Family Guy Wizard Of Oz
In the season 11 Family Guy episode 'Bigfat', Quagmire tries to convince Peter and Joe to join him on a trip to Canada by singing about the country's adult offerings via a parody of 'The Merry Old Land of Oz', entitled 'Canadian Nudie Bars'. Apr 07, 2019 The Wizard of Oz. A tornado does more than uproot trees and scatter crops in Kansas. It brings back to Theatre Coppell one of the most classic stories ever. Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tinman head down the yellow brick road to visit the great and powerful Wizard, encouraged by Glinda the Good Witch and the Munchkins, but. The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film directed by Victor Fleming. It was based on the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, who died twenty years before this film was released. It features Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Frank Morgan, with Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charles Grapewin.
| 'The Former Life of Brian' | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Guy episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 11 | ||
| Directed by | Pete Michels | ||
| Written by | Steve Callaghan | ||
| Production code | 6ACX04 | ||
| Original air date | April 27, 2008 | ||
| Guest appearance(s) | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Family Guy (season 6) | |||
| List of Family Guy episodes | |||
'The Former Life of Brian' is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of Family Guy. It was originally broadcast on April 27, 2008. The episode follows the Griffins' anthropomorphic dog, Brian (Seth MacFarlane), as he discovers that he is the father of a 13-year-old boy named Dylan (Seth Green). Dylan's mother, Tracy (Harvey Fierstein), leaves him with Brian after they meet and Dylan starts causing mischief at the Griffin's house.
The episode was written by Steve Callaghan and it was directed by Pete Michels. The episode guest starred Harvey Fierstein, Chace Crawford, Erinn Hayes and Max Burkholder. Recurring voice actors Patrick Warburton, writer Alec Sulkin, episode writer Steve Callaghan, writer John Viener and show creator Seth MacFarlane's sister Rachael MacFarlane made minor appearances. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot[edit]
Brian (Seth MacFarlane) decides to visit his old girlfriend Tracy Flannigan (Harvey Fierstein), who reveals that she has a son named Dylan (Seth Green) and that he is the father. Dylan proves to be quite the unruly teenager and Brian laments to Peter (MacFarlane) and Lois (Alex Borstein) about his experiences with him. Despite his objections, they attempt to convince him that he should take responsibility for his son. At this time, Dylan arrives at the Griffins' house, explaining that Tracy dropped him off for Brian to raise. There he begins tearing the house apart and acts hostile toward everyone, even attacking the Evil Monkey in Chris's closet. He especially acts hostile towards Brian, who decides to take control and kick him out. However, after he attempts to leave with a bag of Brian's cannabis, they discover a shared enjoyment of the drug and the two smoke up and bond. When Brian apologizes for not being there for Dylan when he was born, it leads to an emotional reconciliation.
Brian quickly shapes Dylan up to be a fine young man, though he himself begins to act a bit self-righteous in his newly discovered role as father. Peter feels very uncomfortable about this, so he decides to convince Tracy to take Dylan back to live with her in the hopes that Brian would go back to normal. While Brian attempts to justify his behavior, Dylan steps up, saying it is time for him to turn his mother's life around just as Brian had done for him. Brian agrees, and the two part ways.
Production[edit]
The episode was written by Steve Callaghan, in his second writing credit for the season, as he has written 'Lois Kills Stewie' earlier in the season.[2][3] It was directed by Pete Michels, also on his second working episode of the season (he directed 'Padre de Familia' earlier in the season).[3][4] Series regulars Peter Shin and James Purdun acted as supervising directors for the episode.[3] The episode's music was composed by Walter Murphy.[3] The episode marked the first appearance of Brian's son Dylan, voiced by one of the shows main voice actors, Seth Green.
