I Dream of Jesus
Encyclopedia
"I Dream of Jesus" is the second episode of the seventh season of Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on October 5, 2008. In the episode, Peter
finds an incognito Jesus Christ
working at a record shop, and convinces Jesus to make his second coming public.
The episode was directed by Mike Kim, James Purdum
and Peter Shin
. It was written by Brian Scully
, who became the first screenwriter to have penned episodes of both The Simpsons
and Family Guy. The title of the episode is a pun of the television series I Dream of Jeannie
, and the episode made prominent use of the song "Surfin' Bird
" as recorded by The Trashmen
. According to Nielsen Media Research
, "I Dream of Jesus" was the Fox network's most-watched program the evening it first aired with 8.4 million views.
Seth MacFarlane
was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
and an Annie Award
for his role as Peter Griffin in this episode. This was one of three episodes (along with "Road to Germany
" and "Family Gay
") submitted the year Family Guy was nominated for the "Outstanding Comedy Series
".
The PAL version of this episode that aired on BBC 3 in the UK is entierly at a different pitch due to its conversion from NTSC.
This is the only episode to have this fault. All other episodes have been converted correctly and do not suffer this unusual pitch conversion where the characters voices and the song Surfin' Bird sound slighlty higher in tone than normal.
and they see celebrities dressed up as people from the 50s, including James Dean
, Marilyn Monroe
and Elvis Presley
. Peter
obtains a record of his favorite song, The Trashmen
's "Surfin' Bird
" from the restaurant (which was about to be thrown away because it was released in 1963
) Peter drives everyone at home crazy by repeatedly playing and singing to it, and even squanders the family's savings to do a public service announcement
. Everyone sees the public service announcement, and a mathematician tells the mayor that the bird is greater than or equal to the word. Deciding that enough is enough, Stewie
and Brian
steal the record while Peter is asleep and destroy it. Infuriated, Peter goes to a record shop the next morning to buy another copy, but it turns out this store and at least two other record stores had already been visited by a dog
and a baby
who bought all the copies. Peter is frustrated, but gets distracted as he recognizes the record sales clerk to be Jesus Christ
.
Jesus and Peter become friends, and Peter invites him to dinner where Brian ends up asking Jesus for proof he is Jesus Christ. Jesus does this by turning everyone's dinner into sundaes. Peter then asks Jesus for a favor, requesting that he enlarge Lois' breasts, which he does to a comical degree, causing Brian's jaw to drop in a similarly exaggerated fashion. Peter convinces him to make his second coming public. Jesus walks on water to retrieve a dollar bill that blew out of Peter's hand. Consequently, he becomes famous and makes celebrity appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the MTV Movie Awards
. He gets so caught up in his new-found popularity that he begins to neglect his friendship with Peter. The next day, Peter watches the news, where Tom Tucker reports that Jesus was found in Mary-Kate Olsen
's apartment that morning face down and unconscious. Tom reports that police have revived and arrested the disoriented Jesus, who quoted "Jews are responsible for all the world's wars" (even though Jesus himself is Jewish
). Peter is asked by Jesus to bail him out. Now in disrepute, Jesus decides that maybe he wasn't mature enough to return to the world yet. Before he leaves this world, Jesus gives Peter a present: another record of "Surfin' Bird", which plays over the end credits.
, and it was directed by Peter Shin
, Mike Kim and James Purdum. Actor Ralph Garman
and show writer Danny Smith
guest starred in the episode both playing various voices. The episode's name is a pun of the title of the NBC
sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie
. Following the first showing of the episode in the UK
in April 2009, "Surfin' Bird" entered the singles chart
for the first time (having failed to chart when first released there in 1964), reaching #50. The scene in which Stewie and Brian destroy the record is nearly identical to a scene in the movie Office Space
in which the characters destroy a printer, including use of the same song ("Still
" by Geto Boys
). Among the posters in the record store in which Jesus works, pictured in the image above are Nirvana
's In Utero, Van Halen
's Van Halen II
, Abba's The Album, R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People
, Pink Floyd
's The Dark Side of the Moon
(incorrectly reproduced) and Led Zeppelin
's debut album
. An STP
sticker can be seen on the counter, which is probably a reference to the band Stone Temple Pilots
, who commonly used the company's abbreviation and logo. Peter attempts to top Jesus' story about his crucifixion
during a dinner conversation with a story about how he and his friends "got wrecked on Southern Comfort
" before going to see The Chronicles of Riddick
. The scene where Jesus rebukes George W. Bush
parodies Marshall McLuhan
's cameo appearance in Woody Allen
's Annie Hall
. Jesus refers to Mary Magdalene
in a scene when he walks out to present an award alongside the Pussycat Dolls
; he says "I used to hang around with only one whore". When Jesus is arrested, his drunken rant is a reference to a similar outburst during Mel Gibson
's DUI
arrest.
