Family Gay
Encyclopedia
"Family Gay" is the eighth episode of the seventh season of the animated television comedy series Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States
on March 8, 2009. In the episode, Peter Griffin
purchases a brain damaged
horse who ends up causing a great deal of collateral damage at the horse racing
track. In order to pay for the damage, Peter decides to participate in a series of medical drug testing including one that makes him gay. He enters a relationship with another gay man called Scott, leaving his wife Lois
and rest of the family heartbroken. After Stewie
and Brian
enroll Peter in straight camp, Lois breaks Peter out, deciding that Peter's happiness is more important than his sexuality
. Almost immediately afterwards, the gay gene wears off and Peter moves back in with his family.
The episode was written by Richard Appel
and directed by series regular Brian Iles. Seth Rogen
provided a guest-voice as Peter under the effects of the "Seth Rogen gene" and Meredith Baxter
provided a guest voice as herself. It received both positive and negative comments from television sources and critics, in addition to receiving criticism
from the Parents Television Council
. "Family Gay", along with two other episodes, was nominated in the "Outstanding Comedy Series
" category for the 2009 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
.
instead buys a "retarded
" horse and enters the horse in a race, only for it to end up causing $100,000 worth of damage at the race track
. The horse ends up dying of a fatal heart attack, and Peter disposes of the body by flinging it through the window of Goldman's Pharmacy. The Griffins are indebted for the damages the horse caused and to make money, Peter starts to work as a test subject for gene therapy
experiments. He is injected with the Seth Rogen
gene, a squirrel
gene, and the gay gene
.
When Peter, now gay
, arrives home, Lois
becomes upset. Lois warms up to the change when he starts exhibiting stereotypical gay behavior like shopping for clothes and baking muffin
s. She later reconsiders her stance when Peter is no longer sexually attracted
to her. Upon learning that the effects of the gene may be permanent, she decides to make the best of things when Peter suddenly leaves her for Scott, his new boyfriend. Seeing Lois heartbroken and depressed, their son Stewie
and family dog Brian
, who is conflicted due to his support of gay rights, kidnaps Peter and send him to a "straight camp
" for conversion therapy.
When Scott comes looking for Peter, Brian admits to the kidnapping. Lois says she accepts Peter the way he is and takes him out of the straight camp, telling him to go back to Scott. The effects of the gene turn out to be temporary and wear off in the middle of Peter's "ultimate fantasy", a gay orgy with Scott and nine other men. Peter returns to Lois, and they agree to never speak of the incident again. The episode ends with Mort Goldman flinging the corpse of the horse through the window of the Griffins' house, telling them, "Take back your fucking horse!"
The Cleveland Show
, Richard Appel
. This episode being his first and to date his only writing credit on the show. John Viener worked as the executive story editor for the episode. MacFarlane found a list of plot ideas from the third season
that says "Peter goes gay" and he decided to make an episode with that premise. The writers originally wanted to take "the high road" with the episode. In the first draft, Peter's homosexuality was so subtle, that he just appeared a little more refined. When the writers could not come up with any high road jokes, they "went with what they know". The writers had fun "gaying up the episode" by including Peter in a different outfit during every scene after he turned gay. The writers wanted to further the idea that people are born gay
.
The episode was directed by Brian Iles
. He was assisted by James Purdum
and Peter Shin
worked as the supervising directors for the episode. Other crew members that collaborated in the animation of the episode included Deborah Cone who directed the retake of the episode and Kenji Ono who was the assistant director of the episode. Iles sketched out several clothing ideas for Peter to wear. He got ideas by flipping through catalogs. The name of all the horses at the race track are named after canceled Fox shows from May 2005 until this episode aired. It is a tribute to a similar mentioning of canceled shows when Family Guy came back on the air in May 2005 in the episode "North by North Quahog
". When the episode got close to airing, MacFarlane kept thinking they should remove the cutaway gag with Matt Damon
, due to MacFarlane liking Damon's criticism of Sarah Palin
.
