Quagmire's Dad

Last updated
"Quagmire's Dad"
Family Guy episode
Quagmire's Dad screenshot.jpg
Brian Griffin vomiting upon learning that he slept with Quagmire's father.
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 18
Directed by Pete Michels
Written by Tom Devanney
Production code7ACX19 [1]
Original air dateMay 9, 2010 (2010-05-09)
Guest appearance
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Brian & Stewie"		Next →
"The Splendid Source"
Family Guy season 8
List of episodes

"Quagmire's Dad" is the 18th episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy . It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 9, 2010. The episode features Quagmire after his father, Dan Quagmire, returns to the fictional city of Quahog and comes out as a trans woman. Dan has decided to have gender-affirming surgery and changes her name to Ida. Meanwhile, Brian travels to a seminar and, upon returning, has sex with Ida, who he does not realize is Quagmire's father.

Contents

The episode was written by Tom Devanney and directed by Pete Michels. It received generally negative reviews with most critics and audiences making comparisons between the episode and the 2007 film I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry , in addition to receiving some criticism for its portrayal of transgender identity, including from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Parents Television Council. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 7.22 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured a guest performance by Wally Wingert, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Quagmire's Dad" was released on DVD along with ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.

Plot

Peter and Joe visit Quagmire and are introduced to his father, Lieutenant Commander Dan Quagmire. Expecting to see the inspiration for Quagmire's sexual behavior, they are surprised by Dan's stereotypically gay mannerisms.

The next morning, Quagmire invites Peter and Lois to the Naval Ball being held to honor his father, but soon begins arguing with Peter about his father's sexuality. At the ball that night, members of the Navy bombard Quagmire with compliments about his war-hero father, most of which can be taken as double entendres about Dan's alleged homosexuality. Concerned that his dad might actually be gay, Quagmire confronts him and Dan states that he is not gay, but is instead "a woman stuck in a man's body" and that he plans to have a sex change operation during his stay in Quahog, much to Quagmire's dismay. The surgery is a success, with Quagmire's dad emerging as "Ida".

That night, Ida and Quagmire join the Griffins for dinner. As the dinner begins, however, Quagmire becomes frustrated when the Griffins turn the conversation towards Ida's operation, and storms out of the room. At Quagmire's home, Quagmire tells Ida that he is not sure he can deal with her new gender identity. Saddened, Ida leaves Quagmire's home and decides to stay at a nearby Marriott Hotel.

Meanwhile, Brian has been out of town attending a seminar on creating a web series and is unaware of what has happened. On his way home, Brian stops at the Marriott, meets Ida, and has a few drinks with her. Quickly bonding, they retire to Ida's room for sex.

The next morning, Brian shares his newfound love with Peter and Lois before showing them a picture of Ida on his cell phone. Peter and Lois go into hysterics, while Brian, still unaware of the whole story, dismisses them as jealous. After Stewie fills him in on the events that transpired in his absence, telling him that Quagmire's newly gender reassigned father has been staying at the same hotel as Brian, Brian is amused until Stewie informs him that Dan Quagmire's new name is Ida. Realizing that he has had sex with Quagmire's transsexual father, Brian vomits profusely for thirty seconds straight, and then he and Stewie begin panicking.

Ida returns to Quagmire's home and apologizes, and Quagmire returns the favor, reconciling their relationship. Ida tells Quagmire that she met someone, and he is initially excited to know who it was. However, when she reveals that it was Brian, whom Quagmire loathes, he becomes enraged.

Brian is traumatized after finding out about Ida and, when he hears Quagmire storming inside the house, he tries to hide under Peter and Lois's bed, but Quagmire finds him and brutally beats him up, thus ordering him to stay away from him and his family. As Quagmire leaves, Brian retaliates by telling him "Hey, I fucked your dad", before angrily slamming the door shut.

Production and development

Seth MacFarlane provided the voice of Dan Quagmire and Ida Davis. Seth MacFarlane by Gage Skidmore 5.jpg
Seth MacFarlane provided the voice of Dan Quagmire and Ida Davis.

