"Space Cadet" is the ninth episode of the
eleventh season and the 197th overall episode of the
animated comedy series
Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first Television in the United ...
''
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 ...
''. 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 6, 2013, and is written by Alex Carter and directed by
Pete Michels. In the episode, after Chris gets sent to space camp, he realizes that it is more than he can handle and asks to come home. But while the Griffins are there to get him, they look inside a rocket, and Stewie launches them into space.
Plot
The Griffins find out that Chris is not doing well in school and worries about his future. As they discuss him, he overhears and feels insulted when they do not believe he is smart. To boost Chris' self-esteem, Peter and Lois allow him to go to a camp of his choosing; determined to show he's not stupid, he picks a space camp with
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
. However, Chris has trouble fitting in and calls for his parents to come pick him up. When the Griffins arrive, Chris gives them a tour of the space shuttle before they leave and Stewie accidentally launches them into space. As they worry about being stuck in space, Chris thinks he is responsible for getting them stuck. As word spreads about their possible fate, the Griffins explore the shuttle. Mission Control radios that they can get them back but the signal is lost and Peter destroys the radio trying to fix it. They try to land the shuttle themselves and Chris slows down the shuttle using what he learned in space camp. Unfortunately, the shuttle spins out of control, but Chris manages to stabilize it by allowing the autopilot to engage. They land to the cheers of the center and Chris is proclaimed a hero for saving his family.
Reception
The episode received a 3.6 rating and was watched by a total of 7.26 million people, this made it the second most watched show on
Animation Domination
Animation Domination (also called AniDom, Fox AD, and AD) is an American animated programming block which has aired in two iterations on the Fox broadcast network, featuring a lineup solely made up of prime-time animation and adult animation carr ...
that night, beating ''
Bob's Burgers
''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who r ...
'' and ''
American Dad!
''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...
'' but losing to ''
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, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' with 8.97 million. The episode was met with mixed reviews from critics. Kevin McFarland of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a B−, saying "'Space Cadet' actually ends up being a particularly appropriate title for a ''Family Guy'' episode that devolves into one too many cutaways, completely unfocused and oblivious to the compelling emotional plotline it sets in motion." Carter Dotson of ''TV Fanatic'' gave the episode three out of five stars, saying "Still, despite the surprisingly intelligent funny moments, this one just felt kind of off-kilter at times. It was occasionally amusing, but rarely ever made me laugh out loud, and the moral of Chris not being so stupid after all could be seen coming from a mile away. Also, Brian Williams was tragically underused in his cameo. You get a man with that kind of comedic timing, you gotta use him to his full abilities! Sadly, much like this episode, the execution just really wasn’t there."
Cultural references
* The episode starts with a slightly modified opening sequence from ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus
''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...
'', featuring the "It's" man.
* When Peter and Lois visit Principal Shepherd about Chris' recent activities, he shows Peter a picture Chris claimed to have drawn of Bob Belcher from ''
Bob's Burgers
''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who r ...
''.
* Peter's TV hypnotizes him into constantly talking about ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' and ''
The Wire''.
* In a cutaway, Peter and Lois are hanging on the wall in the style of
Big Mouth Billy Bass as an older Chris claps and they sing the
Blue Swede version of “
Hooked On a Feeling.”
* After breaking the communication system, Peter tells the family to enter "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" to gain unlimited lives. This is a reference to the
Konami Code.
References
External links
*
{{Family Guy (season 11)
2013 American television episodes
Family Guy (season 11) episodes