"Family Gay", along with the first eight episodes of the seventh season were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox
in the United States and Canada on June 16, 2009, one month after it had completed broadcast on television. The "Volume 7" DVD release features bonus material including deleted scene
s, animatics
, and commentaries for every episode. The DVD also includes four special features those being, Take me out to place tonight; Family Guy Cribz; Comic-Con 2008 Family Guy panel and the Family Guy Art Show.
All the main Family Guy cast members lent their voices to the episode, along with semi-regulars Kirker Butler
and John Brenneman
. Writers John Viener, Alec Sulkin
, Mark Hentemann
and Danny Smith
all had minor speaking roles. Peter's boyfriend Scott was voiced by John G. Brennan
, who voices him in the same way he voices gay The Jerky Boys character Jack Tors. Other guest stars included voice actor Wellesley Wild
, actress Meredith Baxter
and actor Seth Rogen
.
which parody American culture. The episode has several pop culture references. It begins with Peter playing the 1983 video game "Dragon's Lair
." Later in the episode, Peter names his horse "Till' Death", in reference to the show of the same name, highlighting shows that were all cancelled by Fox, including "Arrested Development", "War at Home" amongst others. Peter also learns about a pomegranate martini
from In Style
magazine. "Family Gay" references, in a cutaway, James Bond's
iconic ability to persuade women to have sex with him despite their initial resistance. Peter and Brian watch the movie Wild Hogs
. The western spoof
film Blazing Saddles
is referenced when Peter and the other men are dancing and singing. "Family Gay" makes two references to musicals. While in the doctor's office, Peter's doctor makes a reference to the song "Seasons of Love
" from the musical Rent
and while reading Flowers in the Attic
by V. C. Andrews Peter listens to the song "Sixteen Going on Seventeen
" from the musical The Sound of Music
, sung by Charmian Carr
.
, indicating that 4.2% of American households watched the episode, and that 6% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it. "Family Gay", along with "I Dream of Jesus
" and "Road to Germany
", was nominated in the "Outstanding Comedy Series
" category for the 2009 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
. Series creator Seth MacFarlane
commented "We picked three of our edgier shows as a choice. Ya know, we figured if we are going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are." Much to the surprise of the writing staff, the series was ultimately nominated for the award, the first time in 48 years an animated series was nominated for the same category since The Flintstones
in 1961, but lost to The Jack Benny Show.
though The Simpsons
were almost nominated in the year 1993, but that changed since Emmy voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs.
The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Ahsan Haque of IGN
rated the episode a 7.9/10, saying, "Overall, while it's far from being the funniest episode of the season, there were more than enough laughs and uncomfortable moments to make this episode entertaining." He went on to say that the episode could have been more though, due to the fact that the show has used many clever gay jokes in the past. Likewise, Alex Rocha of TV Guide
commented, "'Family Gay' fell way short of my expectations. Even with its traditional pop culture references and flashbacks, this week's episode could not simply keep me tuned in. I'll admit, I did manage to laugh at times, but as in previous times, Family Guy simply fell short again." Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
gave the episode a negative review, calling it "yet another pointless exercise in Family Guy insider smugness", and rating it C-.
In March 2009 the Parents Television Council
(PTC), a conservative decency
campaigning group, filed an indecency complaint to the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). PTC President Tim Winter stated, "Fox treated viewers to everything from an 'eleven-way' gay
orgy
to baby Stewie possibly eating a bowl of cereal with horse semen
instead of milk." Dan Isett, PTC director of public policy, said that this was the first time since last fall that the PTC had asked its members to send complaints to the FCC, although the PTC regularly discusses issues it has with shows. The PTC named "Family Gay" the "Worst TV Show of the Week" for the week of March 13. MacFarlane responded to the PTC's decrees against the show in an interview with The Advocate
, "For an organization that prides itself on Christian values — I mean, I’m an atheist, so what do I know? — they spend their entire day hating people."
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
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
on March 8, 2009. In the episode, Peter Griffin
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....
purchases a brain damaged
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...
horse who ends up causing a great deal of collateral damage at the horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
track. In order to pay for the damage, Peter decides to participate in a series of medical drug testing including one that makes him gay. He enters a relationship with another gay man called Scott, leaving his wife 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...
and rest of the family heartbroken. After 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....
and 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...
enroll Peter in straight camp, Lois breaks Peter out, deciding that Peter's happiness is more important than his sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
. Almost immediately afterwards, the gay gene wears off and Peter moves back in with his family.
