Original air date: 3/21/2000 (produced in 1999)
Production code: 1ACX-14
To avoid paying a hospital bill, Peter writes that he's dead on it. This leads to trouble when Death injures himself chasing Peter.
This episode contains examples of:
- Agony of the Feet: When Stewie is massaging Death's foot, he accidentally breaks off one of his toes. Unlike his sprained ankle, he doesn't notice it, only an odd snapping noise.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Peter passes a black cat, a raven, and a Black man, the former two of which are traditionally seen as harbinger of bad luck, and the third a play on the word "black."
- Ambiguously Gay: Dr. Hartman makes a head-tilting remark after Peter gets the completely wrong idea of the good news about his test results:Hartman: Mr. Griffin, I'm saying you're fine.
Peter: I'm fine? What, are you coming on to me now?
Lois: Peter, he's not coming on to you, he's trying to tell you that you're healthy!
Hartman: Can't it be both?
(confused stares, then the scene ends without an answer) - Bowdlerization: When this episode was reran on Fox in the mid 2000's to prepare for Family Guy's return, the episode experienced a few edits:
- Lesly Stahl's line "...and one of you is hung like an elf" during 60 Minutes After Dark was cut.
- The scene where Death realizes he accidentally killed his girlfriend in his car was shortened. On the censored version, the scene ends where Death complains he'll be a virgin forever. On the uncensored version, the scene continues as he says "Or am I?" with the car shaking more. This edit was also used when this episode aired on UK TV.
- Balancing Death's Books: Peter lets slip that death has taken a holiday, and Death himself forces him to take his place and cause a major death to remind the world of their mortality. After assigning him to kill the cast of Dawson's Creek, Peter refuses, but ends up forced on the path anyway once Death threatens to kill him instead. In the end, however, Peter manages a third option of accidentally killing the pilots of the plane they're on, putting everyone in jeopardy, and while they all manage to land safely and come out unharmed, Death ultimately lets them go as he feels they learned their lesson.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: After Peter is told by Death to kill the kids from Dawson's Creek, he changes his mind and says to Death on the phone, "If they die, I'll have nothing to watch on Wednesdays", he moves his eyes slowly to the viewers saying nervously, "Other than the fine programs on Fox".
- Companion Cube: Peter recalls the good times he had with his bike and has a flashback where he asks the bike if it wants more tea.
- Deadpan Snarker: It's Norm Macdonald as Death, so this was to be expected.
- Death Takes a Holiday: Since Death is injured, everyone becomes immortal.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Peter refuses to kill the cast of Dawson's Creek.Peter: If they die, I'll have nothing to watch on Wednesdays... [eyes widen, looks at the screen, and smiles nervously] ...other than the fine programs on Fox.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: When Peter gets his hospital papers, he questions the lady at the front desk asking if the paper he's holding is the price of his hospital bill or his phone number. The woman replies that's simply his phone number. Dumbfounded, Peter fires back that whatever it is, it's still pretty pricey. Prompting him to fake his death to avoid such bills.
- Elephant in the Living Room: Peter and Lois choose to ignore the giant squid on the kitchen table.
- Everyone Has Standards: After Death is humiliated by the world realizing that he's out of commission, he plots to cause a big-enough disaster to remind people of death.Death: One death isn't gonna do it, you have to do something that will get everyone's attention, something huge.
Chris: How about if you blow up the earth?
Death: Too huge. But you're thinking, I like that. - Fanboy: Stewie, who is ecstatic to meet Death and frequently asks him to kill Lois or Peter.
- Gilligan Cut: Double subverted.Peter: Forget it, Death. I'm not going to do your dirty work. There's no way I'm getting on that plane. Absolutely no way, and that's final.[cut to reveal that Peter is still there]Peter: See? I'm still here. And there's nothing you can say that'll change my mind.Death: Either you kill them, or I kill you.[cut to reveal Peter on plane]
- Gory Discretion Shot: Tom Tucker tries to kill Diane Simmons with a chainsaw, but Death turns off the TV before anything happens.
- Hot for Teacher: A cutaway shows a scene of Dawson's Creek, showing the character Pacey in bed with teacher Tamara Jacobs.
- I Love the Dead: Death remembers when he was on a date during his adolescence. After his date dies during sex and lamenting that he was going to remain a virgin forever, he reconsidered and the car the two were in started rocking again.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Lois and Peter are beginning to have sex when she discovers the lump on his breast and fears that it's cancer.
