- Da Boom
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"Da Boom" Family Guy episode 
The Griffin family after surviving the Y2K crisis.Episode no. Season 2
Episode 3Directed by Bob Jacques Written by Neil Goldman
Garrett DonovanProduction code 2ACX06 Original air date December 26, 1999 Guest stars Episode chronology ← Previous
"Holy Crap"Next →
"Brian in Love"Family Guy (season 2)
List of Family Guy episodes"Da Boom" is the third episode of the second season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 26, 1999. The episode features the Griffin family after a nuclear holocaust occurs, due to Y2K on New Year's Eve. The family then travels in search of food, and eventually decide to establish a town around a Twinkie factory. Peter then takes over the town, establishing himself as mayor, but eventually becomes power hungry, and is overthrown.
The episode was written by Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan and directed by Bob Jacques. It received praise from Ahsan Haque for its storyline and use of cultural references. The episode featured guest performances by Patrick Duffy, Victoria Principal, Jack Perkins and Will Sasso, along with several recurring voice actors for the series. This is the first episode that aired to feature Mila Kunis as the voice of Meg Griffin.
Contents
Plot
After a man in a chicken suit warns Peter that the world will end because of Y2K, Peter locks his family up in their basement on December 31, 1999, despite his family's protests to attend a local New Years party. While the Griffin family spends the next few minutes inside their basement wearing hazmat suits, a nuclear holocaust occurs at midnight because of Y2K, destroying much of the world and mutating, injuring, or killing many of the surviving citizens of Quahog, however, the Griffins remain free from mutations. As the family look for survivors, they soon discover that Joe has been melted into his driveway, his son Kevin has been vaporized, while Quagmire and Cleveland have fused together and are now called "Clevemire"; with the former wishing to be called "Quagland", and Tom Tucker & Diane Simmons have eaten Tricia Takanawa. Starving for food, Peter immediately eats all the dehydrated meals, without adding water. Becoming hungry, Peter recalls that the snackfood Twinkies are the only food that can survive a nuclear holocaust. Desperate, the family travels to Natick, Massachusetts, in hopes that the Twinkie factory has survived. On the way, Stewie is exposed to nuclear waste and soon mutates into an octopus-like creature. Upon their arrival at Natick, they discover the factory is still standing, and in perfect condition. Expecting to be able to live off of the snackfood, they decide to establish a town, dubbed New Quahog. Deciding to establish a city government, Peter proclaims himself mayor, because it was his idea to seek out the factory. Accepting his argument, Joe and Clevemire join him to form a ruling council. Despite their advice, Peter makes several disastrous mistakes, most notably by giving the citizens careers by having them draw one out of a hat. As Peter continues to make horrible decisions, the last straw is pulled when Peter destroys the city's water irrigation system in order to use its pipes to make guns and other weapons, outraging the citizens. Meanwhile, Stewie, who has "gained girth" according to himself, as he continues to transform into an octopus, suddenly lays hundreds of eggs in the basement of their house.
Despite Peter's insistence that he is fit to continue to be the leader of the new community, the townspeople run him out of New Quahog, and his family follows him. The citizens proceed to burn the guns Peter had made with the pipes in the middle of the town square. As they throw the last gun onto the pile, hundreds of newly spawned Octopus-Stewies hatch, and begin to destroy the city, with the townspeople unable to protect themselves from the mutants. As the family walks away, oblivious to the town's destruction, they decide to continue to a Carvel factory in Framingham, Massachusetts. The episode then ends in a live-action parody of Dallas, in which Pamela Barnes Ewing wakes to find her husband, Bobby, in the shower. Surprised to see her in the bathroom, Pamela begins telling him about the episode, which was apparently a dream, thus retconning the entire episode. Although after she tells him about the dream, her husband responds by asking "What's Family Guy?", with both then proceeding to turn and look confused directly at the camera.[1]
Production
This is the first episode to include the new voice of Meg, Mila Kunis.
