopes of winning $500. Brian participates but eventually thinks it’s degrading and stops performing for them. Brian and Peter get into a long argument and Brian storms off. He eventually bites a man and has to flee from the police. During his fleeing scene, he hides in a large wicker basket.
Next to him in the wicker basket in this open-air market pops up an actress. Brian goes “Joyce DeWitt? So that’s where you’ve been.” The entire scene is a spoof on a Raiders of the Lost Ark hiding scene with Indiana Jones fleeing. Joyce DeWitt was an actress most known for her work on Three’s Company.
Currently in Season 23, Family Guy has been a cultural phenomenon for over 25 years. It was canceled multiple times but revived each time after a fierce backlash from audiences. The Griffin family from Quahog have become iconic characters in the television landscape and the show has been filled with memorable moments and episodes. It premiered after the Super Bowl in 1999, which is fitting because part of the first episode was set during the Super Bowl.
Family Guy
- Release Date
-
January 31, 1999
- Network
-
FOX
- Showrunner
-
Seth MacFarlane
- Directors
-
Peter Shin, Pete Michels, John Holmquist, Greg Colton, Brian Iles, Julius Wu, Joseph Lee, Joe Vaux, Mike Kim, Steve Robertson, Dan Povenmire, James Purdum, Dominic Bianchi, Dominic Polcino, Bob Bowen, Monte Young, Zac Moncrief, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bert Ring, Seth Kearsley, Scott Wood, Chuck Klein, Brian Hogan, Gavin Dell
- Writers
-
Steve Callaghan, Patrick Meighan, Mark Hentemann, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Tom Devanney, Alex Carter, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild, Gary Janetti, Andrew Goldberg, Mike Desilets, Anthony Blasucci, Matt Weitzman, Kirker Butler, Damien Fahey, John Viener, Brian Scully, Ted Jessup, Chris Regan, Matt Pabian, Garrett Donovan, Ricky Blitt, Aaron Lee, Julius Sharpe
Cast
-
Alex Borstein
Lois Griffin / Tricia Takanawa / Loretta Brown / Barbara Pewterschmidt (voice)
-
-
Julia Sweeney
Naomi Robinson (voice)
-
Michael York
Documentary Speaker (voice)
Season 1 ran for seven episodes from January to May 1999, earning it a pickup and full season order for Season 2. Seth MacFarlane’s animated comedy hit has had highs and lows over the years, including great Halloween episodes, standout full seasons, and a cutaway regarding just about any topic you can imagine. While everyone may lose count of all the bad things Peter Griffin has done over the years, it’s hard not to love him all the same. But when audiences fell in love with him, it was in Season 1, and there were plenty of jokes that probably flew over many people’s heads.
10
Jemima’s Witnesses
Season 1, Episode 1 – “Death Has a Shadow”
In the premiere episode of the series, titled “Death Has a Shadow,” Peter and his family are sitting on the couch and watching The Brady Bunch. The clip from the show highlights Greg and Jan Brady getting punished for lying and tattling with outlandish punishments like spending hours in a snake pit. It’s a play on the silly dynamic of the show’s unique family setup.
But Lois comments on how it is surprising that the kids in the show were smoking. Peter says he’s not surprised because the Brady family lived in a bad neighborhood. Then, Aunt Jemima, the spokesperson for Aunt Jemima pancakes and waffles, shows up at their window asking them if they want pancakes. Peter quips that the worst their neighborhood has is “Jemima’s witnesses.” This is an obvious spin on Jehovah’s Witnesses who tend to go door-to-door to spread religious beliefs.
9
Charles Manson Says “If I Haven’t Seen It, It’s New to Me”
Season 1, Episode 2 – “I Never Met the Dead Man”
In the second episode of Season 1, titled “I Never Met the Dead Man,” Peter is reluctantly teaching Meg how to drive. He’s bothered that he’s taken away from watching TV to do so. Meg fails her first driving test because of the poor tutelage Peter gives her. On the way home from her test, Peter, distracted by watching TV in another family’s home, crashes into the satellite, knocking out cable for the entire town. He suffers withdrawal from no TV, completely losing grip on reality by watching his own life as if it’s TV.
He eventually realizes it is not good to rely on TV so much and he tells Lois as much. He even says he hears “that Manson guy watches it in jail all day.” The cutaway shows Charles Manson in jail watching TV saying, “If I haven’t seen it, it’s new to me.” This is a spoof on the then-current commercials by rival network NBC which was trying to rebrand their summer slate of reruns with “if you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you.”
8
“Beam Me Up, God”
Season 1, Episode 2 – “I Never Met the Dead Man”
In that same episode, Peter discovers a thirst for real life, compared to TV. He meets William Shatner because his car breaks down in front of their house. While everyone else is exhausted from Peter’s insistence on living their lives to the fullest, Peter goes with Shatner to a nearby festival. They both decide to walk home barefoot in the rain afterward.
Meg, who is practicing driving with Lois, is driving through the bad weather and hits Shatner and Peter. As he’s lying in the street, Shatner ends a short rant with “Beam me up, God.” This is a spoof on the famous Star Trek line of “Beam me up, Scotty,” which his character, Captain Kirk, used to say when he wanted to return to the U.S.S. Enterprise. This time around though, his stomach flops out of his tucked-in lederhosen and he passes away.
Related
Family Guy: The 10 Most Rewatchable Episodes
For more than two decades, Family Guy has provided episodes filled with humor, satire, and pop culture, but some are more rewatchable than others.
