Hannah Banana
Encyclopedia
"Hannah Banana" is the fifth episode of the eighth season
of the animated series Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on November 8, 2009. The episode follows baby Stewie
after he sneaks backstage at a Miley Cyrus
concert in Quahog, eventually discovering that she is actually an android and causing her to wreak havoc on the town. Meanwhile, Chris
proves to his family that the Evil Monkey who lives in his closet is actually real, and eventually comes to realize that the monkey is actually well-spoken and intelligent, when he begins spending more time with him than his own father.
The episode was written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
and directed by John Holmquist
. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 7.73 million homes in its original airing. The episode aired during an "all-Seth MacFarlane
" line-up, along with the live-action special Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, and featured a guest performance by Candace Marie
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was first announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International. "Hannah Banana" was released on DVD
along with seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
, a self-proclaimed Hannah Montana
fan, learns that Miley Cyrus
is having a concert in Quahog. Tickets to the show are sold out mere seconds after being made available for purchase, leaving him unable to attend the show. Desperate to attend, Stewie sneaks in backstage at the concert, where Brian
convinces Miley to give him tickets, saying Stewie has a tumor shaped like a football. Out of sympathy, Miley becomes Stewie's best friend, and later, Stewie notices something strange about Miley when she emits feedback while using her cell phone. Upon spying on her, Stewie discovers that she is actually an android after seeing an employee insert a USB drive on the control panel on Miley's back. He explains this to Brian, who then realized that Miley was created by Walt Disney Imagineering
to become the perfect teen idol
that can never fail. When Brian curiously asks if she can perform other tasks
, Stewie decides to reprogram the android Miley by gaining access to the control panel, but she suddenly goes haywire and rampages throughout the city. Stewie tries to fix this, but he and Brian are forced to flee from the rampaging Miley when she threatens them.
Meanwhile, Chris
does poorly on a test at school and blames the Evil Monkey living in his closet, which he says prevented him from being able to study. His parents, Peter
and Lois
, are fed up with Chris talking about the Evil Monkey, saying it does not exist. Chris then sets up a camera in his room to capture the creature. When he reviews the tape he finds no evidence of the Evil Monkey, and goes ahead with his plans on capturing him. The family is taken aback when Chris proves it is real by capturing the monkey, and showing it to them, but he turns out not to be evil after all. The monkey explains he was forced to move into Chris's closet after his wife had an affair, and divorced him, and pointing at Chris was only his way of trying to make conversation. In addition, the angry face he gave was his way of thinking, and the trembling was due to a copper deficiency
. Chris is at first unconvinced, but when the monkey helps him write a book report, he is surprised to receive a passing grade, and the two become great friends. Soon, Chris realizes that his father never gave as much attention to him as the monkey has, and grows to resent Peter. After the monkey helps Peter and Chris make up according to Lois' wishes, they see the android Miley Cyrus destroying the city. The monkey confronts her, and attempts to talk her out of her rampage (as well as her career), but Miley ends up kidnapping him, and taking him to the top of a nearby skyscraper. Fortunately, Peter is able to recruit his neighbor, Quagmire
, to shoot her down in a biplane
, and rescue the monkey. The android Miley then blows up, after crashing to the ground. Afterwards, the monkey moves out of Chris's closet, and his friendly attitude also parts ways with him, saying he will "go where he's needed", and moves to Tom Tucker's upside-down-faced son Jake's closet as his new haunt.
and directed by John Holmquist
, before the conclusion of the eighth production season
. Commenting on the original development of the episode, series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane
stated, " was the result of our ongoing desire to let the series stagnate, and kind of evolve things that may have run their course. There's only so many times you can do the Evil Monkey jumping out of that closet, before the joke gets old, and I think often times there's a fear to mess with what works, and change things permanently. We literally retired the Evil Monkey in this episode, and got a great episode out of it, which was worth it, and kind of evolved the series in a way." Singer and actress Candace Marie
provided the voice of Miley Cyrus
. Marie received the role when her producer alerted her of the audition, and she eventually received a call from the Family Guy casting director a month later. Even though the episode mocked Cyrus, Marie did not think she would upset any of Cyrus' fans. She added that she is a fan herself, and "was very impressed by the way Family Guy developed the episode," and thought it was "a huge compliment for them to refer to Miley as the "perfect popstar."" After voicing Cyrus, Marie was called back to Family Guy to voice Meg's
friend Beth for "several upcoming episodes." Marie described Beth as a girl that is "rarely addressed in conversation but loves to chime in whenever she can." The song in the episode sung by Cyrus was written by Chevapravatdumrong, and composed and performed by Family Guy composer Walter Murphy
.
