Family Guy/I Never Met the Dead Man

I Never Met the Dead Man
Season 1, Episode 2
Airdate	April 11, 1999
Production Number	1ACX02
Written by	Chris Sheridan
Directed by	Michael Dante DiMartino
← 1x01 Death Has a Shadow	1x03 → Chitty Chitty Death Bang
Family Guy — Season One

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I Never Met the Dead Man is the second episode of the first season of Family Guy, and the second episode overall.

Here, Peter - making the first of several attempts to bond with daughter, Meg - accidentally disrupts cable television service to Quahog residents, and in attempt to deal with his withdrawl drives everyone crazy. The subplot dealt with Stewie's efforts to control the world's weather ... all in an effort to destroy the world's broccoli crop.

Cast

Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green

Additional Voices By: Lori Alan, Butch Hartman, Aaron Lustig, Joey Slotnick, Frank W. Welker

Plot Overview

Concerned that Peter spends much of his free time at home in front of the television set, Lois suggests that he teach Meg to learn how to drive. Peter - preoccupied by television - grudingly agrees. He gives Meg some bad advice, such as revving the engine twice to entice other motorists into drag racing (such as an Amish man driving a horse-drawn carriage, which crashes and explodes into flames ... both the carriage and horse!). Meg eventually fails her driving test. On the way home from the DMV, Peter doesn't pay attention to the road and crashes into Quahog's main cable television transmitter, causing everyone to lose their television reception; it had been lost at a crucial point in a highly watched movie where a predatory tiger, stalking a little boy lost in a forest, was about to strike his unknowing victim.

Meanwhile, Stewie is annoyed that he is being made to eat broccoli. He decides to use his See-and-Say toy to build a weather control device that will bring crop-destroying weather to the world's broccoli plant.

Not wanting to take responsibility for causing the town to lose its television service, Peter convinces Meg to take the fall for him by promising her a convertible. While Lois scolds Peter for his behavior, they fail to notice that Stewie has stolen the junked satellite dish, which he plans to use to power up his machine. As the days pass and the television service is not restored, Peter eventually goes into severe withdrawl, one of the symptoms being a Wizard of Oz-type dream where he envisions various TV icons in the heavens.

Peter goes over the edge when he straps a television cutout on his chest, imagining everyday scenes as television networks. At school, he sees CBS, UPN and (at James Woods Regional High School, where Meg is a student) the TV series 90210. Meg, embarassed by her father's behavior, can take no more and rats out her father. Everyone in Quahog becomes angry at Peter.

Lois - who for some reason had never referred her husband to counseling - snaps Peter out of his obsession by giving a speech about how television has controlled their lives and now they can enjoy life to the fullest. Peter, however, takes things to the other extreme by taking his family on a dizzingly fast-paced journey through other activities. When the others become exhausted, Peter invites William Shatner to his fun instead.

Stewie's weather machine causes a huge rainstorm, which seems to be fulfilling his plans to destroy broccoli. Then, a lightning bolt strikes and destroys the machine, putting an end to his fun. Meanwhile, Meg and Peter are on the road on a practice drive, where Meg hits and "kills" Shatner; she also hits Peter. While Peter is in the hospital, Quahog's television service is restored, and Peter indulges in his favorite pasttime again.

Notes

• The new reality series that was airing at the time Peter crashed his car into the satellite television transmitter, disabling it, was "Fast Animals, Slow Children," a reality series where large jungle animals, such as tigers, stalk unknowing and unwary "slow" children (i.e. obese and out-of-shape) in the woods. The transmission is cut off shortly before the presumed climax -- the tiger catches, brutally kills and eats the hapless boy.