Airdate: April 11, 2010
When news hits that a black hole is eating up the solar system and the Earth will be destroyed in 24 hours, everyone in town goes out of their way to spend their last day on Earth, and when Peter admits he hates being around the kids and the news anchors admit that the whole thing was an April Fools' joke, Peter must win back his children's love.
"April in Quahog" contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Peter bluntly admits he hates being around his own kids and doesn't see any fault in his harsh words or see anything bad about it even when Lois calls him out on it.
- April Fools' Plot:
- The story about the black hole sucking up the Earth was nothing more than an April Fool's joke made by the people at Channel 5 News.Tom: Yes, April Fools. We, at Channel 5 News conducted the whole black hole story as part of our commitment to being festive around the holidays.
Diane: And with only 87 suicides and widespread looting, we think this was a pretty successful practical joke!
Brian: You DICKS! - There was also a real April Fool's prank to promote this episode, as promo pictures promised that Stan and Francine Smith and Hank Hill were to appear, but they didn't. But it turned out not to be a prank, as it would end up being used in a later episode.
- The story about the black hole sucking up the Earth was nothing more than an April Fool's joke made by the people at Channel 5 News.
- Big "WHAT?!": Chris' reaction when Peter flat out says he hates being around the kids.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Meg turns Peter's "Shut up, Meg" against him for once.Meg: Shut up, Dad!
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: After Stewie plays with his action figures, Stewie breaks the fourth wall by saying that parents who buy children "homoerotic" dolls are responsible for the gay son.
- Brick Joke: Twice Peter gets high from crystal meth and does crazy shenanigans. At the end, Brian accidentally gets high on the crystal meth after discovering the substance in the garbage.Brian: There's some awesome stuff in the garbage.
- Stewie catches Brian praying thinking the world is going to end and Brian tried to cover it up. Later, Brian goes to volunteer at the soup kitchen to fulfill a promise to 'someone'. Stewie then says that 'someone' is God.
- Brutal Honesty: What Peter says about hating being around the kids. That didn't just slip out; he meant to say that, as he wanted to be honest when it looked like they were going to die.
- Captain Obvious:Brian: Does it bite?Peter: Of course it bites. It's a lion.
- Comically Missing the Point: Everyone cheers finding out that the end of the world was a hoax and they're not going to die; then Chris remembers what their dad said about them earlier.Chris: Wait, what did Dad say about us?
- Crossing the Burnt Bridge: Peter spends the second half of the episode trying to make amends with the kids after admitting he didn't like them the moment everyone thought the world was supposed to end.
- The Dog Bites Back: After years of being told to "Shut up, Meg!" by Peter, Meg gets the chance to tell Peter to "Shut up, Dad!" when he tries to win back his kids affection.
- Driven to Suicide: According to the Channel 5 news report, 87 people committed suicide because of their apocalyptic fears stemming from the practical joke.
- Drugs Are Bad: Peter tries to come up with clever ideas to back his kids' affection — by snorting crystal meth. It does not work.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Brian has this reaction when Channel 5 reveals that the black hole story was all just an April Fools prank and angrily shouts "YOU DICKS!!"
- Epic Fail: Peter plays "Call of Duty" on the Xbox at the end, and does so bad, his teammates tell him to go and hide. What really pushes this into Epic Fail territory is that he throws a grenade at his own team while trying to crouch and blows them (and himself) up (somebody is then heard shouting "YOU SUCK!" at him through the headset).
- Eye Scream: Peter removes his eyeball while high on crystal meth.
- Foreshadowing: For the end of the world, Peter doesn't seem all that interested in spending the precious few hours he has left with his family. You'd think he hated them or something.
- Halfway Plot Switch: The first part has Peter on jury duty, the second part is about widespread panic over the world supposedly ending, and the third has Peter trying to be a better father.
- Hypocrite: Fearful over the world possibly ending, Brian resorts to praying to God. Stewie sees this and mocks him for it.
- Idiot Ball: The people of Quahog have never been all that bright, but they really hit a new low here; no one in the entire town thought to check cable news or the internet about the black hole? The fact that 'doomsday' was on April 1st should have been a dead give-away.
- Jerkass: Peter, although he shows some of his original Jerk with a Heart of Gold persona by the end when he tries to prove to his kids that he loves them after all.
- Karma Houdini: Despite causing widespread panic and chaos and leading 87 people to commit suicide, Channel 5 receives no ill repercussions for their trick. The closest they get is Brian calling them out.
- Mood Whiplash: Moments before time is about to supposedly run out, Lois confronts Peter about engaging in crazy antics instead of being with her during this time. Peter assures her that he loves her more than anyone else, and they hug. It's at that moment he says he hates being around the kids.
- N-Word Privileges: On his supposed last day, Peter decides to shout the N-word in an all-black neighborhood note . He comes back wearing Requisite Royal Regalia and a sash reading "King of the Black People".Peter: They respected me for it.
- Parental Neglect: Peter outright admits he doesn't like spending any time with his children.
- Running Gag: When Peter's prejudice against ants doesn't get him out of jury duty, he has one other option, asking, "Oh, have you not heard?"Bailiff: Heard what?
Peter: A-well-a bird bird bird / B-Bird's the word / A-well-a bird bird bird / B-Bird's the word, a-wel— - Series Continuity Error: Before Peter realises that jury duty is something every American citizen has to do, he thinks he's been "selected" because he's "important". However, an earlier episode shows that he has been called up for jury duty before (and he knew what it was, because he tried to get himself kicked out, just like he does in this episode).
- Shout-Out:
- In the cutaway at the Academy Awards, the nominees Peter puts in the ballot box include Grover, Bluto, Red Guy, a boob, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis had actually won two Oscars previously.
- When Peter is trying to get Chris to like him again with crystal meth, there is a poster of a Machoke from Pokémon.
- Brian laughs like Muttley from Wacky Races.
- When Mayor West flies up on his jet pack into space, he flies up to the constellation Orion. He hits the stars, making the stars spin and form the logo of Orion Pictures, a defunct film company active from 1978-1998.
- At the end, Peter plays Call of Duty on the Xbox and absolutely sucks at it.
- Spoof Aesop: "If you can't earn your kids' respect, you can always buy it."
- Troll: One scene implies that Peter is well aware that him singing Surfin' Bird is annoying, since he sings it in an attempt to get kicked out of jury duty.
- Wham Line: Peter to Lois: "I just hate being around the kids."
- What the Hell, Hero?: The kids are openly pissed at Peter for what he said about them. Lois also condemns him for his attitude.
