Brian & Stewie
Encyclopedia
"Brian & Stewie" is the seventeenth episode of the eighth season
, and 150th overall episode, of the animated
comedy series
Family Guy
. It aired on Fox
in the United States on May 2, 2010. The episode features anthropomorphic
dog Brian
and baby Stewie
after they are accidentally trapped inside of a bank vault
over a long weekend. The two 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 cold, dark vault. The episode breaks from the show's usual set-up, and is the only episode of the series not to use any cutaway gags.
The episode was written by Gary Janetti
and directed by Dominic Bianchi
. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its serious dialogue, but poor reviews for its gross-out humor, in addition to receiving criticism
from the Parents Television Council
. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 7.68 million homes in its original airing. The episode aired along with a series of musical numbers from throughout the show's eight seasons. "Brian & Stewie" will be released on DVD
along with ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
sweater. While they are still inside the vault, the door closes at the end of the work day and locks them inside until the next morning. Frightened, Stewie soils his diaper. Worried he will get a rash
from the dirty diaper, Stewie desperately tries to make Brian eat his feces
by threatening him with a gun
that Brian had stored in his deposit box, so that he does not get a rash from the dirty diaper. They discover that Stewie has a cellphone in his pocket, but there's only enough charge in the battery for one (short) phone call. Unfortunately, Stewie uses the last of the phone's battery charge to call the clothing store rather than for help. Enraged, Brian strikes Stewie, throws his phone on the ground (which damages the phone), and yells at Stewie, making him cry. Instantly remorseful and wanting to repair his relationship with Stewie, Brian reluctantly agrees to eat Stewie's feces in order to provide him with a clean diaper and make up for making Stewie cry. While watching Brian eating, Stewie becomes nauseated and throws up; Stewie then convinces Brian to eat the vomit. Afterward, they both decide to take a nap, but soon they realize that the next day is Sunday, meaning that they will have to wait another day before they can be released from the vault.
Awaking from his nap, Brian decides to drink a bottle of Scotch that he had stored in his safety deposit box. He offers Stewie a sip, and they both become so drunk that Brian agrees to pierce Stewie's ear with a pin from his sweater, leaving Stewie with a bloody ear for the rest of the episode. Stewie and Brian discuss The Dog Whisperer and Cesar Millan
, and Brian explains that he is inspired by the philosophy about dogs' instinctive ability to live in the present and with purpose. Stewie, however, points out that Brian himself does not appear to live with any specific purpose. Angered at the implication, Brian begins insulting Stewie, who bitterly retaliates by revealing that he could have gone all day without being changed and only thinks of Brian as a passing amusement. Stewie dares Brian to shoot him with the revolver in the deposit. Stewie smacks the gun away, which causes it to discharge, causing the bullet to randomly ricochet
off the vault walls, smashing Stewie's already-broken phone and forcing the two under the table.
The next morning, Stewie stretches and takes out a Jenny Craig
Anytime Bar from his shopping bag. Brian loses his temper with Stewie for not revealing that he had been storing food the entire time. After Brian calms down, Stewie asks him why he had the gun in the first place, eventually coaxing Brian into revealing that he keeps the gun in case he wants to commit suicide
. Brian confesses that he cannot find his purpose in life, and finds comfort in knowing he has the option of killing himself. He admits that the Scotch was to be a last drink. Stunned, Stewie admits that he would be lost without Brian, claiming he is the only person in the world that he really cares about, and the two eventually confess that they love each other and give each other's lives meaning. In addition, Stewie reminds Brian that maybe making someone else happy is enough, because it is the best gift one person can give, to which Brian thanks him. Stewie falls asleep as Brian reads the beginning of David Copperfield
to him. The following morning, the vault door opens, and Brian quietly carries his friend and their belongings out of the room.
as his second episode of the season and directed by series regular Dominic Bianchi
, also in his second episode of the season. In an interview with Forbes, series producer Kara Vallow
revealed that the plot was inspired by an episode of the CBS
sitcom All in the Family
entitled "Archie in the Cellar," in which Archie Bunker
is locked in a cellar, breaking from the show's usual storyline. Vallow and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane
were fans of All in the Family during its original airing and came up with the original concept for the episode. Vallow went on to state that the episode " like a one-act stage play in a way," because it " rely on our standard cutaways and gags." In a first for the series, the only voice actor to perform in the episode was series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane, who portrays both characters. In addition, neither composer Ron Jones
nor composer Walter Murphy
contributed any background music to the episode whatsoever.
