animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

comedy series Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ...

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

Griffin family The Griffin family is a fictional family which appears in the List of animated television series, animated television series ''Family Guy''. The Griffins are a dysfunctional family consisting of the married couple Peter Griffin, Peter and Lois G ...

Twinkie A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by privat ...

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Patrick Duffy Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'', where he played Bobby Ewing, the youngest son of Miss Ellie, and the nicest brother of J.R. Ewing (pl ...

Victoria Principal Vicki Ree Principal (born January 3, 1950),Jack Perkins,

Will Sasso Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, and Joey Slotnick along with several recurring voice actors for the series. This is the first episode that aired to feature

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series '' That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Sinc ...

as the voice of

Meg Griffin Meg Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series ''Family Guy''. Meg is the eldest child of Peter and Lois Griffin and older sister of Stewie and Chris, but is also the family's scapegoat who receives the least of their ...

, following Lacey Chabert's departure from the series.

Plot

On December 31, 1999, Quahog prepares for

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

and the new millennium, and the Griffins have been invited to Quagmire's millennium party. At a store, a man wearing a chicken suit asks

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

if he wants a coupon, but Peter refuses, recalling an incident in which he got an expired coupon from Ernie the Giant Chicken, resulting in a destructive fistfight. The man then warns Peter that the world will end because of the Y2K problem, so Peter locks himself and the family in their

basement A basement or cellar is one or more Storey, floors of a building that are completely or partly below the storey, ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, ...

in hazmat suits, despite Lois' objections. Just after midnight, the Y2K bug hits. This causes a worldwide

nuclear attack Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

, with

vehicles A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles ( trains, trams), ...

crashing and

missiles In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

self-launching, destroying much of the world, and mutating, injuring, or killing most of its inhabitants. The Griffins remain safe, though their house has been severely damaged. Starving, Peter immediately eats all the dehydrated meals, without adding water. Peter recalls that the snack food

Twinkie A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by privat ...

s are the only food that can survive a nuclear holocaust, so the family prepares to travel to

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

, in hopes that the Twinkie factory has survived. The Griffins' car runs out of gas, so they must walk to Natick. When they get there, there is no factory. Stewie berates Peter for costing them their lives before tripping and getting covered in nuclear waste; his arms soon mutate into

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s. Upon sunrise, the factory is revealed to still be standing and in perfect condition. Expecting to be able to live off the snack food, they establish the town of New Quahog around the factory, with Peter as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. In time, New Quahog becomes a thriving community, complete with houses and wells. However, when Brian points out that New Quahog is a peaceful place with no violence, Peter deems that they are completely defenseless; to the outrage of the citizens, he makes guns using the pipes from the city's irrigation system. Meanwhile, Stewie's body has completely transformed into an octopus, and lays hundreds of eggs. Despite Peter's insistence that he is fit to remain as mayor, the townspeople throw him out of New Quahog, and his family follows him. The citizens destroy the guns, only to be overpowered by hundreds of newly-hatched Octopus-Stewies, which destroy the city. As the family walks away, oblivious to New Quahog's destruction, they decide to continue to a Carvel factory in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Bost ...

. In a

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

epilogue parodying ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', the episode is revealed to have been a dream experienced by

Pam Ewing Pamela Jean "Pam" Barnes Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas''. Pamela is portrayed by actress Victoria Principal, first appearing on the show in the first episode, entitled "Digger's Daughter", which wa ...

(

Victoria Principal Vicki Ree Principal (born January 3, 1950),Bobby (

Patrick Duffy Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'', where he played Bobby Ewing, the youngest son of Miss Ellie, and the nicest brother of J.R. Ewing (pl ...

) that she dreamt about a strange episode of ''Family Guy''. Bobby comforts her, but then pauses and asks "What's ''Family Guy''?", and the two turn and look with confusion to the audience.

Production

"Da Boom" was the third episode of the second season of ''Family Guy'', and the first for director Bob Jaques. It first aired on December 26, 1999. 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 "Mind Over Murder" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 25, 1999. The episode features Peter after he is placed under house arres ...

". This was the first episode to have

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series '' That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Sinc ...

providing the voice of

Meg Griffin Meg Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series ''Family Guy''. Meg is the eldest child of Peter and Lois Griffin and older sister of Stewie and Chris, but is also the family's scapegoat who receives the least of their ...

.

Lacey Chabert Lacey Nicole Chabert ( ; born September 30, 1982) is an American actress. One of her first roles was playing Erica Kane's daughter on ''All My Children''. She was the third actress to play Bianca Montgomery, playing the part from 1992 until 1993. ...

, the original voice of Meg, left the series due to time constraints with her acting role in ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by ...

'', as well as schoolwork. Kunis won the role after auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television Period piece, period teen sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the ficti ...

''.

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and '' The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creato ...

, the show's creator, called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak more slowly, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her. This was also the first episode of Ernie the Giant Chicken, an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

chicken who serves as a rival to Peter. He has a long, unexpected fight with Peter, which interrupts the main storyline. This has become a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are n ...

, having reappeared in episodes such as " Blind Ambition", " Internal Affairs", " No Chris Left Behind" and " Meet the Quagmires". He is voiced by regular show writer Danny Smith. In addition to the regular cast, actress

Victoria Principal Vicki Ree Principal (born January 3, 1950),Will Sasso Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

; reporter, commentator, war correspondent, and anchorman Jack Perkins; voice actor Joey Slotnick; and character actor

Patrick Duffy Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'', where he played Bobby Ewing, the youngest son of Miss Ellie, and the nicest brother of J.R. Ewing (pl ...

guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actress

Lori Alan Lori Alan (born July 18, 1966) is an American actress and voice actress. She has played a long-running role as Pearl Krabs on the animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. She also voiced Diane Simmons on ''Family Guy'', the Invisibl ...

, writer Danny Smith, and actor

Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. On television, he has played David Puddy on ''Seinfeld'', the title character on ''The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less Than Perfect'', Jeff Bingham on ''Rules of Engagement'' and Lemo ...

also made minor appearances.

Cultural references

The episode's live-action epilogue is a reference to an episode of the CBS soap opera ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' that erased the death of Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), which turned out to be a dream experience by Pamela Ewing (Victoria Principal). Principal and Duffy reprised their respective ''Dallas'' roles in a live-action recreation of the shower scene at the end of the episode.

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

appears singing everything he sees in a musical moment. The plot includes references to the Y2K bug. 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. When travelling to find food they are stopped and there's a reference to ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...

''. Stewie's line, "Game over man! Game over!" is a nod to the science fiction film ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrat ...

''. Arriving at the Twinkie factory, Peter uses the same words to describe what he sees that Dr. Ellie Arroway used in ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

'' when witnessing a celestial event in a foreign galaxy.

Reception

The episode received positive reviews. Ahsan Haque of IGN rated the episode a 10/10, saying "Overall, this episode easily ranks as one of the best episodes 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." Tom Eames of entertainment website ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' placed the episode at number sixteen on his listing of the best ''Family Guy'' episodes in order of "yukyukyuks" and described it as "classic bonkers Family Guy". He added that the episode was "potentially the first time fans realised this wasn't just a ''Simpsons'' ripoff."

References

External links

* {{good article 1999 American television episodes Family Guy (season 2) episodes New Year television episodes Natick, Massachusetts Fiction set in 1999 Television episodes about dreams Post-apocalyptic television episodes Television episodes with live action and animation Works about gun politics in the United States Fiction featuring the turn of the third millennium Cultural depictions of Hillary Clinton Cultural depictions of Bill Clinton