Death Is a Bitch

"Death Is a Bitch"

“Death Is a Bitch” is an episode from the FOX animated television series Family Guy. It was produced for season one but aired in season two. It guest-stars Norm MacDonald as Death.

Plot summary

Lois finds a lump on Peter’s breast and worries that the lump could be cancer. Peter sees a doctor. It turns out to be a benign fatty corpuscle, but Peter does not want to pay the hospital bill, so he declares himself deceased on the insurance form. When Death shows up at his house, Peter tries to run away and Death sprains his ankle chasing him. Death demands that Peter say nothing about Death’s injury and the fact that no one can die while Death recovers, but Peter instead blabs about it to his drinking buddies, and inevitably proves it several times by getting shot. The fact that no one can die becomes top news. Peter is forced to take over Death’s job in order to prove to people they can still die and is assigned by Death to kill the kids from Dawson’s Creek, but fails to do so because he says, “If I do, then I have nothing to watch on Wednesdays.” Instead, Peter unwittingly kills two airplane pilots, proving people are not immortal, and forcing actress Karen Black to land the plane.

Notes

• This episode marks the first appearance of two recurring characters; Dr. Elmer Hartman, who would be the recurring doctor in the series, and Death who would be played in all his later appearences by Adam Carolla.
• Stewie’s e-mail is loismustdie@yahoo.com.
• At the end of the Hitler parody scene the number to call is “213-DU WERDEST EINE KRANKENSCHWESTER BRAUCHEN.” This is a common German threat translating “YOU WILL NEED A NURSE,” although “WERDEST” is incorrect and should be “WIRST.” It is similar to threats of hospitalization such as “You’re going to end up in a hospital.” The Number 213 refers to number of season and episode (Season 2, Episode 13).

Cultural references

• The title of this episode refers to the saying “Life is a bitch.”
• 60 Minutes After Dark, a show Peter and Lois watch, is a combination of the news show 60 Minutes and the raunchy variety show Playboy After Dark [1]. It shows 60 Minutes anchors Morley Safer, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, and Lesley Stahl in bed together, with Stahl commenting on how “one of [you] is hung like an elf.” (This was edited out of the FOX rerun, but can be seen on the Cartoon Network and TBS versions and on the DVD.)
• Peter passes a black cat, a raven, and a black man, the former two of which are traditionally seen as harbingers of bad luck, and the third a play on the word “black.”
• Peter mistakes the lump in his breast (a fatty corpuscle) for comedian Fatty Arbuckle.
• When Peter asks Death “Who are you?” he answers “I’m Calista Flockhart,” referring to the actress’ thin and bony frame.
• Stewie says that his last helping of white meat was “dryer than Oscar Wilde,” referring to the Irish writer’s sense of humor.
• When Death eats an entire turkey leg in one bite, he attributes the ability to “some films” he appeared in. This is a reference to the act of deep throating in pornographic films.
• Death’s remark to Peter, “Hey, I caught Flo-Jo,” is a reference to the untimely death of runner Florence Griffith Joyner.
• When Death decides to stay with the Griffins, Peter objects saying, “How are we supposed to explain you to Mr. Roper?” referencing the original landlord, played by Norman Fell, from the sitcom Three’s Company.
• After breaking his ankle, Death is clearly wearing a Providence College hooded sweatshirt.
• When Death is requesting an Entertainment Weekly magazine, he mentions that there is a picture of him sneaking up on Tom Snyder, who is not dead.
• Death exclaims that the Griffins’ TV is so old that they could get the DuMont network on it. Ironically, FOX grew out of the Metromedia TV stations, which in turn were a successor to DuMont. As such, Clarke Ingram, who maintains a DuMont memorial site, has suggested that Fox is a revival of DuMont. [2]
• The pilot of the plane points out the San Fernando Valley beneath the plane where his brother “makes a very nice living directing porn.” San Fernando Valley is the center of the US pornography industry.
• A scene cutaway shows Jack from Titanic not being able to die.
• As Peter looks at the cast of Dawson’s Creek, the show’s theme song “I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole plays.
• A cutaway shows a scene of Dawson’s Creek, showing the character Pacey in bed with teacher Tamara Jacobs. Unlike the actual episode, Jacobs corrects Pacey’s grammar.
• Actress Karen Black successfully lands the plane, as her character did in the film Airport 1975. Newscaster Tom Tucker calls it “an obscure reference.” He also mentions her other films Five Easy Pieces and Nashville.
• Stewie uses a tricycle to push Lois down a flight of stairs, a reference to the 1976 thriller, The Omen.
• At the end of the episode, Death gives Peter the complete Boz Scaggs.
• When Death explains, “Imagine if Hitler was still alive,” we cut to a scene where Adolf Hitler hosts a late-night talk show, with Christian Slater as his guest star.

Goofs

• During the scene where Peter is jumping off a building, the brown and orange stripes on Quagmire's jacket switch colors more than once.
• When Death says his ankle feels better and gets up, his right foot disappears.
• When Peter’s test results are in, he asks the doctor how a comedian from the silent era, referring to Fatty Arbuckle, could be lodged in his left bosom, when in fact, Lois found the lump on the right side of his chest.
• When Peter asks the guys playing pool if they’re Richard Simmons, there are two white (cue) balls on the pool table.
• The sleeves on Karen Black's white shirt momentarily become the same shade of blue as her vest.

References

• Callaghan, Steve. “Death Is a Bitch.” Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 60–64.
• Delarte, Alonso. “Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 2.” Bob’s Poetry Magazine May 2005: 12–13. http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02My.pdf