Roads to Vegas

Last updated

"Roads to Vegas"
Family Guy episode
Episode no.Season 11
Episode 22
Directed byGreg Colton
Written by Steve Callaghan
Production codeAACX20
Original air dateMay 19, 2013 (2013-05-19)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Farmer Guy"		Next →
"No Country Club for Old Men"
Family Guy season 11
List of episodes

"Roads to Vegas" is the twenty-one episode of the eleventh season, and the 209th overall episode, of Family Guy . It follows Brian and Stewie as they head off to Vegas using a teleporting machine, which malfunctions and creates clones of themselves. The episode, which is the seventh in the series of Road to... episodes, originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 19, 2013, airing before the episode "No Country Club for Old Men". Together, the two episodes were promoted as being the season finale.

Contents

First announced at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, the episode was written by Steve Callaghan and directed by Greg Colton. The episode generally received positive reviews from critics upon release. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 5.28 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances from Alexandra Breckenridge, Ralph Garman, Gary Janetti, Joe Lomonaco, Patrick Meighan, Emily Osment, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin, and John Viener.

Plot

At the Quahog Gay Pride Day festivities, in a raffle sponsored by Weenie and the Butt, Brian wins tickets to see Celine Dion in Las Vegas. As they prepare to travel, Stewie convinces Brian to use the new teleportation device he has been working on instead. A flash of light reveals a disappointed Stewie and Brian standing on the device's platform, and they head off to the airport, but they do not realize that the machine produced an identical Brian/Stewie pair who were immediately transported to Vegas. The original Brian and Stewie then travel by plane to Vegas. As the duplicate pair check into the Bellagio hotel, their luck makes itself present immediately with duplicate Brian winning a large jackpot at the slot machines near the entrance. The original Brian and Stewie arrive and find their room has been already taken. As the duplicate pair have the time of their lives with great food, great nightlife, and a freshly purchased Ferrari that they use to kill a bunch of people in front of an Ed Hardy store, the original pair find themselves in a third-rate hotel nowhere near the Vegas Strip. Trying their luck in the hotel's slot machine, they quickly lose all of the money they brought.

The original Brian is ready to go home but Stewie admits that he already gambled away their return tickets. Brian admits he cannot call for help after taking money from Lois. Using money they got from a loan shark, they bet on a basketball game and lose yet again. Preparing to leave, the duplicated pair sitting nearby accidentally takes the empty backpack from the unlucky pair. In contrast, the original Stewie unknowingly takes the duplicated pair's backpack, which is full of cash.

As the pairs go their separate ways, an enforcer for the loan shark catches up with the duplicate pair (misidentifying the clones as the originals) to get the money back and discovers to his fury and their shock that they have no cash. The enforcer orders Brian to either accept his own death or sacrifice Stewie. Brian initially refuses to choose but when he panics, he tells the enforcer to shoot Stewie. A disgusted Stewie is murdered via a gunshot to the head, and the bookie threatens to kill Brian next unless he gets the money by the next day. Meanwhile, the original pair face their impossible situation of being unable to get the money or back or go home, and Brian agrees with Stewie's proposal that they commit suicide. They prepare to throw themselves off the top balcony of the hotel but Stewie chickens out at the last second, leaving Brian to fall to his death. A panic-stricken Stewie trips over his backpack and finds the money the other pair had won.

Returning home the next day, the duplicate Brian and original Stewie bump into each other at the bus terminal. Stewie realizes that the device had made clones of themselves. After deceiving each other about how their respective friend's deaths transpired, the unlucky Stewie, realizing that the money was the lucky Brian's, hides it away from him to stop him from getting greedy and to allow himself to return Lois' stolen money to her. The two then return home while the duplicate Stewie and original Brian greet each other coldly at the pearly gates of Heaven.

Production and development

Steve Callaghan wrote the episode. Steve Callaghan by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg
Steve Callaghan wrote the episode.

"Roads to Vegas" is the seventh episode of the series Road to.. hallmark which air through various seasons of the show. The episode was directed by Greg Colton, who previously directed the Road to ... episodes "Road to Germany", "Road to the Multiverse", and "Road to the North Pole". [1] [2] It was written by Family Guy veteran Steve Callaghan. "Roads to Vegas" is Callaghan's first writing credit for a Road to ... episode. [3]

In July 2012, the Family Guy panel first announced the episode at the San Diego Comic-Con International by giving a brief plot outline. [4] The episode was revealed as the penultimate episode of the series eleventh season, airing before the premiere of "No Country Club for Old Men". Together, the two episodes were promoted as the season finale. [5] [6] [7] On a press release, the Fox Network then officially announced the episode and described it as: [8]

Stewie and Brian use Stewie's time machine to go to Las Vegas for a Bette Midler concert, but chaos ensues when the machine malfunctions and creates alt-versions of the pair: a "lucky" version and an "unlucky" one.

