Family Guy (Season 1)
From Iwe
| Family Guy Season 1 | ||
| Volume 1 (R1) & Season 1 & 2 (R2) DVDs for the 1st Season. | ||
| Country of origin | United States | |
| No. of episodes | 7 | |
| Release | ||
| Original channel | FOX | |
| Original run | January 31 – May 16, 1999 | |
| Season chronology | ||
| Next → Season 2 | ||
| List of Family Guy episodes | ||
The first season of the animated comedy series Family Guy aired on Fox from January 31 to May 16, 1999, and consisted of seven episodes. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Lacey Chabert in the roles of the Griffin family. The executive producers for the first season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane.
The series premiere, "Death Has a Shadow", was broadcast directly after Super Bowl XXXIII and was watched by 22.01 million viewers. The series received praise from most critics, particularly "I Never Met the Dead Man" and "Brian: Portrait of a Dog", however some critics disliked the themes of the episodes. The Volume One DVD box set, including all seven episodes and the second season, was released in Region 1 on April 15, 2003, Region 2 on November 12, 2001, and Region 4 on October 20, 2003. The series has since been released in syndication.
MacFarlane conceived the idea for Family Guy in 1995, while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). There, he created his thesis film The Life of Larry, which his professor at RISD later submitted to Hanna-Barbera; this led to MacFarlane being hired by the company. Executives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters entitled Family Guy. While working on the series, Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian; the rest of the series characters were added later.
Contents |
[edit] Development
File:Seth MacFarlane by Gage Skidmore 5.jpg
Seth MacFarlane conceived the idea for Family Guy while working on his thesis film for college.
[edit] Conception
[edit] Crew
[edit] Cast
- See also: List of Family Guy cast members
[edit] Writing
[edit] Reception
[edit] DVD release
[edit] Episodes
- See also: List of Family Guy episodes
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Death Has a Shadow" | Peter Shin | Seth MacFarlane | January 31, 1999 | 1ACX01 |
| Peter applies for welfare to support his family after losing his job. He receives a check for $150,000 due to a misplaced decimal point, and uses it to buy lavish presents for his family. Lois is upset when she finds out after receiving a new welfare check in the mail; Peter attempts to make her happy by dropping his surplus money out of a blimp above Super Bowl XXXIII with the help of Brian. Both are arrested by security guards and prosecuted for welfare fraud. At the courthouse, Lois pleads with the judge not to imprison Peter; Stewie, grudgingly coming to realize his dependence on his parents, influences the judge to reconsider their sentence. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "I Never Met the Dead Man" | Michael DiMartino | Chris Sheridan | April 11, 1999 | 1ACX02 |
| Peter has become addicted to television. While driving Meg home, he is distracted by a show he wanted to watch on a television in a nearby house, and crashes into the city's cable transmitter, cutting reception for the entire town of Quahog. Peter panics and steals the transmitter and convinces Meg to take blame for the outage. Stewie steals the satellite dish in a plan to create a weather control device. Suffering withdrawal syndrome from lack of television, Peter straps a cardboard cutout to himself, making it appear as though the world is a television program. Meg confesses that her father actually was to blame for the cable outage, causing the town to turn against him; he is saved when Lois gives a heartfelt speech to the community. Inspired, Peter brings the family to various outdoor activities, quickly exhausting them; he then goes off with William Shatner. Meanwhile, Stewie's weather machine creates a rainstorm; while Meg is practicing driving, the storm causes her to accidentally hit Shatner and Peter, killing Shatner and hospitalizing Peter. As her father recovers in a full-body cast, he is forced to watch television, causing him to become addicted once again. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Chitty Chitty Death Bang" | Dominic Polcino | Danny Smith | April 18, 1999 | 1ACX04 |