"Brian & Stewie", along with the eleven other episodes from Family Guys eighth 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 its initial airing, the episode aired with a framing device
involving Stewie and Brian standing in front of a red curtain and addressing the television audience
. The two begin the program by introducing the "very special" episode
and, after the episode aired, conclude it by introducing a series of musical numbers. Together, the episode and musical number aired as an hour-long special, in celebration of a week-long "Fox Rocks" television event. The initial airing included musical numbers from the fourth season episode "The Fat Guy Strangler
", the sixth season episode "Play It Again, Brian", and the eighth season episode "Business Guy
", as well as other numbers, including "You've Got A Lot to See" from "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
", "Shipoopi
" from "Patriot Games
", and "My Drunken Irish Dad" from the episode "Peter's Two Dads
".
is trapped inside the household cellar for an entire weekend. The episode also makes reference to an episode of The Twilight Zone
entitled "Time Enough at Last
", in which a banker named Henry Bemis sneaks into a bank vault and is knocked unconscious. In the episode, Henry Bemis is reading a copy of David Copperfield
, which Brian also reads during the episode.
, despite airing simultaneously with Desperate Housewives
on ABC
, Celebrity Apprentice
on NBC
and Cold Case on CBS
. The episode also acquired a 3.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons
, The Cleveland Show
, as well as the accompanying musical special, which received a total rating of 3.3.
Reviewers generally disliked the episode's humor, but were positive about the more serious moments. Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
believed that the show's concept, which allowed only two characters and a single scene, was "ambitious" but that the end result was "flaccid." He commented that with no cut-away gags or side plots, the episode was "basically everything critics of the show would like the show to have" but was deprived of Family Guys trademark fast pace and reduced to "a series of what amounts to grossout comedy sketches." Television critic Ramsey Isler of IGN
added that the gross-out humor "didn't work for me" and found the "more serious stuff" in the episode to be the most entertaining. Said Isler, "the addition of more dramatic themes and the elimination of the cutaway gags really showed what this show could be if Seth and team put more effort in." In a subsequent review of Family Guys eighth season, Isler listed "Brian & Stewie" as being "surprisingly dramatic," and, "had it not been for the extended poop-eating jokes and rehashed musical numbers in the second half, I'd say it was one of the better efforts the show has ever put out." Jason Hughes of TV Squad was also "more than a little aroused" by the amount of time spent on Stewie's soiled diaper. However, he noted, "I didn't laugh much at 'Brian & Stewie', but I found myself absolutely captured by their discussion throughout the episode." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
described the episode as "tedious, predictably vulgar, and, by the end, sentimental." Adam Rosenberg of MTV
wrote, "Beneath all of the more disturbing elements there's actually some very thoughtful, mature discussion of suicide and what love means amidst it all." Andrew Hanson of The Los Angeles Times found the soiled diaper gag "too sick to watch" and "the grossest" moment featured in Family Guy so far, but conceded that that may have been the producer's intention. Still, Hanson described Brian's suicidal confession as "deep" and stated, "It’s nice to see that Family Guy is still trying new things and going out on a limb even at episode No. 150."
The Parents Television Council
, a conservative media watchdog group and frequent critic of MacFarlane-produced programs, called on the Federal Communications Commission
to investigate Family Guy after the episode aired, citing the scenes where Brian is talked into eating Stewie's feces and vomit. PTC president Tim Winter said that, "Given the patently offensive depictions of one character eating excrement out of a diaper, then eating vomit, and finally licking the remaining excrement from a baby’s bottom – while the baby expresses physical gratification from having his bottom licked – we believe that the broadcast decency law has been broken. It seems as though Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane, carefully reviewed the legal definition of broadcast indecency and set out to violate it as literally as he could." The Parents Television Council went on to name the episode as its "Worst TV Show of the Week", ending the week of May 7, 2010, citing the extreme indecency of the episode.
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...