Production of the episode began months in advance according to the episode's writer Steve Callaghan. "We're working over a year ahead of time," Callaghan says in an interview with Hollywood.com. He added "We work so far ahead I can even tell you the finale... the finale is a cool episode called 'Roads to Vegas.' It's like a roadshow and Stewie and Brian teleport themselves to Las Vegas, but in the process [they] unknowingly create a duplicate of one another." [9] In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Callaghan recalled the scene in the episode where Brian and Stewie consider joint suicide the most difficult scene for him to write in 2012. [10]

In addition to the regular cast, "Roads to Vegas" featured guest performances from actress Alexandra Breckenridge, actor Ralph Garman, voice actor Joe Lomonaco, and actress and singer Emily Osment. Recurring voice actors and series writers Gary Janetti, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin, and John Viener also made minor appearances throughout "Roads to Vegas". [3]

Reception

During its original airing, the episode was viewed by a total of 5.28 million viewers according to Nielsen ratings. This made it the most viewed episode to premiere that night on Fox's Animation Domination, edging out two episodes of The Cleveland Show and two episodes of The Simpsons . The episode received a 2.6 rating in the 18–49 demographic. [11]

The episode generally received positive reviews. Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+ and said that it "isn't typically as heavy on the usual stock jokes that weigh the show down, and the adventures of Brian and Stewie drive more interest than most other characters." [12] Carter Dotson of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.4 rating and called the episode and its sister episode, "No Country Club for Old Men", "a perfect representation of the wild extremes of this season." He added "it wasn't the funniest episode, but the way the parallel stories worked and intertwined was at least extremely interesting, lacking much of the lazy humor that at times plagued this season. [13] Mark Trammell of TV Equals said "All in all, an okay episode that benefited from the combination approach, but MacFarlane might want to retire both the time travel stuff and the "road picture"-approach after this one, as the well is clearly running dry ... To tell the truth, I didn't laugh as much as I wanted to". [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Family Guy</i> American animated sitcom

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.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road to Rhode Island</span> 13th episode of the 2nd season of Family Guy

"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. 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.

"Road to Rupert" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 28, 2007. It is the third episode in the Road to... series of episodes in Family Guy. The episode follows Stewie after Brian accidentally sells Stewie's beloved teddy bear, Rupert, during a yard sale. In an attempt to retrieve him, Stewie and Brian discover that the family Rupert was sold to are former neighbours who had since moved to Aspen, Colorado. As a result, Stewie and Brian travel across the United States to get Rupert back. Meanwhile, Peter has his driving license revoked for careless driving and is forced to be driven around by Meg, which annoys him.

"No Meals on Wheels" is the 14th episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 25, 2007. The episode features the Griffin family opening a restaurant, and eventually becoming overwhelmed by Joe Swanson and his wheelchair friends. With this, Peter decides to ban wheelchairs from their establishment, because they are "uncool". This causes Joe, along with his wheelchair-using friends to attempt to take back the restaurant, and prevent Peter from discriminating against them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewie Kills Lois and Lois Kills Stewie</span> 5th and 6th episodes of the 6th season of Family Guy

"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.

<i>Family Guy</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It premiered with the episode "Stewie Loves Lois" and finished with "Meet the Quagmires". The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and Brian, the family pet, who reside in their hometown of Quahog, a fictional city in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The executive producers for the fifth season were David Goodman, Chris Sheridan, Danny Smith and series creator Seth MacFarlane. Sheridan and Goodman served as showrunners for the fifth season.

"420" is the 12th episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It premiered on Fox in the United States on April 19, 2009. The title of the episode is a reference to the term "420" used in cannabis culture; "420" premiered on bicycle day, April 19, the day before April 20 (4/20), on which a counterculture holiday is celebrated centering on the consumption of cannabis. "420" focuses on the character Brian after he is arrested for drug possession, which prompts him to launch a campaign to legalize cannabis with help from Stewie; the liveliness of their campaign convinces Mayor West to legalize the drug, and most of Quahog's population begins using it.

<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.

"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.

"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 series 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.

