Patriot Games

"Patriot Games"
Family Guy episode
Tom Brady congratulates Peter for his nerve.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 20
Written by	Mike Henry
Directed by	Peter Shin, Pete Michels and Cyndi Tang
Production no.	4ACX25
Original airdate	January 29, 2006
Guest stars
Tom Brady as himself Carol Channing as herself Bob Costas as himself Jay Leno as himself Troy Brown as himself
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Brian Sings and Swings" "I Take Thee Quagmire"
Family Guy (season 4) List of Family Guy episodes

"Patriot Games" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on January 29, 2006, around the time of Super Bowl XL, which fit the sports theme of the episode. In it, Peter goes to his high school reunion and meets Tom Brady. After Peter runs to the bathroom and tackles most of the people in his way, Brady hires him for the New England Patriots. Peter wins many games for the Patriots but is fired for showboating and is traded to a team in London called the Silly Nannies. Peter plays versus the Patriots and loses, and returns home. Meanwhile, Stewie becomes a bookie who attacks Brian until he pays off an outstanding debt.

The episode was written by Mike Henry and directed by Cyndi Tang. Jay Leno, Tom Brady, Carol Channing, Bob Costas and Troy Brown all guest starred as themselves. The episode has received positive reviews from critics.

Plot summary

At his high school reunion, Peter pretends to be an astronaut cowboy millionaire to impress his classmates, but the truth comes out when he meets Tom Brady. He subsequently gets drunk and has to make a run for the bathroom, knocking over everyone between him and the bathroom. Brady is impressed and gets Peter a spot on the New England Patriots football team as the starting center. Peter is soon fired for showboating, driving on to the field then performing a massively-choreographed version of the song "Shipoopi" after scoring one touchdown. He is traded to the London Silly Nannies. Peter decides to turn them around and challenges Tom Brady to a game between the Silly Nannies and the Patriots. On the opening kickoff, Peter's teammates become terrified of the Patriots rushing toward them and runs away, leaving Peter to face them alone. He tries and is immediately tackled. However, Tom Brady compliments Peter on having the nerve to stand up to them.

Meanwhile Stewie becomes a bookie and takes a $50 bet from Brian on a Celebrity Boxing match pitting Mike Tyson against Carol Channing. Brian bets on Tyson and loses. Stewie comes to collect, but Brian laughs him off and tells him he'll have the money in 24 hours. After 24 hours, Stewie reveals that he is serious about settling the bet and, on two occasions, savagely beats Brian (using such means as a golf club and a flamethrower) to coerce him into to paying up. Eventually, Brian agrees to pay off the bet. After Stewie's bet is satisfied, he offers Brian an opportunity to get one "free revenge shot" to make up for all the torture he caused. After biding his time and making Stewie worry about what could happen, Brian — while the Griffins are in London, leaving the Patriots-Silly Nannies game — nonchalantly shoves Stewie in front of a moving bus.

Production

Mike Henry wrote the episode.

"Patriot Games" was written by Mike Henry^[1] and directed by Peter Shin, Pete Michels and Cyndi Tang.^[2] The episode aired on January 29, 2006, a week before Super Bowl XL. Actress Carol Channing made a guest appearance as herself in a scene in which Brian loses a $50 bet on a boxing match between her and professional boxer Mike Tyson, though Tyson did not voice himself. Sportscaster Bob Costas also voiced himself in a short scene in which he interviews Peter and Brady. Much of the episode was scripted with Patriots coach Bill Belicheck, but Tom Brady was chosen to replace him. After numerous requests for Brady to voice himself in the episode, he eventually agreed. Comedian Jay Leno voiced himself in two short scenes that show him, respectively, threatening and attempting to kill Brady.^[3]

Two scenes in which Stewie graphically beats up Brian using a glass filled with orange juice, various household objects, and guns polarized people who viewed it. Several production members were offended. Cast members—as well as MacFarlane's mother and an animal rights advocate—enjoyed the scene - MacFarlane quoted his Mom: "I don't see what the problem is? He (Brian) owed him (Stewie) money!" -, and so it was kept in the final cut.^[3] When Lois gives the finger to the camera during the interview with Peter and Brady, her hand was blurred out on Fox airings of the episode. However, reruns on Adult Swim left the gesture intact.^[4] The gesture was also left intact on the Volume Four DVD; the production team enjoyed having this level of freedom. After the initial airing of the episode, where newscaster Tom Tucker announces a report on a fictional curse word, clemen, many viewers looked up the word on the Internet to try to find a definition. MacFarlane stated in the episode's DVD commentary that if someone invents an obscene definition for the word, the show will have to stop using it (it has not been used since this episode). In a scene in which Brady is showering in the Griffins' upstairs bathroom, and Peter joins him, Peter's penis is hidden by his fat stomach (common in the series), and Brady covers himself with his hands. Many viewers went through every frame on the DVD to see if Brady's penis is visible at any time, but it is not.^[3]

Cultural references

The episode features a two-and-a-half-minute rendition of the song "Shipoopi" from the 1957 musical The Music Man, conducted by Peter and performed by the Patriots and people in the stadium.^[5] The original number in The Music Man was performed by around 40 or 50 singers and around 80 other musicians, as estimated by MacFarlane. Family Guy's rendition was recorded by an orchestra not as large as the original's, but one of the largest the show has ever used. Another musical number, in which the London Silly Nannies sing while dancing around a maypole, was taken from the Gilbert and Sullivan production The Sorcerer. A visual joke that shows Peter's $30,000 wax sculpture of Harriet Tubman "doing" a naked Gwyneth Paltrow originally featured the droid R2-D2 from Star Wars in place of Tubman. MacFarlane is a fan of Star Wars, and its characters are often featured in the series's jokes.^[3]

Critical reception

"Patriot Games" was watched by 8.45 million viewers, making it the 55th most-watched program of the week.^[6] According to MacFarlane, the episode polarized viewers, who either "hated or loved the violence".^[3] Ryan J. Budke from AOL's TV Squad gave the episode a positive review, specifically praising the scene in which Stewie beats up Brian. Budke also said that it was "fun" and that you could tell the crew had a good time making it. Overall he considered it "not a bad episode."^[7] Parents Television Council named it the worst show of the week, calling it unbelievably violent. The organization wrote that they were not amused by the fight between Brian and Stewie throughout the episode and the content portrayed "horrific."^[8] The episode ranked number 1 in IGN's Top 10 Musical Moments in the show, for"Shipoopi," and Brian and Stewie's fight in the bathroom was named the 5th greatest fight scene in the show on another list.^{[9] [10]}

References

External links

• "Patriot Games" on IMDb
• "Patriot Games" on WIKI
• "Patriot Games" on TV.com