420 (Family Guy)
Encyclopedia
"420" is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of the animated comedy series Family Guy
. It premiered on Fox
in the United States on April 19, 2009. The title of the episode is a reference to the term "420
" used in cannabis culture; "420" premiered the day before April 20 (4/20), on which a counterculture
holiday is celebrated centering around the consumption of cannabis
. "420" focuses on the character Brian
after he is arrested for drug possession
, which prompts him to launch a campaign to legalize cannabis with help from Stewie
; the liveliness of their campaign convinces Mayor West
to legalize the drug, and most of Quahog's population begins using it.
The episode was written by Patrick Meighan
and directed by Julius Wu
. While it received positive reception from critics for its storyline and cultural references, it generated controversy from the Venezuelan government for its topic and received criticism
from the Parents Television Council
during a rerun. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 7.40 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Phil LaMarr
and Kerrigan Mahan
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.
, Brian
, Cleveland
and Joe are annoyed when Quagmire
recently adopts a stray cat
and prefers to spend more time with it than with them. When Quagmire is absent, they decide to shave the cat as a prank, but it backfires when Peter accidentally kills it. He and Brian decide to hide its body, but are pulled over by the police, who ignore Peter's blood stains and beer, but arrest Brian when they find him in possession of cannabis
. He is bailed out by the family and put on probation
for drug use. He attempts to use Stewie
's urine when Joe arrives to perform a drug test
, only to be caught by Lois
, who chastises him for going to such lengths and tells him that he has to change if he intends on doing so. However, Brian decides to start a campaign to legalize cannabis in Quahog. He and Stewie perform an enthusiastic musical number, and soon after the entire town rallies behind them in their cause.
Mayor West
passes a law to legalize the drug, and everyone starts smoking it; the town has improved as a result, with milestones such as a decrease in crime. However, Lois's father, Carter, begins to lose money in the timber industry since hemp
is being used to manufacture many products, particularly paper, and he bribes Peter to help him with an anti-marijuana campaign. Lois, however, points out that their methods are uninspired, explaining that Brian only succeeded because he was passionate about legalizing cannabis. Carter decides to bribe Brian to join his cause by publishing and shipping his novel, Faster Than the Speed of Love. Brian resists at first, but Stewie suggests he at least perform a number about the risks of cannabis, since the book does not have enough merit to sell on its own. Brian reluctantly complies, and the drug becomes illegal once more.
Brian's novel is released, but is critically panned and does not sell one copy. Brian laments that he sacrificed his core beliefs for nothing, but Lois intervenes because he helped ban cannabis. A distraught Quagmire arrives at the household and informs Peter that he is still looking for his cat and offers a reward of $50. Peter nonchalantly takes the reward and admits that he killed the cat.
in his second episode of the season, the first being "Road to Germany
", and directed by former King of the Hill
and The Oblongs
director Julius Wu
before the conclusion of the series' seventh production season.
"420" has been noted for being the final appearance of the recurring character Kevin Swanson, the son of characters Joe and Bonnie Swanson. Since the fifth season episode "Saving Private Brian
", series creator Seth MacFarlane
and other staff writers had planned on writing out
the character. MacFarlane recalls not having ideas to write for the character. During the episode's production, the character of James the cat was originally colored white, but MacFarlane decided that it bear orange fur after he thought that white was a fairly dull color. The featured musical number, "A Bag O' Weed," was based the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
song "Me Ol' Bamboo".
In addition to the regular cast, voice actor Phil LaMarr
and voice actor Kerrigan Mahan
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Lori Alan
, Chris Cox
, actor Ralph Garman
, writer Danny Smith
, writer Alec Sulkin
and writer John Viener also made minor appearances.
"420", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season and seven from the seventh season, was released on a three-disc DVD
set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The DVDs included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane, various crew and cast members from several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature that discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse", and a mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke. The set also includes a reprint of the script for the episode.
". In their campaign, Brian and Stewie perform their musical number, '"A Bag O' Weed", to the tune of "Me Ol' Bamboo
" as featured in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
. After cannabis is legalized, its effects include phenomenal ratings for Doctor Who
. Peter then tries to remember something but ends up remembering the names of celebrities whom he does not like. While helping out with Carter's smear campaign, Peter comes up with an advertisement that involves Adolf Hitler
claiming that the Holocaust was started by smoking cannabis; the campaign is dropped, however, because supposedly Fox News holds Hitler's image rights and they cannot smear it. He later tries to film a new advertisement which informs that unlike the events of the film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
, he made it there
earlier since he was not stoned. Carter later tells Brian that he will release his novel with an Oprah's Book Club
induction.