The episode was written by Tom Devanney and directed by series regular Pete Michels. It is the second episode of the season Devanney and Michels worked on, the first being "Brian's Got a Brand New Bag", before the conclusion of season 8. [2] The episode saw the introduction of Quagmire's father, Lieutenant Commander Dan Quagmire, a former officer with the United States Navy who later becomes Ida Quagmire. [3] The character was voiced by main cast member, series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane. [2] Series regulars Peter Shin and James Purdum served as supervising directors, with Andrew Goldberg and Alex Carter working as staff writers for the episode. [2] Composer Ron Jones, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "Quagmire's Dad". [4] The original design of Ida Quagmire was created by MacFarlane, and designed to resemble English actor Paul Bettany. It was later adapted upon by Pete Michels. [5]

"Quagmire's Dad", along with the eleven other episodes from Family Guy's eighth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on December 13, 2011. The sets include brief audio commentaries by various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes and animatics, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "And Then There Were Fewer", a mini-feature entitled "The Comical Adventures of Family Guy – Brian & Stewie: The Lost Phone Call", and footage of the Family Guy panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. [6] [7]

In addition to the regular cast, voice actor Wally Wingert guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actor Ralph Garman, and writers Chris Sheridan, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin and John Viener made minor appearances. [2] Recurring guest voice actor Patrick Warburton reprises his role of Joe Swanson.

The bit of Peter and Joe texting each other exists in two versions: one with Peter texting Joe back but was autocorrected, or using the term "phoque" to describe how gay Quagmire's father is.

Cultural references

After announcing that his father is being honored by the Navy, Quagmire says his father was his greatest hero growing up. Peter then claims that his own hero while growing up was DC Comics superhero Aquaman, in addition to his alter ego Arthur Curry. [8] When Quagmire introduces his father to Peter and Joe, Nancy Sinatra's single "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" begins playing on Quagmire's stereo while Dan Quagmire dances down the stairs. [9] Upon emerging from her surgery, Ida asks what Quagmire and Peter think of the operation and Peter, as he had suggested to Quagmire during the surgery, sings the hit single "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. [8]

Reception

In a slight decrease from the previous week, the episode was viewed in 7.22 million homes in its original airing, despite airing simultaneously with Desperate Housewives on ABC, Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, and the television film Jesse Stone: No Remorse on CBS. The episode also acquired a 3.8 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons , The Cleveland Show and American Dad! in both ratings and total viewership. [10]

Reviews of the episode were generally negative with most critics and audiences making comparisons between the episode and the 2007 film I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry . Ramsey Isler of IGN noted his enjoyment of Dan Quagmire's character traits: "I'll give the writing team credit for this little plot twist, as I'm sure we were all expecting the elder Quagmire to be even more of a womanizer than his son." [3] Regarding the episode's treatment of LGBT issues, Jason Hughes of TV Squad stated, "there's a gold mine of material to dig into for satire and comedy; comedy which will likely offend as many people as the real issues do." [11] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club noted, "the scenes where the mockery seemed a little too mean-spirited were definitely out of the show's worst sections of its toolkit". [12] Tom Eames of entertainment website Digital Spy placed the episode at number ten on his listing of the best Family Guy episodes in order of "yukyukyuks" and praised Brian's line of 'Hey... I fucked your dad' after Quagmire attacks him, describing it as "amazing". [13]

The episode was criticized for its portrayal of transgender people, particularly regarding the way Ida was treated by other characters. [14] Food that Ida prepared for the dinner party at the Griffin house was thrown out and Brian's learning of her sex-reassignment surgery after he had sex with her caused him to "violently" vomit for 30 unbroken seconds. [14] [15] Speaking with LGBT media website AfterElton.com in January 2010, series creator Seth MacFarlane mentioned the episode in response to concerns over how his animated series have portrayed LGBT characters. "It always distresses me when I hear that the gay community is upset with us, because that's one group of people I hope would know we're on their side. I can safely say that the transsexual community will be very, very happy with the 'Quagmire' episode that we have coming up in a couple of months. It's probably the most sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual character that has ever been on television, dare I say." [16] In a subsequent review, AfterElton.com writer Brent Hartinger graded the episode negatively. While noting that the episode deserves credit for making important points about transgender people, he found its inclusion of the vomiting scene and Lois and Peter's perceived transphobic remarks about Ida to be "shockingly insensitive". Hartinger continued, "Frankly, it's literally impossible for me to reconcile last night's episode with MacFarlane's words, unless I come to the conclusion that the man is pretty much a complete idiot." [16] GLAAD, an LGBT media watchdog organization, released a statement about the episode, noting that "GLAAD shares the serious concerns being voiced from members of the community and GLAAD's Entertainment Media Team is addressing these with Fox. Next steps will be decided at that point." [17] In a September 2010 interview in Details , MacFarlane expressed surprise at the negative reaction, stating "I don't meet a lot of stupid homosexuals." [18] He repeated that he still felt Ida was a "very sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual character". [18] He also defended Brian's vomiting after discovering he had sex with someone who had undergone sex reassignment surgery noting Brian's character is heterosexual and "If I found out that I had slept with a transsexual, I might throw up in the same way that a gay guy looks at a vagina and goes, 'Oh, my God, that's disgusting.'" [18] Eames (Digital Spy) believed the episode was "surprisingly kind" to the transgender community for "Family Guy standards". [13]