| Peter accidentally loses the reservation for Stewie's first birthday party at a local restaurant, and must create a new party. Meanwhile, Stewie misinterprets "birthday", assuming that the mysterious physician who delivered him as an infant will be coming back to force him back into Lois' womb. Peter fails to put together a party in time for Stewie's birthday, and reroutes a circus parade into the Griffins' backyard. He gives Meg permission to go to a "party" at her friend's house, not realizing that it is a cult meeting where the attenders will commit mass suicide by drinking poisoned fruit punch. Peter retrieves Meg before the cult members drink the punch. The cult leader notices that Meg did not drink; he puts on his white robe and goes to the Griffins' house. Stewie traps and kills the cult leader, thinking he is the physician. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Mind Over Murder" | Roy Allen Smith | Neil Goldman & Garrett Donovan | April 25, 1999 | 1ACX03 |
| Stewie has begun teething; Lois explains to him that the pain will pass with time, so he decides to build a time machine. Lois asks Peter to take Chris to a soccer game; there, Peter punches a pregnant woman and is put under house arrest. Peter decides to open a bar in his basement so that his friends will come to visit; it becomes a hot spot and Lois becomes upset until she sings at the bar. Peter becomes jealous and has his friends' wives to drag them out of the bar. A cigarette starts a fire; when Peter and Lois become aware of it and attempt to escape, Stewie's time machine takes everyone back to the point when Lois asks Peter to take Chris to the game. This time, Peter trips over the time machine and destroys it. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "A Hero Sits Next Door" | Monte Young | Mike Barker & Matt Weitzman | May 2, 1999 | 1ACX05 |
| After Peter injures the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory's new employee Guillermo during softball practice, he is forced by his boss Mr. Weed to find a replacement for the upcoming softball game. Meanwhile, Lois meets the Griffin family's new neighbors, the Swansons. Peter is initially annoyed by Joe Swanson and has no interest in becoming his friend, but convinces Joe to play for the softball team once Lois mentions that he played baseball in college. Next morning at the game, Peter is surprised to learn that Joe is wheelchair-bound. Joe's experience helps the team win. Peter becomes jealous of Joe and tries to become a hero by stopping a robbery; he ends up as a hostage until Joe convinces the robbers to surrender. Peter is disappointed, but his family tells him that he is their hero. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Son Also Draws" | Neil Affleck | Ricky Blitt | May 9, 1999 | 1ACX06 |
| Chris is ejected from the Youth Scouts (Family Guy's version of the Boy Scouts) when he runs over the troop leader with a car. Although Chris dislikes scouts and prefers drawing, he fears telling Peter. When Peter finds out, he drives the family to the scout headquarters in Manhattan to get Chris readmitted. On a rest stop at a Native American casino, Lois becomes a gambling addict and loses the family car. Since each Native American receives a share of the casino profits, Peter pretends to be a Native American, and he is sent on a vision quest to prove his heritage. Chris accompanies Peter to explain that he only likes drawing. Delirious from hunger, Peter begins talking to anthropomorphic trees and has a vision of his spiritual guide, the Fonz. Peter recognizes his son's talent for drawing; they return to the casino and reclaim the car. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Brian: Portrait of a Dog" | Michael DiMartino | Gary Janetti | May 16, 1999 | 1ACX07 |
| Quahog is in the grip of an unusual heat wave. The Griffins ask Brian to enter a dog show, offering a top prize of $500, so they are able to buy air conditioning. Brian performs his tricks at the show; Peter asks Brian to beg for a treat, but finds it demeaning and exits quickly. On the way home, Peter and Brian argue until Brian exits the car; the police give Brian a ticket for violating the local leash law. Another debate ensues and Peter mentions that he found Brian as a stray dog. Brian is furious that Peter had brought that up and leaves the house, whereupon he is badly treated by the community. Peter buys a new cat which turns out to be abusive; the family abandons it and searches for Brian. By the time Peter decides to apologize to Brian, he has been taken away by the police and awaits his death sentence. Brian begins to plead his case, but the court decides "it is stupid" to listen to a dog. As he is about to be dismissed, Peter steps in and delivers a last-ditch emotional appeal on his behalf. The city council members hearing the case are not on Brian's side, but Peter promises to give them $20 each, convincing them to free Brian. The charges against Brian are dropped and the town shows him new respect. | ||||||