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Ahsan Haque of IGN
rated the episode an 8.5/10, commenting that it "worked out quite well mainly due to the superb musical number". He called the storyline "pretty cohesive" with a "very few truly random jokes thrown in here", though he did criticize the killing of the cat as "over-the-top" and the large amount of blood which he called "disturbing". Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club
stated that the episode "showed admirable restraint [...] with its pot-centric plot", and called the musical number "truly spectacular". She graded the episode B, behind the Simpsons
episode “The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly” which received a rating of B+; and the American Dad!
episode “Delorean Story-an” which received a rating of A. The TV Critic's Robin Pierson gave the episode a 54/100; in his review, he appreciated the plot structure, especially the randomness of Peter's list of hated cultural icons. He did, however, criticize the featured musical number; he referred to it as a "waste of time" and claimed that "jokes about Texans, Michael Jackson and Helen Keller are so obvious."
The Parents Television Council
, a frequent critic
of Family Guy and series creator Seth MacFarlane, branded a June 6, 2009 re-airing their "Worst TV Show of the Week", due to its emphasis on the legality of cannabis and the killing of a cat.
was threatened with financial sanctions for broadcasting the show, which was avoided by airing an episode of Baywatch
instead, and they aired public service films as an apology. Venezuelan Justice Minister
Tareck El Aissami stated that any cable stations which refuse to stop airing the series would be fined, and he also claimed that it promoted the use of cannabis. The government then displayed the clip of which featured Brian and Stewie performing the featured number, and then stated that Family Guy is an example of how the United States supports cannabis use.
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 premiered 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 April 19, 2009. The title of the episode is a reference to the term "420
420 (cannabis culture)
420, 4:20 or 4/20 refers to consumption of cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis subculture. The notable day for these is April 20.- Origins of terms :...
" used in cannabis culture; "420" premiered the day before April 20 (4/20), on which a counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
holiday is celebrated centering around the consumption of cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. "420" focuses on the character 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...
after he is arrested for drug possession
Drug possession
Drug possession is the crime of having one or more illegal drugs in one's possession, either for personal use, distribution, sale or otherwise. Illegal drugs fall into different categories and sentences vary depending on the amount, type of drug, circumstances, and jurisdiction.A person has...
, which prompts him to launch a campaign to legalize cannabis with help from 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....
; the liveliness of their campaign convinces 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:...
to legalize the drug, and most of Quahog's population begins using it.
The episode was written by Patrick Meighan
Patrick Meighan (writer)
Patrick Meighan is an American animation writer. Meighan is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy and Titus.Meighan has also served as a production assistant on Dharma & Greg.-Family Guy:...
and directed by Julius Wu
Julius Wu
Julius Wu is an American animation director. Wu is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy.Wu has also served as a director, assistant director and storyboard artist on King of the Hill and The Oblongs, before their cancellation.-Family Guy:Wu joined...
. While it received positive reception from critics for its storyline and cultural references, it generated controversy from the Venezuelan government for its topic and received criticism
Criticism of Family Guy
The American animated sitcom Family Guy has been the target of numerous complaints concerning taste and indecency. Parents Television Council has expressed moral opposition to the series, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission....
from the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
during a rerun. 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 7.40 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr
Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction...
and Kerrigan Mahan
Kerrigan Mahan
Kerrigan Mahan is an American voice actor, also known as Ryan O'Flannigan.Mahan was born in Los Angeles, California. His voice ranges from young and exuberant to sneering and Lee Van Cleef-ish...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.
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....
, 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...
, 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,...
and Joe are annoyed when 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...
recently adopts a stray cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
and prefers to spend more time with it than with them. When Quagmire is absent, they decide to shave the cat as a prank, but it backfires when Peter accidentally kills it. He and Brian decide to hide its body, but are pulled over by the police, who ignore Peter's blood stains and beer, but arrest Brian when they find him in possession of cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. He is bailed out by the family and put on probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
for drug use. He attempts to use 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....
