And Then There Were Fewer
Encyclopedia
"And Then There Were Fewer" is the first episode of the ninth season
of the animated
comedy series
Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on September 26, 2010. The episode follows the citizens of Quahog, Rhode Island
, after they are invited by actor James Woods
to his stately mansion on a remote island. While there, a series of murders occur, and the group struggles to determine who committed the mysterious acts, before ultimately attempting to escape from the island, and avoid being murdered themselves. Creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane
dedicated the episode to his mother, Ann Perry MacFarlane, who died of cancer on July 16, 2010.
The episode was written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
and directed by Dominic Polcino
. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 9.41 million homes in its original airing. The episode features guest performances by Drew Barrymore
, H. Jon Benjamin
, Max Burkholder
, Colin Ford
, Patrick Stewart
, Ashley Tisdale
and James Woods
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was the first episode of Family Guy to air in high-definition
. The episode was nominated for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
. "And Then There Were Fewer" will be released on DVD
along with two other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
, who states he has become a born-again Christian
thanks to his new girlfriend Priscilla, and wishes to repent for all his wrongdoings. Early into the night, as Woods and Priscilla go to the kitchen, Quagmire
's new companion, Stephanie, is mysteriously shot when she sits in Woods's seat, leading the guests to believe Woods intends to murder them all. They try to leave, but lightning strikes a tree, causing it to break the bridge
. Meanwhile the main road is flooded due to the storm. Returning amidst accusations, Woods pleads ignorance before he too is murdered in front of the guests with a knife during a power outage
, causing Priscilla to faint
. Trapped on the estate with no way of contacting anyone due to a thunderstorm, the guests realize that the killer is among them. They also discover that Stephaine's body has gone.
While the guests search for clues in discovering the killer's identity, they realise that many of them had motives for wanting revenge on James Woods. Tom did not take the part of Freddy Krueger
in Nightmare on Elm Street due to James advising him not to, Brian had the pilot of his series messed up by James, and Quagmire lost Cheryl Tiegs
due to him, while Consuela the Mexican Maid says he molested her nephew, causing him to 'shoot himself in the face'. After reading a notebook of his they find in a secret room, Mort Goldman's wife, Muriel, disappears after it is discovered that she was being blackmailed by Woods, causing everyone to suspect her as the culprit. Peter accidentally got Joe knocked out, so organises the groups, however several of them are separated from each other due to the secret passages. However, Muriel turns up dead soon after by being stabbed in the back with the same knife that killed James, placing suspicion on Priscilla, who also disappeared during the commotion. Jillian's husband, Derek, leaves to get higher up so he can find a cell phone signal so he can contact the police, but is soon murdered by the killer with one of Woods's Golden Globe Award
s. The guests search everyone's rooms until they locate the bloodstained award and Priscilla's dead body in Tom Tucker's guest room. Tom is thus implicated as the killer and is chased and caught by Peter
, Joe, Carl, Dr. Hartman, Quagmire
, Seamus, and Mayor Adam West
.
Tom is arrested by the police and the guests prepare to leave, Lois
goes to comfort Tom's co-anchor, Diane Simmons, only to intuitively realize she is the true murderer when she shows a dress for her solo debut on the news, even though she couldn't have known Tom would be leaving. Diane reveals that she had dated Woods until he dumped her upon her fortieth birthday, around which Tom arranged her to be replaced on the Channel 5 News. Seeking revenge, Diane bribed Priscilla to make James become a born-again Christian and throw the dinner party so she could murder Woods and frame Tom for the crime, but was forced to kill the other guests after her plan went awry upon Stephanie's accidental death. Priscilla woke up when she was removing the knife due to Joe pointing out her fingerprint
s were on it, so had her throat slit. When she was hiding the body in Tom's room, Muriel saw her so was stabbed. She did not have time to conceal the knife, but was able to wipe her fingerprints clean. She killed Derek to stop the Police getting involved. Diane then attempts to silence Lois by taking her outside and shooting her next to a cliff, only to be shot down from the cliff with a suppressed
sniper rifle
by Stewie
, who proclaims if anyone were to kill Lois, he would be the one to do it.
