Original air date: 2/14/2002 (produced in 2001)
Production code: 3ACX-12
Brian and Stewie show three stories based on viewer requests. In "No Bones About It," a genie grants Peter three wishes...one of which leaves Peter a boneless blob, in "Super Griffins," the family gets hit with radioactive waste and gain superhero powers (but don't use them for good), and Peter and the other adults of Quahog are troublemaking children in the Our Gang parody, "L'il Griffins."
This episode contains examples of:
- Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: Parodied.
- Series Fauxnale: Not counting the banned episode, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein"note , this was the last episode to air before the show was Uncanceled.
- Take That!: Stewie mentions he got a Laugh Track box from Dharma & Greg, with Brian saying he's surprised there's anything left in it.
"No Bones About It" contains examples of:
- Artistic License – Biology: Peter is more able to function without bones than he should be if the show followed reality.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Two of Peter's wishes are very poorly thought-out:
- His second wish is to have his own theme music. It sounds fun at first, but it annoys other people and he can't turn it off, causing him to get threatened by a man on the bus which in turn causes him to make a poorly thought-out third wish.
- After being threatened to have all of his bones broken by a man on the bus, Peter uses his third wish to ensure he doesn't have any bones to break. This results in Peter being turned into a boneless blob who needs his family to take care of him 24/7.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Chris mentions that a friend of his beat him up because he lost his shoe in Peter's boneless body and his mom got angry at him.
- Horrible Hollywood: "So this is where all the waste ends up!"
- Humanoid Abomination: Kelly Ripa turns out to be a Cthulu-esque monster who eats human hearts when off the set.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Peter, not wanting his family to put up with the burden of tending his boneless body, willingly goes down the drain of the bathtub.
- Ink-Suit Actor: The man who threatens to beat up Peter is modeled after and voiced by wrestler Bill Goldberg.
- Literally Falling Through the Cracks: After being turned into a Blob Monster by his final wish, Peter quickly discovers he can't ride an escalator without getting dragged underneath it. Later, horribly depressed by all the downsides of his condition, he pulls the plug in his bath and literally goes down the drain. He's so fluid that he ends up going all the way through the sewers intact, eventually winding up in Hollywood.
- Take That!: Peter notes that Hollywood is where all the waste and sewage ends up.
- Three Wishes: Peter gets three wishes from the genie of the (beer) bottle. His first wish is to see what Kelly Ripa looks like off-stage, his second wish is to have his own theme music, and his third wish is to have no bones.
"Super Griffins" contains examples of:
- Action Politician: Mayor West is the only Quahog resident who tries to deal with the Griffins terrorizing the city. He utterly fails, but full props for trying.
- Actor Allusion: Mayor West assures the town that he's capable of defeating the Griffins, since he's fought superbeings before.
- Beat Without a "But": After Mayor West rolls around in radioactive waste to get superpowers like the Griffins, but just ends up with lymphoma:
- Hartman: What in God's name were you trying to prove?
West: I was trying to gain superpowers.
Hartman: Well, that's just silly!
West: Silly, yes. Idiotic, yes.
[after a long Beat, the scene ends]
- Disproportionate Retribution: Lots. For example...
- Stewie beats up a store clerk because he wouldn't let him have a candy bar.
- Lois stomps over cars and kills many people so she won't get stuck in traffic.
- Chris setting his friend on fire because he called him "Chris Gristle" years ago, which he barely even remembers.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: How the segment ends.
- Funny Background Event: Near the end, when Mayor West runs off the stage, you can see an audience member grabbing a woman's ass. Doubles as a Freeze-Frame Bonus since it happens so fast.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: Meg uses her ability to grow her fingernails to hurt a guy who mocks her. When Tom Tucker shows a montage of the Griffins terrorizing Quahog, Meg is seen popping a baby's balloon.
- Hero Antagonist: Mayor West, sort of. He attempts to take action against the Griffins himself, only to end up sick after rolling in toxic waste.
- My Brain Is Big: Stewie as a result of the toxic waste exposure.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After Mayor West gets lymphoma from bathing in toxic waste in an attempt to combat them, the Griffins decide to stop their megalomania and help him recover.
- Radiation-Induced Superpowers: The Griffins get superpowers from exposure to radioactive waste. Unfortunately when Mayor West tries the same thing it doesn't work out so well for hiim.
- Superpowers For A Day: The premise of this short is that the Griffins gain superpowers from being showered in toxic waste.
- Superpower Lottery: Meg is the clear loser, compared to the rest of the family (and just in general). All she gets are extended fingernails that barely qualify as Wolverine Claws.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Mayor West exposes himself to radioactive waste in an attempt to gain superpowers which he can use to fight the Griffins. He ends up getting lymphoma.
- Toxic Waste Can Do Anything: Zig-Zagged. The Griffins gain superpowers from being drenched by radioactive waste, while Mayor Adam West just gets lymphoma.
- Villain Protagonist: The Griffins themselves. They only use their superpowers for selfish or reckless reasons, and their hunger for power turns them into straight up supervillains by the end. They eventually learn their lesson, though.
- Vocal Dissonance: Peter shapeshifts into Britney Spears to get a lock of Justin Timberlake's hair. It tricks everyone, despite the fact that "Britney" still sounds and acts like an out-of-shape, middle-aged guy.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: The segment in a nutshell. The Griffins to crazy with their powers and learn to use them responsibly.
- Wolverine Claws: Downplayed. Meg gets something similar, but because she is the show's resident Butt-Monkey, her Wolverine claws don't actually hurt anyone. They just leave a scratch that's kind of bleeding and kind of hurts, but not really. They also work great for making little kids cry by popping their balloons.
"Lil' Griffins" contains examples of:
- Affectionate Parody: Of The Little Rascals.
- He-Man Woman Hater: Peter and Quagmire, who are members of the "We Hate Broads Club".
- Impact Silhouette: When Mort demonstrates his ghost projection in the malt shop, Peter and Quagmire go running scared and jump through a glass window, leaving their outlines behind.
- Scooby-Dooby Doors: The Scooby-Doo cast even makes a surprise cameo.
- Two Scenes, One Dialogue: Parodied.
- Peter: What we oughta do is pretend we're ghosts see...
Quagmire: ...and then we'll scare the other guys out of the house...
Peter: ...then we can say that we spent...
Quagmire: ...the...
Peter: ...night and everyone will think that we're...
Quagmire: ...the...
Peter: ...bravest kids in the world. Especially Lois. (laughs)
Quagmire: All Ri...
Peter: (continues laughing)
Quagmire: ...ig...
Peter: (continues laughing)
Quagmire: ...ht. (looks around, waiting)
Peter: (finishes laughing)
