Business Guy
Encyclopedia
"Business Guy" is the ninth episode of the eighth season
of the animated television series
Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on December 13, 2009. The episode centers on Peter
as he assumes temporary control of his father-in-law Carter Pewterschmidt's billion-dollar empire after he suffers a heart attack and is incapacitated in a coma
. Peter immediately becomes power hungry, however, and develops several ridiculous items, prompting Lois
and Carter, after he recovers from his coma, to try to trick him into relinquishing control of the company.
The episode was written by Andrew Goldberg
and Alex Carter, and directed by Pete Michels
. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving criticism
from the Parents Television Council
. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 7.67 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Hugh Laurie
, Bobby Lee, Nana Visitor
, Johnny Galecki
and Jim Parsons
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Business Guy" will be released on DVD
along with ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
are invited onto the Pewterschmidts' yacht, where Lois
becomes seasick and vomits. Peter
is reminded of his bachelor party
when this happens, and is shocked to find out that Carter has never had one and does not know what it is. Upon returning to Quahog, Peter takes him to a strip club
to simulate a bachelor party. In his excitement, Carter develops a heart attack
and falls into a coma
. Dr. House
is hired to treat him, but he throws his rule book out the window and punches Carter in the face to ensure that he is comatose. Carter's video will
is discovered, in which he gives Lois control of his billion dollar manufacturing company, Pewterschmidt Industries, even though she does not know how to run a corporation
. Peter, however, is inspired by House's "live-without-rules" and decides to control the company himself.
On his first day on the job, Peter dismisses the entire board of directors
for being unable to keep up with his ideas and hires his friends to manufacture ridiculous items. Soon after, Carter reawakens from his coma and finds what Peter has done with his company. Carter confronts Peter in his former office and demands for him to relinquish control of the company, but he refuses; he instead forces him to work as a janitor
. Carter is embarrassed, so he and Lois trick Peter into surrendering the company by scaring him into believing a swamp monster
will eat him if he does not. A seemingly real swamp monster scares Peter out of the office, chases Lois and a disguised Carter, before being found out as House. In the end, Lois cheers Peter up by revealing that the contract he signed allows him to keep the corporate jet. Peter is delighted and jumps in a freeze frame shot
, but grows alarmed when he actually remains in the air.
and Alex Carter, both having written episodes for the show previously. The episode was directed by series regular Pete Michels
, before the conclusion of the eighth production season
, in his second episode of the season. Series regulars Peter Shin
and James Purdum
served as supervising directors, with Andrew Goldberg
and Alex Carter working as staff writer
s for the episode. Karin Perrotta was the associate producer of this episode, in her ninth episode of the season.
"Business Guy", along with the eleven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, will be released on a three-disc DVD
set in the United States on December 13, 2011. The sets include brief audio commentaries by various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes and animatics.
In addition to the regular cast, actor Hugh Laurie
made his second appearance in the series, the first being "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea"; Laurie lampooned his role as House
protagonist Gregory House
. Actors Jim Parsons
, Johnny Galecki
, Bobby Lee of MADtv
and Nana Visitor
also guest star in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Alex Breckenridge
, Chris Cox
, Ralph Garman
, Danny Smith
, Alec Sulkin
and John Viener also made minor appearances.
helped him. Peter is then introduced to the Hamburger Helper mascot Helping Hand, as well as his mentally challenged brother — Cheeseburger Helper — who insists on adding cheese to the meal. After taking Carter to the Quahog strip club, Peter decides to pay a mistress to give him a lapdance, causing Carter to suffer a heart attack from sexual arousal. This then prompts Quagmire to ask what is wrong with him, to which Carter replies that he is having "a heart attack-ack-ack-ack! You oughta know by now!," which is taken from a line in the Billy Joel
song "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)". The bedtime story that Peter refers to when talking to Lois about how she makes him sad is the "Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb" from the German children's book Struwwelpeter
.
