Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington

"Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington"
Family Guy episode
Peter addresses Congress
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 3
Directed by	Brian Hogan
Written by	Ricky Blitt
Production code	2ACX11
Original air date	July 25, 2001
Guest stars
Carlos Alazraqui as Mr. Weed Gary Cole Louise DuArt Olivia Hack Meredith Scott Lynn Alyssa Milano as Herself Brian Doyle-Murray Jack Sheldon as the Bill
Episode chronology
← Previous "Brian Does Hollywood" Next → "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea"
Family Guy (season 3) List of Family Guy episodes

"Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington" is the third episode of the third season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on July 25, 2001. The episode features Peter after his employer, the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory, is taken over by new management, a power hungry cigarette company, who uses the toys to instill smoking habits in children. Peter is immediately hired by the company to reach out to political leaders in Washington, D.C., but soon realizes the deadly effects of the habit.

The episode was written by Ricky Blitt and directed by Brian Hogan. The episode featured guest performances by Carlos Alazraqui, Gary Cole, Louise DuArt, Olivia Hack, Meredith Scott Lynn, Alyssa Milano, Brian Doyle-Murray and Jack Sheldon, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.

Plot

After Lois has a nightmare about Stewie killing her, Peter informs her that the family is going to a Boston Red Sox baseball game. Peter calls Mr. Weed and tells him that he was in a terrible plane crash and that his entire family was killed as an excuse for not being able to go to work. When Peter is at the game, he encounters Mr. Weed and Mr. Weed calls him a liar. Peter, upset that Mr. Weed treats him poorly, tells Mr. Weed that his "identical twin brother" was at the ballgame. Mr. Weed disregards Peter's comment, and tells him that the El Dorado Cigarette Company is now taking over the toy factory, but Peter, much to his delight, is retained.

Peter goes home and brings his family lobster, which he apparently got on his salary (Peter claims he got a raise). He shows the family the toys El Dorado Cigarettes is making, and Lois and Brian see that the company is making toys that are corrupting children. Lois tells Peter to talk to his new bosses the following morning. Peter agrees, and when he talks to his bosses, the executive says that they're just fun toys, and they compare it to Barbie with a dream car because they influence children to start doing things they're not supposed to be doing. The executive says that smoking is the last things they want kids to do, and Peter believes it is a graph his son made him in art class. Peter then notices that the graph says that it wasn't made in art class, and the company wants kids to start smoking. The executive says they're a caring company, and he tells Peter that he could be President of the El Dorado Cigarette Company, and Peter agrees.

Peter tells the family that the El Dorado Cigarette Company made him President, and is glad he has earned so much respect from his bosses. Lois asks Peter why the company made him President, and Peter claims that he could recite all 50 states in a quarter of a second (which turns out to be a loud yelping noise). Meanwhile, an ugly girl is hired by the company to stand next to Meg so Meg can look better by comparison. Peter surprises the family that the house is coated with a microfilm of Teflon by the company so that the house is easier to clean. Lois can't tell the difference, but then the family slips on the floor and Peter wishes the company didn't do the floors.

Lois enjoys Peter's presidency, especially because the company sent Martha Stewart to be a maid at the Griffins' house. Brian, annoyed with the company's ideas, quits smoking. On the other hand, Peter enjoys being the President of the El Dorado Cigarette Company when he gets an executive parking space, and he even gets his own company suck-up (which turns out to be a robot after Peter got him to say something contradictory). After receiving an anti-smoking bill, El Dorado holds a meeting and decide that the only way to communicate with the idiots in Congress is to send someone just as dumb, and they decide to send Peter. He makes friends on Capitol Hill of both parties. He gladhands Senators, even taking some to a strip club where one of the senators accidentally kills a stripper. Meanwhile, back at home, Lois is horrified when she catches Stewie smoking and remembers the company's abuses, and she and Stewie follow Peter to Washington, D.C., but Peter believes that Stewie smoking is only a sign that Stewie is growing up and say to Lois to "cut the umbilical cord".

Peter is easily able to communicate with the Congressmen (convincing them simply by saying "come on"). Peter prepares to deliver his speech on the floors of Congress assembled, but when he hears Stewie's hacking cough, he himself remembers the evils of smoking and tells Congress to reject El Dorado's proposal. Congress agrees (along with two other congressists, one that tells that cigar's smoke pollutes air and another that says that the cigars killed his father and "raped" his mother) and decides to fine the company $100 million, which makes the company bankrupt.

The episode ends with a reminder from the cast of Family Guy about the risks of killing strippers.

Production

The episode was written by series regular Ricky Blitt, and directed by Brian Hogan, in his first episode for the series, before the conclusion of the third production season.

In addition to the regular cast, voice actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui, actor Gary Cole, comedian Louise DuArt, voice actress Olivia Hack, actress Meredith Scott Lynn, actress Alyssa Milano, comedian and actor Brian Doyle-Murray and actor Jack Sheldon guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Ricky Blitt, writer Danny Smith and voice actor Wally Wingert also made minor appearances.

Cultural references

The name and a small amount of the plot parodies the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Frank Capra. At a Red Sox game, Stewie takes a souvenir bat from a kid named "Opie." Opie is also the name of Peter's retarded co-worker in later seasons. When Brian mentions subliminal advertising, a cutaway shows an episode of Lassie with subliminal pro-smoking messages. Subliminal advertising was a popular urban legend during the early days of television. A flashback shows Peter giving false testimony at the 1991 Confirmation Hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarance Thomas, where Thomas' alleged sexual harassment of former aide Anita Hill became an issue. After his lies are called out, he screams "Baba Booey! Baba Booey! Howard Stern's penis! Baba Booey! Baby Booey!" Stern encourages listeners to interrupt high-profile political and media events and give him publicity, often shouting "Baba Booey," the nickname of Stern's producer, Gary Dell'Abate, as a codeword.^[1] Peter says that, since he's been president, "profits have been higher than Alyssa Milano," referring to tabloid accusations about the actress's drug abuse. In a live-action scene, Milano appears as herself and urges her lawyer to sue FOX. When the tobacco executives decide to send Peter to Washington as a lobbyist, they parody the opening of the old sitcom That Girl from 1966. The scene where there is an anthropomorphic legal bill singing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building is a reference to the 1970s educational television series School-House Rock. The two writers that are hired for Peter bear some physical resemblance to comedy duo Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, although it is worth noting that Gervais and Merchant are English, whilst the writers are voiced by American actors.

References

1. ^ http://familyguy.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Griffin_Goes_to_Washington/References

• S. Callaghan, "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington". Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 136–139.

External links

Family Guy portal

Preceded by Brian Does Hollywood

Family Guy (season 3)

Succeeded by One If by Clam, Two If by Sea