, "I Dream of Jesus" was the most-watched program on Fox the night it originally aired. It was watched by 8.4 million viewers, and earned a 4.3/10 ratings share in the 18–49 demographic. Richard Keller of TV Squad praised the "Surfing Bird" and Office Space parody segments. Ahsan Haque of IGN
rated the episode a 7/10, claiming the episode had entertaining moments, but was not one of the show's strongest efforts. Haque wrote, "Jesus on Family Guy should have been a big deal and featured far more laughs than it did." Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
praised the "Surfin Bird" plot, but stated that the Jesus story was abrupt, adding, "There was a lot of ground Family Guy didn't tread that they wanted to". L. Brent Bozell III of the Parents Television Council
, a common critic of the show, took offense at this episode's portrayal of Jesus. Bozell said "this lying, slacker Jesus is even dumber than Peter, the greatest idiot on animated television today."
Seth MacFarlane was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
for his role as Peter Griffin in this episode, but lost to Dan Castellaneta
for his role of Homer Simpson
on The Simpsons
. MacFarlane was also nominated for an Annie Award
for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for his work in I Dream of Jesus but lost to Ahmed Best
for his role as Jar Jar Binks
in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
.
According to Seth MacFarlane, "I Dream of Jesus" was one of three episodes (along with "Road to Germany
" and "Family Gay
") submitted for consideration for "Outstanding Comedy Series
" in the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
in 2009. He explained, "We picked three of our edgier shows as a choice. We figured if we are going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are." The series was ultimately nominated for the award, the first time an animated series was nominated for the same category since the ABC
sitcom The Flintstones
in 1961.
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 5, 2008. In the episode, 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....
finds an incognito Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
working at a record shop, and convinces Jesus to make his second coming public.
The episode was directed by Mike Kim, 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....
and 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!"...
. It was written by Brian Scully
Brian Scully
Brian Scully is an American television writer and producer.Scully initially worked as a TV salesman before eventually getting a job writing on Out of This World...
, who became the first screenwriter to have penned episodes of both 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 Family Guy. The title of the episode is a pun of the television series I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
, and the episode made prominent use of the song "Surfin' Bird
Surfin' Bird
"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by the American surf rock band The Trashmen; it is also the name of the album that featured this hit single. It was released in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" as recorded by The Trashmen
The Trashmen
The Trashmen are a rock and roll band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1962. The group's original lineup was Tony Andreason on lead guitar and vocals, Dal Winslow on guitar and vocals, Steve Wahrer on drums and vocals, and Bob Reed on bass guitar...
. According to Nielsen Media Research
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...
, "I Dream of Jesus" was the Fox network's most-watched program the evening it first aired with 8.4 million views.
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 nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
and an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for his role as Peter Griffin in this episode. This was one of three episodes (along with "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 "Family Gay
Family Gay
"Family Gay" is the eighth episode of the seventh season of the animated television comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 8, 2009. In the episode, Peter Griffin purchases a brain damaged horse who ends up causing a great deal of collateral damage at the...
") submitted the year Family Guy was nominated for the "Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an Emmy given to the best television comedy series of the year.-Winners and nominees:...
".
The PAL version of this episode that aired on BBC 3 in the UK is entierly at a different pitch due to its conversion from NTSC.
This is the only episode to have this fault. All other episodes have been converted correctly and do not suffer this unusual pitch conversion where the characters voices and the song Surfin' Bird sound slighlty higher in tone than normal.