7
Purina Chuck Wagon Chase
Season 1, Episode 3 – “Chitty Chitty Bang Death”
Season 1’s third episode, titled “Chitty Chitty Death Bang,” is about Stewie’s first birthday party. Peter is supposed to drop off a deposit check to the venue it’s happening and he instead insults the manager who revokes their reservation. Peter then decides he’s going to throw Stewie a party at their house.
While Peter is talking to Brian about a petting zoo he wants to set up for Stewie’s party, Brian abruptly stops talking and a chuck wagon being pulled by two horses comes bustling around the couch. Brian chases them but they vanish into the cabinet of dog food. Brian mutters “Someday.” This is a reference to an old Purina Dog Chow commercial from the 1970s.
6
The Man in White
Season 1, Episode 3 – “Chitty Chitty Bang Death”
In that same episode, Stewie thinks that his first birthday is about someone trying to correct what happened a year ago. Stewie believes that he escaped the womb and had to battle against “the man in white” (the doctor) to do so. He assumes his first birthday party will feature the man in white trying to send him back into the womb and he vows to not let that happen.
In another storyline, Meg accidentally joins a cult. Peter, unknowingly to himself, breaks up the cult and saves Meg by picking her up from a party where everyone is going to mass sacrifice themselves. This is a reference to two different cults that performed mass suicides: Heaven’s Gate and Peoples Temple Agricultural Project. To cap off the man in white storyline, the leader of the cult, dressed in ceremonial white robes, comes looking for Meg and Peter for breaking up the suicide pact and Stewie, seeing him as the man in white, kills him.
5
‘Home Alone’ Meets ‘Three Little Pigs’
Season 1, Episode 3 – “Chitty Chitty Bang Death”
As a part of the petting zoo idea for Stewie’s birthday, Peter and Chris go to get pigs for them. He comes across a house made of sticks, one made from straw, and another made from brick. This is a reference to the Three Little Pigs story where the big bad wolf comes looking for the pigs in their different houses.
The wolf huffs and puffs and blows the houses away. In this cutaway, Peter brings a leaf blower to take out the houses. But when he gets to the third house, he has to pretend he’s a UPS driver to get them to open the door. They open the door and he thinks they are dumb because of it. Just then, he is smacked in the face with a paint can. That’s a spoof on one of the classic Home Alone pranks done by Macaulay Culkin’s character.
Related
The 10 Most Controversial Episodes of Family Guy
In this article, we’ll revisit the 10 most controversial Family Guy episodes of all time.
4
Salieri Amadeus Reference
Season 1, Episode 4 – “Mind Over Murder”
The fourth episode of Season 1, titled “Mind Over Murder,” features Stewie having pain out of nowhere and he can’t figure out why. It also features Peter forced to be on house arrest for punching someone at Chris’s soccer game. He builds a bar in his basement, so his friends can come visit him and Lois takes over the reins as singer for his bar, finding fulfillment but also alienating the other women in the town.
During the beginning of the episode, Lois is comforting Stewie, who is teaching piano lessons. The student makes an error and, while Stewie is trying to soothe his pain, he yells “E flat, Salieri. E flat!” Salieri was the teacher and collaborator of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and their relationship was famously portrayed in the film Amadeus. The yelling at him about specific notes harkens back to scenes when Mozart and Salieri are writing a new composition together.
Season 1, Episode 5 – “A Hero Sits Next Door”
Season 1’s fifth episode, titled “A Hero Sits Next Door,” introduces Joe Swanson as a character and neighbor of the Griffins. The episode revolves around that because Peter is looking for a new player for his company’s softball team. He reluctantly chooses Joe because they just moved in next door, but Joe ends up being a great choice and a gifted athlete.
Earlier in the episode, Peter is seen negotiating a contract with a Japanese baseball player. He is in full uniform, making him seem like a professional. Along with the player is an interpreter/agent, who asks Peter what he can offer his client in compensation. Peter’s response is a shrug and “Me love you long time?” This is a reference to a scene in the film Full Metal Jacket. In the scene in the film, a prostitute approaches two soldiers and says that phrase when propositioning them.
2
The More You Know
Season 1, Episode 6 – “The Son Also Draws”
In the sixth episode of Season 1, titled “The Son Also Draws,” Chris is in Scouts and isn’t enthusiastic about it. He gets kicked out but Peter swears to get him back in. The family drives to New York to go to the Scouts headquarters, but they stop at an Indian casino and Lois becomes addicted to gambling. She loses their car betting and, in order to get it back, Peter has to negotiate with the Native American council leaders of the casino. He gets sent on a vision quest and sees The Fonz as his vision.
At the end of the episode, each Griffin family character is quoted talking about a nationality of people and then highlights some things about the culture. As they do that, a “The More You Know” graphic flies over the head with a star. This is a spoof on the NBC promos that would be public service announcements about serious issues.
Related
The 10 Best Family Guy Celebrity Guests, Ranked
From Will Ferrell to Carrie Fisher, these are the 10 greatest celebrity guests to have appeared on the hit animated TV sitcom.
1
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Hiding Scene
Season 1, Episode 7 – “Brian: Portrait of a Dog”
In the final episode of Season 1 of Family Guy, titled “Brian: Portrait of a Dog,” Peter enters Brian in a dog contest with hopes of winning $500. Brian participates but eventually thinks it’s degrading and stops performing for them. Brian and Peter get into a long argument and Brian storms off. He eventually bites a man and has to flee from the police. During his fleeing scene, he hides in a large wicker basket.
Next to him in the wicker basket in this open-air market pops up an actress. Brian goes “Joyce DeWitt? So that’s where you’ve been.” The entire scene is a spoof on a Raiders of the Lost Ark hiding scene with Indiana Jones fleeing. Joyce DeWitt was an actress most known for her work on Three’s Company.