"Welcome Back, Carter" | |
---|---|
Family Guy episode | |
Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 3 |
Directed by | Cyndi Tang-Loveland |
Written by | Wellesley Wild |
Production code | 8ACX04 [1] |
Original air date | October 10, 2010 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Welcome Back, Carter" is the third episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy . It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 10, 2010. The episode follows Peter after he discovers his father-in-law, Carter Pewterschmidt is having an affair with another woman. Deciding to blackmail him, Peter begins taking advantage of his father-in-law's enormous wealth, before accidentally spilling the beans to Carter's wife, Barbara, who divorces him soon after. Peter then becomes Carter's wingman, and helps him rediscover his bachelorhood, as he begins navigating through the dating scene.
The episode was written by Wellesley Wild and directed by Cyndi Tang-Loveland. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 7.02 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Max Burkholder, Christine Lakin and Rachael MacFarlane, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Welcome Back, Carter" was released on DVD along with three other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
After deciding to visit her parents, Carter and Barbara Pewterschmidt, Lois, along with her husband, Peter, discover an old photo album showcasing Barbara and Carter's love for each other, as well as Barbara's short-lived affair during the "Great War with Alaska", during which, after returning home from combat, Carter reclaims his wife, and the two's love is shown to have lasted ever since. Becoming bored, Peter is tasked to call his father-in-law to dinner, and soon discovers Carter on his yacht, so he rows over to get him. He then sees Carter having sex with a dark-haired Asian woman. Carter demands he doesn't tell. Questioning his father-in-law's judgment, he eventually promises to keep the affair a secret from Barbara. The next day, at the Drunken Clam, Peter begins discussing the affair with Brian Griffin, Quagmire and Joe, who suggest Peter blackmail Carter as revenge for his constant mistreatment of Peter.
Visiting his wife's parents during the middle of the night, Peter informs Carter that he is now his personal slave, and must perform any task he wishes, including having a limousine joust, which ends with them experiencing massive blood loss, and writing witty catchphrases. Noticing Peter and Carter spending time together, Barbara and Lois soon witness the two taking a high-definition television out of the house. But while they are doing this, Peter accidentally spills the beans to Barbara about the affair, and Barbara is instantly devastated by this and runs of the room sobbing.
Enraged by this, Carter announces that he and Barbara are getting a divorce, causing Brian to suggest he meet other people. Taking him to the local club, Peter introduces Carter to the dating scene, where he soon meets Paula, an attractive blonde. Going on to demand an African American patron fetch him a drink, Carter is accused of being a racist by Paula, who leaves him. Continuing to desire Barbara, Carter decides to take a bouquet of roses to his former wife. While there, he discovers that Barbara has begun dating Roginald, the man she had an affair with during the war (who sings to her in the tune of 'The Miners Mother'). Announcing he has something important to say to Barbara, Carter confesses his love for her, and apologizes. Barbara then allows Carter to earn her trust by letting him move back in, and the two ultimately embrace in a passionate kiss.
