| "The Former Life of Brian" | |||||||
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| Family Guy episode | |||||||
 Tracy introduces Brian to her and Brian's son, Dylan. |
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| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 11 |
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| Written by | Steve Callaghan | ||||||
| Directed by | Pete Michels | ||||||
| Production no. | 6ACX04 | ||||||
| Original airdate | April 27, 2008 | ||||||
| Guest stars | |||||||
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| Family Guy (season 6) List of Family Guy episodes |
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"The Former Life of Brian" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of Family Guy. The episode originally broadcast on April 27, 2008. It guest stars Harvey Fierstein as the older repulsive Tracy (Brian's old girlfriend) and Chace Crawford as Paul, the ne'er-do-well boyfriend of another woman. The episode title is a reference to the Monty Python film The Life of Brian[citation needed], and a reference to Monty Python is made in the episode.
Contents |
Plot
Brian decides to start a relationship with a nice young widowed woman he meets one day. He agrees to perform magic at her son's birthday party just to impress her, only to learn that she already has a boyfriend she never told him about. Feeling he may be losing his chances at love, Brian ultimately decides to meet up with a former flame named Tracy who, once being quite attractive, has since become fat and slovenly. Partially repulsed, Brian decides to leave, but Tracy insists he stay after revealing that she has a son named Dylan and that he is the father.
Dylan proves to be quite the unruly teenager and Brian laments to Peter and Lois about his experiences with him. Despite his objections, they attempt to convince him that he should take responsibility for his son. At this time, Dylan arrives at the Griffins' house, explaining that Tracy dropped him off for Brian to raise. There he begins tearing the house apart (even beating up the Evil Monkey, though Chris has no problem with this) and acts hostile toward everyone, especially Brian, who decides to take control and kick him out. However, after he attempts to leave with a bag of Brian's pot, they discover a shared enjoyment of the drug and the two smoke up and bond. They begin to connect when Brian apologizes for not being there for Dylan which causes both of them to start crying and hugging, and Brian swears to turn Dylan's life in the right direction.
Brian quickly shapes Dylan up to be a fine young man, though he himself begins to act a bit self-righteous in his newly discovered role as father. Peter feels very uncomfortable about this, so he decides to convince Tracy to take Dylan back to live with her in the hopes that Brian would go back to normal. Lois supports Peter's position as she, too, has been feeling disturbed that Brian has become a stereotypically overprotective parent right after taking Dylan under his wing. While Brian attempts to justify his behaviour, Dylan steps up, saying it is time for him to turn his mother's life around just as Brian had done for him. Brian agrees, and the two part ways.
Censorship
- For the June 22 and July 20, 2008 rebroadcasts of the episode, Fox muted the last two words of Peter's last line, "She looks like a really hot Tim Russert" due to Russert's death. Cable airings and DVD versions do not do this.
Reception
This episode was watched by 8.5 million viewers and had a 4.3/10 audience share, up 5% from the previous episode.[1] This episode gained mixed reviews from IGN, saying "Not all of the manatee jokes were hits, but the storyline makes up for it".[2] Greg Rock of the Parents Television Council, an organization that has frequently criticized the series, named this episode the "Worst TV Show of the Week".[3]
References
- ^ The Hollywood Reporter
- ^ IGN review
- ^ Rock, Greg (2008-05-02). ""Family Guy" on Fox". Worst TV Show of the Week. http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/bw/2008/0502worst.asp. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
External links
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