It’s been a little over two decades since the premiere of Family Guy aired on FOX, and, 19 seasons later, not much has changed about the Griffins. All the drama and endless inappropriate jokes they spew are still there, and the family is still dysfunctional, but for all of their oddities and flaws, their dynamic still works.
In the pilot, Peter’s questionable life choices were on full display as he set a drinking record almost found himself unable to support his family. Stewie was also the stubborn baby a usual, not thinking twice about throwing insults at his mother. Given how long it has been since the episode aired, most details about the episode must be hazy in the minds of fans.
Peter Got Fired
Peter sought permission from Lois to attend a stag party. Though she was skeptical. she allowed him to go on the condition that he won’t drink. He didn’t keep his promise and ended up drinking 37 cans of beer as he played games such as “Drink the beer.”
The next day, he reported to his workplace—the Happy-Go-Lucky toy factory—with a hangover. Despite having the crucial job of Safety Inspector, he fell asleep at work. As a result, he failed to spot dangerous objects on the toys that were being packed to be sold. The company received bad press, and Mr. Weed hastily fired Peter.
Peter Tried To Keep His Dismissal A Secret From Lois
Peter appeared to trust his other family members more than he did Lois. At the dinner table, he told them that he had been dismissed. A part of him was also afraid of how Lois would react.
To make it look like things were normal, he tried getting different jobs such as working as a mascot for a cereal company and being a sneeze guard. However, he couldn’t fit into these jobs. Brian began pressuring him to tell Lois so that she could advise him on what t do. Instead, he fat-shamed her to make her focus on weight loss so that she couldn’t notice anything wrong.
The Welfare Error
After Brian reminded Peter of his fatherly responsibilities and told him that he had to mind the welfare of his children, he got an instant idea. He decided to apply for actual welfare.
After the welfare was processed, Peter received a check of $150,000 instead of $150 thanks to the clerk who placed the decimal point in the wrong place. Happy about the recent development, Peter lied to Lois that he had been given a raise at work. Instead of spending the money well, he rented the Statue of David and surrounded the house with a moat.
Peter “Returned” The Money During The Superbowl
Lois discovered that Peter was lying to her after she was given the welfare check by the mail lady. She scolded him, making him vow to return the money as soon as possible.
How he chose to return the money was hilarious, to say the least. He decided to dump the money to football fans, who he deemed as “taxpayers who deserved it.” During Super Bowl XXXIII, Brian accompanied him as he dumped the money to fans from a blimp. Unfortunately, he was shot down.
Brian Was Anti-Politics
Brian has repeatedly declared that he is a straw liberal in a couple of Family Guy episodes, but, in the series premiere, he didn’t like politics at all. Brian claimed that incidences such as the welfare error were what influenced him to not vote. According to him, nothing was right in America. He insisted that nothing would ever be right, either, and, as a result, there was no need to vote. He appears to have changed his point later on.
Peter’s Shoulder Angel
As Peter was wondering whether to tell Lois about his job loss, a shoulder devil appeared to him, telling him it was okay to lie to his wife about what happened. He wanted to hear the opinion of the shoulder angel, but he was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, the shoulder angel was stuck in traffic.
The shoulder angel showed up later on when Peter had already made up his mind thanks to the shoulder angel’s influence. He thus chose to lie to Lois.
Stewie’s Mind Control Device Came In Handy
The episode began with Stewie finishing up on constructing his mind control device. Lois took it away briefly because he was too focused on it and she wanted him to have dinner. She didn’t see its value, but it later proved to be useful.
When Peter was taken to court, the judge sentenced him to 24 months in prison. Lois couldn’t handle it and began weeping. Insisting that she couldn’t live without Peter, the judge gave her a jail sentence, too, so that she could be with him. Stewie then decided to use the mind control device to alter the judge’s opinion. He forgave Peter and gave an order for him to be given his job back.
The Kool-Aid Man Was Quite Happy
After the judge sentenced Peter to 24 months behind bars, Lois, Chris, Meg, and Brian were quite devasted. In unison, they exclaimed “oh no!” However, the Kool-Aid Man burst out laughing and exclaimed, “oh yeah!”
The Kool-Aid Man has appeared in several forms of media—he even had his own Marvel comic series in the 80s. He has also appeared in the animated TV shows The Simpsons and Robot Chicken. The character was created in the 50s by an advertising firm seeking to promote beverages.
The Words On The Blimp
The blimp that Peter used at the Superbowl celebrations had the words “I love you Lois!” written on it. As a result, all the football fans began questioning who Lois was.
It’s true that Peter does indeed love Lois, and future episodes proved this. However, he should have saved himself all this trouble if he didn’t lie to her in the first place, or maybe he should have just returned the extra cash he received instead of spending on unnecessary products and services.
Movie And TV Pop Culture References
At one point, the family watched the movie Philadelphia. Peter recognizes Tom Hanks, who he had seen in the movie Big. He claimed that everything Tom Hanks says is funny. When Tom Hanks’ character in the movie declared he had a sexually transmitted infection, Peter burst out laughing.
Peter also used some of his welfare money to hire a jester. The jester happened to be comedian Jerry Seinfeld. His scenes were accompanied by a parody of the sitcom Seinfeld‘s theme song. In court, Peter also blamed the 70s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes for his bad decisions.