The episode was first announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, on July 25, 2009, by series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane
. It was directed by series regular Dominic Polcino
and written by series regular Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
shortly after the conclusion of the eighth production season
, which completed its airing on television on June 20, 2010. The episode takes its title from the Agatha Christie
novel And Then There Were None
, and was largely based on the 1985 comedy film Clue
. Series regulars Peter Shin
and James Purdum
served as supervising director, with Andrew Goldberg
, Alex Carter, Elaine Ko and Spencer Porter serving as staff writer
s for the episode. Composer Walter Murphy
, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "And Then There Were Fewer". "And Then There Were Fewer" was the first episode of Family Guy to be broadcast in high-definition
, with series showrunners Mark Hentemann
and Steve Callaghan
overseeing the transition. The episode was dedicated to series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry MacFarlane, following her death to cancer on July 16, 2010.
"And Then There Were Fewer", along with the two other episodes from Family Guys ninth season, will be 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 International.
In addition to the regular cast, actress Drew Barrymore
reprised her role as Jillian Russell, the former girlfriend of Brian; actor James Woods
, in his fifth appearance in the series, reprised his role as the overly exaggerated version of himself; actress Ashley Tisdale
(who is known for playing Candace Flynn
on the show Phineas and Ferb
) made her first official appearance on Family Guy as James Woods's girlfriend, Priscilla; and voice actor H. Jon Benjamin
reprised his role as Quahog Market owner Carl. Additionally, actors Max Burkholder
, Colin Ford
and Patrick Stewart
also guest starred in the episode in minor roles. Recurring guest voice actors Lori Alan
, John G. Brennan
, Nicole Sullivan
, Jennifer Tilly
, and John Viener reprised their roles as news reporter Diane Simmons, Quahog pharmacist Mort Goldman, Muriel Goldman, Griffin family
neighbor Bonnie Swanson, and Jillian's husband, Derek Wilcox, respectively. A minor appearance was also made by Family Guy writer and regular voice artist Danny Smith
.
The episode borrows heavily from the 1985 comedy film Clue
, and is largely based upon the 1939 Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None
. In the opening scene of the episode, once the Griffin family arrives at the mansion, Lois remarks on the estate's beauty, wondering if television host Jeff Probst
has a similar home. As dinner commences, Carl begins conversing with Tom Tucker, and discusses the plot of the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth
, directed by Jim Henson
.
After Tucker is accused of murdering James Woods, he reveals that Woods talked him out of auditioning for the lead
role in the 1984 hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street
. The finger is then pointed at Mayor Adam West
, who tells the group of his hardships on the social networking
service Twitter
, after Woods stole his originally intended username. Diane Simmons also goes on to state that Woods had promised to introduce her to former CBS
news anchor Dan Rather
, but ultimately ended up introducing her to actor and comedian Danny Bonaduce
instead.
While searching for Muriel Goldman throughout the mansion, Brian and Stewie begin humming and singing the theme song to several television shows, including the CBS science fiction series Lost in Space
, the CBS sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show
, and the ABC
soap opera
Dynasty
. After discovering the Bronze Globe Award underneath Tom Tucker's bed, Tucker begins to profess his innocence, with Peter then instructing him to "tell it to Mike Judge
."
, and Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane's spin-off, The Cleveland Show. It was watched by 8.85 million viewers in the episode's last half hour, and concluded with a total 9.41 million viewers in its second half hour, according to Nielsen ratings
, despite airing simultaneously with the season premiere of Desperate Housewives
on ABC
, the season premiere of The Amazing Race
on CBS
and Sunday Night Football
on NBC
. The episode also acquired a 4.3 and 4.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show in addition to significantly edging out both shows in total viewership. The episode's ratings were Family Guys highest since the airing of the season eight episode "Family Goy
".