The episode was written by Richard Appel
Richard Appel
Richard "Rich" Appel is an American writer, producer and former attorney. Growing up in Wilmette, Illinois, Appel developed a love of comedy and dreamt of a career as a comedy writer; he attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. Following in his mother's footsteps Appel...
and directed by series regular Brian Iles. Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
provided a guest-voice as Peter under the effects of the "Seth Rogen gene" and Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter , also known for some years as Meredith Baxter-Birney, is an American actress and producer. She is known for her acting roles including three television series: Family , an ABC television-network drama, Family Ties , an NBC television-network situation comedy, and Dan Vs. , a...
provided a guest voice as herself. It received both positive and negative comments from television sources and critics, 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...
. "Family Gay", along with two other episodes, was nominated in the "Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an Emmy given to the best television comedy series of the year.-Winners and nominees:...
" category for the 2009 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! the Creative Arts event; both take place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations for the Awards were announced on July 16....
.
Plot
On his way to buy groceries, Peter GriffinPeter 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....
instead buys a "retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
" horse and enters the horse in a race, only for it to end up causing $100,000 worth of damage at the race track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
. The horse ends up dying of a fatal heart attack, and Peter disposes of the body by flinging it through the window of Goldman's Pharmacy. The Griffins are indebted for the damages the horse caused and to make money, Peter starts to work as a test subject for gene therapy
Gene therapy
Gene therapy is the insertion, alteration, or removal of genes within an individual's cells and biological tissues to treat disease. It is a technique for correcting defective genes that are responsible for disease development...
experiments. He is injected with the Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
gene, a squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
gene, and the gay gene
Biology and sexual orientation
Biology and sexual orientation is the subject of research into the role of biology in the development of human sexual orientation. No simple, single cause for sexual orientation has been conclusively demonstrated, but research suggests that it is by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and...
.
When Peter, now gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, arrives home, 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...
becomes upset. Lois warms up to the change when he starts exhibiting stereotypical gay behavior like shopping for clothes and baking muffin
Muffin
A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins, also exist...
s. She later reconsiders her stance when Peter is no longer sexually attracted
Sexual attraction
Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...
to her. Upon learning that the effects of the gene may be permanent, she decides to make the best of things when Peter suddenly leaves her for Scott, his new boyfriend. Seeing Lois heartbroken and depressed, their son 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....
and family 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...
, who is conflicted due to his support of gay rights, kidnaps Peter and send him to a "straight camp
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
" for conversion therapy.
When Scott comes looking for Peter, Brian admits to the kidnapping. Lois says she accepts Peter the way he is and takes him out of the straight camp, telling him to go back to Scott. The effects of the gene turn out to be temporary and wear off in the middle of Peter's "ultimate fantasy", a gay orgy with Scott and nine other men. Peter returns to Lois, and they agree to never speak of the incident again. The episode ends with Mort Goldman flinging the corpse of the horse through the window of the Griffins' house, telling them, "Take back your fucking horse!"
Production
"Family Gay" was written by at the time Executive Producer and future co-creator of the Family Guy spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
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...
, Richard Appel
Richard Appel
Richard "Rich" Appel is an American writer, producer and former attorney. Growing up in Wilmette, Illinois, Appel developed a love of comedy and dreamt of a career as a comedy writer; he attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. Following in his mother's footsteps Appel...
. This episode being his first and to date his only writing credit on the show. John Viener worked as the executive story editor for the episode. MacFarlane found a list of plot ideas from the third season
Family Guy (season 3)
Family Guy third season first aired on the Fox network in twenty-two episodes from July 11, 2001 to November 9, 2003 before being released as a DVD box set and in syndication. It premiered with the episode "The Thin White Line" and finished with "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein"...
that says "Peter goes gay" and he decided to make an episode with that premise. The writers originally wanted to take "the high road" with the episode. In the first draft, Peter's homosexuality was so subtle, that he just appeared a little more refined. When the writers could not come up with any high road jokes, they "went with what they know". The writers had fun "gaying up the episode" by including Peter in a different outfit during every scene after he turned gay. The writers wanted to further the idea that people are born gay
Biology and sexual orientation
Biology and sexual orientation is the subject of research into the role of biology in the development of human sexual orientation. No simple, single cause for sexual orientation has been conclusively demonstrated, but research suggests that it is by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and...