The episode aired as a part of an "all-Seth MacFarlane" line-up, after the episode "Brian's Got a Brand New Bag" and the live-action special Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show. "Hannah Banana", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, were released on a three-disc DVD
set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse
", and mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke. In addition to the regular cast, series regular, writer and executive producer Danny Smith
voiced the Evil Monkey. Recurring guest voice actors Chris Cox
, actor Ralph Garman
, writer Alec Sulkin
and writer John Viener made minor appearances throughout the episode.
when he created actresses Ellen Barkin
and Kelly McGillis
.
Later that day, Stewie is shown watching television in the family room, with a narrator announcing a Hannah Montana marathon, as well as a concert in Quahog, Rhode Island, causing him to become excited. A scene from an episode of Hannah Montana is then shown, featuring Miley Cyrus, as well as her father, singer-songwriter Billy Ray Cyrus
. Deciding to sneak into the concert, Brian agrees to dress as rapper Kanye West
, and is forced to sing one of his songs by a security guard. Despondent, Brian then begins singing the theme song to 1972 NBC
sitcom Sanford and Son
.
As the monkey begins bonding with the family, including having a conversation about actress and comedian Sarah Silverman
, Chris realizes his deep hatred of the monkey. Deciding to help Chris on his homework, the monkey successfully writes an essay about the 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye
by American author J. D. Salinger
. The two then begin their own personal bonding, and eventually decide to go fishing, leading Chris to catch the comic book superhero
Aquaman
, before beating him to death and eating him.
In the conclusion of the episode, Miley Cyrus begins destroying downtown Quahog, causing the monkey to attempt to stop and reason with her. Not realizing that Stewie had unsuccessfully reprogrammed her, the monkey is then kidnapped, and taken to the top of a nearby skyscraper, in a parody of the 1933 film King Kong
. Cyrus is then shot down by Quagmire and Peter while piloting a biplane, before the two rescue the monkey from certain death.
, despite airing simultaneously with Sunday Night Football
on NBC
, The Amazing Race
on CBS
and Desperate Housewives
on ABC. The episode also acquired a 4.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating Seth & Alex's Almost-Live Comedy Show, The Cleveland Show
and the Family Guy episode "Brian's Got a Brand New Bag", in addition to significantly edging out all three in total viewership.
Reviews of the episode from television critics were mostly mixed, who found it to be "a thorough examination of both Miley Cyrus and the evil monkey in Chris' closet," but, "things got ridiculous." Television critic Ahsan Haque of IGN
gave the episode an 8.5 out of ten, and called it a "much better episode than , with some clever sight gags, an annoyingly catchy musical number, and the revelation of the Evil Monkey's true reasons for hiding in Chris' closet." In a simultaneous review of all four MacFarlane programs, Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
gave the episode a C- stating, "Turning Miley Cyrus into a Small Wonder parody was fitfully amusing, but the rest of the Hannah Montana material was ridiculously non-specific, filled with the kinds of jokes everyone made about Cyrus a few years ago." VanDerWerff praised the action sequence at the end of the episode, however, calling it "high quality stuff for the show." Jason Hughes of TV Squad stated of the Evil Monkey's role in the episode, "I don't think I ever wanted this character fully explored or seen by anyone else in the house The character lost some of its mystique and charm."
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...
of the animated series 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 November 8, 2009. The episode follows 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 he sneaks backstage at a Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
concert in Quahog, eventually discovering that she is actually an android and causing her to wreak havoc on the town. Meanwhile, Chris
Chris Griffin
Chris Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the son and middle child of Peter and Lois Griffin, brother of Stewie and Meg Griffin. Chris is voiced by Seth Green.-Personality:...
proves to his family that the Evil Monkey who lives in his closet is actually real, and eventually comes to realize that the monkey is actually well-spoken and intelligent, when he begins spending more time with him than his own father.
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 John Holmquist
John Holmquist
John Holmquist is a television animation director. He has worked on several episodes of Rugrats as a director and storyboard artist for the late 90's to early 2000's...
. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and 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 7.73 million homes in its original airing. The episode aired during an "all-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,...
