Secondhand Spoke

Last updated
"Secondhand Spoke"
Family Guy episode
Episode no.Season 12
Episode 15
Directed by Julius Wu
Written byDave Ihlenfeld
David Wright
Production codeBACX12
Original air dateMarch 30, 2014 (2014-03-30)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Fresh Heir"		Next →
"Herpe the Love Sore"
Family Guy season 12
List of episodes

"Secondhand Spoke" is the fifteenth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 225th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on March 30, 2014, and is written by Dave Ihlenfeld and David Wright and directed by Julius Wu. [1] In the episode, Peter is asked to be the face of an anti-smoking campaign just as he has taken up the habit of smoking cigarettes, while Stewie helps Chris face bullies at school.

Contents

Plot

Peter takes umbrage at Stella taking extra breaks to smoke at work and decides to start smoking. He soon begins smoking every chance he gets to stop whatever task he is doing. When Peter's smoking begins to affect his sex life with Lois, she tries to make him stop but he is unable to break the habit and starts sneaking smokes during any little task, causing him to become increasingly fidgety and irritated and deteriorating his appearance. At a stop-smoking clinic, a man named Mr. Stone wants Peter to be the face of their anti-smoking campaign but Peter must continue smoking to maintain his poor health. Peter appears in advertisements and becomes a celebrity, but his health continues to suffer to Lois' irritation. After Stone discovers that Peter is unremarkable after a NASCAR event, he releases him, to Peter's sorrow. Back at home, Peter announces that he is ready to go back to normal, but Lois and Brian explain that the damage he had suffered through smoking is irreversible.

Meanwhile, Brian gives Chris a ride to school, where he is confronted by four bullies. Seeing this, Stewie feels sorry for him and later offers to help him. He goes to school with Chris the next day and preps him to insult the bullies back; Chris flubs it, so Stewie hides in Chris' backpack to coach him, which is successful. The bullies later target Neil Goldman during lunch; Chris intervenes and soon becomes popular and nominated for class president as a result of Stewie's coaching. However, Chris kidnaps an unwilling Stewie to keep him handy, keeping him in his backpack. At the debate, Stewie points out that Chris has become the bully himself, and he realizes the truth. He drops out of the race and asks for Stewie's forgiveness. At home, Stewie congratulates Chris for his guts and mentions that two of the bullies who picked on Chris committed suicide over Chris' rebuttals.

Reception

Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, saying "Phew. “Secondhand Spoke” is just a solid, middle-of-the-road episode of Family Guy, and after the last couple of weeks, that’s all I really wanted. Everything in this episode is pretty straightforward, within the bounds of the characters (for the most part), and doesn’t use horrible sources of humor. Exhale (with smoke). The good qualities of this episode are immediately apparent, when, after a brief scene of Chris getting bullied to set up the B-story, we jump right into the main plot: Peter getting addicted to cigarettes. Starting the main story without a few minutes of unrelated material is rare for this show, and it calls attention to how tightly plotted this episode is for a half-hour of Family Guy." [2]

The episode received a 2.1 rating in the 18–49 years old demographic and was watched by a total of 4.17 million people. This made it the most watched show on Animation Domination that night, beating American Dad! , Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons . [3]

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">Chris Griffin</span> Fictional character from the Family Guy franchise

Christopher Cross Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the second of three children of Peter and Lois Griffin and is also the older brother of Stewie Griffin and the younger brother of Meg Griffin. He is voiced by the American actor, producer, and writer Seth Green and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999.

"Deep Throats" is the 23rd episode of season four of the television series Family Guy. The episode aired on Fox on April 9, 2006. It was written by Alex Borstein and directed by Greg Colton. Appalled at parking charges introduced by Mayor West, Brian decides to expose the corruption of the Mayor, despite the prospect of potentially destroying Meg's new career as the Mayor's intern. Meanwhile, Peter and Lois decide to participate in the Quahog community talent show with a folk singing act, as they did in the 1980s, but the couple becomes largely reliant on marijuana for inspiration and eventually fail the competition for their poor performance, despite their belief that they were singing well when under the influence of the drugs.