.
The episode was directed by Brian Iles
Brian Iles
Brian Iles is an American animation director. Iles is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
. He was assisted by 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....
and 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!"...
worked as the supervising directors for the episode. Other crew members that collaborated in the animation of the episode included Deborah Cone who directed the retake of the episode and Kenji Ono who was the assistant director of the episode. Iles sketched out several clothing ideas for Peter to wear. He got ideas by flipping through catalogs. The name of all the horses at the race track are named after canceled Fox shows from May 2005 until this episode aired. It is a tribute to a similar mentioning of canceled shows when Family Guy came back on the air in May 2005 in the episode "North by North Quahog
North by North Quahog
"North by North Quahog" is the first episode of season four of Family Guy, following the revival of the series three years after its cancellation in 2002...
". When the episode got close to airing, MacFarlane kept thinking they should remove the cutaway gag with Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
, due to MacFarlane liking Damon's criticism of Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
.
"Family Gay", along with the first eight episodes of the seventh season were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in the United States and Canada on June 16, 2009, one month after it had completed broadcast on television. The "Volume 7" DVD release features bonus material including deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s, animatics
Traditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
, and commentaries for every episode. The DVD also includes four special features those being, Take me out to place tonight; Family Guy Cribz; Comic-Con 2008 Family Guy panel and the Family Guy Art Show.
All the main Family Guy cast members lent their voices to the episode, along with semi-regulars Kirker Butler
Kirker Butler
Kirker Butler is an American animation writer. Butler is most notably known for writing and producing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy, as well as serving as co-executive producer of The Cleveland Show, another series by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.-Career:Butler joined...
and John Brenneman
John Brenneman
John Gary Brenneman is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. In 159 NHL career games, he scored 21 goals and 19 assists as a left winger....
. Writers John Viener, Alec Sulkin
Alec Sulkin
Alec Sulkin is an American television writer. Most notable for writing and producing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy, he has also contributed to The Cleveland Show, another series by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane....
, 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 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...
all had minor speaking roles. Peter's boyfriend Scott was voiced by 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...
, who voices him in the same way he voices gay The Jerky Boys character Jack Tors. Other guest stars included voice actor Wellesley Wild
Wellesley Wild
Wellesley Wild is an American animation writer. He is best known for writing and producing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy. He is currently co-executive producer and an occasional voice actor for the show....
, actress Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter , also known for some years as Meredith Baxter-Birney, is an American actress and producer. She is known for her acting roles including three television series: Family , an ABC television-network drama, Family Ties , an NBC television-network situation comedy, and Dan Vs. , a...
and actor Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
.
Cultural references
Family Guy frequently uses cutaway gags in the form of tangential vignettesSketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
which parody American culture. The episode has several pop culture references. It begins with Peter playing the 1983 video game "Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair is a laserdisc video game published by Cinematronics in 1983. It featured animation created by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth....
." Later in the episode, Peter names his horse "Till' Death", in reference to the show of the same name, highlighting shows that were all cancelled by Fox, including "Arrested Development", "War at Home" amongst others. Peter also learns about a pomegranate martini
Martini (cocktail)
The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B...
from In Style
In Style
InStyle is a monthly women’s fashion magazine published in the United States by Time Inc. Along with advertising, the magazine offers articles about beauty, fashion, home, entertaining, charitable endeavors and celebrity lifestyles. Launched in 1993 , InStyle currently has a circulation of 1.7...
magazine. "Family Gay" references, in a cutaway, James Bond's
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
iconic ability to persuade women to have sex with him despite their initial resistance. Peter and Brian watch the movie Wild Hogs
Wild Hogs
Wild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...
