Peterotica
Encyclopedia
"Peterotica" is the twenty-fourth episode from season four of Family Guy
. The episode originally broadcast on April 23, 2006, and was written by Patrick Meighan and directed by Kurt Dumas. The title of the episode is a portmanteau between "Peter" and "Erotica
". The plot follows Peter
's brief career writing erotic novels. After Peter asks Carter Pewterschmidt for publishing
money, Carter is sued by a man who has a car accident
while listening to an audio book
of one of Peter's novels; the settlement forces Carter into bankruptcy. Peter attempts to help Carter accept life as a middle-class
citizen, then decides to work with Carter so they both can become wealthy, but then gives up after multiple failed attempts. Carter soon gets his fortune back when his wife returns to him, and he resumes hating Peter. Meanwhile, Stewie
attempts to train for the Olympics, despite discouraging comments from Brian
.
Barbara, Carter's wife soon divorces him and marries Ted Turner. Peter attempts to teach Carter how to live as a regular person, but Carter doesn't take well to this, so Peter and Carter attempt to make some money, robbing a train as a last resort after several other failed attempts, but the train robbery is unsuccessful. Barbara returns to Quahog as Peter and Carter realise they will not be rich, and Barbara informs Carter he is rich again due to her divorcing Ted Turner and taking half his assets. Despite Peter helping him, Carter abandons him again, leaving him with no money. Lois informs Peter she refused 10 million dollars ten years ago, as money would just complicate things, which leads to Peter fantasising about killing her because of this. Meanwhile, Stewie trains to participate in the Olympic Games, although ends up with a shard of glass in his head during training.
.
When Lois' father, Carter sits down at the breakfast table, Lois states: "Daddy, did you remember to clean-up"; originally, she was meant to say "Daddy, did you remember to wipe yourself", but broadcasting standards objected, so it was modified to "Daddy, did you remember to clean yourself", but standards still objected, so it was changed to its current version, as that was the only version they would permit. The "thinking grenade" sketch when Peter uses grenades to help him think was originally intended to be used in "PTV
" in a scene in The Drunken Clam, but there were no windows in the Clam nearby for Peter to throw the grenade through, so, instead of adding windows directly for that episode, it was moved to this episode.
musical film Singin' in the Rain
. The lawyer attempting to sue Carter is forced into a battle with a rancor, in a scene that mirrors Luke Skywalker's fight with the Rancor in Jabba the Hutt's palace from Return of the Jedi. Peter is shown watching Blind Justice in his house, a reference to the show. A reference to The Simpsons
appearance in The Tracey Ullman Show
is made when the Griffins are shown as characters in the show. Show producer David A. Goodman
comments that, contrary to what some think, the show was not trying to get at The Simpsons, rather trying to show the differences in voices and character appearance. While Peter and Carter Pewterschmidt try to steal money from Lois' purse, Peter balances on a unicycle and hums Aram Khachaturian
's Sabre Dance
. The erotic book Peter bought at the sex shop is Much Ado About Humping, an obvious parody of the William Shakespeare
play Much Ado About Nothing
. The four porn books shown on screen are references to works of literature: Angela's Asses to Angela's Ashes
by Frank McCourt
, Catcher in the Eye to Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
, Shaved New World to Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
, and Harry Potter and the Half-Black
Chick to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
by J. K. Rowling
. When Peter and Carter are trying to obtain money, they start their own sitcom called Quahog Creek, a ripoff of WB's Dawson's Creek
. When waiting in line at the movies, Peter tells Carter about a new movie, The Picnic, starring Jude Law
and Renee Zellweger
. The song used is 'Roll to Me
' by Del Amitri
. 'The theme song "I Don't Want to Wait", uses misinterpreted lyrics of the actual theme song performed by Paula Cole
. Peter's "Thinking Grenades" use the same sound effect as the grenades in the Halo video games.
regards "Peterotica" and "PTV
" as "new classics." In a review of the episode, Bob Sassone of TV Squad commented on the scene where Peter acts as a landlord over a rat, writing "to be honest, I'm not even sure what the hell was going on there, it was so disturbing." Geoffrey D. Roberts of Real Talk Reviews criticized the episode, writing that "the story is thin and the laughter absent." The episode sparked controversy over a depiction of the Charwoman
cleaning character, a character used by Carol Burnett
in The Carol Burnett Show
that was used in the episode without her consent. Burnett sued, but the case was later dismissed.