's urine when Joe arrives to perform a drug test
Drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen – for example urine, hair, blood, sweat, or oral fluid / saliva – to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites...
, only to be caught by 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...
, who chastises him for going to such lengths and tells him that he has to change if he intends on doing so. However, Brian decides to start a campaign to legalize cannabis in Quahog. He and Stewie perform an enthusiastic musical number, and soon after the entire town rallies behind them in their cause.
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:...
passes a law to legalize the drug, and everyone starts smoking it; the town has improved as a result, with milestones such as a decrease in crime. However, Lois's father, Carter, begins to lose money in the timber industry since hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
is being used to manufacture many products, particularly paper, and he bribes Peter to help him with an anti-marijuana campaign. Lois, however, points out that their methods are uninspired, explaining that Brian only succeeded because he was passionate about legalizing cannabis. Carter decides to bribe Brian to join his cause by publishing and shipping his novel, Faster Than the Speed of Love. Brian resists at first, but Stewie suggests he at least perform a number about the risks of cannabis, since the book does not have enough merit to sell on its own. Brian reluctantly complies, and the drug becomes illegal once more.
Brian's novel is released, but is critically panned and does not sell one copy. Brian laments that he sacrificed his core beliefs for nothing, but Lois intervenes because he helped ban cannabis. A distraught Quagmire arrives at the household and informs Peter that he is still looking for his cat and offers a reward of $50. Peter nonchalantly takes the reward and admits that he killed the cat.
Production
The episode was written by series writer Patrick MeighanPatrick Meighan (writer)
Patrick Meighan is an American animation writer. Meighan is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy and Titus.Meighan has also served as a production assistant on Dharma & Greg.-Family Guy:...
in his second episode of the season, the first being "Road to Germany
Road to Germany
"Road to Germany" is the third episode of the seventh season of Family Guy. It originally aired on October 19, 2008, on Fox. It is Brian and Stewie's fourth road adventure, following "Road to Rhode Island", "Road to Europe", "Road to Rupert", and is succeeded by "Road to the Multiverse". The...
", and directed by former King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
and The Oblongs
The Oblongs
The Oblongs is an American animated television program aimed at teenagers and adults. It is loosely based on a series of characters introduced in creator Angus Oblong's picture book entitled Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children...
director Julius Wu
Julius Wu
Julius Wu is an American animation director. Wu is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy.Wu has also served as a director, assistant director and storyboard artist on King of the Hill and The Oblongs, before their cancellation.-Family Guy:Wu joined...
before the conclusion of the series' seventh production season.
"420" has been noted for being the final appearance of the recurring character Kevin Swanson, the son of characters Joe and Bonnie Swanson. Since the fifth season episode "Saving Private Brian
Saving Private Brian
"Saving Private Brian" is the fourth episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode originally broadcast on November 5, 2006. The episode follows Stewie and Brian after they unintentionally join the United States Army, and end up leaving to serve in Iraq, only to return home when the war ends...
", 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,...
and other staff writers had planned on writing out
Kill off
The killing off of a character is a device in fiction, whereby a major character dies but the story continues. The term, frequently applied to television, film and chronological series, often denotes an untimely or unexpected death motivated by factors beyond the storyline...
the character. MacFarlane recalls not having ideas to write for the character. During the episode's production, the character of James the cat was originally colored white, but MacFarlane decided that it bear orange fur after he thought that white was a fairly dull color. The featured musical number, "A Bag O' Weed," was based the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car is a children's book written by Ian Fleming for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham...
song "Me Ol' Bamboo".
In addition to the regular cast, voice actor Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr
Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction...
and voice actor Kerrigan Mahan
Kerrigan Mahan
Kerrigan Mahan is an American voice actor, also known as Ryan O'Flannigan.Mahan was born in Los Angeles, California. His voice ranges from young and exuberant to sneering and Lee Van Cleef-ish...
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Lori Alan
Lori Alan
Lori Alan , sometimes credited as Lori Allen, is an American voice actress who provides the voice of news anchor Diane Simmons on Family Guy, various voices on Hey Arnold!, and SpongeBob SquarePants as Pearl....
, 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 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...
, 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 also made minor appearances.
