"Dog Gone" | |
---|---|
Family Guy episode | |
Episode no. | Season 8 Episode 8 |
Directed by | Julius Wu |
Written by | Steve Callaghan |
Production code | 7ACX07 [1] |
Original air date | November 29, 2009 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Dog Gone" is the eighth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy . It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 29, 2009. The episode features Brian, the family pet, attempting to prove that a dog's life is just as important as that of a human, after he accidentally kills another dog with no consequences. Meanwhile, the Griffin family hires Consuela, a stereotypical Hispanic woman, as the household maid, which they each end up regretting once she takes advantage of the family's home.
First announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, the episode was written by series showrunner Steve Callaghan and directed by Julius Wu. It received high praise from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving some criticism from PETA. [2] According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 8.48 million homes in its original airing. [3] The episode featured guest performances by Chris Matthews, Nathan Gunn, Eddie Sotelo, Fred Tatasciore and Kel MacFarlane, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Dog Gone" was released on DVD along with seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
Brian receives an invitation to an award ceremony celebrating his novel, Faster Than the Speed of Love, by the Rhode Island Society for Special Literary Excellence. Convinced he is a great writer, Brian attempts to gain the family's interest, but they callously disregard him. Once he arrives at the "award ceremony", however, he discovers that he has misunderstood the meaning of the word "special", prompting him to drown his sorrows at the local bar and realize that he is not a good writer. He drives home drunk that night and accidentally runs over and kills a dog. He secretly buries the dead dog's body outside the Griffins' home and tries to keep quiet about it. Stewie, having witnessed his deed, begins to toy with Brian's guilt, eventually driving him to a state where he decides to confess to the "murder". However, when he confesses to Joe and the Griffin family, they all laugh, saying that no one cares if a dog or any other animal is killed, especially by another animal. [4] [5]
Outraged, Brian starts a support group, and decides to call it "The Quahog Animal Equal Rights League", to convince the town that the lives of animals should be of equal value to humans'. As the town citizens learn more about it, however, none of them are keen on changing their lifestyles if it means no processed meats and medical research on animals, and even become interested in how dogs taste after Brian mentions they are eaten in some cultures. Refusing to listen any further, they chase after Brian in an attempt to eat him.
Brian realizes that if no one cares about the lives of animals, then he is worthless to the Griffin family and everyone else. Stewie finds Brian crying in the bathtub, and, seeing how upset Brian is and feeling sorry for him, Stewie successfully fakes his death by putting his collar (which Brian hadn't been wearing) on a stray and killing it in a liquor store fire. The Griffins are devastated upon learning about Brian's supposed death, and realize how close a friend he was to them. Seeing this, Stewie rushes upstairs to show Brian how much the Griffins still care about him, regardless of his species. Brian then realizes his life does have a purpose and thanks Stewie for helping him, and decides to remain hidden to let the Griffins grieve a little longer.
Meanwhile, Quagmire accidentally knocks over a carton of Kool-Aid mix on the kitchen floor of the Griffin's house and leaves Peter to take the blame. Frustrated with having to clean Peter's messes, Lois hires a Hispanic maid named Consuela to clean their house. Consuela quickly proves to be very stubborn, refusing to leave after her work hours and sleeping at the Griffins' house overnight, much to Peter and Lois' annoyance. They try to fire her and even bribe her to leave, but she still refuses (though she takes the money they offer her anyway). In a last-ditch attempt, Peter finally gets rid of her by tricking her into inhaling chloroform on a handkerchief, and leaves her in a basket on Joe's front porch.
At the end, Peter lets the viewers know that everyone at Family Guy respects all living beings and assures the viewers that no animals were harmed in the making of the episode, but they are going hurt the feelings of an Italian opera singer by prematurely dropping the curtain on his performance –this is then shown onscreen.
First announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego, California on July 25, 2009, by future showrunner Steve Callaghan, [6] [7] the episode was directed by series regular, and former King of the Hill and The Oblongs director, Julius Wu, and written by Callaghan [8] before the conclusion of the eighth production season. The episode saw the reintroduction of the recurring character Consuela, a Hispanic maid whose first appearance was in the sixth season episode "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air". The character is voiced by main cast member Mike Henry. [9]
"Dog Gone", along with seven other episodes from Family Guy's eighth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, [10] a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse", and a mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke.