Television critics reacted positively to "And Then There Were Fewer", calling the storyline "solidly funny, well-plotted, and nearly perfectly executed." In a simultaneous review of the episodes of The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show that preceded the episode, The A.V. Club's
Todd VanDerWerff commented that he enjoyed "the 'a bunch of people go to an isolated place and start getting killed' murder mystery sub-genre," and that the episode "made fun of the conceits of the genre." In the conclusion of his review VanDerWerff called the episode "excellent and fun," and "full of surprisingly gorgeous animation and a nicely creepy feel that hung over all of the jokes" and rated it as a B+, the best rating between The Simpsons episode "Elementary School Musical
" and The Cleveland Show episode "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner". Jason Hughes of TV Squad also praised the episode's writers for doing a "solid job of creating a genuine mystery throughout the hour, keeping us guessing as to who did it and what their motive may have been." Hughes went on to comment positively on the episode's numerous guest stars, and compared its portrayal of Diane Simmons to that of The Simpsons character Sideshow Bob
. Natalie Zutter of Ology also praised the episode, calling it, "Surprisingly, the best of the evening." In the summary of her review, Zutter wrote that it was a "fun murder mystery that lets us see all our favorite Quahog folks," while continuing to wonder whether the characters who were killed off would remain dead.. The episode has also proven popular amongst UK fans as it remains in the top 10 UK itunes TV show chart, 3 months after it aired.
Family Guy (season 9)
Family Guy ninth season 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...
of the animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
comedy series
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. It originally aired on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States on September 26, 2010. The episode follows the citizens of Quahog, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, after they are invited by actor James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
to his stately mansion on a remote island. While there, a series of murders occur, and the group struggles to determine who committed the mysterious acts, before ultimately attempting to escape from the island, and avoid being murdered themselves. Creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
dedicated the episode to his mother, Ann Perry MacFarlane, who died of cancer on July 16, 2010.
The episode was written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
Cherry Chevapravatdumrong is a Thai American author, and an executive story editor/co-producer on Family Guy....
and directed by Dominic Polcino
Dominic Polcino
Dominic Polcino is an animation director who has worked on The Simpsons, Mission Hill, King of the Hill, and Family Guy. Dominic worked on the first season of Family Guy, then left to direct for King of the Hill and then returned to Family Guy...
. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, it was viewed in 9.41 million homes in its original airing. The episode features guest performances by Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
, H. Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin
Henry Jon Benjamin , known professionally as H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Benjamin, is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his voice-over roles as Jason and Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, Ben on Dr...
, Max Burkholder
Max Burkholder
Maxwell Henry Wolf "Max" Burkholder is an American child actor most noticeable for his role Max Braverman, who has Asperger Syndrome, in the NBC series Parenthood. Prior to that, he became known as a voice actor, among his many roles were those of Chomper in The Land Before Time television series...
, Colin Ford
Colin Ford
Colin Ford is an American child actor and voice actor. He is best known for his role as young Sam Winchester in the 2005 TV Series, Supernatural.-Biography:...
, Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
, Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...
and James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was the first episode of Family Guy to air in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. The episode was nominated for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-Total Awards:* CBS - 10* ABC - 7* NBC - 6* FOX - 3* Syndicated - 3* Discovery Channel - 2...
at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2010 until May 31, 2011, was held on September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Fox televised the ceremony within the United States. Actress Jane Lynch hosted...
. "And Then There Were Fewer" will be released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
along with two other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
Plot
The residents of Quahog are all invited to a mansion dinner party by James WoodsJames Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, who states he has become a born-again Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
thanks to his new girlfriend Priscilla, and wishes to repent for all his wrongdoings. Early into the night, as Woods and Priscilla go to the kitchen, Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. Quagmire is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family. He is best known for his hypersexuality...
's new companion, Stephanie, is mysteriously shot when she sits in Woods's seat, leading the guests to believe Woods intends to murder them all. They try to leave, but lightning strikes a tree, causing it to break the bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
. Meanwhile the main road is flooded due to the storm. Returning amidst accusations, Woods pleads ignorance before he too is murdered in front of the guests with a knife during a power outage
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
, causing Priscilla to faint
Faint
Faint may refer to:* Syncope , a medical term for fainting* Faint , a song by Linkin Park* Feint, a maneuver designed to distract or mislead* Feint , a song by Epica* The Faint, a dance-punk/rock band....
. Trapped on the estate with no way of contacting anyone due to a thunderstorm, the guests realize that the killer is among them. They also discover that Stephaine's body has gone.
