Death Has a Shadow/References

General

References

Credits

Appearances

Transcript

General

This marks the debut of the Griffin family (Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Brian and Stewie), Quagmire, Cleveland (who makes an early cameo in a crowd shot), Mr. Weed, Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons.

Production

• During early drafts the episode was titled "A Matter of Welfare"
• First draft: May 9, 1998
• The table reading was held on July 1, 1998
• Final draft revisions:
  • Green: September 1, 1998
  • Pink: September 20, 1998

Cultural references

• The Griffin family watch The Brady Bunch.
• The Jemima's Witness is a reference to Jehovah's Witnesses and the Aunt Jemima brand of pancake mix and syrup.
• The first cutaway gag of the series features Adolf Hitler.
• The Griffins watch Philadelphia, a 1993 legal drama film starring Tom Hanks. Peter also mentions the comedy film Big, which Hanks also appeared in. Later in the episode, Stewie makes reference to another film Hanks starred in, Forrest Gump, by saying "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get."
• The pornographic film Assablanca is a parody of the 1942 romantic film Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund.
• G.I. Jew is a parody of G.I. Joe, a line of action figures by Hasbro.
• Pound Poochies is a parody of Pound Puppies, a toy line originally sold by Tonka.
• Baby Heimlich is a reference to the Heimlich maneuver.
• Peter auditions for the role of Sonny for a Cocoa Puffs commercial. He says "I'm caca for Cocoa Puffs" instead of the brand's catchphrase "I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!".
• The talent show flashback is similar to the setting from the 1965 musical film The Sound of Music. The talent show host announces the winners of the competition as the "von Trapp Family Singers", characters in the film.
• Peter makes reference to the 1989 Tienanmen Square protests and Tank Man in a cutaway gag.
• Lois references Jane Fonda's workout videos.
• The statue of David, a sculpture by Michelangelo, is rented by Peter.
• Jerry Seinfeld appears as a jester. Music similar to the soundtrack of the sitcom Seinfeld plays during this scene.
• The episode premiered on the same date as Super Bowl XXXIII (January 31, 1999). The event also appears in the episode. Fox commentators John Madden and Pat Summerall are present.
• The Fox security guard grabs the gun from a rack labeled "Just One Gun". This is a reference to "Just One Fox ", the network's slogan at the time of the episode's airing, which was also visible on the man's uniform.
• The Diff'rent Strokes episode Peter refers to is the two-part very special episode "The Bicycle Man", which aired in 1983.
• The Kool-Aid Man busts through the courthouse wall to exclaim his catchphrase "Oh yeah!". This later became a recurring gag throughout the series.
• A Joanie Loves Chachi clip is featured in TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, hosted by Dick Clark and Ed McMahon. Chachi Arcola attempts to say the tongue-twister "she sells seashells down by the seashore".

Goofs

Incomplete