It was December 26, 1999. While the rest of the world was frantically stockpiling canned beans and worrying that their desktop computers were about to gain consciousness and delete their bank accounts, Seth MacFarlane and his writers were busy ending the world. Da Boom is more than just another Family Guy episode. It’s a time capsule. It’s a chaotic, nonsensical, and oddly prophetic piece of animation that arguably saved the show from being just another Simpsons clone.
Most people remember the giant chicken fight. Or maybe the weird live-action cameo at the end. But if you look closer, this specific episode—the third episode of the second season—is where the show finally found its "voice." It stopped trying to be a family sitcom and started being the surrealist nightmare we know today.
The Y2K Panic and the End of Quahog
Basically, the plot is simple. It’s New Year’s Eve, 1999. Peter Griffin, fueled by a man in a giant chicken suit (more on that later), convinces his family that the world is ending. He’s right. A massive nuclear-style apocalypse triggered by the Y2K bug wipes out civilization. The Griffins survive because they were hiding in their basement wearing hazmat suits.
What follows is a bizarre trek to a Twinkie factory in Natick. They’re looking for the only food source that can survive a nuclear winter. Along the way, Joe Swanson melts into the pavement, Quagmire and Cleveland become a two-headed mutant, and Stewie turns into an actual octopus after falling into radioactive waste. It’s dark. It’s weird. Honestly, it’s probably the most creative the show has ever been.
The episode reflects a very specific type of late-90s anxiety. We really thought the clocks flipping to 00 would break the world. Rewatching Da Boom Family Guy now feels like looking at a fever dream from a pre-9/11 world where our biggest fear was a coding error in a spreadsheet.
The Birth of the Giant Chicken
You can't talk about this episode without mentioning Ernie the Giant Chicken. This is where it started. A guy in a chicken suit gives Peter a check that has expired, leading to a fight that lasts over two minutes. At the time, this was unheard of in network animation.
Critics hated it. They thought it was filler. They weren't necessarily wrong, but they missed the point. The "Chicken Fight" became a staple of the series, a middle finger to traditional pacing. It showed that Family Guy was willing to commit to a joke way past the point of it being funny, until it became funny again through sheer persistence.
Why the natick Twinkie factory matters
In the episode, the family heads to Natick, Massachusetts. This isn't a random choice. Seth MacFarlane’s New England roots permeate the early seasons. Local references like this gave the show a sense of place that The Simpsons’ Springfield—which is famously "anywhere"—lacked. It grounded the absurdity. Even when the world is ending and the baby is a cephalopod, they're still heading to a real town in Middlesex County.
The "Dallas" Ending and the Victoria Principal Cameo
Perhaps the most jarring part of Da Boom is the ending. The episode doesn't actually "end" in the cartoon world. Instead, we cut to a live-action scene featuring Victoria Principal and Patrick Duffy.
This was a direct parody of the famous "Dream Season" in the show Dallas. For those too young to remember, Dallas once killed off a main character (Bobby Ewing) and then brought him back a year later by claiming the entire previous season was just his wife’s dream.
In Family Guy, Victoria Principal wakes up and tells Patrick Duffy about the weird dream she had about a cartoon family. It was a bold move for a show that was still struggling to find an audience. It told the viewers: "Nothing you just watched matters. We can reset the universe whenever we want." That level of nihilism became a core pillar of the show’s identity.
Production Secrets and the "Lost" Feel
Did you know this was actually the first episode of Season 2 produced, but it aired third? You can see the shift in the animation quality. The lines are a bit cleaner than the pilot, but the character designs still have that "rough" early-series look.
There's also the curious case of Mila Kunis. While she had taken over the role of Meg by this point, some of the early Season 2 episodes still had traces of Lacey Chabert’s voice work. However, by the time we get to the apocalyptic wasteland of Da Boom, the transition is complete. Meg’s role as the family’s punching bag starts to crystallize here, especially as they're willing to sacrifice her the moment things go south.
The cultural impact of the "New World"
- The Randy Newman Cameo: The scene where a mutant Randy Newman just sits under a tree singing about what he sees is peak 1999 humor.
- The Survivalist Tropes: Peter’s "suit of dehydrated meals" is a joke that actually aged incredibly well given the modern "prepper" culture.
- The Twist: The fact that the world actually did end was a massive subversion of expectations. Usually, sitcoms return to the status quo by the 22-minute mark. Family Guy waited until the final 30 seconds to reveal it was all a dream.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re revisiting this classic, pay attention to the background characters. The "post-apocalyptic" versions of Quahog’s citizens are surprisingly detailed. You’ll see the start of running gags that lasted for decades.
To get the most out of the experience:
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- Watch the original broadcast version if possible. Some streaming versions have slightly altered timing on the cutaway gags.
- Look for the "Natick" signs. It's a great example of early 2000s regional humor.
- Contrast it with "Y2K" episodes of other shows. Compare it to The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror X" or Dilbert. You'll notice Family Guy was much more cynical.
Da Boom isn't just a funny episode about a nuclear winter. It’s the moment the show stopped being a follower and started being a leader in adult animation. It embraced the random, the cruel, and the bizarre. Without the Twinkie factory and the giant chicken, we probably wouldn't have the next 20+ seasons of the show.
Actionable Insight for Fans:
If you want to dive deeper into the history of this era, look for the Season 2 DVD commentaries. Seth MacFarlane and the original writers discuss the "Dallas" parody in detail and explain how they almost got sued for some of the likenesses used in the apocalypse scenes. Also, check out the Natick, MA historical society's occasional nods to the episode—yes, they are aware of their "Twinkie" fame.