The "Road to ..." episodes, also known as the Family Guy Road shows, are a series of episodes in the animated series Family Guy. They are a parody of the seven Road to... comedy films, starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road to the North Pole</span> 7th episode of the 9th season of Family Guy

"Road to the North Pole" is the seventh episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and co-written by Chris Sheridan and Danny Smith, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 12, 2010. In "Road to the North Pole", Stewie and Brian go on an adventure to the North Pole so that Stewie can kill Santa Claus. They discover a dreary, polluting factory full of inbred elves and carnivorous, feral reindeer, along with a sickly, exhausted and suicidal Santa. Stewie and Brian take pity on him and decide to fulfill Christmas by delivering gifts to the entire globe, albeit unsuccessfully.

"Lottery Fever" is the first episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. The 166th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 25, 2011. The episode follows the Griffins after they win the state lottery, and go on to spend the money with no regard. Peter becomes power hungry, and demands that Quagmire and Joe perform tasks for him when he invests in one of their projects. This ultimately causes the group to end their friendship, to the dismay of Peter's wife, Lois, who tells her husband that the money has changed him for the worse. After continually wasting the money on various expenditures, the family discovers that they have gone broke, and return to their lives as a lower middle class family. Peter also apologizes to Quagmire and Joe, repairing his broken friendships.

"Stewie Goes for a Drive" is the fourth episode of the tenth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. 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.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stewie" is the nineteenth episode of the tenth season of the animated television series Family Guy. The episode originally aired on FOX in the United States on April 29, 2012. In this episode, Stewie finds his perfect match, Penelope, and Peter and Quagmire decide to take their friendship to a new level after Lois buys twin beds. According to Nielsen ratings, "Mr. and Mrs. Stewie" was watched by 5.63 million U.S. viewers and acquired a 2.8/7 rating.

<i>Family Guy</i> season 11 Season of television series

The eleventh season of the animated comedy series Family Guy aired on Fox from September 30, 2012, to May 19, 2013. The season consisted of 22 episodes.

"Go, Stewie, Go!" is the 13th episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 14, 2010. The episode features Stewie after he auditions, cross-dressed under the pseudonym Karina Smirnoff, for a female role in the American version of Jolly Farm Revue, and eventually ends up falling in love with a female co-star on the show. Meanwhile, Lois finds herself attracted to Meg's surprisingly normal boyfriend, after she is asked by Peter to realize her advancing age.

"Road to India" is the twentieth episode and season finale of the fourteenth season of the animated sitcom Family Guy, and the 269th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 22, 2016, and is written by Danny Smith and directed by Greg Colton. The episode is the eighth and most recent in the series of Road to... episodes.

References

  1. ↑ "Family Guy – Road to the Multiverse – Cast and Crew". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  2. ↑ Colton, Greg; Wild, Wellesley; MacFarlane, Seth (2009-09-27). "Road to the Multiverse". Family Guy. Season 08. Episode 01. Fox.
  3. 1 2 Writers: Steve Callaghan, Director: Greg Colton (19 May 2013). "Roads to Vegas". Family Guy . Fox.
  4. ↑ Nicholson, Max (14 July 2012). "Comic-Con: More Movie Parodies for Family Guy?". IGN. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Magrath, Jordan (19 May 2013). "Family Guy Season 11 Finale 2013 "Road to Vegas; No Country Club for Old Men"". TV Equals. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Family Guy Finale Sneak Peeks: Peter Joins a Country Club and Brian and Stewie Head to Vegas". TV Overmind. 19 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Hibberd, James (14 July 2012). "'Family Guy' scoop: Peter breaking bad next season". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  8. ↑ Bryne, Craig (19 May 2013). "Family Guy: The One-Hour Season Finale Airs Tonight". Ksite TV. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Aguilera, Leanne (31 August 2012). "'FAMILY GUY' SCOOP: EXPECT HOOKERS, METH, AND JON HAMM". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Rose, Lacey. "Showrunners 2012: 'American Dad's Seth MacFarlane & Matt Weitzman, 'Family Guy's Mark Hentemann & Steve Callaghan, 'Cleveland Show's Rich Appel". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Simpsons' & 'The Cleveland Show' Adjusted Up, 'The Billboard Music Awards, 'America's Funniest Home Videos' & '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  12. ↑ McFarland, Kevin (20 May 2013). ""Road To Vegas/No Country Club For Old Men"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  13. ↑ Dotson, Carter (20 May 2013). "Family Guy Season Finale Review: Split Personality". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  14. ↑ Trammell, Mark (20 May 2013). "Family Guy Season 11 Review 'Road to Vegas'". TV Equals. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
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.