Spies Reminiscent of Us
Encyclopedia
"Spies Reminiscent of Us" is the third episode of the eighth season
of the animated
comedy series
Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on October 11, 2009. The episode features baby Stewie
and anthropomorphic
dog Brian
as they discover that American spies Chevy Chase
and Dan Aykroyd
have moved into their neighbor Cleveland Brown
's old house; they eventually follow them on a secret mission to Russia
. Meanwhile, Peter
, Joe, and Quagmire
attempt to start an improv comedy
group with very little success.
The episode was written by Alec Sulkin
and was directed by Cyndi Tang-Loveland
. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 8.88 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Gary Cole
, Dimitri Diatchenko, James Lipton
, Henriette Mantel
, Chris Parson
, Nicole Sullivan
, and Mae Whitman
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Spies Reminiscent of Us" was released on DVD
along with seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
loses to Lois
in a race for the bathroom and finds their other bathroom is occupied by a transfer student from Africa
. Angered, Peter begins frequenting the toilet at Cleveland
's old house, which he has vacated after moving to Virginia. The house is eventually rented to actors Chevy Chase
and Dan Aykroyd
, and Peter invites the two actors to his house for dinner. Peter shows them some of his comedy bits, including a crude impersonation of John Wayne
, which Chase, Aykroyd and Lois find painfully unfunny. Peter spends the rest of the episode working in an improv
comedy group with Quagmire
and Joe. Quagmire attempts to educate the others on the fine art of improv comedy but when they try to do a live show, Peter's lack of conscious comedic knowledge completely gives way to his John Wayne impersonations, which the audience finds hilarious. This, along with Joe's fecal incontinence
, forces Quagmire to end the show early and conclude that this is something that should never have been attempted.
Suspicious as to why Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd are living in their neighborhood, Stewie
and Brian
investigate the house and discover a secret underground military facility, eventually learning that the two actors were made real spies by Ronald Reagan
after he saw their film Spies Like Us
. Chase and Aykroyd explain that during the Cold War
, the Soviet Union
turned dozens of American citizens into sleeper agent
s who would fall into a trance and do the bidding of the KGB
when one utters the phrase, "Gosh, that Italian family at the next table sure is quiet" – a phrase no one would normally use. Stewie, Brian, Chase, and Aykroyd try to warn Mayor West
, but they discover that the mayor is a sleeper agent when Aykroyd inadvertently uses the trigger phrase. During the ensuing fight, Aykroyd plants a homing beacon
on Mayor West's leg. West escapes to Russia
and the four follow him. They are quickly captured under orders of Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin
, who explains that word of the sleeper agent plan would be an embarrassment to their government. He offers to help them stop West from fulfilling his pre-programmed mission. When the four find West, they see him launch a nuclear missile
aimed at the United States
before he suddenly returns to normal. Fortunately, when Mayor West says, "The last thing I remember was the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' video. Boy, could that guy dance!" Aykroyd realizes that he can hack into the missile's guidance system
. This allows him to aim the missile's warhead
high above the Earth's atmosphere and harmlessly explode, fulfilling their mission and saving the country. The episode ends with Brian and Stewie in the family living room as they recount their adventure and repeat the activation phrase, which reveals Meg
to be another sleeper agent who is now activated.
and directed by Cyndi Tang-Loveland
in her first episode for the eighth production season. The episode was originally intended to be a "Road to" episode, entitled "Road to '85", but was switched with "Road to the Multiverse
" instead. Series creator Seth MacFarlane
was convinced by "Road to the Multiverse" director Greg Colton
to make the change, due to the subplot
that involved Peter, which caused it to "not feel like a Road show". Series regulars Peter Shin
and James Purdum
served as supervising directors, and series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane
and David Zuckerman
served as the episode's staff writer
s.
"Spies Reminiscent of Us", 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 a mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke.
