The Son Also Draws

Infobox Television episode
Title =The Son Also Draws
Series =Family Guy


Caption =Peter and Lois argue after Lois gambles the car away.
Season =1
Episode =6
Airdate =May 9 1999
Production =1ACX06
Writer =Ricky Blitt
Director =Neil Affleck
Guests =Bobby Slayton, Suzie Plakson, Patrick Bristow
Episode list =List of Family Guy episodes
Season list = Infobox Family Guy Season 1
Prev =A Hero Sits Next Door
Next =

"The Son Also Draws" is an episode of "Family Guy" from season one. The title is an allusion to Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises". The episode guest-stars Bobby Slayton as Leonard Cornfeathers.

Plot summary

Chris hates being in the "Youth Scouts" (a parody of the Boy Scouts of America) and wants to quit, but is afraid to tell Peter. He is finally kicked out, and Peter insists on driving the family to Youth Scout headquarters, in New York to get Chris readmitted.

While they are gone, Brian is unable to find the television's remote control and his intelligence drops sharply after watching daytime programming that was interrupted by several episodes of "One Day at a Time".

The family stops at a Native American casino when Peter needs to use the bathroom (because Peter had a prune smoothie and saw a lot of signs that reminded him of going to the bathroom), but Lois quickly becomes addicted to gambling and loses the family car. After hearing that Lois has gambled the car away, Peter tries to get it back by claiming to be Native ("My great-grandfather's name was Chief Grand Cherokee"). The doubtful Indian elders demand that he go on a vision quest to prove his heritage.

Chris accompanies Peter into the wilderness, hoping to tell him that he only wants to draw instead of being in the Scouts. Delirious from hunger, Peter begins talking to trees and sees a vision of his spiritual guide, the Fonz.

He finally listens to Chris's complaints and realizes his son is a talented artist. And as the trees are singing Cat's in the Cradle, they catch on fire (because a tree had a lighter). They return to the casino and reclaim their car. The episode ends with a parody of NBC's "The More You Know" public service announcements. Lois, Stewie, and Meg counteract stereotypes about Natives, Mexicans, and Swedes, respectively. But when Peter continues about Canadians ("Canada sucks"), he doesn't correct himself and "The More You Know" logo doesn't appear.

Cultural references

* When Peter is hugging Chris in the forest, the trees begin singing the chorus from Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle," just before they catch fire.
* The Youth Scouts member who berates Chris while Chris is drawing next to a tree looks very similar to Butt-head from "Beavis and Butt-head." As a reference to this, Chris draws the scout with his face on his butt.
*When Peter has his Indian flashback, he sings an excerpt from the song "Neutron Dance" by the Pointer Sisters.
*When the racers line up at the starting line, Speed Racer shows up and jumps out of a soapbox car that resembles his race car, the Mach 5. Pops comes out from the audience at the race and tries to convince Speed that he should not be in this race and that he isn't Speed's real father. In their conversation, they have purposefully bad lip sync, a parody of the series, and each sentence Speed and Pops says ends in "Ha ha!"
*Brian watches the 70's sitcom, One Day at a Time. In both clips from the show, Julie (who was played by Mackenzie Phillips) appears dazed and stoned, likely a reference to the actress' well publicized drug problems that led to her firing from the show.
* Some of the Native Americans from the Indian casino are named 'Running Bear', 'Change for a Buck', 'Deals with his Wrist', 'Sees You Coming', 'Watches You Pee' and Frank. The manager's name is Leonard Cornfeathers
* Stewie watches a comedian called 'Carrot Scalp', likely a reference to Carrot Top.
* Peter tells Louis the Native Americans sold Manhatten for $25 but this is an urban legend. Really they were paid roughly the equivalant of $1000.
* Peter claims that his great grandfather was Chief Grand Cherokee, a pun on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, an SUV.
* Peter's survival technique of stealing the food is a referance to the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood

Reception and legacy

Peter's line at the end, "Canada sucks," created hate mail from angry Canadian viewers. In response, Seth MacFarlane points out that Ricky Blitt, the episode's writer, is Canadian himself.

This episode provides a back story for the later episode "A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks," in which Chris' painting talent is discovered by a New York art dealer. Peter's attitude towards Chris's drawings in this episode is similar to his attitude towards Chris's painting at the beginning of the later episode. In the episode "Fore Father," Chris shows an interest in animation. This episode also provides a back story for the religion that Peter later creates that worships the Fonz in "The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz."

References

* Callaghan, Steve. "The Son Also Draws". "Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3". New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 34–37.
* Delarte, Alonso. "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 1". "Bob's Poetry Magazine" March 2005: 13–14. [http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Mr.pdf http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Mr.pdf]

External links

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