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FG0102: “I never met the dead man”

Basic plot: When Peter accidentally knocks out the main television transmitter for Quahog, he finds that he has to find other ways to amuse himself, and soon goes off the idea of TV completely. He later meets William Shatner and they become friends. He blames Meg for hitting the transmitter, making her a pariah but later admits it was him, as he goes back to his first love, TV.

Title thoughts
I’ve struggled with this (and the repetition of death in two concurrent episodes) but I think it may refer to the killing of William Shatner near the end. If so, it’s still pretty tenuous, as Peter does meet Shatner, and spends a lot of time with him. Maybe he’s trying to distance himself from blame for the accident.
Score: -7

The Good, The Bad and the Stupid

The Good
Stewie’s phone call: “Put me through to the Pentagon! Don’t toy with me! I’ve already despatched Bert and have eight armed men stationed outside Big Bird’s nest!”
Score: 8

Stewie’s mission to destroy broccoli!
Score: 10

The race with the Amish guy at the lights, particularly the horse exploding.
Score: 8

Peter’s cack-handed advice to Meg about driving: “Ah, you forgot to flip him off, but otherwise good job!”
Score: 7

The CHiPs skit, where Ponch is seducing a woman driver while, behind his back, a truck rolls by with the words PURE, UNCUT COCAINE on its side and then two guys shoot at each other out of cars.
Score: 9

Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons bantering without realising that they are still on the air in Boston! “Well Tom, I just plain don’t like black people!”
Score: 6

The “Wonder Years” clip is … okay.
Score: 3

The “Scooby Doo” one is just as … okay.
Score: 3

The “Batdog” signal in the sky, necessitating Brian’s rapid departure from the picnic.
Score: 7

Diane’s spanking on the air!
Score: 10

Peter, on the way to the Bavarian Folk Festival: “You know those Germans! If you don’t join their party they come and get ya!”
Score: 10

The Hitleresque proprietor of “German bratwurst” moving over to the kiosk selling “Polish sausage”, knocking him out and scratching out “Polish” to replace it with “German”. And then casting avaricious glances at the next kiosk, “Czech wieners”...
Score: 10

Shatner’s death scene: “Beam me up God!” and the corset giving way.
Score: 8

The Bad
The whole idea of Peter blaming Meg for the accident which knocks out the transmitter is pretty much lifted from the Simpsons episode where Marge went to jail when Homer switched seats with her after he crashed the car. Poor.
Score: -10

Another rip-off from “The Simpsons”. Everyone decides they are better off without TV, just as the kids had to do without it when Krusty was Kancelled…
Score: -10

The Stupid
Peter expects people to believe Meg, a young girl, had her arm shot off (she still has both arms) in Vietnam, decades before she was even born! And the people believe him! Christ!
Score: -10 (million if I could, but ten will have to suffice)

Peter making his own TV channel? Moronic.
Score: -10

Why does Lois have to explain to Peter that “the lamp gives us light”? Is he really supposed to be that thick?
Score: -5

I just knew that would happen!
Where I record events that you could predict would occur in the episode. The higher the predictability, the higher the minus score.

As Meg, then Chris shoot a hoop, it’s pretty obvious as Peter takes his turn that his lack of physical fitness and weight is going to send him crashing through the garage door. And it does.
Score: -10

Cutaways
1.
Peter’s “trip to the south”, where he runs over Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote in the car with him tells him to just keep driving.
Score: 10

2.
Peter is expecting a boy and is told “It’s a girl!” Bah. This comes on the heels of his “I’ve had my share of disappointments too….”
Score: 2

3
Peter tries to sneak into an R-rated movie disguised as a bush? Unless I’m missing something here…
Score: -4

4.
Peter bursts into Meg’s classroom (in a towel) and berates her for leaving leg hair in the shower.
Score: -5

5.
His “Willy Wonka” one does not work. Not funny at all.
Score: -5

Overall, did the main story work or make sense? Did it succeed or fail, and why?
Main plot
There were a lot of things in the story that didn’t work, and the resolution was too pat. Peter just suddenly goes back to liking TV after he sees one ad? But then, given that he was addicted to it in the first place, maybe not so strange. Shatner’s role is unclear, though it does tie in with the Star Trek programme Peter has been watching prior to taking out the transmitter, and Shatner had been on his way to a talk about how TV keeps families together. Still, a little underused maybe?
Main: 7

Subplot
Well, once you have Stewie in the sub (or main) plot it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a success. His hatred of broccoli leads him to create a machine to control the weather, with the intention of making it too cold for the plant to survive. No flaws at all, and if anything saves the episode, it’s this, a situation that will occur again and again as Seth starts to run out of ideas.
Sub: 10
Grand total: 17

