Fran Sinclair wants the family to talk at the dinner table, but the family would rather watch television. In frustration, Fran throws and breaks the kitchen TV, but the family (even Baby, despite being stuck in his high chair) goes into the living room to watch television. As they watch television, a live news report of a meteor appears on television, showing that the meteor is headed towards the Sinclair's home. The meteor ends up landing on the television, destroying it. Earl expects insurance to pay for it, since he had gotten meteor insurance, but the insurance man tells him that it's only a meteor in orbit, on Earth it's called a meteorite, and therefore the insurance company will pay nothing.
Fran sees the lack of a television set being a perfect opportunity for the family to talk more. The family has trouble talking at the dinner table, and Earl eventually leaves the house (unfazed by Fran's threat to stop speaking to him if he leaves) to watch television at a bar. Unsure if he'll ever be able to afford a new television set (even a tiny set), Earl sees a commercial for The Family Challenge, where the grand prize is a 90 inch television set. Earl decides to enter his family into the game show, without telling them the motive.
As they practice for the show, Earl finds that the family generally lacks the knowledge of many things, realizing that television had been holding them back. Earl considers giving up, but Fran, who was initially against being on the show, feels like it would be a good opportunity for the family to do something together. Ethyl arrives and wants to be on the game show, saying that she can be helpful on the ancient history questions because she was there. The family studies bits of history and practices for a month, by then Earl decides that, after a month without it, he doesn't really care about TV anymore. However, all of the categories happen to be television-related, and the Sinclairs fail to win. It is at this moment that the host mentions that the prize was a television set, the first time Fran hears of this. Earl admits that that's why he wanted to do the game show, but also that he enjoyed the time he spent with the family in the past month, saying that he wouldn't want to change that experience for anything. Fran doesn't believe him, but Earl insists that if he was given another opportunity to win, he wouldn't take it. The host then announces that since the family is way behind, Earl will be given one more chance to win, given a choice to either answer a television-related question that he has no chance of winning or facing off against the father of the other family (a family of mammals) in a caged sudden death round. Earl decides to take the question, and instead of answering the question given, he tells the host what he has learned, that family is more important than television. However, as a consultation prize, the Sinclairs win a new tiny televison set, and soon go back to their old habits.
Includes examples of
- Aesop Amnesia: Despite learning that spending time with family is more important than watching television, the family (except for Fran) goes back to being glued to the set after they win a new set.
- Blah, Blah, Blah: When they get a new television set, the Sinclairs watch a show where two dinosaurs have a conversation, with "blah" making up the entirety of their dialogue.
- Blatant Lies: When Earl learns that the insurance company will only pay for his TV if the house was in orbit during the time it was struck by a meteor, Earl says "It was! Just ask anybody!" Nevermind the fact that the incident happened on live television.
- Consolation Backfire: After Fran angrily throws and breaks the kitchen television, the rest of the family is reminded that they have a bigger television set in the living room, only for it to be destroyed by a meteor.
- Down to the Last Play: Averted. The Sinclairs only get one point while the Neilsens get a significantly higher point. However, the host gives Earl an opportunity to win despite the fact that he's so outnumbered.
- Expy: "The Family Challenge" is a parody of Family Feud, by title, format, and having a host who kisses the female contestants. However, while Family Feud involves guessing the most common answers taken from survey results, "The Family Challenge" involves answering trivia questions, complete with categories much like Jeopardy!.
- Exact Words: The Sinclairs are insured against meteors, not against meteorites (which meteors become when they enter the atmosphere). See also Impossible Insurance and Loophole Abuse below.
- Flat "What": When Earl chooses for the final challenge to ask a television-related question over a sudden death caged match with the other father, both Robbie and even Mr. Neilsen (who is a mammal and clearly outmatched by Earl in the fighting department) do this.
- "Flowers for Algernon" Syndrome: A mild version — Without a TV, and cramming for the quiz show, the Sinclairs develop their intellectual potential (Earl in particular goes from not knowing that you can't breathe underwater to reading algebra textbooks). When they win a new TV, however, they quickly revert to their old selves.
- Impossible Insurance: The Sinclairs' insurance policy covers meteors, but once they enter the atmosphere, they become meteorites, and thus fall outside their coverage.
- Insane Troll Logic: At the beginning of the Sinclair family study session, Earl begins teaching that everything in the world falls into one of three categories: "animal", "vegetable", or "rocks".Robbie: What about fire?Earl: Vegetable.Charlene: What about water?Earl: Water is the opposite of fire, which we have previously established as a vegetable. What's the opposite of a vegetable? Fruit! So, water is a fruit. Fruit is not a vegetable, so it has to be an animal or a rock. We know it's not an animal, so therefore, fruit is a rock.
- Irony: Earl points out the cruel irony with all the categories on "The Family Challenge" being based on TV-related topics.
- Look Ma, I Am on TV!: When the news report shows the Sinclair home as the meteor's potential strike zone, Earl and the kids look out the window and wave at the cameras, ignoring the meteor as it hurtles towards them.
- Loophole Abuse: Earl paid for meteor insurance, but it turns out that it's only a meteor in orbit, otherwise it's a meteorite, and therefore the insurance company doesn't have to pay for damages.
- Meaningful Name: The Sinclairs compete against the Neilsen family, whose entire lives consist of television.
- The Neilsen family son, who brings the chips, is named Chip.
- Shout-Out: The episode begins with the cast watching "Pangea's Funniest Home Injuries", which is followed by "Pangea's Second Funniest Home Injuries". These titles are references to America's Funniest Home Videos and America's Funniest People, which aired back-to-back at the time.
- Status Quo Is God: Zigzagged. The Sinclairs do end up with a new small television to replace the small one in the kitchen, but don't replace the big one in the living room, but in the next episode they once again have a big television set in the living room.