- Irony: After breaking his ankle chasing Peter, Death winds up playing a game of Life with Lois while recovering.Death: I know I should find this ironic, but really, I'm just bored as hell.
- Jerkass: While in the Griffins' care, Death makes crude remarks towards their lack of good television channels, choice of various magazines, and scolds Lois's cocoa by claiming it "tastes like crap". Despite all this, the Griffins still take care of him, mostly to buy them time to negotiate him sparing Peter.
- Lampshaded the Obscure Reference: "Karen Black, what an obscure reference."
- Matricide: Stewie knocks Lois down the stairs with his tricycle, saws the legs off of a cabinet so it falls on her and then for good measure throws a grenade inside it. If Death hadn't sprained his ankle and made everyone immortal, it would have succeeded.
- Stewie's e-mail is loismustdie@yahoo.com.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Death barely reacts when Stewie accidentally snaps off his pinkie toe while giving him a foot massage.
- Not Hyperbole: When Death instructs Peter to kill the cast of Dawson's Creek, Peter exclaims "I knew it — as soon as that show came on the air, I said 'I'm gonna be the one who has the kill these kids!'" Lois, without missing a single beat, says "It's true, he did say it."
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: None of the Dawson's Creek cast know who Karen Black is.
- Relieving the Reaper: The plot of this episode, and this episode provides the trope image for that page.
- Sex for Services: Subverted. Death tells Lois that he'll spare Peter's life but Lois owes him one. Lois sighs and starts unbuttoning her blouse. Death quickly interrupts and asks what the hell she's doing; he was talking about another fruit cup.
- Sexual Extortion: Subverted: After helping him recover from a broken ankle, Lois asks Death if he wouldn't mind sparing Peter. Death says sure, but "you'll have to do something for me." After a moment's indecision, Lois begins to slowly unbutton her shirt...only for Death to state that he meant that she could grab him another fruit cup from the fridge.
- Shout-Out:
- 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 60 Minutes and the raunchy variety show Playboy After Dark.
- Peter mistakes the lump in his breast (a fatty corpuscle) for comedian Fatty Arbuckle.
- 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.
- 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.
- Karen Black successfully lands the plane, as her character did in Airport 1975. Newscaster Tom Tucker calls it "an obscure reference." He also mentions her other films Five Easy Pieces and Nashville.
- The varied passengers on the plane, nuns, Girl Scouts, etc, are reminiscent of the film Airplane!, which spoofs the disaster movie genre.
- Stewie uses a tricycle to push Lois down a flight of stairs, a reference to The Omen (1976).
- 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.
- At the end of the episode, Death gives Peter The Complete Boz Scaggs.
- After Peter takes Death's robe, Death wears a Providence College hooded sweatshirt.
- A scene cutaway shows Jack from Titanic (1997) not being able to die.
- Take That!: Why else would Death suggest that Peter kill those kids? After Peter tells the kids from Dawson's Creek who Karen Black is, they just stand there deadpan not knowing who she is and Peter hates them for it.Peter: You damn kids and your music!
- When Peter asks Death "Who are you?" he answers "I'm Calista Flockhart," referring to the actress's 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 is requesting an Entertainment Weekly magazine, he mentions that there is a picture of him sneaking up on Tom Snyder, who wasn't dead when the episode aired. Snyder died on July 29, 2007 in San Francisco from complications of leukemia.
- 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.
- When Meg proposes Death could kill all girls prettier than her, Death comments, "That would just leave England."
- Teeny Weenie: In "60 Minutes After Dark", Lesly Stahl remarks to one of the three male talkers, "...and one of you is hung like an elf".
- The End... Or Is It?: After convincing the world that Death does exist, Death thanks the Griffin family and jokingly warns them that he will be back "real soon".
- Touch of Death: Peter inherits this from Death when filling in for him, as simply wearing Death's shroud causes anything/anyone Peter touches to instantly die.Peter: Note to self, do NOT go to the bathroom.
- Ungrateful Bastard: According to Death, everyone. He's tired of being seen as the bad guy for doing such a vital job.
- What Are Records?: The cast of Dawson's Creek manage to do this without saying a word when Peter references Karen Black from Airport 1975.
- You Kill It, You Bought It: While Death recuperates from his sprained ankle, no one can actually die. He intended to just wait it out, but then Peter screws up and lets everyone know no one can die. Death is still not recovered enough to do any reaping, so he gives his job to Peter—saying he'll let him off the hook if he ensures a major death.