The episode saw the second re-appearance, the first being a brief appearance "Road to the Multiverse", by former main cast member and writer Mike Henry as the voice of Cleveland Brown
. The actor had previously left the role on Family Guy to star as the character in his own spin-off The Cleveland Show
, co-created by Seth MacFarlane
, Mike Henry, and Richard Appel
. In addition to the regular cast, actors Dan Aykroyd
, Chevy Chase
, and Gary Cole
; voice actors Dimitri Diatchenko and Chris Parson
; writer, actor, and television host James Lipton
; actresses Henriette Mantel
and Mae Whitman
; and voice actress Nicole Sullivan
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Johnny Brennan; actor Ralph Garman
; writers Mark Hentemann
, Alec Sulkin
, and John Viener also made minor appearances.
The episode was largely based upon the 1985 film Spies Like Us
, which starred Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, and the movie is referred in the episode itself. The episode was also based on the 1977 spy film Telefon about brainwashed Russian spies in the U.S. that can be activated by a special code phrase. When Peter has to go to the bathroom, he runs to Cleveland's empty home, which has been put up for sale since he left to live in Virginia with his new family. A montage of Peter going to the bathroom is shown, while Jennifer Lopez
's "Let's Get Loud
" plays. When Peter becomes aware that Cleveland's house is being rented by actors Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, he mentions that he is honored to have dinner with "two of the Ghostbusters
". Chase then replies that he was not in that movie; Peter also notes that he is honored to meet "two of the Three Amigos", a movie starring Chase but not Aykroyd. After dinner, Stewie is seen drawing and coloring Sebastian the crab, a character from the Disney
film The Little Mermaid
. When Aykroyd and Chase ask Stewie and Brian if they want to be "spies like us", Stewie asks if they can be "spies like them" and points to the Black and White Spies from Spy vs. Spy
, one of the head comic strip
features of MAD magazine
. When Aykroyd and Chase explain to Stewie and Brian how they were coronated as official spies by Reagan, a cutaway is shown of the coronation and 1985 being awarded the "awesomest year of the 80's" and all characters spontaneously start dancing to the song (Keep Feeling) Fascination
. Later, Brian and Stewie agree to become agents, and Stewie asks if "Ron Howard
's weird-looking brother, Clint Howard
is here".
Back in Quahog, when Peter, Joe, and Quagmire discuss how to prove to Chase and Aykroyd that they know what is funny, Quagmire asks what the most consistent form of comedy is, to which Joe responds "improv
." This causes Peter, Joe, and Quagmire to yell "improv" repeatedly, until live-action footage of James Lipton
saying the word "improv" is shown.
Vladamir Putin Makes an appearance in the episode, and asks if Brian and Stewie would like to see a Russian Cutaway Gag. They agree and the viewers are presented with a hedgehog in a foggy forest. The hedgehog then goes on to say, "What kind of idiots would make a porcupine sandwich without bread? These no-good bastards!" and laughs. This is a nod to the Russian made animation Hedgehog in the Fog
.
of 5.1/8, totaling 8.88 million viewers in the 18–19 demographic. The episode ranked one of the lowest in the 9:00PM timeslot, behind The Amazing Race
on CBS
, Sunday Night Football
on NBC
, and Desperate Housewives
; however, it was ahead of fellow Fox animated sitcom American Dad!
, which was shown immediately after Family Guy.
Reviews of the episode were mostly positive. The AV Club's Todd VanDerWerff noted his enjoyment of the storyline, but he mostly enjoyed the episode's inclusion and voice work of Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. He also commented favorably on the gags that describe Russia as filled with bears on unicycles and that Adam West turns out to be the Russian sleeper agent. He criticized the improv comedy storyline but commented that improv troupes and 1980s comedies are lazy targets. He graded the episode a B, tying with The Simpsons
and American Dad!, and beating its spin-off
The Cleveland Show
. IGN
Television critic Ahsan Haque gave the episode a mixed review, stating that he did not like the improv storyline, and he was not amused with Peter's usage of Joe's American flag as toilet paper. However, he praised the scene that involved Stewie's, Brian's, Chevy Chase's, and Dan Aykroyd's travel to Russia, and he ultimately gave the episode 7.7 out of 10.