Returning home from firing the board of directors, Peter calls attention to Lacey Chabert
, formerly the voice of Meg Griffin
before being replaced by Mila Kunis
, when he notes that he can also fire Lois for "misbehaving." In introducing new products for Pewterschmidt Industries, Peter decides to create several unorthodox items, which include a cereal line for Jeremy Irons
entitled "Jeremy Irons Cereal," a "Scream in a Box," as well as an African American
heart rate monitor
, which Carter later uses at the hospital, with the system's two settings, Barry White
, and Bill Cosby's
impersonated voices.
Once Carter Pewterschmidt wakes up from his coma, Johnny Galecki
and Jim Parsons
appear in the episode when Carter is forced by Peter to hold a viewing party for the CBS
comedy sitcom The Big Bang Theory
, which Carter is reluctant to do at first, but soon begins to enjoy the show. In an attempt to get the company back from Peter, Carter and Lois trick him into thinking a swamp monster
is out to get all of the important businessmen, and if he does not sign the company back over to Mr. Pewterschmidt, he will be eaten. Gregory House also dresses as a swamp monster, however, and causes Lois to become confused, until she unmasks the monster in the style of Scooby-Doo
. House then interjects by speaking in his Hugh Laurie
's original English accent, as opposed to the American accent used on the television show in which he stars.
, The Cleveland Show
, and American Dad!
.
Receiving mixed reviews from critics, the episode was deemed "a throwback to the earlier more successful seasons." Ahsan Haque of IGN
praised the storyline as consistent "from start to finish." Jason Hughes of TV Squad also praised the "inside jokes" in the episode, as well as the Scooby-Doo sequence as "a flash of satiric brilliance." In contrast, Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
called the storyline "an excuse jokes," giving the episode a B- rating. Glenn Diaz of BuddyTV
praised Laurie's performance in the episode, stating that "his scenes were among the funniest on the episode." The TV Critic's Robin Pierson rated the episode 55, praising the storyline and Laurie's cameo while criticizing a non sequitur parody of Scooby-Doo
.
Although it did not name this episode its "Worst TV Show of the Week," the Parents Television Council
filed an indecency complaint about "Business Guy" two days after its airdate, citing the lapdance sequence as a possible violation of federal law regarding broadcast decency.
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 television series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
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 December 13, 2009. The episode centers on 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....
as he assumes temporary control of his father-in-law Carter Pewterschmidt's billion-dollar empire after he suffers a heart attack and is incapacitated in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Peter immediately becomes power hungry, however, and develops several ridiculous items, prompting 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...
and Carter, after he recovers from his coma, to try to trick him into relinquishing control of the company.
The episode was written by Andrew Goldberg
Andrew Goldberg (TV writer)
Andrew Goldberg is currently a writer for Family Guy, where he has written several episodes. He is also the author of Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads, and the Lost Art of Being a Man, a book published by HarperCollins focusing on Brian Griffin's beliefs.- Biography :Andrew Goldberg was born...
and Alex Carter, and directed by Pete Michels
Pete Michels
Pete Michels is an animation director on Family Guy. He has also been the supervising director on Family Guy as well as on the short-lived TV show, Kid Notorious. He started working on The Simpsons in 1990 as a background layout artist. He worked his way up to character layout artist, timer,...
. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving 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...
. 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 7.67 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, Bobby Lee, Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor , born Nana Tucker, is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire.-Early life:...
, Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki
John Mark "Johnny" Galecki is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, of...
and Jim Parsons
Jim Parsons
James Joseph "Jim" Parsons is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with his performance often cited as a significant reason for the program's success...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Business Guy" will be 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 ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
Plot
The GriffinsGriffin family
The Griffin family is a family from the animated television series Family Guy. The Griffins are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Peter and Lois, their three children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their dog Brian. They live at 31 Spooner Street in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode...
are invited onto the Pewterschmidts' yacht, where 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...
becomes seasick and vomits. 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....
is reminded of his bachelor party
Bachelor party
A bachelor party , also known as a stag party, stag night or stag do , a bull's party , or a buck's party or buck's night , is a party held for a man shortly before he enters marriage, to celebrate his "last night of freedom" or merely to spend...