The episode was written by series regular Wellesley Wild and directed by series regular Cyndi Tang-Loveland shortly after the conclusion of the eighth production season. [3] Series veterans Peter Shin and James Purdum, both of whom having previously served as animation directors, served as supervising directors for the episode, [3] with Andrew Goldberg, Alex Carter, Elaine Ko, Spencer Porter and Aaron Blitzstein serving as staff writers for the episode. [3] Composer Ron Jones, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "Welcome Back, Carter". [3] Series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane reprised his role as Carter Pewterschmidt, with main cast member and former series writer Alex Borstein providing the voice of Carter's wife, Barbara Pewterschmidt. [3]
"Welcome Back, Carter", along with the two other episodes from Family Guy's ninth 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. [4] [5]
In addition to the regular cast, child actor Max Burkholder, actress Christine Lakin, and voice actress Rachael MacFarlane guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actress Alexandra Breckenridge, actor Ralph Garman, and writers Patrick Meighan, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin and John Viener also made minor appearances. Actor Patrick Warburton appeared in the episode as well. [2] [3]
In the opening scene of the episode, Peter notices a painting of a ship in his mother-in-law's living room, and questions whether or not he can change the channel. Lois goes on to instruct Peter that it is not a television, with Barbara interrupting and telling him it is actually the television channel PBS. Peter then interjects his hatred of PBS, after viewing a nine-part series on traffic signs by director and producer Ken Burns, the fourth of which on the yield sign. [6] Later, after returning to dinner, Peter becomes an embarrassment to Lois, who recalls having dinner with Paul McCartney's ex-wife, Heather Mills, during which Peter began playing footsie with Mills, whose prosthetic leg ultimately falls off. [6]
In an attempt to make Barbara love Carter again, Peter instructs him that he must befriend a cute child in order to win her over. Peter then invites child actor Jonathan Lipnicki to the Griffin family home, but he is immediately shocked by his change in appearance. [6]
"Welcome Back, Carter" was broadcast on October 10, 2010, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by The Simpsons, and Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane's spin-off, The Cleveland Show, and followed by an episode of American Dad!. It was watched by 7.02 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, despite airing simultaneously with Desperate Housewives on ABC, The Amazing Race on CBS and Sunday Night Football on NBC, and falling only 15% from the previous week's broadcast. The episode also acquired a 3.4 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show in addition to significantly edging out all three shows in total viewership. [7]
Television critics reacted mostly mixed to "Welcome Back, Carter", calling the storyline "hit-or-miss." [8] In a simultaneous review of the episodes of The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show that preceded the show, and the broadcast of American Dad! that followed it, The A.V. Club's Rowan Kaiser noted the apparent lack of guest stars in the episode, adding, "I can't help but feel [it] is a good thing in for Family Guy." In the conclusion of his review Kaiser praised the "shock humor" in the limousine jousting scene, but compared Carter's catchphrases to "the kind of groan-inducing meta-humor that [...]The Cleveland Show aims for." He ultimately gave the episode a C rating, the second best rating of the night, beating The Cleveland Show episode "How Cleveland Got His Groove Back" and tying with the American Dad! episode "Son of Stan". [8] In a slightly more neutral review of the episode, Jason Hughes of TV Squad praised the episode's cutaways, stating that they "came back with a vengeance this week." Hughes went on to comment negatively on the scene involving Carter being woken up and hinting at incest with his daughter, noting, "It's weird that while the pedophile character of Herbert doesn't bother me at all, this potential admission really does. Maybe because it adds an element of incest, or seemed more genuine than Herbert's over-the-top antics. But really, it's just another throwaway gag in the world of Seth MacFarlane." [6] Actor Jonathan Lipnicki, who was parodied in the episode, responded to his portrayal by stating, "I don't feel bad about what they said on Family Guy. It was all in good fun, I've worked on that show [before]." [9]
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.
"Excellence in Broadcasting" is the second episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 3, 2010. The episode features anthropomorphic dog Brian, an adamant liberal, confronting conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh at a book signing in Quahog, and ultimately having a political change of heart when Limbaugh persuades him to read his latest book. Brian soon decides to become a devoted member of the Republican Party, and soon begins criticizing liberals. This leads Brian to become roommates with Limbaugh, and begin following him everywhere; Limbaugh eventually gets annoyed with Brian and ends up disclosing his true political convictions.
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.
Lois Patrice Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Lois was originally created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane for his 1995 student film, The Life of Larry.
"Death Has a Shadow" is the series premiere and the first episode of the first season of the American animated television series Family Guy. Written by series creator Seth MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin, the episode aired as a sneak peek on Fox in the United States on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII. In this episode, Peter loses his job after drinking too much at a stag party, causing him to fall asleep at work. He signs up for welfare to keep his wife Lois from finding out but gets much more money than he expected. After spending his money foolishly, Lois finds out and Peter decides to dump it from a blimp at the Super Bowl. He is arrested for welfare fraud and must await his family's rescue, as well as various performers who would later serve as frequent recurring and guest voices on the series.
"Peterotica" is the 24th episode from season four of the animated comedy series Family Guy. The episode was originally broadcast on Fox on April 23, 2006, and was written by Patrick Meighan and directed by Kurt Dumas. The title of the episode is a portmanteau of "Peter" and "Erotica".