"420", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season and seven from the seventh season, was 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 DVDs included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane, various crew and cast members from several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature that discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse", and a mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke. The set also includes a reprint of the script for the episode.
Cultural references
Peter, who tries to shave Quagmire's cat in the episode, ends up killing it and cutting it six times because of the legend of cats having nine lives. Earlier, he refers to films that mention the title in their scripting. As he is arresting Brian, one of the police officers states that he will not release him since he is a "family guyFamily 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...
". In their campaign, Brian and Stewie perform their musical number, '"A Bag O' Weed", to the tune of "Me Ol' Bamboo
Me Ol' Bamboo
"Me Ol' Bamboo" is a song written by the Sherman Brothers for the motion picture Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was originally written to be choreographed as a morris dance for the film by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood and adapted for the stage by...
" as featured in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car is a children's book written by Ian Fleming for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham...
. After cannabis is legalized, its effects include phenomenal ratings for Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. Peter then tries to remember something but ends up remembering the names of celebrities whom he does not like. While helping out with Carter's smear campaign, Peter comes up with an advertisement that involves Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
claiming that the Holocaust was started by smoking cannabis; the campaign is dropped, however, because supposedly Fox News holds Hitler's image rights and they cannot smear it. He later tries to film a new advertisement which informs that unlike the events of the film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle is a 2004 American stoner film and the first installment in the Harold & Kumar series...
, he made it there
White Castle (restaurant)
White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States and in the New York metropolitan area, and the first of its kind in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders", the burgers were priced at five...
earlier since he was not stoned. Carter later tells Brian that he will release his novel with an Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new novel for viewers to read and discuss each month. The Club ended its 15-year run, along with...
induction.
Reception
"420" was viewed by 7.40 million viewers on its original airdate, receiving a rating of 4.3/6 in Nielsen ratings. The character Brian was awarded the 2009 Stoner of the Year award by the magazine High Times due to this episode, marking the first time an animated character received the honor.The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Ahsan Haque of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated the episode an 8.5/10, commenting that it "worked out quite well mainly due to the superb musical number". He called the storyline "pretty cohesive" with a "very few truly random jokes thrown in here", though he did criticize the killing of the cat as "over-the-top" and the large amount of blood which he called "disturbing". Genevieve Koski 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...
stated that the episode "showed admirable restraint [...] with its pot-centric plot", and called the musical number "truly spectacular". She graded the episode B, behind 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...
episode “The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly” which received a rating of B+; and the 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...
episode “Delorean Story-an” which received a rating of A. The TV Critic's Robin Pierson gave the episode a 54/100; in his review, he appreciated the plot structure, especially the randomness of Peter's list of hated cultural icons. He did, however, criticize the featured musical number; he referred to it as a "waste of time" and claimed that "jokes about Texans, Michael Jackson and Helen Keller are so obvious."
The Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
, a frequent critic
Criticism of Family Guy
The American animated sitcom Family Guy has been the target of numerous complaints concerning taste and indecency. Parents Television Council has expressed moral opposition to the series, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission....
of Family Guy and series creator Seth MacFarlane, branded a June 6, 2009 re-airing their "Worst TV Show of the Week", due to its emphasis on the legality of cannabis and the killing of a cat.
Controversy
The Venezuelan government reacted negatively to the episode and banned Family Guy from airing on their local networks, which generally syndicate American programming. Local station TelevenTeleven
Televen is a private Venezuelan national television network headquartered on the Caracas neighborhood of Horizonte. For this reason it's also called Canal de Horizonte. Televen was inaugurated as the ‘’TELEVEN Corporation’’ on July 3 1988 by Omar Camero and Radioven, S.A...
was threatened with financial sanctions for broadcasting the show, which was avoided by airing an episode of Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
instead, and they aired public service films as an apology. Venezuelan Justice Minister
Justice Minister
A justice ministry is a ministry or other government agency charged with justice. The ministry is often headed by a minister for justice or secretary of justice or secretary for justice; sometimes the head of a department of justice is entitled attorney general.Specific duties may relate to...
Tareck El Aissami stated that any cable stations which refuse to stop airing the series would be fined, and he also claimed that it promoted the use of cannabis. The government then displayed the clip of which featured Brian and Stewie performing the featured number, and then stated that Family Guy is an example of how the United States supports cannabis use.