"Brian Sings and Swings" is the 19th episode of the fourth season and the 69th episode of ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
''. The episode was first broadcast on January 8, 2006.
Brian meets
Frank Sinatra Jr. and begins to perform on stage with him, and they are shortly joined by
Stewie. Meanwhile,
Meg
Meg is a feminine given name, often a short form of Megatron, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc. It may refer to:
People
*Meg (singer), a Japanese singer
*Meg Cabot (born 1967), American author of romantic and paranormal fiction
*Meg Burton Cahill ( ...
pretends to be a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
after being offered a chance to join the Lesbian Alliance Club at her school.
The episode was written by
Michael Rowe and directed by Chuck Klein and
Zac Moncrief. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. The episode featured guest performances by
Mark Borchardt, James Burkholder,
Don LaFontaine,
Mike Schank
Mikel Joseph Schank (August 3, 1969 – October 13, 2022) was an American actor and musician. He was close friends with independent filmmaker Mark Borchardt and helped Borchardt make the 1997 short horror film ''Coven (1997 film), Coven''. He a ...
, Stacey Scowley,
Frank Sinatra Jr.,
Nicole Sullivan,
Fred Tatasciore,
Audrey Wasilewski
Audrey Wasilewski is an American television, film and voice actress.
Biography Voice over
Voices multiple roles on Disney Jr's ''Alice's Wonderland Bakery'' including Alice's cat "Dinah," "Chamomille" the door mouse and "Threeanne of Hearts."
...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.
Plot
As
Peter prepares to leave for work, he backs his car out of the driveway, hitting
Brian, who needs treatment at a hospital. Upon Brian's return, Peter makes too much of an effort to welcome him back into the family. Meanwhile,
Meg
Meg is a feminine given name, often a short form of Megatron, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc. It may refer to:
People
*Meg (singer), a Japanese singer
*Meg Cabot (born 1967), American author of romantic and paranormal fiction
*Meg Burton Cahill ( ...
makes friends with a girl named Sarah at her school, unaware that she is about to be offered a place in the Lesbian Alliance Club. After speaking with
Neil Goldman, she realizes that she is now considered a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
by the group and prepares to drop out; however, when she realizes the effect being a member may have on her social status (finding herself more popular as a lesbian), she pretends to be one.
Meanwhile, Brian becomes
depressed after the accident, but after speaking with
Frank Sinatra Jr., he begins to perform with him, changing his outlook on life to that of positivity. After being told of Brian's new lifestyle, the family is impressed and encourage him to continue. However, when he is invited by Sinatra to perform with him again, their duo is interrupted by
Stewie, who joins the performance. Meanwhile, Meg tells the family that she is now a lesbian, but is mocked by
Lois
Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...
, knowing that she is not being honest. Even as they do so,
Chris and
Quagmire
A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...
exit Meg's closet, having attempted to film some lesbian interaction. Meanwhile, Brian and Stewie continue their performances across Quahog with Sinatra. In a drunken condition following a performance, Brian loses Stewie, which results in Stewie's ear being bitten off by a deer. Peter says that Brian will stop performing with Sinatra immediately and threatens to telephone Sinatra's "mother"
Mia Farrow. Angry at Peter's bossiness, Brian bites his arm, which leaves Peter afraid of him; the next day, Brian tries to reconcile with Peter, but Peter, still scared, only pelts him with furniture, dishes and Stewie, angering Brian who storms off in a rage.
Brian, regretful of biting Peter, quits performing with Stewie and Sinatra, resorting to drinking wine from a gutter. However, Brian regains his confidence when Stewie finds him, where he tells Brian that there are things in life which are beyond his control, telling him that even though they aren't in his control, they do matter, contrary to Brian's common beliefs. Meanwhile, Meg prepares to tell Sarah that she is not a lesbian and that she only pretended to be in order to make friends; however, Sarah is in her underwear, believing Meg has come to her house to have
sex with her. They are both interrupted by Quagmire and his
production team filming their antics. The episode ends with Stewie, Brian and Frank Sinatra Jr. singing once more at a club until Mia Farrow (called in by Peter) intervenes, reprimanding Frank for "hanging out 'till all hours with a baby and a dog", and spanks him in front of the audience, much to his chagrin.
Production
Scripts and other production materials were altered and modified extensively. The rhythm and pacing of the show required frequent rewrites due to the inclusion of musical performances.
MacFarlane comments that "having Frank Sinatra, Jr. on board was a pleasure to the team."
The scene where Meg sees Chris in the bathroom parodies the scene from ''
The Empire Strikes Back'' where
Darth Vader has his helmet placed on his head. The producers acknowledged that
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
had forbidden re-recordings of his music so the actual recording of "
The Imperial March" was used with permission by Williams and
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
.
The synopsis for this episode partially focuses on Meg becoming a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
; this was because
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...
believed the United States loved lesbians, which he describes as "the best kind of love".
As Brian and Stewie move back and forth on the stage when performing with
Frank Sinatra Jr., the scene originally appeared wrong, as the characters did not match the movement of the background.
Brian makes a comment about Stewie's weird laugh when he finds something really funny. This is the only time on ''Family Guy'' when MacFarlane has not voiced Stewie; instead, the laughing was performed by
Ricky Blitt Ricky may refer to:
Places
*Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic
*Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic
*Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky"
...
, a former writer of ''Family Guy''.
Cultural references
As Brian and Sinatra, Jr. are performing on stage, the song they are singing was originally composed for the 1960 film, ''
High Time''; however after the film, the song became so popular it was used in a new movie in 1973.
Another musical performance performed by Brian and Sinatra was based on a musical composition used in the film ''
Scared Stiff''.
When Brian is in the hospital after being hit by Peter's car, Stewie says that he will have to hang out with
The Rock again. The cutaway shows a trailer with Stewie and the Rock. The narrator (
Don LaFontaine) speculates about the Rock's race and then that of actress
Jessica Alba. When Meg says that she is a super mega-lesbian, Sarah tells her that she will fit in with the other super-mega-lesbians, who sing "
Elvira" by the
Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...
, much to Meg's excitement. In a cutaway mentioned by Stewie,
Thomas Edison hoards
electricity, as he fights with
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
. Edison talks about how much more fortunate he is than Bell, since he has hoarded electricity. He says that he watches ''
The Office'', and plays "
Foxy Lady" by
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. When Brian says "you gotta live life and live it hard", Stewie responds by calling it "the
Chris Farley method", a reference to the late comedian. The scene where Meg is talking to a friend about kissing is interrupted by Quagmire coming out of the closet with electric equipment, commenting that is "just awful". Than a filmmaker he refers to as Mark and his friend, who Mark refers to as Mike, comes out of the closet which he asks their opinion on it. After Mark says he doesn't know, he asks Mike his opinion, where he proceeds to mumble. This is a reference to the cult 1999 documentary ''
American Movie''.
Reception
''Family Guy'' and this episode are highly regarded in the music community of
Los Angeles, due to the show featuring many music-inspired scenes and for the use of its own
orchestra.
Ryan J. Budke of
TV Squad gave the episode a positive review, writing that it was not the show's "greatest episode this year, but it was still funny".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brian Sings And Swings
Family Guy (season 4) episodes
2006 American television episodes
American LGBT-related television episodes
LGBT-related animated television episodes