when this happens, and is shocked to find out that Carter has never had one and does not know what it is. Upon returning to Quahog, Peter takes him to a strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
to simulate a bachelor party. In his excitement, Carter develops a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and falls into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Dr. House
Gregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
is hired to treat him, but he throws his rule book out the window and punches Carter in the face to ensure that he is comatose. Carter's video will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
is discovered, in which he gives Lois control of his billion dollar manufacturing company, Pewterschmidt Industries, even though she does not know how to run a corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
. Peter, however, is inspired by House's "live-without-rules" and decides to control the company himself.
On his first day on the job, Peter dismisses the entire board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
for being unable to keep up with his ideas and hires his friends to manufacture ridiculous items. Soon after, Carter reawakens from his coma and finds what Peter has done with his company. Carter confronts Peter in his former office and demands for him to relinquish control of the company, but he refuses; he instead forces him to work as a janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
. Carter is embarrassed, so he and Lois trick Peter into surrendering the company by scaring him into believing a swamp monster
Swamp monster
Swamp monsters have been a staple of comics for years. From the 1940s to the present many murk-dwellers have made their muddy mark in comics. Swamp creatures are humanoid creatures similar to fish or resembling living piles of swamp mire. They live underwater and occasionally come to the surface,...
will eat him if he does not. A seemingly real swamp monster scares Peter out of the office, chases Lois and a disguised Carter, before being found out as House. In the end, Lois cheers Peter up by revealing that the contract he signed allows him to keep the corporate jet. Peter is delighted and jumps in a freeze frame shot
Freeze frame shot
A freeze frame shot is used when one shot is printed in a single frame several times, in order to make an interesting illusion of a still photograph....
, but grows alarmed when he actually remains in the air.
Production and development
The episode was co-written by Andrew GoldbergAndrew Goldberg (TV writer)
Andrew Goldberg is currently a writer for Family Guy, where he has written several episodes. He is also the author of Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads, and the Lost Art of Being a Man, a book published by HarperCollins focusing on Brian Griffin's beliefs.- Biography :Andrew Goldberg was born...
and Alex Carter, both having written episodes for the show previously. The episode was directed by series regular Pete Michels
Pete Michels
Pete Michels is an animation director on Family Guy. He has also been the supervising director on Family Guy as well as on the short-lived TV show, Kid Notorious. He started working on The Simpsons in 1990 as a background layout artist. He worked his way up to character layout artist, timer,...
, before the conclusion of the eighth production season
Family Guy (season 8)
Family Guy eighth season first aired on the Fox network in twenty episodes from September 27, 2009 to May 23, 2010 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It ran on Sunday nights between May and July 2010 on BBC Three in the UK...
, in his second episode of the season. 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, with Andrew Goldberg
Andrew Goldberg (TV writer)
Andrew Goldberg is currently a writer for Family Guy, where he has written several episodes. He is also the author of Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads, and the Lost Art of Being a Man, a book published by HarperCollins focusing on Brian Griffin's beliefs.- Biography :Andrew Goldberg was born...
and Alex Carter working as 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 for the episode. Karin Perrotta was the associate producer of this episode, in her ninth episode of the season.
"Business Guy", along with the eleven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, will be 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 December 13, 2011. The sets include brief audio commentaries by various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes and animatics.
In addition to the regular cast, actor Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
made his second appearance in the series, the first being "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea"; Laurie lampooned his role as House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
protagonist Gregory House
Gregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
. Actors Jim Parsons
Jim Parsons
James Joseph "Jim" Parsons is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with his performance often cited as a significant reason for the program's success...
, Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki
John Mark "Johnny" Galecki is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, of...