Da Boom was the third episode of the second season of Family Guy, and the first for director Bob Jacques. The episode was written by writing team Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, who had written episodes for the show in the first season including "Mind Over Murder".[2][3]
This was the first episode to have Mila Kunis providing the voice of Meg.[4] Lacey Chabert, the original voice of Meg, left the series due to time constraints with her acting role in Party of Five, as well as schoolwork.[5] Kunis won the role after auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show.[6] Seth MacFarlane, the show's creator, called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.[6]
"Da Boom" also introduced a new character, Ernie the Giant Chicken, an anthropomorphic chicken who serves as a rival to Peter. He has a long, unexpected fight with Peter, which interrupts the main storyline.[7] This has become a running gag, having reappeared in episodes such as "Blind Ambition",[8] "No Chris Left Behind"[9] and in "Meet the Quagmires".[10][11] He is voiced by regular show writer Danny Smith.[10]
In addition to the regular cast, actress Victoria Principal, comedian and actor Will Sasso, reporter, commentator, war correspondent, and anchorman Jack Perkins and character actor Patrick Duffy guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actress Lori Alan also made minor appearances.[2] It first aired on December 12, 1999.[2]
Cultural references
The live-action sequence in the episode is a reference to an episode of the CBS soap opera Dallas with both Patrick Duffy and Victoria Principal, who starred in the series appearing in the episode.[2][12] Randy Newman appears singing everything he sees in a musical moment.[12] The plot includes references to Y2K bug.[12] Peter takes away Trix from the rabbit, which is a reference to commercials for Trix cereal. Chris tells E.T. to run when he thinks Peter is the government coming for him.[12] Arriving at the Twinkie factory, Peter uses the same words to describe what he sees that Dr. Arroway used in Contact when witnessing a celestial event in a foreign galaxy.
Reception
Ahsan Haque of IGN rated the episode a 10/10, saying "Overall, this episode easily ranks as one of the best in the series. Almost every joke succeeds, and the far-fetched alternate reality storyline thoroughly entertains. Despite the fact that all of the events in the episode are revealed to be a dream, it doesn't take away from the high degree of amusement provided."[12]
References
- ^ Plot synopsis information for the episode "Da Boom" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2003.
- ^ a b c d "Family Guy: Da Boom". Film.com. RealNetworks, Inc.. http://www.film.com/tv/family-guy/season-2-1999/episode-3-daboom/14575299. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
- ^ "Family Guy - Mind Over Murder Cast and crew". Yahoo!. http://tv.yahoo.com/episode/1546/castcrew;_ylt=AmtLNUGThe_.SAHWQRUfHHGvo9EF. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "Family Guy Cast and Details". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/family-guy/cast/100148. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- ^ "Sonic the Horndog". Gamespy. http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/sonic-the-hedgehog/737699p2.html. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ a b "Family Guy – Casting Mila Kunis". The Paley Center for Media. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OS3zGMcbrM. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- ^ Callaghan, Steve (2005). "The Giant Chicken". Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. Harper Paperbacks. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 51. ISBN 978-0060833053.
- ^ Wong, Kevin (June 13, 2005). "Family Guy". Popmatters.com. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/reviews/article/44864/family-guy-2005. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ Haque, Ahsan (2007-05-07). "Family Guy: "No Chris Left Behind" Review". IGN. http://tv.ign.com/articles/785/785972p1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ a b "Danny Smith:Credits". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/danny-smith/credits/209563. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ Love, Brett (2007-05-21). "Family Guy: Meet The Quagmires". TV Squad. http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/21/family-guy-meet-the-quagmires/. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
- ^ a b c d e Haque, Ashan (2008). "Family Guy Flashback: "Da Boom" Review". IGN. News Corp.. http://tv.ign.com/articles/894/894682p1.html. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
External links
- Da Boom at the Internet Movie Database
- "Da Boom" at TV.com
Preceded by
Holy CrapFamily Guy (season 2) Succeeded by
Brian in LoveFamily Guy season 2 episodes "Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater" • "Holy Crap" • "Da Boom" • "Brian in Love" • "Love Thy Trophy" • "Death Is a Bitch" • "The King Is Dead" • "I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar" • "If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'" • "Running Mates" • "A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks" • "Fifteen Minutes of Shame" • "Road to Rhode Island" • "Let's Go to the Hop" • "Dammit Janet!" • "There's Something About Paulie" • "He's Too Sexy for His Fat" • "E. Peterbus Unum" • "The Story on Page One" • "Wasted Talent" • "Fore Father"Categories:- 1999 television episodes
- Apocalyptic fiction
- Family Guy (season 2) episodes
- Natick, Massachusetts
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