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...
. The episode originally broadcast on April 23, 2006, and was written by Patrick Meighan and directed by Kurt Dumas. The title of the episode is a portmanteau between "Peter" and "Erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
". The plot follows 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....
's brief career writing erotic novels. After Peter asks Carter Pewterschmidt for publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
money, Carter is sued by a man who has a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
while listening to an audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
of one of Peter's novels; the settlement forces Carter into bankruptcy. Peter attempts to help Carter accept life as a middle-class
American middle class
The American middle class is a social class in the United States. While the concept is typically ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary social scientists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class...
citizen, then decides to work with Carter so they both can become wealthy, but then gives up after multiple failed attempts. Carter soon gets his fortune back when his wife returns to him, and he resumes hating Peter. Meanwhile, 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....
attempts to train for the Olympics, despite discouraging comments from 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...
.
Plot
Peter, Joe, and Cleveland accompany Quagmire to a sex shop. While there, Peter buys an erotic book entitled Much Ado About Humping and finds it disappointing. Peter writes a letter to the author including an example of what he would consider a better writing style for an erotic novel and impresses his friends which is met with encouragement them to which Peter decides to write his own erotic novel, which is received well by all who read it. The novels he authors are converted into audio-books, as read by Betty White and published by Peter's father-in-law, Carter Pewterschmidt. While listening to one of Peter's new books, an aroused driver crashes his car while trying to take his shirt off, and sues Carter, as he is liable as publisher, and his assets are immediately seized. Angry at Peter for making him lose his fortune, Carter comes to the Griffin house intent on shooting Peter, but is persuaded otherwise by Lois, and Peter agrees to let him live with them until he has income.Barbara, Carter's wife soon divorces him and marries Ted Turner. Peter attempts to teach Carter how to live as a regular person, but Carter doesn't take well to this, so Peter and Carter attempt to make some money, robbing a train as a last resort after several other failed attempts, but the train robbery is unsuccessful. Barbara returns to Quahog as Peter and Carter realise they will not be rich, and Barbara informs Carter he is rich again due to her divorcing Ted Turner and taking half his assets. Despite Peter helping him, Carter abandons him again, leaving him with no money. Lois informs Peter she refused 10 million dollars ten years ago, as money would just complicate things, which leads to Peter fantasising about killing her because of this. Meanwhile, Stewie trains to participate in the Olympic Games, although ends up with a shard of glass in his head during training.
Production
The "naughty flapper girl" gag was included in the original draft of the episode. The original title of the episode was intended to be "A Connecticut Yankee and King Arthur's Butt", but broadcasting standards objected. The scene of Peter reading his new erotic novel to Lois was never cut from airing, although the producers of Family Guy had some trouble originally with it, as it is the second semen joke of the episode. The gag of Peter being a landlord over a rat family in the Griffin family basement was removed from television broadcasting for timing purposes. Stewie is seen practicing for the Olympics and is disturbed by Chris; this scene was originally meant to be the start of a sub-plot which would see Stewie building a machine to make Chris intelligent, although it would be successful, Chris would become more clever than Stewie, but it was scrapped because it was deemed not funny enough. A sequence showing all of the different erotic novels written by Peter was edited for the television version; one entitled "Catcher in the Eye" was removed from the television version, as broadcasting standards disliked the cover which implied her eye was a target for semen during ejaculationEjaculation
Ejaculation is the ejecting of semen from the male reproductory tract, and is usually accompanied by orgasm. It is usually the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. In rare cases ejaculation occurs because of prostatic disease...
.
When Lois' father, Carter sits down at the breakfast table, Lois states: "Daddy, did you remember to clean-up"; originally, she was meant to say "Daddy, did you remember to wipe yourself", but broadcasting standards objected, so it was modified to "Daddy, did you remember to clean yourself", but standards still objected, so it was changed to its current version, as that was the only version they would permit. The "thinking grenade" sketch when Peter uses grenades to help him think was originally intended to be used in "PTV
PTV (Family Guy)
"PTV" is the fourteenth episode of season four of the FOX animated series Family Guy. The episode sees the FCC censor the shows on television after a controversial wardrobe malfunction at the Emmy Awards. Peter starts to create his own TV network which he calls PTV, broadcasting classic shows...