" line-up, along with the live-action special Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, and featured a guest performance by Candace Marie
Candace Marie
Candace Marie Celmer is an American actress and singer–songwriter. She released her debut album Becoming a Real Girl on February 24, 2009 under record label Music da Foz.-Early life:...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was first announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International. "Hannah Banana" was 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 seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
Plot
StewieStewie 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....
, a self-proclaimed Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
fan, learns that Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
is having a concert in Quahog. Tickets to the show are sold out mere seconds after being made available for purchase, leaving him unable to attend the show. Desperate to attend, Stewie sneaks in backstage at the concert, where 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...
convinces Miley to give him tickets, saying Stewie has a tumor shaped like a football. Out of sympathy, Miley becomes Stewie's best friend, and later, Stewie notices something strange about Miley when she emits feedback while using her cell phone. Upon spying on her, Stewie discovers that she is actually an android after seeing an employee insert a USB drive on the control panel on Miley's back. He explains this to Brian, who then realized that Miley was created by Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
to become the perfect teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
that can never fail. When Brian curiously asks if she can perform other tasks
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, Stewie decides to reprogram the android Miley by gaining access to the control panel, but she suddenly goes haywire and rampages throughout the city. Stewie tries to fix this, but he and Brian are forced to flee from the rampaging Miley when she threatens them.
Meanwhile, Chris
Chris Griffin
Chris Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the son and middle child of Peter and Lois Griffin, brother of Stewie and Meg Griffin. Chris is voiced by Seth Green.-Personality:...
does poorly on a test at school and blames the Evil Monkey living in his closet, which he says prevented him from being able to study. His parents, 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....
and 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...
, are fed up with Chris talking about the Evil Monkey, saying it does not exist. Chris then sets up a camera in his room to capture the creature. When he reviews the tape he finds no evidence of the Evil Monkey, and goes ahead with his plans on capturing him. The family is taken aback when Chris proves it is real by capturing the monkey, and showing it to them, but he turns out not to be evil after all. The monkey explains he was forced to move into Chris's closet after his wife had an affair, and divorced him, and pointing at Chris was only his way of trying to make conversation. In addition, the angry face he gave was his way of thinking, and the trembling was due to a copper deficiency
Copper deficiency
Copper deficiency is a very rare hematological and neurological disorder. The neurodegenerative syndrome of copper deficiency has been recognized for some time in ruminant animals, in which it is commonly known as "swayback" The disease involves a nutritional deficiency in the trace element copper...
. Chris is at first unconvinced, but when the monkey helps him write a book report, he is surprised to receive a passing grade, and the two become great friends. Soon, Chris realizes that his father never gave as much attention to him as the monkey has, and grows to resent Peter. After the monkey helps Peter and Chris make up according to Lois' wishes, they see the android Miley Cyrus destroying the city. The monkey confronts her, and attempts to talk her out of her rampage (as well as her career), but Miley ends up kidnapping him, and taking him to the top of a nearby skyscraper. Fortunately, Peter is able to recruit his neighbor, 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...
, to shoot her down in a biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
, and rescue the monkey. The android Miley then blows up, after crashing to the ground. Afterwards, the monkey moves out of Chris's closet, and his friendly attitude also parts ways with him, saying he will "go where he's needed", and moves to Tom Tucker's upside-down-faced son Jake's closet as his new haunt.
Production and development
"Hannah Banana" was written by series regular Cherry ChevapravatdumrongCherry Chevapravatdumrong
Cherry Chevapravatdumrong is a Thai American author, and an executive story editor/co-producer on Family Guy....
and directed by John Holmquist
John Holmquist
John Holmquist is a television animation director. He has worked on several episodes of Rugrats as a director and storyboard artist for the late 90's to early 2000's...
, before 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...
. Commenting on the original development of the episode, series 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,...
stated, " was the result of our ongoing desire to let the series stagnate, and kind of evolve things that may have run their course. There's only so many times you can do the Evil Monkey jumping out of that closet, before the joke gets old, and I think often times there's a fear to mess with what works, and change things permanently. We literally retired the Evil Monkey in this episode, and got a great episode out of it, which was worth it, and kind of evolved the series in a way." Singer and actress Candace Marie
Candace Marie
Candace Marie Celmer is an American actress and singer–songwriter. She released her debut album Becoming a Real Girl on February 24, 2009 under record label Music da Foz.-Early life:...
provided the voice of Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
. Marie received the role when her producer alerted her of the audition, and she eventually received a call from the Family Guy casting director a month later. Even though the episode mocked Cyrus, Marie did not think she would upset any of Cyrus' fans. She added that she is a fan herself, and "was very impressed by the way Family Guy developed the episode," and thought it was "a huge compliment for them to refer to Miley as the "perfect popstar."" After voicing Cyrus, Marie was called back to Family Guy to voice Meg's
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
friend Beth for "several upcoming episodes." Marie described Beth as a girl that is "rarely addressed in conversation but loves to chime in whenever she can." The song in the episode sung by Cyrus was written by Chevapravatdumrong, and composed and performed by Family Guy 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...