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".
"Ocean's Three and a Half" is the seventh episode of the seventh season of the animated television series Family Guy. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on February 15, 2009. In the episode, Peter decides to induce his friend Joe Swanson's wife Bonnie into labor so that Joe will be able to spend more time with him. Bonnie gives birth to a baby girl named Susie, but Joe then has trouble with medical bills. Peter, Joe, Cleveland and Quagmire decide to rob Peter's father-in-law, Carter Pewterschmidt. Peter's wife and Pewterschmidt's daughter, Lois, convinces Joe to stop. Lois gets the money from Pewterschmidt by telling him she needs the money for a divorce lawyer. A subplot involves Stewie, who becomes infatuated with Bonnie's daughter Susie.
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.
"Business Guy" is the ninth episode in the eighth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 13, 2009. The episode centers on Peter as he assumes temporary control of his father-in-law Carter Pewterschmidt's billion-dollar empire after he suffers a heart attack and is in a coma. Peter immediately becomes power hungry, however, and develops several ridiculous items, prompting Lois and Carter, after he recovers from his coma, to try to trick him into relinquishing control of the company.
"It's a Trap!" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series Family Guy, which later served as the two-part season finale of the show's ninth season, and is the third and final part of the series' Star Wars parody trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It is named after the phrase uttered by Admiral Ackbar in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. The home video was first released on December 21, 2010, and the episode later aired on Fox in the United States on May 22, 2011.
The ninth season of animated television series Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 26, 2010, to May 22, 2011, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. Family Guy 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.
"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.
Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy consists of three episodes of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. The episodes are a crossover and parody retelling of the Star Wars original trilogy, consisting of the films Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983). The first episode, "Blue Harvest" (2007), was released to commemorate the original film's 30th anniversary. Due to its success, it was followed by two direct-to-video sequels: "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" (2010) and "It's a Trap!" (2011), which were subsequently aired on television in edited versions, omitting most profanity and sexual references. The trilogy was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the United States on December 21, 2010. Its title comes from a phrase Han Solo said to Chewbacca in The Empire Strikes Back as the latter was laughing at the former.
"Friends of Peter G." is the tenth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States on February 13, 2011. The episode follows Peter and Brian as they are forced to join Alcoholics Anonymous, due to their excessive drinking, much to their chagrin. Soon, however, Peter crashes his car while driving home drunk, and is approached by Death, who shows him what his life will be like if he continues to drink alcohol, as well as if he had never drank at all. Death persuades Peter that he has the willpower to put the bottle down sometimes.
"Seahorse Seashell Party" is the second episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series Family Guy, and the 167th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 2, 2011. The episode mainly centers around the Griffins, who are riding out an oncoming hurricane. In their attempt to pass the time, they participate in numerous activities and games. After being condemned by her family yet again, Meg, having had enough of being bullied over the years, loses her temper and confronts them for their abusiveness, eventually leading the entire family to turn their rage on each other. Meanwhile, Brian secretly consumes magic mushrooms which causes him to have hallucinations.
Night of the Hurricane is a 2011 crossover event on the Animation Domination lineup on Fox. The event involved the three animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane: The Cleveland Show,Family Guy andAmerican Dad!. The event depicts a hurricane which hits the towns of Stoolbend, Quahog and Langley Falls. The actual three-way crossover of the event occurs at the end on American Dad! with the three fathers of each family in the same scene.
"Grumpy Old Man" is the ninth episode of the tenth season of the American animated sitcom Family Guy, and the 174th episode overall. The episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 11, 2011. The episode follows Griffin family patriarch Lois Griffin's father, Carter Pewterschmidt, after he accidentally falls asleep while driving in a snowstorm. Concerned for his safety, Lois decides to admit him to a nursing home in Florida, in an attempt to help him adjust to life as an older man. Carter is reluctant to live in the retirement community, however, but eventually comes to enjoy the various activities at the home. Six months later, Carter suddenly becomes grumpy, and even more elderly, causing Peter to take him back to his old business and bring him back to normal.