In addition to the regular cast, anchor and political commentator Chris Matthews, voice actor Fred Tatasciore, opera singer Nathan Gunn, radio personality Eddie Sotelo and Kel MacFarlane, webmaster of the Seth MacFarlane fan site, guest starred in the episode. [8] [11] Recurring guest voice actors Ralph Garman, writer John Viener, writer Mark Hentemann, actress Alexandra Breckenridge, writer Alec Sulkin and writer Danny Smith also made minor appearances. [8] [11]
In the opening scene of the episode, Stewie is seen going through Brian's internet history, which includes searches about himself on the internet search engine Google. Later, after going to the bar to drink, Brian talks to Bill, the father from The Family Circus syndicated comic strip. After Bill tells him he should have tried harder on writing his book, Brian responds by yelling that all Bill does is "judge" other people, and demands for him to go home and "fuck [his] wife in the face", to which Bill agrees. This is also later recognized by Peter the next day, when he is seen reading the funnies, and murmurs to himself, "this is a very shocking Family Circus." [2] [12]
News anchor and political commentator Chris Matthews' show entitled Hardball with Chris Matthews is referenced by Stewie when he suggests Brian is getting a big head, with the guest, United States Senator Harry Reid, then appearing on Matthews' forehead, suggesting Matthews is self-centered. After Reid continues to interrupt him, however, Matthews cuts to actor Kurtwood Smith, in which Matthews appears on Smith's forehead instead. [2]
Once Consuela is hired as the family maid, she first begins to annoy Peter by listening to stereotypical Latin music played loudly on a portable radio, in which the singer repeats the Spanish phrase "¡Muchos horn-os!" which literally translates to "many ovens" but within the context of the show is actually meant to be Spanglish for "many horns". In Consuela's final appearance in the episode, she is seen watching a commercial, which parodies local commercials urging viewers to hire a lawyer if they are in a car accident. [13]
In an attempt to try to prove that an animal has the same rights as humans, Brian starts an advocacy group, and is suggested by Lois to join PETA, but she is unable to enunciate the word differently from how she pronounces "Peter", leading her husband to become confused. The end of the gag has Chris stating his belief that Betty White is "in PETA", with his wording prompting Peter to yell, "That doesn't even make sense!" [2] [14] Brian goes on to create a public service announcement regarding animal rights, one of which involves a dog being "tortured" by having to listen to the radio show All Things Considered on National Public Radio, which the dog's owner leaves on for him before leaving the house. [14]
In an improvement over the previous four episodes, the episode was viewed in 8.48 million homes in its original airing, according to Nielsen ratings, despite airing simultaneously with Sunday Night Football , the television movie A Dog Named Christmas on CBS and Desperate Housewives on ABC. The episode also acquired a 4.4 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons , The Cleveland Show and American Dad! , but was ultimately edged out slightly by The Simpsons in total viewership. [3]
Reviews of the episode were highly positive, citing the Brian and Stewie storyline as a "solid attempt to tell a good story," and the Consuela scenes as "terrific." Ahsan Haque of IGN also noted that "the writers deserved some credit" for the episode, saying that, in comparison to past episodes the episode did not "come across as a haphazardly assembled string of [random] jokes." [2] Jason Hughes of TV Squad also found the Consuela scenes to be "hilarious," but found the final scene to be "strangely [...] uncomfortable," expecting Meg to be pushed out of the family hug. [13] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club praised the handling of Brian's character in the episode, and called the Peter and PETA gag "pretty cheap, but quite funny," giving the episode a B rating overall. [15]
In February 2010, for "rais[ing] public awareness of animal issues", "Dog Gone" won a Genesis Award for television comedy, winning over South Park episode "Whale Whores" and Monk episode "Mr. Monk and the Dog". [16] In a post on PETA's official blog, Amanda Schinke, however, was highly critical of the episode for its "myriad of violent deaths of cartoon dogs." In addition, she called for the show to "hire [writers] who can generate material that doesn't make us roll our eyes." [14]
Family Guy is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois, their children, Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their anthropomorphic pet dog, Brian. Set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, the show exhibits much of its humor in the form of metafictional cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture.
StewartGilligan "Stewie" Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by the series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Stewie was created and designed by MacFarlane himself, who was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company, based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane featuring a middle-aged man named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve.
Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom Family Guy. He is one of the main characters of the series and a member of the Griffin family. Created, designed, and voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is an anthropomorphic white labrador retriever who is Stewie Griffin's best friend and comic foil with the ability to speak, drive, and stand on two legs.
"Road to Rhode Island" is the 13th episode of the second season, and the first episode of the Road to ... series, of the American animated television series Family Guy, and the 20th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 30, 2000. In the episode, Brian volunteers to bring Stewie home from his grandparents' house in Palm Springs, but the pair miss their flight and must embark on a cross-country journey home. Meanwhile, Peter becomes addicted to watching a series of marriage counseling videos hosted by an adult film star.
"Brian: Portrait of a Dog" is the seventh and final episode of the first season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 16, 1999. The episode features anthropomorphic dog Brian after he swallows his pride, and joins a dog show, after much convincing, in order to win money for a new air conditioner. But after an argument over a trick gone bad, with his owner, Peter Griffin, Brian realizes he is a second-class citizen and runs away from home, landing him in the pound on death row. Desperate to save their dog, the Griffin family attempts to release Brian, and prevent him from being euthanized.
"I Take Thee Quagmire" is the 21st episode of season four of Family Guy, originally broadcast March 12, 2006 on Fox. In this episode, Peter wins free maid service for a week; he intentionally creates extra work for the maid, Joan. Quagmire meets her and instantly falls in love with her, leading him to propose to her after the second date. After the marriage, Quagmire comes to regret his new relationship, but learns that Joan will kill him and herself if he leaves her, so he fakes his own death.