'The Former Life of Brian', along with the last four episodes of the sixth season and the first eight episodes of the seventh season were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on June 16, 2009, one month after it had completed broadcast on television.[5] The 'Volume 7' DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode.[6]
In addition to the regular cast, actor Harvey Fierstein, actor Chace Crawford, actress Erinn Hayes and actor Max Burkholder made guest appearances in the episode.[1][3] Recurring voice actors Patrick Warburton, writer Alec Sulkin, episode writer Steve Callaghan, writer John Viener and show creator Seth MacFarlane's sister Rachael MacFarlane made minor appearances.[3]
Cultural references[edit]
When Brian finds out that he has a son, Stewie, with much anticipation, yells 'Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!' in reference to The Jerry Springer Show.[7] Dylan ties Meg to a chair and makes her watch 178 hours of Monty Python that were not funny or memorable.[7] In a scene, Sonny the Cuckoo Bird being subjected to a psychological evaluation, where the tester presents to him a bowl of the cereal to test his reaction, this is a reference to his famous motto 'cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!'.[7][8]
When Brian finds his magician outfit, Peter is seen wearing a 'Count Crotchula' costume, this is a reference to the breakfast cereal and character of the same name, Count Chocula.[8] In a scene Dorothy says goodbye to the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, all of them from the film The Wizard of Oz.[8] When Peter gets his hair cut by Dylan, he is able to grow it back thanks to being 'full of Play-Doh'.[7][8]
Reception[edit]
Ray Bolger
In its original broadcast on April 27, 2008, 'The Former Life of Brian' was watched by 8.42 million households according to the Nielsen ratings, the audience measurement systems developed to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States.[9] The episode acquired a 4.3 rating/10 share in the 18–49 demographic,[9]
The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Ahsan Haque of IGN wrote that 'not all of the manatee jokes were hits, but the storyline makes up for it'. He graded 'The Former Life of Brian' 8.3 out of 10.[7] Brad Trechak of TV Squad called the episode 'pretty good' and stated that 'it had it's [sic] ups and downs but it came out ahead overall'.[8]
Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club criticized the episode, saying that it 'didn't really offer many surprises or laughs', and commenting that Brian is 'too much of a straight man to carry an arc with one-time character no one cares about'. She graded 'The Former Life of Brian' C+.[10]Greg Rock of the Parents Television Council, an organization that has frequently criticized the series, named this episode the 'Worst TV Show of the Week'.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ ab'Family Guy Episode: 'The Former Life of Brian''. TV Guide. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
- ^'Family Guy - Lois Kills Stewie - Yahoo! TV'. Yahoo!. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ abcdef'Family Guy: The Former Life of Brian'. Yahoo!. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
- ^'Family Guy: Padre de Familia'. Yahoo!. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
- ^'Family Guy, Vol. 7'. Amazon.com. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^'Family Guy – Season 8'. EzyDVD. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ abcdeHaque, Ahsan (April 28, 2008). 'Family Guy: 'The Former Life of Brian' Review'. IGN. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
- ^ abcdeTrechak, Brad (April 28, 2008). 'Family Guy: The Former Life of Brian — VIDEO'. TV Squad. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
- ^ abCalabria, Rosario T. (May 5, 2008). 'Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, May 4, 2008'. Your Entertainment Now. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
- ^Koski, Genevieve (April 27, 2008). 'Apocalypse Cow' / 'Strangeness On A Train' / 'Former Life Of Brian' / 'Red October Sky'. The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
- ^Rock, Greg. ''Family Guy' on Fox'. Worst TV Show of the Week. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
External links[edit]
- 'The Former Life of Brian' on IMDb
- 'The Former Life of Brian' at TV.com
'The Merry Old Land of Oz' is a song from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and the musical. It is sung by the townspeople of the Emerald City, who are joined at appropriate times by the group of four travelers: Dorothy (with Toto), Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. It was written by lyricist E.Y. Harburg and composer Harold Arlen. The verse of the song suggests that the people of the city do no actual work, since they 'get up at twelve, and start to work at one, take an hour for lunch, and then at two they're done'. Their actions contradict that funny sentiment, however, as they are clearly doing plenty of work to 'freshen up' the group of four to go see their desired person of the hour. The revelers' laughter is interrupted by the Wicked Witch of the West, who is circling over the city, skywriting with her broom, ordering the citizens to 'SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE'. In the final cut of the film, the words 'OR DIE' were dropped from the film as being too strong for the presumably young audience of the time.
Covers and parodies[edit]
- This musical number was spoofed in the VeggieTales episode The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's and the Family Guy episodes 'Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High' and 'Bigfat.'
- On the children's show Sesame Street episode 3695, Oscar the Grouch's girlfriend, Grundgetta has just opened her own Grouch beauty salon, and she asks Gina to be a test subject to attract Grouch customers. During the makeover procedure, Grundgetta and some back-up singing Grouches sing 'At Grundgetta's Grouch Beauty Salon', a parody of 'The Merry Old Land of Oz'.[1]
- In the season 11 Family Guy episode 'Bigfat', Quagmire tries to convince Peter and Joe to join him on a trip to Canada by singing about the country's adult offerings via a parody of 'The Merry Old Land of Oz', entitled 'Canadian Nudie Bars'.
See also[edit]
Family Guy Wizard Of Oz Tornado
References[edit]
- ^Grundgetta's Grouch Beauty Salon Episode 3695 street story