, Bobby Lee of MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
and Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor , born Nana Tucker, is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire.-Early life:...
also guest star in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Alex Breckenridge
Alex Breckenridge
Alexandra "Alex" Breckenridge is an American film and television actress, photographer and voice artist. Noted for her role as Willa McPherson on the television series Dirt, she also had a supporting role on the short lived series The Ex List...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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
In the opening scene, Carter reveals that he has never had a bachelor party, leading Peter to profess that he will help solve Carter's dilemma, just as Hamburger HelperHamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper is a line of packaged food products primarily consisting of boxed pasta bundled with a packet or packets of powdered sauce/seasonings. The contents of each box are combined with browned ground beef, water and milk to create a complete dish. The product line also features products...
helped him. Peter is then introduced to the Hamburger Helper mascot Helping Hand, as well as his mentally challenged brother — Cheeseburger Helper — who insists on adding cheese to the meal. After taking Carter to the Quahog strip club, Peter decides to pay a mistress to give him a lapdance, causing Carter to suffer a heart attack from sexual arousal. This then prompts Quagmire to ask what is wrong with him, to which Carter replies that he is having "a heart attack-ack-ack-ack! You oughta know by now!," which is taken from a line in the Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
song "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)". The bedtime story that Peter refers to when talking to Lois about how she makes him sad is the "Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb" from the German children's book Struwwelpeter
Struwwelpeter
Der Struwwelpeter is a popular German children's book by Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way. The title of the first story provides the...
.
Returning home from firing the board of directors, Peter calls attention to Lacey Chabert
Lacey Chabert
Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and voice actress, known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
, formerly the voice of Meg Griffin
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....
before being replaced by Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...
, when he notes that he can also fire Lois for "misbehaving." In introducing new products for Pewterschmidt Industries, Peter decides to create several unorthodox items, which include a cereal line for Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
entitled "Jeremy Irons Cereal," a "Scream in a Box," as well as an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
heart rate monitor
Heart rate monitor
A heart rate monitor is a personal monitoring device which allows a subject to measure his or her heart rate in real time or record his or her heart rate for later study...
, which Carter later uses at the hospital, with the system's two settings, Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
, and Bill Cosby's
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
impersonated voices.
Once Carter Pewterschmidt wakes up from his coma, Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki
John Mark "Johnny" Galecki is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, of...
and Jim Parsons
Jim Parsons
James Joseph "Jim" Parsons is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with his performance often cited as a significant reason for the program's success...
appear in the episode when Carter is forced by Peter to hold a viewing party for the 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...
comedy sitcom The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
, which Carter is reluctant to do at first, but soon begins to enjoy the show. In an attempt to get the company back from Peter, Carter and Lois trick him into thinking a swamp monster
Swamp monster
Swamp monsters have been a staple of comics for years. From the 1940s to the present many murk-dwellers have made their muddy mark in comics. Swamp creatures are humanoid creatures similar to fish or resembling living piles of swamp mire. They live underwater and occasionally come to the surface,...
is out to get all of the important businessmen, and if he does not sign the company back over to Mr. Pewterschmidt, he will be eaten. Gregory House also dresses as a swamp monster, however, and causes Lois to become confused, until she unmasks the monster in the style of Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
. House then interjects by speaking in his Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
's original English accent, as opposed to the American accent used on the television show in which he stars.
Reception
In a slight drop from the previous week, the episode was viewed in 7.67 million homes, in its original airing in the United States. The episode also received a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic, edging out The SimpsonsThe 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...
, The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
, and 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...
.
Receiving mixed reviews from critics, the episode was deemed "a throwback to the earlier more successful seasons." 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...
praised the storyline as consistent "from start to finish." Jason Hughes of TV Squad also praised the "inside jokes" in the episode, as well as the Scooby-Doo sequence as "a flash of satiric brilliance." In contrast, Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
called the storyline "an excuse jokes," giving the episode a B- rating. Glenn Diaz of BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
praised Laurie's performance in the episode, stating that "his scenes were among the funniest on the episode." The TV Critic's Robin Pierson rated the episode 55, praising the storyline and Laurie's cameo while criticizing a non sequitur parody of Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
.
Although it did not name this episode its "Worst TV Show of the Week," 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...
filed an indecency complaint about "Business Guy" two days after its airdate, citing the lapdance sequence as a possible violation of federal law regarding broadcast decency.