The Parents Television Council, a conservative campaigning group and frequent critic of MacFarlane's work, named "Quagmire's Dad" as its "Worst TV Show of the Week" citing Dan Quagmire's "outrageously stereotyped gay" character, violence and sexual innuendo. The PTC specifically cited the innuendo-laced dialogue throughout the episode, a "straight 30 straight seconds [ sic ]" of vomiting after Brian learns of Ida's previous identity, Quagmire's erection while embracing Ida and the violence of the final scene. [19] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewie Griffin</span> Fictional character from the Family Guy franchise

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Griffin</span> Fictional character from the Family Guy franchise

Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom 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. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on Larry & Steve, a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. For the series, Larry was renamed Peter.

"Brian Sings and Swings" is the 19th episode of the fourth season and the 69th episode of Family Guy. The episode was first broadcast on Fox on January 8, 2006. Brian meets Frank Sinatra Jr. and begins to perform on stage with him, and they are shortly joined by Stewie. Meanwhile, Meg pretends to be a lesbian after being offered a chance to join the Lesbian Alliance Club at her school.

<i>Family Guy</i> controversies Public criticism of the American adult animated sitcom Family Guy

The American adult animated sitcom Family Guy has been the target of numerous taste and indecency complaints. The show is known to include offensive jokes including racial humor and violent, gory, and disturbing images.

"Mother Tucker" is the second episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on September 17, 2006. The episode follows Peter's mother, Thelma, divorcing Peter's father, Francis, and dating news anchorman Tom Tucker. Peter becomes closely attached to Tucker, only for his mother to end the relationship suddenly, leaving Peter feeling abandoned. Meanwhile, Stewie and Brian are employed as DJs on a local radio station, but have creative differences over the tone of the show, which eventually forces Brian to quit.

"Hell Comes to Quahog" is the third episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, an episode produced for Season 4. It originally aired on Fox on September 24, 2006. The episode follows Meg after she requests her parents to buy her a car. At the showroom, however, her father, Peter, decides to buy a tank, instead of the car Meg was interested in. Deciding to pay for a new car herself, Meg is able to get a job at Superstore USA, which eventually destroys the local economy of Quahog, and upsets the local community, leading Brian Griffin and Stewie to save the day.

"Saving Private Brian" is the fourth episode of season five of Family Guy, an episode produced for Season 5. The episode originally broadcast on Fox on November 5, 2006. The episode follows Stewie and Brian after they unintentionally join the United States Army, and end up leaving to serve in Iraq, only to return home when the war ends. Meanwhile, Chris joins a heavy metal band, and develops an anti-social attitude, which requires Marilyn Manson to intervene.

"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.

"Chick Cancer" is the seventh episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode originally broadcast on Fox on November 26, 2006. In the episode, Stewie's old friend and child actress, Olivia Fuller returns to Quahog. Stewie intends to sabotage what little is left of her career, but ends up falling in love with her, only for the relationship to end in ruins due to his personality. Meanwhile, Peter decides to make a chick flick after enjoying one he saw in the cinema with Lois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter's Two Dads</span> 10th episode of the 5th season of Family Guy

"Peter's Two Dads" is the tenth episode in the fifth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 2007. The episode was written by Danny Smith and directed by Cyndi Tang, with Greg Lovell as co-director. The plot follows Peter travelling to Ireland, along with Brian, to find his biological father, after he accidentally kills his stepfather at Meg's birthday party. Meanwhile, after Lois spanks Stewie for destroying her pearl necklace, he becomes fascinated with it and goes to great lengths to have her hit him again, but she was guilty for doing this and refuses to because doesn't want to hurt him again after making him cry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Quagmire</span> Family Guy character

Glenn Quagmire, who is usually referred to by his surname, is a fictional character from the American adult animated sitcom Family Guy. He is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family and is best known for his hypersexuality and his catchphrase, "Giggity Giggity". The show's creator and voice actor Seth MacFarlane describes him as "an appalling human being who is still caught in the Rat Pack era" based on anachronistic 1950s party-animal clichés. The episode "Tiegs for Two" revealed that the surname Quagmire was originally the Polish surname Quagglechek or Quaggleczyk, the suffix -czyk indicating a diminutive in the Polish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffin family</span> Fictional family in the Family Guy series

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".