, and 150th overall episode, 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 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 May 2, 2010. The episode features anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
dog Brian
Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
and baby 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....
after they are accidentally trapped inside of a bank vault
Bank vault
A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe...
over a long weekend. The two 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 cold, dark vault. The episode breaks from the show's usual set-up, and is the only episode of the series not to use any cutaway gags.
The episode was written by Gary Janetti
Gary Janetti
Gary Janetti is an American television writer and producer.He has written for Family Guy, and was the executive producer of Will and Grace.-External links:...
and directed by Dominic Bianchi
Dominic Bianchi
Dominic Bianchi is an American animation director. Bianchi is known for directing multiple episodes of the animated series Family Guy, most notably the show's celebrated 150th episode, "Brian & Stewie"....
. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its serious dialogue, but poor reviews for its gross-out humor, in addition to receiving criticism
Criticism of Family Guy
The American animated sitcom Family Guy has been the target of numerous complaints concerning taste and indecency. Parents Television Council has expressed moral opposition to the series, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission....
from the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
. 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 7.68 million homes in its original airing. The episode aired along with a series of musical numbers from throughout the show's eight seasons. "Brian & Stewie" 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 ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
Plot
Brian and Stewie visit the local Quahog bank so that Brian can deposit holiday money in his safety deposit box. Stewie then wants to go to a store to return a $3,000 Thom BrowneThom Browne
Thom Browne is an American fashion designer. He is the founder and head of design for Thom Browne, a New York City-based menswear brand...
sweater. While they are still inside the vault, the door closes at the end of the work day and locks them inside until the next morning. Frightened, Stewie soils his diaper. Worried he will get a rash
Rash
A rash is a change of the skin which affects its color, appearance or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracked or blistered, swell and may be painful. The causes, and...
from the dirty diaper, Stewie desperately tries to make Brian eat his feces
Coprophagia
Coprophagia or coprophagy is the consumption of feces, from the Greek κόπρος copros and φαγεῖν phagein . Many animal species practice coprophagia as a matter of course; other species do not normally consume feces but may do so under unusual conditions...
by threatening him with a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
that Brian had stored in his deposit box, so that he does not get a rash from the dirty diaper. They discover that Stewie has a cellphone in his pocket, but there's only enough charge in the battery for one (short) phone call. Unfortunately, Stewie uses the last of the phone's battery charge to call the clothing store rather than for help. Enraged, Brian strikes Stewie, throws his phone on the ground (which damages the phone), and yells at Stewie, making him cry. Instantly remorseful and wanting to repair his relationship with Stewie, Brian reluctantly agrees to eat Stewie's feces in order to provide him with a clean diaper and make up for making Stewie cry. While watching Brian eating, Stewie becomes nauseated and throws up; Stewie then convinces Brian to eat the vomit. Afterward, they both decide to take a nap, but soon they realize that the next day is Sunday, meaning that they will have to wait another day before they can be released from the vault.
Awaking from his nap, Brian decides to drink a bottle of Scotch that he had stored in his safety deposit box. He offers Stewie a sip, and they both become so drunk that Brian agrees to pierce Stewie's ear with a pin from his sweater, leaving Stewie with a bloody ear for the rest of the episode. Stewie and Brian discuss The Dog Whisperer and Cesar Millan
Cesar Millan
Cesar Millan, is a Mexican-born American dog trainer. A self-taught expert, he is widely known for his television series The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, now in its seventh season and broadcast in more than eighty countries worldwide...
, and Brian explains that he is inspired by the philosophy about dogs' instinctive ability to live in the present and with purpose. Stewie, however, points out that Brian himself does not appear to live with any specific purpose. Angered at the implication, Brian begins insulting Stewie, who bitterly retaliates by revealing that he could have gone all day without being changed and only thinks of Brian as a passing amusement. Stewie dares Brian to shoot him with the revolver in the deposit. Stewie smacks the gun away, which causes it to discharge, causing the bullet to randomly ricochet
Ricochet
A ricochet is a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. The possibility of ricochet is one of the reasons for the common firearms safety rule "Never shoot at a flat, hard surface."-Variables:...
off the vault walls, smashing Stewie's already-broken phone and forcing the two under the table.