" in a scene in The Drunken Clam, but there were no windows in the Clam nearby for Peter to throw the grenade through, so, instead of adding windows directly for that episode, it was moved to this episode.
Cultural references
The song Quagmire sings in the sex shop is a part of "Make 'Em Laugh" from 19521952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
musical film Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
. The lawyer attempting to sue Carter is forced into a battle with a rancor, in a scene that mirrors Luke Skywalker's fight with the Rancor in Jabba the Hutt's palace from Return of the Jedi. Peter is shown watching Blind Justice in his house, a reference to the show. A reference to 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...
appearance in The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
is made when the Griffins are shown as characters in the show. Show producer David A. Goodman
David A. Goodman
David A. Goodman is an American writer and producer and a graduate of the University of Chicago, earning an BA in 1984. He was one of the executive producers of Family Guy, beginning its fourth season, joining the show as a co-executive producer in season three...
comments that, contrary to what some think, the show was not trying to get at The Simpsons, rather trying to show the differences in voices and character appearance. While Peter and Carter Pewterschmidt try to steal money from Lois' purse, Peter balances on a unicycle and hums Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's Sabre Dance
Sabre Dance
"The Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane , written by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's and completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk...
. The erotic book Peter bought at the sex shop is Much Ado About Humping, an obvious parody of the William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
play Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
. The four porn books shown on screen are references to works of literature: Angela's Asses to Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt. The memoir consists of various anecdotes and stories of Frank McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New York and Limerick, Ireland, as well as McCourt's struggles with poverty, his father's...
by Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt
Francis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....
, Catcher in the Eye to Catcher in the Rye by 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....
, Shaved New World to Brave New World
Brave New World
Brave New World is Aldous Huxley's fifth novel, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 , the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future society is an embodiment of the ideals that form the basis of...
by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
, and Harry Potter and the Half-Black
Quadroon
Quadroon, and the associated words octoroon and quintroon are terms that, historically, were applied to define the ancestry of people of mixed-race, generally of African and Caucasian ancestry, but also, within Australia, to those of Aboriginal and Caucasian ancestry...
Chick to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling...
by J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
. When Peter and Carter are trying to obtain money, they start their own sitcom called Quahog Creek, a ripoff of WB's Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
. When waiting in line at the movies, Peter tells Carter about a new movie, The Picnic, starring Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
and Renee Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
. The song used is 'Roll to Me
Roll to Me
"Roll to Me" is a 1995 single from Del Amitri, included on their album "Twisted". "Roll to Me" became their most popular song in the US, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was less successful in their native UK, peaking at No. 22, lower than previous singles, "Here and Now" and...
' by Del Amitri
Del Amitri
Del Amitri were a Scottish pop-rock guitar band, formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1983. The band grew out of Justin Currie's Jordanhill College School band and came together after teenager Currie placed an advertisement in the window of a music store asking for people who could play to contact him...
. 'The theme song "I Don't Want to Wait", uses misinterpreted lyrics of the actual theme song performed by Paula Cole
Paula Cole
Paula Cole is an American singer/songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.-Early life:...
. Peter's "Thinking Grenades" use the same sound effect as the grenades in the Halo video games.
Reception
In a review of Family Guy, Volume Four, Mike Drucker of IGNIGN
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...
regards "Peterotica" and "PTV
PTV (Family Guy)
"PTV" is the fourteenth episode of season four of the FOX animated series Family Guy. The episode sees the FCC censor the shows on television after a controversial wardrobe malfunction at the Emmy Awards. Peter starts to create his own TV network which he calls PTV, broadcasting classic shows...
" as "new classics." In a review of the episode, Bob Sassone of TV Squad commented on the scene where Peter acts as a landlord over a rat, writing "to be honest, I'm not even sure what the hell was going on there, it was so disturbing." Geoffrey D. Roberts of Real Talk Reviews criticized the episode, writing that "the story is thin and the laughter absent." The episode sparked controversy over a depiction of the Charwoman
Charlady
A charlady, char or charwoman was an English house cleaner. The term has the same roots as "chore woman," one hired to do odd chores around the house. A char or chare was a turn in the sixteenth century, and which gave rise to prefix being used to denote people that worked in domestic situations...
cleaning character, a character used by Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
in The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
that was used in the episode without her consent. Burnett sued, but the case was later dismissed.