Much like "The Simpsons", "Family Guy" is one of those rare animated shows that seems determined to outlast humanity and maybe the entire universe. Realistically, no one expects the series to look or be the same as it was when it aired in the late '90s, but even the original pilot isn't the same as the first episode, "Death Has a Shadow," which debuted in January 1999.
Animator Robert Paulson, who worked on the show, uploaded the 1998 pilot of "Family Guy" to his website. What's instantly noticeable here is the animation style, which looks far less polished than the final effort that appeared on TV.
In addition, Lois Griffin has blonde hair instead of the usual red locks she boasts on the show. Another noticeable difference in the unaired pilot is how Chris Griffin is voiced creator Seth MacFarlane, who does a lot of voices on the show, but is voiced by Seth Green in the actual series.
As it turns out, MacFarlane did a bulk of the work on this pilot.
"[Fox] gave me about $50,000 for a production budget, and the idea was that I animate this thing by myself,” he told The New York Times in 2004. "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot. About six months later I handed it in, about 40 pounds lighter, and they were laughing, and they liked it enough to order 13.”
TV Pilots That Were Completely Reshot: Family Guy