"The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of Family Guy, which originally aired on Fox on February 18, 2007. The episode follows Stewie, who develops a tan, but becomes obsessed with his new look and attempts to keep it, eventually stopping after being told by a doctor that he may now have cancer. Meanwhile, Peter discovers Chris being tormented by a bully, and after a series of events, becomes a bully himself.

<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".

"Mom's the Word" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 222nd episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on March 9, 2014, and is directed by John Holmquist and written by Ted Jessup. In the episode Peter's mother, Thelma Griffin, dies of a stroke. After the funeral, Thelma's friend Evelyn arrives to support Peter, but ends up kissing him. The episode marked Lauren Bacall's final television role.

"Finders Keepers" is the first episode of the twelfth season and the 211th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States and Canada on September 29, 2013, and is written by Anthony Blasucci and Mike Desilets and directed by John Holmquist. In the episode, Peter is convinced that a placemat at a restaurant is a treasure map. The rumor of supposed treasure sparks a citywide search, turning the residents of Quahog against each other.

"A Fistful of Meg" is the fourth episode of the twelfth season and the 214th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 10, 2013, and is written by Dominic Bianchi and Joe Vaux and directed by Joe Vaux. In the episode, Meg tries to get out of a fight with a tough bully while Brian retaliates against Peter for posing naked. The episode was made to reference 1987 teen comedy film Three O'Clock High.

"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.

Life of Brian (<i>Family Guy</i>) 6th episode of the 12th season of Family Guy

"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.

"Christmas Guy" is the eighth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 218th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on December 15, 2013, and is written by Patrick Meighan and directed by Greg Colton.

"Peter Problems" is the ninth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 219th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on January 5, 2014, and is directed by Bob Bowen and written by Teresa Hsiao. In the episode, Peter is fired from the brewery forcing Lois to find a job. When Peter becomes impotent, he turns to his friends for help.

"Grimm Job" is the tenth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 220th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 12, 2014, and was directed by Joe Vaux and written by Alec Sulkin.

"He's Bla-ack!" is the twentieth and penultimate episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, and the 230th episode overall. Written by Julius Sharpe and directed by Steve Robertson, the episode first aired on Fox in the United States on May 11, 2014. The episode features the return of Cleveland Brown after the cancellation of his spin-off The Cleveland Show. In the episode, Cleveland and his family return to Quahog, but his friendship with Peter is tested when their wives argue about parenting.

"The Most Interesting Man in the World" is the seventeenth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 227th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on April 13, 2014, and is written by Tom Devanney and directed by Joseph Lee. The episode features Dennis Farina in one of his final appearances before his death. It is the last episode Ron Jones composed for the series, leaving Walter Murphy in charge of the musical score for future seasons.

"Brian's a Bad Father" is the eleventh episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 221st episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on January 26, 2014, and is directed by Jerry Langford and written by Chris Sheridan.

"Meg Stinks!" is the nineteenth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 229th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 4, 2014, and is written by Danny Smith and directed by Bob Bowen. In the episode, Meg goes for a college interview and becomes the life of a party while Brian encounters a skunk and after getting sprayed, must learn to survive in the wild.

"Herpe the Love Sore" is the sixteenth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 226th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on April 6, 2014, and is written by Andrew Goldberg and directed by Greg Colton. In the episode, Brian gives Stewie herpes. Meanwhile, Peter and his friends fight to rescue their favorite booth in the Clam bar after it is captured by another group of men.

"Chap Stewie" is the twenty-first episode and season finale of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 231st episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 18, 2014, and is written by Artie Johann and Shawn Ries and directed by Joe Vaux. In the episode, Peter and Chris ruin Stewie's TV time, prompting him to get revenge by travelling back in time to split Lois and Peter up so he is never conceived, but the plan goes awry when he is reborn into a British household similar to the ITV period drama Downton Abbey.

References

  1. ↑ "Family Guy Episodes - Family Guy Full Episode Guides from Season 13 on Fox". Tvguide.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. ↑ Thurm, Eric (31 March 2014). "Family Guy: "Secondhand Spoke"". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Good Wife', 'Resurrection', 'Crisis', '60 Minutes' & 'America's Funniest Home Videos' Adjusted Up; 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Down". Tvbythenumbers. 2014-03-23. Archived from the original on 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
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.