"Our Idiot Brian" is the eighth episode of the thirteenth season of the animated sitcom '' Family Guy'', and the 239th episode overall. It aired on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

in the United States on January 11, 2015, and is written by Aaron Lee and directed by

John Holmquist John Holmquist is an American animator, director, designer, and storyboard artist. He has worked on several episodes of ''Rugrats'' as a director and storyboard artist from the late 1990s to early 2000s. Holmquist has also acted as a director for ...

. The title is a play on the film ''

Our Idiot Brother ''Our Idiot Brother'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Jesse Peretz and starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer. The script was written by Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall based on Jesse and Evge ...

''. The episode centers on

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

failing an SAT test, leading the family into thinking that he is not as smart as he claims to be, although

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

shows him the upside to being unintelligent. The cause of Brian's change in behavior is found to be a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

, and Stewie longs for Brian to have it removed to return to normal.

Plot

Meg worries about passing her

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

to get into college, so her friends suggest she hire a smart person to take the test for her. She convinces

to do so, inflating his ego by reciting quotes from his novel ''Faster Than the Speed of Love''. Brian disguises himself as Meg, goes to school and takes the test for her. Meg shows Brian that he failed badly, scoring just 1,000 out of 2,400. Deciding to spread the news that the remainder of the story will not be a "Meg episode",

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

rides off on his horse, Artemis. When he arrives in the village, Chris forgets what he is going to say and claims that Brian is getting another book published.

tries to get Brian to look on the bright side of being less intelligent, and together they do low-brow activities like watching a demolition derby and visiting Orlando, Florida. However, Stewie is puzzled about Brian's change in attitude as being very uncharacteristic of him. When Brian suffers a massive nosebleed and collapses, he is rushed to the hospital and Dr. Hartman reveals that Brian has a benign

, which has caused a decline in his intelligence. The family members are split on whether Brian should have the surgery to remove it, with Stewie wanting Brian to return to his old self and Brian enjoying his newfound life of enjoyable stupidity. Stewie uses the lure of a fake

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

concert to take Brian to "cultured" activities like the opera, yoga, and an upscale restaurant instead. However, Brian fully embraces being less intelligent and Stewie gives up and decides to adjust to the new reality, until Brian and Peter decide to enjoy a garage-set " London Fog" night, where they will take long and deep breaths as the exhaust from the car, envelopes them, and Stewie realizes Brian's behavior is actually going to kill him. Deciding to use his stupidity against him, he tricks Brian into getting the operation by claiming that it is an operation to graft him another

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

. Brian agrees to come along as he could watch '' Black Swan'' and shoot one load at

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

and another load at

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Since ...

(the actress who portrays Meg; Stewie also interrupts before Brian can say her name). At the hospital, Brian is returned to his normal pretentious self, and berates Stewie for taking away his life of restful sleep and much

casual sex Casual sex is sexual activity that takes place outside a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment, emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners. Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-night ...

and returning him to being a pompous alcoholic who can only hang out with a baby.

Reception

The episode received an audience of 4.12 million, making it the second most watched show on Fox that night after ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' episode " Bart's New Friend". Seth MacFarlane's role in the episode was nominated for the Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance at the

67th Primetime Emmy Awards The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2014 until May 31, 2015, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 20, 2015 at the M ...

References

External links

* {{Family Guy episodes, 13 2015 American television episodes Family Guy (season 13) episodes Fiction about diseases and disorders