"Whistle While Your Wife Works" is the fifth episode of season five of Family Guy, the last episode produced for Season 4. The show originally aired on Fox on November 12, 2006. The plot follows Peter losing his fingers after an accident while holding fireworks. Behind on his work and threatened with the possibility of dismissal, he asks Lois to catch up on his work for him, to which she agrees. However, he repeatedly attempts to seduce her, eventually succeeding, distracting her from the work. Meanwhile, Brian begins dating a woman named Jillian who, much to Stewie's delight, lacks general knowledge and intelligence.
"The Former Life of Brian" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of Family Guy. It was originally broadcast on Fox on April 27, 2008. The episode follows the Griffins' anthropomorphic dog, Brian, as he discovers that he is the biological father of a 13-year-old boy named Dylan. Dylan's mother, Tracy, leaves him with Brian after they meet and Dylan starts causing mischief at the Griffins' house.
"Stewie Kills Lois" and "Lois Kills Stewie" is a two-part episode of the sixth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, which was originally produced for the end of the fifth season. Respectively, both parts are the fourth and fifth episode of their season, and they premiered in the United States on Fox on November 4 and 11, 2007. In the former, housewife Lois receives cruise tickets as a birthday present from anthropomorphic dog Brian, and invites her husband, Peter, on the cruise with her. This upsets Stewie, and he ultimately appears to murder Lois while she is on the cruise, only to find out that she had survived the attack as the year passes. In the latter, Lois is able to expose Stewie as the villain that he is, but he soon accomplishes his dream of world domination.
The Griffin family is a fictional family and main characters in the animated television series Family Guy, and who also appear in The Cleveland Show. The Griffins are a dysfunctional family consisting of the married couple Peter and Lois, their three children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their anthropomorphic dog Brian. They live at 31 Spooner Street in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. Their family car resembles a red seventh-generation Ford Country Sedan. They were created by Seth MacFarlane, in model of his two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. The family and the show itself debuted on January 31, 1999, after Super Bowl XXXIII, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".
"The Man with Two Brians" is the fifth episode in the seventh season and the 115th episode overall of the American animated television series Family Guy. It premiered on Fox in the United States on November 9, 2008. The episode centers on anthropomorphic dog Brian after he is injured during a stunt being enacted by his owner, Peter, after he watches Jackass with his friends. The family comes to realize that Brian may be getting too old, so Peter brings home a new, optimistic dog. Brian is prompted to leave when his family begins to favor New Brian over him.
The eighth season of animated television series Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in twenty-one episodes from September 27, 2009, to May 23, 2010, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It ran on Sunday nights between May and July 2010 on BBC Three in the UK. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog.
"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009, along with the series premiere of The Cleveland Show. In "Road to the Multiverse", two of the show's main characters, baby genius Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian, both voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, use an "out-of-this-world" remote control to travel through a series of parallel universes. They eventually end up in a world where dogs rule and humans obey. Brian becomes reluctant to return to his own universe, and he ultimately ends up breaking the remote, much to the dismay of Stewie, who soon seeks a replacement. The "Road to" episodes which have aired throughout various seasons of Family Guy were inspired by the Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, though this episode was not originally conceived as a "Road to" show.
"Brian's Got a Brand New Bag" is the fourth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It premiered on Fox in the United States on November 8, 2009. The episode follows anthropomorphic dog Brian as he dates a middle-aged woman named Rita whose daughter has stood Brian up. He becomes reluctant to continue their relationship after discovering her numerous health concerns; also, his family continually harasses him. The episode premiered during an "all–Seth MacFarlane" schedule, preceding the live-action episode Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show.
"Quagmire's Baby" is the sixth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 15, 2009.
"Big Man on Hippocampus" is the tenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 3, 2010. The episode features Peter after he suddenly begins suffering from amnesia, and can no longer remember anything about his life, including his own family and friends. His wife, Lois, attempts to reintroduce Peter to his surroundings, but he soon discovers partying, and having sex with other women is much more entertaining. Frustrated, Lois decides to leave her husband, causing her neighbor, Quagmire, to attempt to win her over.
"Dial Meg for Murder" is the 11th episode of season eight of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 31, 2010. The episode follows teenager Meg as she visits an inmate at the local prison and falls in love with him. She eventually ends up hiding the fugitive in the Griffin family home, however, and is convicted and sent to jail. After returning home, she becomes a hardened criminal, who continually tortures her family.
"Stewie Goes for a Drive" is the fourth episode of the tenth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, and the 169th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 6, 2011. The plot depicts actor Ryan Reynolds moving into the house across the street, and Peter Griffin befriending him. Ryan flirts with Peter, making Peter uncomfortable, and their friendship ends. Meanwhile, Stewie takes Brian's car for a joy ride, and crashes it into a lamp post. Fearing the consequences, Stewie runs away from home, but then needs Brian's help when he ends up in a bad part of town.
"Life of Brian" is the sixth episode of the twelfth season and the 216th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 24, 2013, and is written by Alex Carter and directed by Joseph Lee.