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
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
comedy series
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. It originally aired on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States on October 11, 2009. The episode features 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....
and anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
dog Brian
Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
as they discover that American spies Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
have moved into their neighbor Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,...
's old house; they eventually follow them on a secret mission to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Meanwhile, Peter
Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
, Joe, and 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...
attempt to start an improv comedy
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
group with very little success.
The episode was written by 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 was directed by Cyndi Tang-Loveland
Cyndi Tang
Cyndi Tang-Loveland is an American animation director. Tang is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy and King of the Hill....
. 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 8.88 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
, Dimitri Diatchenko, James Lipton
James Lipton
James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...
, Henriette Mantel
Henriette Mantel
Henriette Mantel is an Emmy Award-winning American writer, actress, producer, director, and stand-up comic from Vermont.She was born and raised in Newfane, Vermont on her family's farm....
, Chris Parson
Chris Parson
Chris Parson is an American voiceover actor and a 2001 graduate of the USC School of Cinema Television . Parson began his career working primarily as an assistant in talent management while still a student, and worked briefly in digital artist management for Sony Pictures Imageworks.It was after...
, Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Julianne Sullivan is an American actress, comedian and voice artist. Sullivan is best known for her six seasons on the sketch comedy series MADtv and five seasons on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens.She has played a recurring character on Scrubs and voices the villainous Shego in...
, and Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Spies Reminiscent of Us" 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
PeterPeter 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....
loses to 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...
in a race for the bathroom and finds their other bathroom is occupied by a transfer student from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Angered, Peter begins frequenting the toilet at Cleveland
Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,...
's old house, which he has vacated after moving to Virginia. The house is eventually rented to actors Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
, and Peter invites the two actors to his house for dinner. Peter shows them some of his comedy bits, including a crude impersonation of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, which Chase, Aykroyd and Lois find painfully unfunny. Peter spends the rest of the episode working in an improv
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
comedy group with 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...
and Joe. Quagmire attempts to educate the others on the fine art of improv comedy but when they try to do a live show, Peter's lack of conscious comedic knowledge completely gives way to his John Wayne impersonations, which the audience finds hilarious. This, along with Joe's fecal incontinence
Fecal incontinence
Fecal incontinence is the loss of regular control of the bowels. Involuntary excretion and leaking are common occurrences for those affected. Subjects relating to defecation are often socially unacceptable, thus those affected may be beset by feelings of shame and humiliation...
, forces Quagmire to end the show early and conclude that this is something that should never have been attempted.
Suspicious as to why Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd are living in their neighborhood, 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...
investigate the house and discover a secret underground military facility, eventually learning that the two actors were made real spies by Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
after he saw their film Spies Like Us
Spies Like Us
Spies Like Us is a 1985 American comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, and Donna Dixon...
. Chase and Aykroyd explain that during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
turned dozens of American citizens into sleeper agent
Sleeper agent
A sleeper agent is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but rather to act as a potential asset if activated...
s who would fall into a trance and do the bidding of the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
when one utters the phrase, "Gosh, that Italian family at the next table sure is quiet" – a phrase no one would normally use. Stewie, Brian, Chase, and Aykroyd try to warn Mayor West
Adam West (Family Guy)
Adam West, also known as Mayor West, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. The character, voiced by the actor of the same name, is the eccentric mayor of the town of Quahog, Rhode Island, where the series is set.-Character:...
, but they discover that the mayor is a sleeper agent when Aykroyd inadvertently uses the trigger phrase. During the ensuing fight, Aykroyd plants a homing beacon
Homing beacon
A homing beacon is a radio or acoustic device that allows the user to track a ship, aircraft, an animal, or another individual. Depending on the beacon, the range can be as short as a hundred metres, or, in science fiction, allow for tracking a ship through hyperspace....
on Mayor West's leg. West escapes to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the four follow him. They are quickly captured under orders of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, who explains that word of the sleeper agent plan would be an embarrassment to their government. He offers to help them stop West from fulfilling his pre-programmed mission. When the four find West, they see him launch a nuclear missile
Nuclear weapons delivery
Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a nuclear weapon at the position of detonation, on or near its target. Several methods have been developed to carry out this task....
aimed at the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before he suddenly returns to normal. Fortunately, when Mayor West says, "The last thing I remember was the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' video. Boy, could that guy dance!" Aykroyd realizes that he can hack into the missile's guidance system
Guidance system
A guidance system is a device or group of devices used to navigate a ship, aircraft, missile, rocket, satellite, or other craft. Typically, this refers to a system that navigates without direct or continuous human control...