While the guests search for clues in discovering the killer's identity, they realise that many of them had motives for wanting revenge on James Woods. Tom did not take the part of Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
in Nightmare on Elm Street due to James advising him not to, Brian had the pilot of his series messed up by James, and Quagmire lost Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Rae Tiegs is an American model and actress.- Early years :Tiegs was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota but raised in Alhambra, California, and she graduated from Alhambra High School in 1965. She also attended the California State University, Los Angeles and became a little sister to the Sigma...
due to him, while Consuela the Mexican Maid says he molested her nephew, causing him to 'shoot himself in the face'. After reading a notebook of his they find in a secret room, Mort Goldman's wife, Muriel, disappears after it is discovered that she was being blackmailed by Woods, causing everyone to suspect her as the culprit. Peter accidentally got Joe knocked out, so organises the groups, however several of them are separated from each other due to the secret passages. However, Muriel turns up dead soon after by being stabbed in the back with the same knife that killed James, placing suspicion on Priscilla, who also disappeared during the commotion. Jillian's husband, Derek, leaves to get higher up so he can find a cell phone signal so he can contact the police, but is soon murdered by the killer with one of Woods's Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s. The guests search everyone's rooms until they locate the bloodstained award and Priscilla's dead body in Tom Tucker's guest room. Tom is thus implicated as the killer and is chased and caught by Peter
Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
, Joe, Carl, Dr. Hartman, Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. Quagmire is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family. He is best known for his hypersexuality...
, Seamus, and Mayor Adam West
Adam West (Family Guy)
Adam West, also known as Mayor West, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. The character, voiced by the actor of the same name, is the eccentric mayor of the town of Quahog, Rhode Island, where the series is set.-Character:...
.
Tom is arrested by the police and the guests prepare to leave, Lois
Lois Griffin
Lois Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane...
goes to comfort Tom's co-anchor, Diane Simmons, only to intuitively realize she is the true murderer when she shows a dress for her solo debut on the news, even though she couldn't have known Tom would be leaving. Diane reveals that she had dated Woods until he dumped her upon her fortieth birthday, around which Tom arranged her to be replaced on the Channel 5 News. Seeking revenge, Diane bribed Priscilla to make James become a born-again Christian and throw the dinner party so she could murder Woods and frame Tom for the crime, but was forced to kill the other guests after her plan went awry upon Stephanie's accidental death. Priscilla woke up when she was removing the knife due to Joe pointing out her fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s were on it, so had her throat slit. When she was hiding the body in Tom's room, Muriel saw her so was stabbed. She did not have time to conceal the knife, but was able to wipe her fingerprints clean. She killed Derek to stop the Police getting involved. Diane then attempts to silence Lois by taking her outside and shooting her next to a cliff, only to be shot down from the cliff with a suppressed
Suppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
by Stewie
Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
, who proclaims if anyone were to kill Lois, he would be the one to do it.
Production and development
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
. It was directed by series regular Dominic Polcino
Dominic Polcino
Dominic Polcino is an animation director who has worked on The Simpsons, Mission Hill, King of the Hill, and Family Guy. Dominic worked on the first season of Family Guy, then left to direct for King of the Hill and then returned to Family Guy...
and written by series regular Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
Cherry Chevapravatdumrong is a Thai American author, and an executive story editor/co-producer on Family Guy....
shortly after the conclusion of the eighth production season
Family Guy (season 8)
Family Guy eighth season first aired on the Fox network in twenty 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...
, which completed its airing on television on June 20, 2010. The episode takes its title from the Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
novel And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
, and was largely based on the 1985 comedy film Clue
Clue (film)
Clue is a 1985 comedy mystery film based on the board game of the same name . The film is a murder mystery set in a Gothic Revival mansion, and is styled after Murder by Death and other various murder/dinner parties of mystery...
. Series regulars Peter Shin
Peter Shin
Peter Shin is the:*supervising director of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story*director of Big Bug Man.*director of Family Guy episodes:**"Death Has a Shadow"**"Emission Impossible"**"North by North Quahog"**"It's a Trap!"...
and James Purdum
James Purdum
James Purdum is an American animation director. Purdum is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
served as supervising director, with Andrew Goldberg
Andrew Goldberg (TV writer)
Andrew Goldberg is currently a writer for Family Guy, where he has written several episodes. He is also the author of Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads, and the Lost Art of Being a Man, a book published by HarperCollins focusing on Brian Griffin's beliefs.- Biography :Andrew Goldberg was born...
