Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows

Infobox Television episode
Title =Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
Series =Family Guy


Caption =Brian has a hard time with Pearl.
Season =3
Episode =17
Airdate =January 17, 2002
Production =3ACX03
Writer =Allison Adler
Director =Dan Povenmire
Guests =
Episode list =List of Family Guy episodes
Season list = Infobox Family Guy Season 3
Prev =A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas
Next =From Method to Madness__NOTOC__"Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows" is an episode of "Family Guy".

This episode contains the Emmy Award-winning song "You've Got a Lot to See", with music by Walter Murphy and lyrics by Seth MacFarlane [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0182576/awards] . The song won the award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics at the 2002 Emmy Awards. As of 2007, it is the only episode of the series to be largely non-comedic, being addressed by the writers as the one episode to contain "real human emotion". Audio Commentary; Family Guy, the Complete Third Season DVD Set]

Plot summary

Brian frets that he will never find an intelligent woman to love; after drinking heavily, he is charged by Joe for drunk driving. As part of his community service, he is sentenced to participate in the "Outreach to the Elderly" program and is assigned to a mean-tempered, elderly shut-in named Pearl Burton. Brian tries to deal with Pearl as patiently as he can, but after absorbing her abuse for several weeks, he loses his temper, releases his own burst of verbal abuse upon her and storms away.

Watching television that night, Brian sees a "Mysteries and Scandals" episode on E! about Pearl. From 1945 to 1960, she was a very successful jingle singer who was attractive and possessed a beautiful voice. Her attempt to become a normal, serious singer was a failure; in her 1961 debut at Carnegie Hall, the audience simply kept demanding that she perform their favorite jingles. After this disgrace, she disappeared from the public eye.

Brian is amazed to discover that there is much more to Pearl that meets the eye. He returns to Pearl's house just as she is preparing to hang herself. Narrowly preventing her death, he apologizes to her and tells her that he had never heard a more beautiful version of "Habanera" (from Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen") before. Brian spends much more time with Pearl on a voluntary basis, and they grow very close and affectionate. Through an extravagant musical number, Brian encourages Pearl to overcome her agoraphobia.

Heartened by Brian's belief in her, Pearl strides proudly into the street, where she is immediately hit by a truck. Brian accompanies her to the hospital, where Pearl tells him not to blame himself because "aside from the truck part" it had been the best day of her life. She tells Brian that she wish that could spend a little more time together. Brian tells her they can. Brian opens a pack of virtual reality kit and they wear the glasses in it. They imagine their marriage, their kids and their end together. As the imagination ends, Pearl dies.

Meanwhile, Peter decides to grow a beard and a rare bird nests in his facial hair. He wants to shave it off, but he changes his mind upon learning that the bird is an endangered species. Initially irritated by the squawking, Peter is delighted to discover that three baby birds are growing in his beard. Peter's paternal instincts take over and he becomes a better parent to the birds than he ever was to his own children. When they mature, he tries to keep them from leaving his beard, but he finally has to bid them a sad farewell.

Production

Initially, the "tearjerker" ending was not planned, and Seth MacFarlane had intended to close the episode with a series of gags like any other episode. Alex Borstein and the rest of the writing staff convinced him that the episode would be far more effective if it ended on a down note; on the Season 3 DVD commentary, the staff identifies this as the only episode of the series to contain "real human emotion". Audio Commentary; Family Guy the Complete Third Season DVD Set.]

Censorship

On some airings of this episode after 9/11, the shot of the World Trade Center towers were digitally erased and the part of the song where Brian sings about how nobody knows how the world will end replaces a shot of a tarot card (depicting a drunken George W. Bush with a beer bong) with one featuring Jerry Springer on the set of his talk show. The Cartoon Network airings, TBS airings, DVD version and, ironically, the syndicated airings of this episode have the Twin Towers and the Bush tarot card shots intact. The towers can also be seen on the tsunami tarot card.

In syndicated airings, during the "E! Mysteries and Scandals" segment, A.J. Benza's comment about Pearl Burton's net worth is removed for time. Also cut for time is some of the montages of Peter feeding and caring for the baby birds in his beard, and the scene where Peter tries on the virtual reality helmet to experience flying, which reveals that he is on a plane, ordering a Diet Sprite.

Cultural references

* The song "One", by Aerial Ballet, plays during the laser show.
* Many aspects of the spring-winter relationship between Brian and Pearl are shared with the 1971 movie Harold and Maude.
* Lois and Brian discuss his love life as one of Lois' students plays piano exercises, in a parody of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man".
* A cutaway shows Peter attending the funeral of JonBenét Ramsey and strongly implies that the Ramsey parents are guilty of her murder.
* "It's great to learn, 'cause knowledge is power!" is a reference to "Schoolhouse Rock!".
* When Peter imagines the baby birds as his children, the third bird wears a purple version of Boba Fett's helmet from "Star Wars".
* Brian starts singing a song about what Pearl has missed in life. Mayor Adam West's line about Pee-Wee's famous wrist refers to Paul Reubens' (Pee-Wee's real name) famous arrest for masturbating in a porno theater in Sarasota, Florida in 1991. Cleveland's line about "Sandy Duncan's creepy, phony eye" refers to the treatment of a tumor behind her left eye. During the song the Thundercats comics and Neil Armstrong, whom Meg confuses with Louis Armstrong, are also mentioned.
* When Pearl suggests "making that 'lamb and rice'" for dinner she is referring to a popular flavor of dog food.
* The episode is similar to the movie Finding Forrester, and in fact may be a parody.

References

* S. Callaghan, "Husband, Father...Brother?" "Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3". New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 152–155.
* A. Delarte, "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 3" in "Bob's Poetry Magazine", 2.August 2005: 52–53 [http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Au.pdf http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Au.pdf]

External links

*FGwiki