Character Usage
Main
Peter: 10
Lois: 6
Stewie: 10
Brian: 4
Chris: 1
Meg: 10
Total: 41

Supporting
Diane/Tom: 5
Total: 5
Grand total: 46 (of a possible 70)

The Annoyance Factor
Very high. Peter is an idiot. And a very bad father.
Score: -8

The crazy factor
Also high, though not as high as it could have been.
Score: 7

The Guest Factor
Shatner is featured but it is not him (not sure if they asked him and he refused, they couldn’t afford him at this early point in the show, or they just didn’t bother) so a big minus here. Have to say -10. Ponch, however, was voiced by Erik Estrada himself, so that gets a decent score of say 7. Overall then for Guests it’s
Score: -3

Episode Grand Total: 94


AD0102: “Threat levels”

Basic plot: After accidentally inhaling a toxic substance, Stan and all his family are quarantined in their home, with only twenty-four hours to live. When the scare turns out to be a false one, Francine, feeling her life is unfulfilled, takes up real estate and sells a house next door to them to the gay couple off the TV news.

Title thoughts
Yes, this is a good one. Bit basic, but it certainly fits.
Score: 8

The Good, The Bad and the Stupid

The Good

The fact that we assume, when Stan says about Greg and Terry that he doesn’t want “their kind” living next door, that he’s talking about them being gay, and it turns out he has a problem with them being reporters, is clever.
Score: 8

Stan thinking he hears “Your very manhood is at stake. Your very manhood is at stake.” in his mind but it turning out to be Dick from the CIA who is carpooling with him.
Score: 8

Stan aiming his sniper’s rifle at Francine, saying “What am I doing? This is the woman I love!” and then switching the regular gunsight for one shaped like a heart!
Score: 10

Donald Trump insisting on being paid royalties when Stan says “You’re fired!”
Score: 8

The homeless men realising one of them is dead and all fighting over his possessions.
Score: 6

“Oh come on! What’s more important? Your hopes and dreams or me making more than your mother?”
Score: 6

The Bad
Stan completely abusing his position at the CIA --- again --- this time to shut down the realty office with absolutely no evidence (cocaine donuts?)
Score: -10

The Stupid

Roger measuring for drapes and planning renovations after the family is dead. How does he think he’s going to pay for all of this? He has no title claim to the house (no rights at all, being an alien) and has never held down a job that wasn’t imaginary. Also, once Stan and his family are gone, who will protect him from the CIA?
Score: -10

Character usage
Main
Stan: 10
Francine: 10
Roger: 6
Hayley: 7
Steve: 7
Klaus: 5
Total: 45

Supporting
Greg and Terry: 5
Snot: 4
Toshi: 5
Barry: 3
CIA* : 4
Total: 21
Grand Total: 66 (Out of a possible 110)

(* As many of Stan’s contemporaries at the CIA are either nameless or used sort of interchangeably, other than Bullock, his boss, whenever he interacts with them --- unless one is clearly singled out, as does happen later on occasion --- I’ll treat any of his co-workers under the blanket “CIA” label,as here)

Did the storyline work or make sense? Did it succeed or fail, and why?
Main plot
Yeah, but again the comparisons with “The Simpsons” surface. As South Park remarked, Simpsons did it first. Marge spent time as a real estate agent, though Homer wasn’t as insecure about it as Stan is here.
Main: 5
Subplot
Sort of again non-existent really, and Roger is used pretty much only peripherally and as a source of annoyance.
Sub: 0
Total: 5


The Annoyance Factor
Very high. Stan’s (and his colleagues’) intolerance of homosexuals, their complete lack of understanding of it (“If there are two men who has the vagina? You gotta have a vagina!”) and also Stan’s condescending attitude towards Francine’s job (“Oh, she’ll soon get tired of playing with her new bone”), coupled with his feeling emasculated because she earns more than him is highly offensive.
Score: -9

A missed opportunity?
Not being scored, but just where I poke my nose in and mention things that could have happened in the episode but didn't.

As they wait out the final 24 hours of their lives, Stan and the family watch the first season of "24". As it ends, and the time runs out, I think it would have been good to have had the "24" clock ticking down to 23:59. After all, they used the clock in the house, so why not? Seemed like it was all set up for that gag, but they either missed it or decided against it. Boo.


The Guest Factor
No guests.

Episode Grand Total: 96

Again it's a close-run thing, however both shows score pretty low second time out.

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