The next morning, Stewie stretches and takes out a Jenny Craig
Jenny Craig
Jenny Craig is an American weight loss guru and founder of Jenny Craig, Inc. Craig was raised in New Orleans and married Sidney Harvey Craig in 1979. In 1983, she and her husband created a nutrition, fitness, and weight loss program in Australia...
Anytime Bar from his shopping bag. Brian loses his temper with Stewie for not revealing that he had been storing food the entire time. After Brian calms down, Stewie asks him why he had the gun in the first place, eventually coaxing Brian into revealing that he keeps the gun in case he wants to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Brian confesses that he cannot find his purpose in life, and finds comfort in knowing he has the option of killing himself. He admits that the Scotch was to be a last drink. Stunned, Stewie admits that he would be lost without Brian, claiming he is the only person in the world that he really cares about, and the two eventually confess that they love each other and give each other's lives meaning. In addition, Stewie reminds Brian that maybe making someone else happy is enough, because it is the best gift one person can give, to which Brian thanks him. Stewie falls asleep as Brian reads the beginning of David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
to him. The following morning, the vault door opens, and Brian quietly carries his friend and their belongings out of the room.
Production and development
The episode was written by series consulting producer Gary JanettiGary Janetti
Gary Janetti is an American television writer and producer.He has written for Family Guy, and was the executive producer of Will and Grace.-External links:...
as his second episode of the season and directed by series regular Dominic Bianchi
Dominic Bianchi
Dominic Bianchi is an American animation director. Bianchi is known for directing multiple episodes of the animated series Family Guy, most notably the show's celebrated 150th episode, "Brian & Stewie"....
, also in his second episode of the season. In an interview with Forbes, series producer Kara Vallow
Kara Vallow
Kara Vallow is an American animation producer best known for her work as Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane's long time producing partner on Family Guy and American Dad, as well as The Cleveland Show.-Career:Vallow has produced 3 South and the animated series adaption of Dilbert.In 2004, she...
revealed that the plot was inspired by an episode of the 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...
sitcom All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
entitled "Archie in the Cellar," in which Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
is locked in a cellar, breaking from the show's usual storyline. Vallow and Family Guy creator 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,...
were fans of All in the Family during its original airing and came up with the original concept for the episode. Vallow went on to state that the episode " like a one-act stage play in a way," because it " rely on our standard cutaways and gags." In a first for the series, the only voice actor to perform in the episode was series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane, who portrays both characters. In addition, neither composer Ron Jones
Ron Jones (composer)
Ron Jones is an American composer who has written music for TV shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Duck Tales, American Dad!, and Family Guy...
nor 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...
contributed any background music to the episode whatsoever.
"Brian & Stewie", along with the eleven other episodes from Family Guys eighth 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
And Then There Were Fewer
"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...
", 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 its initial airing, the episode aired with a framing device
Framing device
The term framing device refers to the usage of the same single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at both the beginning and end of an artistic, musical, or literary work. The repeated element thus creates a ‘frame’ within which the main body of work can develop.The...
involving Stewie and Brian standing in front of a red curtain and addressing the television audience
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. The two begin the program by introducing the "very special" episode
Very special episode
"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television commercials to refer to an episode of a sitcom or television drama that deals with a serious or controversial social issue...
and, after the episode aired, conclude it by introducing a series of musical numbers. Together, the episode and musical number aired as an hour-long special, in celebration of a week-long "Fox Rocks" television event. The initial airing included musical numbers from the fourth season episode "The Fat Guy Strangler
The Fat Guy Strangler
"The Fat Guy Strangler" is the seventeenth episode of season four of Family Guy, which originally aired on November 27, 2005. Lois discovers she has a long-lost brother, Patrick...
", the sixth season episode "Play It Again, Brian", and the eighth season episode "Business Guy
Business Guy
"Business Guy" is the ninth episode of the eighth season of the 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...
", as well as other numbers, including "You've Got A Lot to See" from "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
"Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 17, 2002...
", "Shipoopi
Shipoopi
“Shipoopi” is a song in the 1957 musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson. The song is sung by the character Marcellus Washburn, friend of Harold Hill...