Plot
The family goes to a 1950s-themed restaurantTheme restaurant
Theme restaurants are restaurants in which the concept of the restaurant takes priority over everything else, influencing the architecture, food, music, and overall 'feel' of the restaurant...
and they see celebrities dressed up as people from the 50s, including James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. 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....
obtains a record of his favorite song, The Trashmen
The Trashmen
The Trashmen are a rock and roll band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1962. The group's original lineup was Tony Andreason on lead guitar and vocals, Dal Winslow on guitar and vocals, Steve Wahrer on drums and vocals, and Bob Reed on bass guitar...
's "Surfin' Bird
Surfin' Bird
"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by the American surf rock band The Trashmen; it is also the name of the album that featured this hit single. It was released in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" from the restaurant (which was about to be thrown away because it was released in 1963
1963 in music
-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles start a 5-day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do".*January 4 – At Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, Dalida receives a Juke Box Global Oscar for the year's most-played artist on juke boxes....
) Peter drives everyone at home crazy by repeatedly playing and singing to it, and even squanders the family's savings to do a public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
. Everyone sees the public service announcement, and a mathematician tells the mayor that the bird is greater than or equal to the word. Deciding that enough is enough, 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...
steal the record while Peter is asleep and destroy it. Infuriated, Peter goes to a record shop the next morning to buy another copy, but it turns out this store and at least two other record stores had already been visited by a dog
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...
and a baby
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....
who bought all the copies. Peter is frustrated, but gets distracted as he recognizes the record sales clerk to be Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
.
Jesus and Peter become friends, and Peter invites him to dinner where Brian ends up asking Jesus for proof he is Jesus Christ. Jesus does this by turning everyone's dinner into sundaes. Peter then asks Jesus for a favor, requesting that he enlarge Lois' breasts, which he does to a comical degree, causing Brian's jaw to drop in a similarly exaggerated fashion. Peter convinces him to make his second coming public. Jesus walks on water to retrieve a dollar bill that blew out of Peter's hand. Consequently, he becomes famous and makes celebrity appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the MTV Movie Awards
MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...
. He gets so caught up in his new-found popularity that he begins to neglect his friendship with Peter. The next day, Peter watches the news, where Tom Tucker reports that Jesus was found in Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen is an American actress, producer, author and fashion designer. She made her career debut in 1987 alongside her twin sister Ashley Olsen in the television series Full House...
's apartment that morning face down and unconscious. Tom reports that police have revived and arrested the disoriented Jesus, who quoted "Jews are responsible for all the world's wars" (even though Jesus himself is Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
). Peter is asked by Jesus to bail him out. Now in disrepute, Jesus decides that maybe he wasn't mature enough to return to the world yet. Before he leaves this world, Jesus gives Peter a present: another record of "Surfin' Bird", which plays over the end credits.
Production and cultural references
The episode was written by Brian ScullyBrian Scully
Brian Scully is an American television writer and producer.Scully initially worked as a TV salesman before eventually getting a job writing on Out of This World...
, and it was directed by 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!"...
, Mike Kim and James Purdum. 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...
and show 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...
guest starred in the episode both playing various voices. The episode's name is a pun of the title of the 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...
sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
. Following the first showing of the episode in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in April 2009, "Surfin' Bird" entered the singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for the first time (having failed to chart when first released there in 1964), reaching #50. The scene in which Stewie and Brian destroy the record is nearly identical to a scene in the movie Office Space
Office Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
in which the characters destroy a printer, including use of the same song ("Still
The Resurrection (Geto Boys Album)
The Resurrection is the sixth album by the Geto Boys. The album was released after the Geto Boys reunited after a 3-year breakup. It is considered to be one of the group's most critically praised albums, and the first of a one-two punch of creativity....
" by Geto Boys
Geto Boys
Geto Boys is a rap group from Houston, Texas, consisting of Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill. The Geto Boys earned notoriety for its lyrics which included misogyny, gore, psychotic experiences, and necrophilia...
). Among the posters in the record store in which Jesus works, pictured in the image above are Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's In Utero, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's Van Halen II
Van Halen II
-Personnel:*David Lee Roth - lead vocals*Eddie Van Halen - electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals*Michael Anthony - bass guitar, backing vocals*Alex Van Halen - drums-Production:*Producer: Ted Templeman...