. This allows him to aim the missile's warhead
Warhead
The term warhead refers to the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.- Etymology :During the early development of naval torpedoes, they could be equipped with an inert payload that was intended for use during training, test firing and exercises. This...
high above the Earth's atmosphere and harmlessly explode, fulfilling their mission and saving the country. The episode ends with Brian and Stewie in the family living room as they recount their adventure and repeat the activation phrase, which reveals Meg
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....
to be another sleeper agent who is now activated.
Production and development
The episode was written by series regular Alec SulkinAlec 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 directed by Cyndi Tang-Loveland
Cyndi Tang
Cyndi Tang-Loveland is an American animation director. Tang is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy and King of the Hill....
in her first episode for the eighth production season. The episode was originally intended to be a "Road to" episode, entitled "Road to '85", but was switched with "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...
" instead. 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,...
was convinced by "Road to the Multiverse" director Greg Colton
Greg Colton
Greg Colton is an American animation director. Colton is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy and Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy....
to make the change, due to the subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
that involved Peter, which caused it to "not feel like a Road show". Series regulars Peter Shin
Peter Shin
Peter Shin is the:*supervising director of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story*director of Big Bug Man.*director of Family Guy episodes:**"Death Has a Shadow"**"Emission Impossible"**"North by North Quahog"**"It's a Trap!"...
and James Purdum
James Purdum
James Purdum is an American animation director. Purdum is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
served as supervising directors, and 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,...
and David Zuckerman
David Zuckerman
David Zuckerman is a farmer and a Progressive member of the Vermont House of Representatives, representing Chittenden-3-4 district. He grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts where he attended Brookline High School.-Career:...
served as the episode's staff writer
Staff writer
Staff writer is a byline that indicates that the author of the article at hand is employed by the periodical that published the article as a regular staff member, and not as a freelance writer or special contributor....
s.
"Spies Reminiscent of Us", 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", and a mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke.
The episode saw the second re-appearance, the first being a brief appearance "Road to the Multiverse", by former main cast member and writer Mike Henry as the voice of Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,...
. The actor had previously left the role on Family Guy to star as the character in his own spin-off 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...
, co-created by 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,...
, Mike Henry, and 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...
. In addition to the regular cast, actors Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
, Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
, and Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
; voice actors Dimitri Diatchenko and Chris Parson
Chris Parson
Chris Parson is an American voiceover actor and a 2001 graduate of the USC School of Cinema Television . Parson began his career working primarily as an assistant in talent management while still a student, and worked briefly in digital artist management for Sony Pictures Imageworks.It was after...
; writer, actor, and television host James Lipton
James Lipton
James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...
; actresses Henriette Mantel
Henriette Mantel
Henriette Mantel is an Emmy Award-winning American writer, actress, producer, director, and stand-up comic from Vermont.She was born and raised in Newfane, Vermont on her family's farm....
and Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
; and voice actress Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Julianne Sullivan is an American actress, comedian and voice artist. Sullivan is best known for her six seasons on the sketch comedy series MADtv and five seasons on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens.She has played a recurring character on Scrubs and voices the villainous Shego in...
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Johnny Brennan; 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...
; writers 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...
, 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 John Viener also made minor appearances.
Cultural references
Spies Like Us
Spies Like Us is a 1985 American comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, and Donna Dixon...