, Alex Carter, Elaine Ko and Spencer Porter serving as staff writer
Staff writer
Staff writer is a byline that indicates that the author of the article at hand is employed by the periodical that published the article as a regular staff member, and not as a freelance writer or special contributor....
s for the episode. Composer Walter Murphy
Walter Murphy
Walter Anthony Murphy, Jr. is an American instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger. He rose to fame with the hit instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of passages from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in 1976, when disco was at the height of its...
, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "And Then There Were Fewer". "And Then There Were Fewer" was the first episode of Family Guy to be broadcast in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, with series showrunners Mark Hentemann
Mark Hentemann
Mark Hentemann is an American animation writer. Hentemann is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy...
and Steve Callaghan
Steve Callaghan
Steve Callaghan is an American screenwriter, producer and voice actor, best known for his work on Family Guy. He is a graduate of the Department of Public Policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs...
overseeing the transition. The episode was dedicated to series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry MacFarlane, following her death to cancer on July 16, 2010.
"And Then There Were Fewer", along with the two other episodes from Family Guys ninth season, will be released on a three-disc DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
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 International.
In addition to the regular cast, actress Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
reprised her role as Jillian Russell, the former girlfriend of Brian; actor James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, in his fifth appearance in the series, reprised his role as the overly exaggerated version of himself; actress Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...
(who is known for playing Candace Flynn
Candace Flynn
Candace Gertrude Flynn is a main character of the popular Disney Channel animated television series Phineas and Ferb, voiced by Ashley Tisdale and created and designed by Dan Povenmire. She acts as the main antagonist of the series in her endless attempts to "bust" her brothers, but in some...
on the show Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
) made her first official appearance on Family Guy as James Woods's girlfriend, Priscilla; and voice actor H. Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin
Henry Jon Benjamin , known professionally as H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Benjamin, is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his voice-over roles as Jason and Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, Ben on Dr...
reprised his role as Quahog Market owner Carl. Additionally, actors Max Burkholder
Max Burkholder
Maxwell Henry Wolf "Max" Burkholder is an American child actor most noticeable for his role Max Braverman, who has Asperger Syndrome, in the NBC series Parenthood. Prior to that, he became known as a voice actor, among his many roles were those of Chomper in The Land Before Time television series...
, Colin Ford
Colin Ford
Colin Ford is an American child actor and voice actor. He is best known for his role as young Sam Winchester in the 2005 TV Series, Supernatural.-Biography:...
and Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
also guest starred in the episode in minor roles. Recurring guest voice actors Lori Alan
Lori Alan
Lori Alan , sometimes credited as Lori Allen, is an American voice actress who provides the voice of news anchor Diane Simmons on Family Guy, various voices on Hey Arnold!, and SpongeBob SquarePants as Pearl....
, John G. Brennan
John G. Brennan
John G. Brennan , a.k.a. Johnny B., is an American actor, film writer, and voice actor. He is a member of the Jerky Boys prank call duo, with Kamal Ahmed, who formed in 1989 and split up in 2001, but reformed in 2006...
, Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Julianne Sullivan is an American actress, comedian and voice artist. Sullivan is best known for her six seasons on the sketch comedy series MADtv and five seasons on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens.She has played a recurring character on Scrubs and voices the villainous Shego in...
, Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
, and John Viener reprised their roles as news reporter Diane Simmons, Quahog pharmacist Mort Goldman, Muriel Goldman, Griffin family
Griffin family
The Griffin family is a family from the animated television series Family Guy. The Griffins are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Peter and Lois, their three children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their dog Brian. They live at 31 Spooner Street in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode...
neighbor Bonnie Swanson, and Jillian's husband, Derek Wilcox, respectively. A minor appearance was also made by Family Guy writer and regular voice artist Danny Smith
Danny Smith (writer)
Daniel "Danny" Smith is an executive producer, writer and voice actor on the American animated television series Family Guy. He has been with the show since its inception and throughout the years has contributed many episodes, such as "Holy Crap", "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz", "Chitty...
.
Cultural references
Clue (film)
Clue is a 1985 comedy mystery film based on the board game of the same name . The film is a murder mystery set in a Gothic Revival mansion, and is styled after Murder by Death and other various murder/dinner parties of mystery...