" from "Patriot Games
Patriot Games (Family Guy)
"Patriot Games" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on January 29, 2006, around the time of Super Bowl XL, which fit the sports theme of the episode. In it, Peter goes to his high school reunion and meets Tom Brady...
", and "My Drunken Irish Dad" from the episode "Peter's Two Dads
Peter's Two Dads
"Peter's Two Dads" is the tenth episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode originally aired on Fox on February 11, 2007. The plot follows Peter traveling to Ireland to find his biological father, after he accidentally kills his stepfather at his daughter's birthday party. Meanwhile, Stewie...
".
Cultural references
The plot of the episode imitates that of the All in the Family episode "Archie in the Cellar", in which Archie BunkerArchie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
is trapped inside the household cellar for an entire weekend. The episode also makes reference to an episode of The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
entitled "Time Enough at Last
Time Enough at Last
"Time Enough at Last" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was adapted from a short story by Lyn Venable , which had been published in the January 1953 edition of the science fiction magazine If: Worlds of Science Fiction...
", in which a banker named Henry Bemis sneaks into a bank vault and is knocked unconscious. In the episode, Henry Bemis is reading a copy of David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
, which Brian also reads during the episode.
Reception
In an improvement over the previous six episodes, the episode was viewed in 7.68 million homes in its original airing, according to Nielsen ratingsNielsen 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 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...
, Celebrity Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. season 9)
The Celebrity Apprentice 3 is the ninth installment of the United States version of the reality television series, The Apprentice. On April 29, 2009, NBC officially announced the renewal of Celebrity Apprentice for Spring 2010. The show premiered on Sunday, March 14, 2010...
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...
and Cold Case 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...
. The episode also acquired a 3.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons
The 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...
, The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
, as well as the accompanying musical special, which received a total rating of 3.3.
Reviewers generally disliked the episode's humor, but were positive about the more serious moments. Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
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...
believed that the show's concept, which allowed only two characters and a single scene, was "ambitious" but that the end result was "flaccid." He commented that with no cut-away gags or side plots, the episode was "basically everything critics of the show would like the show to have" but was deprived of Family Guys trademark fast pace and reduced to "a series of what amounts to grossout comedy sketches." Television critic Ramsey Isler of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
added that the gross-out humor "didn't work for me" and found the "more serious stuff" in the episode to be the most entertaining. Said Isler, "the addition of more dramatic themes and the elimination of the cutaway gags really showed what this show could be if Seth and team put more effort in." In a subsequent review of Family Guys eighth season, Isler listed "Brian & Stewie" as being "surprisingly dramatic," and, "had it not been for the extended poop-eating jokes and rehashed musical numbers in the second half, I'd say it was one of the better efforts the show has ever put out." Jason Hughes of TV Squad was also "more than a little aroused" by the amount of time spent on Stewie's soiled diaper. However, he noted, "I didn't laugh much at 'Brian & Stewie', but I found myself absolutely captured by their discussion throughout the episode." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
described the episode as "tedious, predictably vulgar, and, by the end, sentimental." Adam Rosenberg of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
wrote, "Beneath all of the more disturbing elements there's actually some very thoughtful, mature discussion of suicide and what love means amidst it all." Andrew Hanson of The Los Angeles Times found the soiled diaper gag "too sick to watch" and "the grossest" moment featured in Family Guy so far, but conceded that that may have been the producer's intention. Still, Hanson described Brian's suicidal confession as "deep" and stated, "It’s nice to see that Family Guy is still trying new things and going out on a limb even at episode No. 150."
The Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
, a conservative media watchdog group and frequent critic of MacFarlane-produced programs, called on the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to investigate Family Guy after the episode aired, citing the scenes where Brian is talked into eating Stewie's feces and vomit. PTC president Tim Winter said that, "Given the patently offensive depictions of one character eating excrement out of a diaper, then eating vomit, and finally licking the remaining excrement from a baby’s bottom – while the baby expresses physical gratification from having his bottom licked – we believe that the broadcast decency law has been broken. It seems as though Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane, carefully reviewed the legal definition of broadcast indecency and set out to violate it as literally as he could." The Parents Television Council went on to name the episode as its "Worst TV Show of the Week", ending the week of May 7, 2010, citing the extreme indecency of the episode.