<i>Family Guy</i> season 8 Season of television series

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road to the Multiverse</span> 1st episode of the 8th season of Family Guy

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spies Reminiscent of Us</span> 3rd episode of the 8th season of Family Guy

"Spies Reminiscent of Us" is the third episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 11, 2009. The episode pays homage to the 1985 comedy film Spies Like Us, featuring baby Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian as they discover that American spies Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd have moved into their neighbor Cleveland Brown's old house; they eventually follow them on a secret mission to Russia. Meanwhile, Peter, Joe, and Quagmire attempt to start an improv comedy group with very little success.

"Hannah Banana" is the fifth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 8, 2009. The episode follows Stewie Griffin after he sneaks backstage at a Miley Cyrus concert in Quahog, eventually discovering her horrible secret. Meanwhile, Chris Griffin proves to his family that the Evil Monkey who lives in his closet is actually real, and eventually comes to realize that the monkey is actually friendly, well-spoken and intelligent, when he begins spending more time with him than with his own father.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Brown Thanksgiving</span> 7th episode of the 1st season of The Cleveland Show

"A Brown Thanksgiving" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Cleveland Show. Written by Matt Murray and directed by Chuck Klein and Matt Engstrom, the episode originally aired on November 22, 2009 on Fox in the United States. In this episode, Cleveland Brown celebrates his first Thanksgiving with his new family, including his own parents and Donna's Auntie Momma.

"Brian & Stewie" is the 17th episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 2, 2010. The episode features Brian and Stewie after they are accidentally trapped inside a bank vault over a weekend. The two try to kill each other, and are ultimately forced to reveal their true feelings about each other, and eventually go on to question each other's existence and purpose in life. Brian and Stewie become even closer to each other as time goes on, and climactically help each other survive being trapped inside the vault. The bottle episode breaks from the show's usual set-up and is the only episode of the show not to feature any music or use any cutaway gags with Brian and Stewie being the only two characters featured in the entire episode. In repeats of the episode there is no main title sequence, nor is any music played over the end credits.

"Quagmire's Quagmire" is the third episode of the twelfth season and the 213th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 3, 2013, and is written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and was the last episode to be directed by Pete Michels, who had been involved with the series since its inception.

References

  1. ↑ "20th Century Fox – Fox In Flight – Family Guy". 20th Century Fox. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Family Guy – Quagmire's Dad Cast and Crew". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  3. 1 2 Isler, Ramsey (2010-05-10). "Family Guy: "Quagmire's Dad" Review". IGN . Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  4. ↑ Michels, Pete; Devanney, Tom; MacFarlane, Seth (2010-05-09). "Amish Guy". Family Guy. Season 8. Episode 18. Fox.
  5. ↑ Micheles, Pete (2011-12-13). Family Guy Volume Nine Audio Commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  6. ↑ Lambert, Dave (2011-06-24). "Family Guy – Does a Fan Site Message Board Have a List of Volume 9 DVD Contents and Extras?". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  7. ↑ Lambert, Dave (2011-07-21). "Family Guy – Street Date, Cost, and Other New Info for 'Volume 9' Come Out". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  8. 1 2 Smith, Danny (2010-05-09). Family Guy Volume Nine Audio Commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  9. ↑ Sheridan, Chris (2010-05-09). Family Guy Volume Nine Audio Commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  10. ↑ Gorman, Bill (2010-05-10). "TV Ratings: ABC Wins Another Slow Sunday; Amazing Race Lowest Finale Ever; Celebrity Apprentice Up". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  11. ↑ Hughes, Jason (2010-05-10). "Sundays With Seth: Some Sensitive Topics for Mother's Day". TV Squad. Archived from the original on 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  12. ↑ VanDerWerff, Emily (2010-05-10). ""Moe Letter Blues"/"Brown History Month"/"Quagmire's Dad"/"An Incident at Owl Creek"". A.V. Club. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  13. 1 2 Eames, Tom (19 March 2017). "The 16 best ever Family Guy episodes in order of yukyukyuks". Digital Spy . Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  14. 1 2 Jones, Arnold Wayne (2010-05-10). "'Family Guy': Funny or just plain offensive?". Dallas Voice. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  15. ↑ Garcia, Michelle (2010-05-10). "GLAAD Concerned Over Family Guy". Advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  16. 1 2 Hartinger, Brent (2010-05-10). "Is Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane a Complete Idiot?". AfterElton.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  17. ↑ Rosales, Jonathan (2010-05-10). "GLAAD Shares Community Concerns About Last Night's Family Guy". GLAAD. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  18. 1 2 3 Wallace, Amy (August 2010). "Seth MacFarlane Sounds Off". Details. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  19. ↑ Mifflin, Lawrie (1998-10-14). "TV Notes; A Call for Decency". New York Times . Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  20. ↑ "Family Guy on Fox". Parents Television Council. 2010-05-14. Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-05-15.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.