, Abba's The Album, R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People
Automatic for the People
Automatic for the People is the eighth album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1992 on Warner Bros. Records. While R.E.M...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
(incorrectly reproduced) and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's debut album
Led Zeppelin (album)
Led Zeppelin is the debut album of the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded in October 1968 at Olympic Studios in London and released on Atlantic Records on 12 January 1969 in the United States and 31 March 1969 in the United Kingdom. The album featured integral contributions from each...
. An STP
STP (motor oil company)
STP is an American brand and trade name for the automotive additives, lubricants and performance division of Armored AutoGroup.Founded in 1953 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the company’s name, STP, was derived from “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”...
sticker can be seen on the counter, which is probably a reference to the band Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
, who commonly used the company's abbreviation and logo. Peter attempts to top Jesus' story about his crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
during a dinner conversation with a story about how he and his friends "got wrecked on Southern Comfort
Southern Comfort
Southern Comfort is an American liqueur made from neutral spirits with fruit, spice and whiskey flavourings. The brand was originally created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, and is now owned by the Brown-Forman Corporation...
" before going to see The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film which follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick, as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in the 2000 film Pitch Black, and details his meeting with Jack and Imam, his escape from the prison planet Crematoria, and...
. The scene where Jesus rebukes George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
parodies Marshall McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan
Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist...
's cameo appearance in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's Annie Hall
Annie Hall
Annie Hall is a 1977 American romantic comedy directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay co-written with Marshall Brickman and co-starring Diane Keaton. One of Allen's most popular and most honored films, it won four Academy Awards including Best Picture...
. Jesus refers to Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
in a scene when he walks out to present an award alongside the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
; he says "I used to hang around with only one whore". When Jesus is arrested, his drunken rant is a reference to a similar outburst during Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's DUI
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
arrest.
Reception
According to Nielsen ratingsNielsen 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...
, "I Dream of Jesus" was the most-watched program on Fox the night it originally aired. It was watched by 8.4 million viewers, and earned a 4.3/10 ratings share in the 18–49 demographic. Richard Keller of TV Squad praised the "Surfing Bird" and Office Space parody segments. 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 a 7/10, claiming the episode had entertaining moments, but was not one of the show's strongest efforts. Haque wrote, "Jesus on Family Guy should have been a big deal and featured far more laughs than it did." Steve Heisler 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...
praised the "Surfin Bird" plot, but stated that the Jesus story was abrupt, adding, "There was a lot of ground Family Guy didn't tread that they wanted to". L. Brent Bozell III of 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 common critic of the show, took offense at this episode's portrayal of Jesus. Bozell said "this lying, slacker Jesus is even dumber than Peter, the greatest idiot on animated television today."
Seth MacFarlane was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
for his role as Peter Griffin in this episode, but lost to Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
for his role of Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
on 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...
. MacFarlane was also nominated for an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for his work in I Dream of Jesus but lost to Ahmed Best
Ahmed Best
Ahmed Best is an American voice actor and musician. He has won the Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. He rose to prominence in the 2000s for providing the voice of Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars franchise. He later turned to television, where he played Jar Jar...
for his role as Jar Jar Binks
Jar Jar Binks
Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars Saga , and the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. His primary role was to provide comic relief, but many reacted negatively to his character...
in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II is a 2008 episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken, and the sequel to the Annie Award winning Robot Chicken Star Wars, which aired as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on November 16, 2008...
.
According to Seth MacFarlane, "I Dream of Jesus" was one of three episodes (along with "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 "Family Gay
Family Gay
"Family Gay" is the eighth episode of the seventh season of the animated television comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 8, 2009. In the episode, Peter Griffin purchases a brain damaged horse who ends up causing a great deal of collateral damage at the...
") submitted for consideration for "Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an Emmy given to the best television comedy series of the year.-Winners and nominees:...
" in the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! the Creative Arts event; both take place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations for the Awards were announced on July 16....
in 2009. He explained, "We picked three of our edgier shows as a choice. We figured if we are going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are." The series was ultimately nominated for the award, the first time an animated series was nominated for the same category since the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
in 1961.