. The western spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
film Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
is referenced when Peter and the other men are dancing and singing. "Family Gay" makes two references to musicals. While in the doctor's office, Peter's doctor makes a reference to the song "Seasons of Love
Seasons of Love
"Seasons of Love" is a song from the Broadway musical Rent, written and composed by Jonathan Larson. The song starts with an ostinato piano motif, which provides the harmonic framework for the cast to sing "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes"...
" from the musical Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
and while reading Flowers in the Attic
Flowers in the Attic
Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 novel by Virginia Andrews. It is the first book in the Dollanganger Series, and was followed by Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. The novel is written in the first person from the point of view of Cathy Dollanganger...
by V. C. Andrews Peter listens to the song "Sixteen Going on Seventeen
Sixteen Going On Seventeen
"Sixteen Going on Seventeen" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.-Background:The lyrics of the song state that Liesl is a young girl at the beginning of her womanhood, and that she can depend on Rolf for guidance, because he is a good year older...
" from the musical The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, sung by Charmian Carr
Charmian Carr
Charmian Carr is an American actress and singer. She is mainly known for her role as Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter in The Sound of Music where she starred with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Nicholas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, and Kym...
.
Reception
The episode received a 4.2/6 Nielsen ratingNielsen 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...
, indicating that 4.2% of American households watched the episode, and that 6% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it. "Family Gay", along with "I Dream of Jesus
I Dream of Jesus
"I Dream of Jesus" is the second episode of the seventh season of Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 5, 2008. In the episode, Peter finds an incognito Jesus Christ working at a record shop, and convinces Jesus to make his second coming public.The episode was...
" and "Road to Germany
Road to Germany
"Road to Germany" is the third episode of the seventh season of Family Guy. It originally aired on October 19, 2008, on Fox. It is Brian and Stewie's fourth road adventure, following "Road to Rhode Island", "Road to Europe", "Road to Rupert", and is succeeded by "Road to the Multiverse". The...
", was nominated in the "Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an Emmy given to the best television comedy series of the year.-Winners and nominees:...
" category for the 2009 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! the Creative Arts event; both take place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations for the Awards were announced on July 16....
. Series 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,...
commented "We picked three of our edgier shows as a choice. Ya know, we figured if we are going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are." Much to the surprise of the writing staff, the series was ultimately nominated for the award, the first time in 48 years an animated series was nominated for the same category since The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
in 1961, but lost to The Jack Benny Show.
though 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...
were almost nominated in the year 1993, but that changed since Emmy voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs.
The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Ahsan Haque 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...
rated the episode a 7.9/10, saying, "Overall, while it's far from being the funniest episode of the season, there were more than enough laughs and uncomfortable moments to make this episode entertaining." He went on to say that the episode could have been more though, due to the fact that the show has used many clever gay jokes in the past. Likewise, Alex Rocha of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
commented, "'Family Gay' fell way short of my expectations. Even with its traditional pop culture references and flashbacks, this week's episode could not simply keep me tuned in. I'll admit, I did manage to laugh at times, but as in previous times, Family Guy simply fell short again." Steve Heisler 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...
gave the episode a negative review, calling it "yet another pointless exercise in Family Guy insider smugness", and rating it C-.
In March 2009 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...
(PTC), a conservative decency
Decency
Decency is the quality or state of conforming to social or moral standards of taste and propriety.-See also:*Taste *Communications Decency Act*Public indecency*Indecent exposure*Sodomy law*Norm *Grotesque body...
campaigning group, filed an indecency complaint to 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...
(FCC). PTC President Tim Winter stated, "Fox treated viewers to everything from an 'eleven-way' gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
orgy
Group sex
Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Group sex can occur amongst people of all sexual orientations and genders...
to baby Stewie possibly eating a bowl of cereal with horse semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
instead of milk." Dan Isett, PTC director of public policy, said that this was the first time since last fall that the PTC had asked its members to send complaints to the FCC, although the PTC regularly discusses issues it has with shows. The PTC named "Family Gay" the "Worst TV Show of the Week" for the week of March 13. MacFarlane responded to the PTC's decrees against the show in an interview with The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, "For an organization that prides itself on Christian values — I mean, I’m an atheist, so what do I know? — they spend their entire day hating people."