"Family Guy" Brian in Love (2000)

Directors:

Jack Dyer
Pete Michels

Writers:

Seth MacFarlane (creator)
Seth MacFarlane (developer) ...

TV Series:

"Family Guy" (1999)

Original Air Date:

7 March 2000 (Season 2, Episode 4)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Plot:

Brian suffers from a mid-life crisis that may be due to unrequited love.

Plot Keywords:

Unrequited Love | Catholic Guilt | Character Name In Title | Dog | Baby

Cast

Seth MacFarlane	...	Peter Griffin / Brian Griffin / Stewie Griffin / Glen Quagmire / Tom Tucker / Jake Tucker / Angus Griffin / Additional Voices (voice)
Alex Borstein	...	Lois Griffin / Tricia Takanawa / Additional Voices (voice)
Seth Green	...	Chris Griffin / Additional Voices (voice)
Mila Kunis	...	Meg Griffin (voice)
Lori Alan	...	Diane Simmons (voice)
Mike Henry	...	Cleveland Brown (voice)
D.D. Howard	...	Various (voice)
Sam Waterston	...	Dr. Kaplan (voice)
Wally Wingert	...	Various (voice)

Trivia:

And "Dammit Janet", Brian and Stewie have caught one another supposedly in love, while thinking they were keeping it a secret. Both times this happened, the character who caught the other is standing in a doorway, eating an apple while teasing the first character.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning, when Stewie is complaining to Lois abut the tuna fish sandwich, he throws two quarters at her, and they land at her feet. In the next shot, when Peter comes in, the quarters are gone.

Quotes:

Peter Griffin: Lois, isn't Stewie a little young to be potty trained? You remember what happened to the Lindberg baby.
[Cut to Lindberg bathroom. Charles Jr. is sitting on the toilet]
Martha Lindberg: Charles, do you know what you're doing?
Charles Lindberg: Honey, will you relax? I flew across the Atlantic, I'm a national treasure, for God's sake. I think I can handle...
[Charles Jr. flushes himself down the toilet]
Charles Lindberg: Oh God! Oh God!
[Calmly]
Charles Lindberg: Okay... He was kidnapped. You call the police, I'll write the ransom note.
Martha Lindberg: [Pointing to Amelia Earhardt] What about Amelia? She saw everything.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "The Jetsons" (1962)

Unexpectedly touching!

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The most subtle difference between Family Guy and something like South Park is that the characters are believable and the way they relate to each other is credible. In this episode, Brian is having a midlife crisis - he's seven years old in human terms (in case you didn't know, the maximum life expectancy of a dog is fourteen) and can't stop himself from peeing on the carpet. He blames it on Stewie at first, but when he's caught in the act he decides to see a psychiatrist. The unsettling truth comes out - he's in love with Lois, his owner's wife. This is the cue for a number of surprisingly sensitive (but also funny) scenes in which Brian gets hot under the dog collar watching Lois and Peter chasing each other with a hosepipe, Brian barely containing his emotions whilst he and Lois watch the news together, and Stewie flirting quite outrageously with his mother just to annoy the lovesick pooch! It's a testament to how well-made and thoughtful this series is that I actually felt myself not only identifying with Brian but also falling in love a little with Lois - well, who wouldn't sell their soul for such a sympathetic character who'd fight to the death for her husband and kids, and who cooks a mean 'noodle caboodle' with M&Ms substituting for paprika?! This episode revealed a new dimension to Family Guy, and helped me enjoy the series in a completely different light. No doubt the no-brainers whose idea of sophisticated humour is Cartman kicking somebody in the nuts would find themselves getting antsy during this show, but as Stewie would no doubt say, damn them to pus-filled blood-gutted hell!