.
The episode aired as a part of an "all-Seth MacFarlane" line-up, after the episode "Brian's Got a Brand New Bag" and the live-action special Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show. "Hannah Banana", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, were 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 June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse
Road to the Multiverse
"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009...
", and mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke. In addition to the regular cast, series regular, writer and executive producer 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...
voiced the Evil Monkey. Recurring guest voice actors Chris Cox
Chris Cox (actor)
Chris Cox is a filmmaker and voice actor. He is best known, as himself, for the 2001 Small Shots TV series for Spike TV.Cox replaced George Eads in the role of Captain Atom for the popular animated series Justice League Unlimited. Eads was unwilling to reprise his voice role after an appearance in...
, actor Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
, writer 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....
and writer John Viener made minor appearances throughout the episode.
Cultural references
In the opening scene of the episode, Chris alerts his parents of a failing grade he received at school on a science test, causing his mother to suggest he receive help on his homework. Chris then asks his father, Peter, for help who ends up rejecting him, leading Chris to blame his bad grades on the Evil Monkey, and announces that he will prove the monkey is real. Peter then suggests that his son would have to do a better job than GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
when he created actresses Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman...
and Kelly McGillis
Kelly McGillis
Kelly Ann McGillis is an American actress. Her films include Top Gun, The Accused, and Witness, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.-Career:...
.
Later that day, Stewie is shown watching television in the family room, with a narrator announcing a Hannah Montana marathon, as well as a concert in Quahog, Rhode Island, causing him to become excited. A scene from an episode of Hannah Montana is then shown, featuring Miley Cyrus, as well as her father, singer-songwriter Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
. Deciding to sneak into the concert, Brian agrees to dress as rapper Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, and is forced to sing one of his songs by a security guard. Despondent, Brian then begins singing the theme song to 1972 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...
sitcom Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
.
As the monkey begins bonding with the family, including having a conversation about actress and comedian Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
, Chris realizes his deep hatred of the monkey. Deciding to help Chris on his homework, the monkey successfully writes an essay about the 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
by American author J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
. The two then begin their own personal bonding, and eventually decide to go fishing, leading Chris to catch the comic book superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
, before beating him to death and eating him.
In the conclusion of the episode, Miley Cyrus begins destroying downtown Quahog, causing the monkey to attempt to stop and reason with her. Not realizing that Stewie had unsuccessfully reprogrammed her, the monkey is then kidnapped, and taken to the top of a nearby skyscraper, in a parody of the 1933 film King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)
King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
. Cyrus is then shot down by Quagmire and Peter while piloting a biplane, before the two rescue the monkey from certain death.
Reception
In a slight improvement over the previous episode, the episode was viewed in 7.73 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 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 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 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. The episode also acquired a 4.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating Seth & Alex's Almost-Live Comedy Show, 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...
and the Family Guy episode "Brian's Got a Brand New Bag", in addition to significantly edging out all three in total viewership.
Reviews of the episode from television critics were mostly mixed, who found it to be "a thorough examination of both Miley Cyrus and the evil monkey in Chris' closet," but, "things got ridiculous." Television critic 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...
gave the episode an 8.5 out of ten, and called it a "much better episode than , with some clever sight gags, an annoyingly catchy musical number, and the revelation of the Evil Monkey's true reasons for hiding in Chris' closet." In a simultaneous review of all four MacFarlane programs, 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...
gave the episode a C- stating, "Turning Miley Cyrus into a Small Wonder parody was fitfully amusing, but the rest of the Hannah Montana material was ridiculously non-specific, filled with the kinds of jokes everyone made about Cyrus a few years ago." VanDerWerff praised the action sequence at the end of the episode, however, calling it "high quality stuff for the show." Jason Hughes of TV Squad stated of the Evil Monkey's role in the episode, "I don't think I ever wanted this character fully explored or seen by anyone else in the house The character lost some of its mystique and charm."