, and is largely based upon the 1939 Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
. In the opening scene of the episode, once the Griffin family arrives at the mansion, Lois remarks on the estate's beauty, wondering if television host Jeff Probst
Jeff Probst
Jeffrey Lee "Jeff" Probst is an American game show host, executive producer and a reporter. He is best known as the host of the U.S. version of the reality show Survivor.-Biography:...
has a similar home. As dinner commences, Carl begins conversing with Tom Tucker, and discusses the plot of the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
, directed by Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
.
After Tucker is accused of murdering James Woods, he reveals that Woods talked him out of auditioning for the lead
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...
role in the 1984 hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
. The finger is then pointed at Mayor Adam West
Adam West (Family Guy)
Adam West, also known as Mayor West, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. The character, voiced by the actor of the same name, is the eccentric mayor of the town of Quahog, Rhode Island, where the series is set.-Character:...
, who tells the group of his hardships on the social networking
Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
service Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, after Woods stole his originally intended username. Diane Simmons also goes on to state that Woods had promised to introduce her to former CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
news anchor Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
, but ultimately ended up introducing her to actor and comedian Danny Bonaduce
Danny Bonaduce
Dante Daniel "Danny" Bonaduce is an American radio/television personality, comedian, professional wrestler, and former child actor...
instead.
While searching for Muriel Goldman throughout the mansion, Brian and Stewie begin humming and singing the theme song to several television shows, including the CBS science fiction series Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
, the CBS sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, and the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
. After discovering the Bronze Globe Award underneath Tom Tucker's bed, Tucker begins to profess his innocence, with Peter then instructing him to "tell it to Mike Judge
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...
."
Reception
"And Then There Were Fewer" was broadcast on September 26, 2010, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by the season premiere of The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, and Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane's spin-off, The Cleveland Show. It was watched by 8.85 million viewers in the episode's last half hour, and concluded with a total 9.41 million viewers in its second half hour, according to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, despite airing simultaneously with the season premiere of Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, the season premiere of The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race (U.S. TV series)
The Amazing Race is an American reality game show in which teams of two or four race around the world against other teams, with the first-place team winning $1,000,000. As the original version of the Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been running since 2001 and is airing its nineteenth...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football is a weekly American football game held throughout most of the season by the National Football League. Sunday night games have been played regularly since 1987 and have thus far aired on three different television outlets:...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. The episode also acquired a 4.3 and 4.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show in addition to significantly edging out both shows in total viewership. The episode's ratings were Family Guys highest since the airing of the season eight episode "Family Goy
Family Goy
"Family Goy" is the second episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 4, 2009. The episode features Irish Catholic Peter after his wife, Lois, discovers that her mother is Jewish, and begins her struggle to adapt...
".
Television critics reacted positively to "And Then There Were Fewer", calling the storyline "solidly funny, well-plotted, and nearly perfectly executed." In a simultaneous review of the episodes of The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show that preceded the episode, The A.V. Club's
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
Todd VanDerWerff commented that he enjoyed "the 'a bunch of people go to an isolated place and start getting killed' murder mystery sub-genre," and that the episode "made fun of the conceits of the genre." In the conclusion of his review VanDerWerff called the episode "excellent and fun," and "full of surprisingly gorgeous animation and a nicely creepy feel that hung over all of the jokes" and rated it as a B+, the best rating between The Simpsons episode "Elementary School Musical
Elementary School Musical (The Simpsons)
"Elementary School Musical" is the season premiere of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It aired on the Fox Network in the United States on September 26, 2010...
" and The Cleveland Show episode "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner". Jason Hughes of TV Squad also praised the episode's writers for doing a "solid job of creating a genuine mystery throughout the hour, keeping us guessing as to who did it and what their motive may have been." Hughes went on to comment positively on the episode's numerous guest stars, and compared its portrayal of Diane Simmons to that of The Simpsons character Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
. Natalie Zutter of Ology also praised the episode, calling it, "Surprisingly, the best of the evening." In the summary of her review, Zutter wrote that it was a "fun murder mystery that lets us see all our favorite Quahog folks," while continuing to wonder whether the characters who were killed off would remain dead.. The episode has also proven popular amongst UK fans as it remains in the top 10 UK itunes TV show chart, 3 months after it aired.