, which starred Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, and the movie is referred in the episode itself. The episode was also based on the 1977 spy film Telefon about brainwashed Russian spies in the U.S. that can be activated by a special code phrase. When Peter has to go to the bathroom, he runs to Cleveland's empty home, which has been put up for sale since he left to live in Virginia with his new family. A montage of Peter going to the bathroom is shown, while Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
's "Let's Get Loud
Let's Get Loud (Jennifer Lopez song)
"Let's Get Loud" is a song by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez from her debut album, On the 6 . Written by Gloria Estefan and Kike Santander, and produced by Emilio Estefan, Jr. and Santander, the song was released in June 2000 as the album's fifth and final single. While the single did not...
" plays. When Peter becomes aware that Cleveland's house is being rented by actors Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, he mentions that he is honored to have dinner with "two of the Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
". Chase then replies that he was not in that movie; Peter also notes that he is honored to meet "two of the Three Amigos", a movie starring Chase but not Aykroyd. After dinner, Stewie is seen drawing and coloring Sebastian the crab, a character from the Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
film The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
. When Aykroyd and Chase ask Stewie and Brian if they want to be "spies like us", Stewie asks if they can be "spies like them" and points to the Black and White Spies from Spy vs. Spy
Spy vs. Spy
Spy vs. Spy is a black and white comic strip that debuted in Mad magazine #60, dated January 1961, and was originally published by EC Comics. The strip was created by Antonio Prohías.The Spy vs...
, one of the head comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
features of MAD magazine
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
. When Aykroyd and Chase explain to Stewie and Brian how they were coronated as official spies by Reagan, a cutaway is shown of the coronation and 1985 being awarded the "awesomest year of the 80's" and all characters spontaneously start dancing to the song (Keep Feeling) Fascination
(Keep Feeling) Fascination
" Fascination" is a dance song performed by British synthpop group The Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey....
. Later, Brian and Stewie agree to become agents, and Stewie asks if "Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
's weird-looking brother, Clint Howard
Clint Howard
Clinton "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard. He is also the uncle of actress Bryce Dallas Howard...
is here".
Back in Quahog, when Peter, Joe, and Quagmire discuss how to prove to Chase and Aykroyd that they know what is funny, Quagmire asks what the most consistent form of comedy is, to which Joe responds "improv
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
." This causes Peter, Joe, and Quagmire to yell "improv" repeatedly, until live-action footage of James Lipton
James Lipton
James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...
saying the word "improv" is shown.
Vladamir Putin Makes an appearance in the episode, and asks if Brian and Stewie would like to see a Russian Cutaway Gag. They agree and the viewers are presented with a hedgehog in a foggy forest. The hedgehog then goes on to say, "What kind of idiots would make a porcupine sandwich without bread? These no-good bastards!" and laughs. This is a nod to the Russian made animation Hedgehog in the Fog
Hedgehog in the Fog
Hedgehog in the Fog is a 1975 Soviet/Russian animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. The Russian script was written by Sergei Grigoryevich Kozlov, who also published a book under the same name...
.
Reception
In its initial broadcast, this episode received a 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...
of 5.1/8, totaling 8.88 million viewers in the 18–19 demographic. The episode ranked one of the lowest in the 9:00PM timeslot, behind The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race is a reality television game show in which teams of two people, who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship, race around the world in competition with other teams...
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...
, 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...
, 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...
; however, it was ahead of fellow Fox animated sitcom American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, which was shown immediately after Family Guy.
Reviews of the episode were mostly positive. The AV Club's Todd VanDerWerff noted his enjoyment of the storyline, but he mostly enjoyed the episode's inclusion and voice work of Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. He also commented favorably on the gags that describe Russia as filled with bears on unicycles and that Adam West turns out to be the Russian sleeper agent. He criticized the improv comedy storyline but commented that improv troupes and 1980s comedies are lazy targets. He graded the episode a B, tying with 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...
and American Dad!, and beating its spin-off
Spin-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...
. 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...
Television critic Ahsan Haque gave the episode a mixed review, stating that he did not like the improv storyline, and he was not amused with Peter's usage of Joe's American flag as toilet paper. However, he praised the scene that involved Stewie's, Brian's, Chevy Chase's, and Dan Aykroyd's travel to Russia, and he ultimately gave the episode 7.7 out of 10.