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"Total Recall" is the eighteenth_episode_of_the_
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Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
television comedy">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 United States television ...
''Family Guy''. It aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox in the United States on April 28, 2013, and is written by Kristin Long and directed by Joseph Lee. In the episode, after Rupert is recalled, Stewie and Brian head on an adventure to reclaim Stewie's best friend. Meanwhile, due to illness, Peter is replaced by Lois in his bowling tournament. However, he begins to get annoyed by the brewing friendship between his wife and his buddies.
Plot
Peter comes down with a cold that alters and deepens his voice, which Lois finds to be a turn-on. After they make love, Peter goes to his bowling match. When he recovers, Peter loses his sexy voice and decides to fall ill again to regain it. After repeated attempts, he manages to get deathly ill. Peter ends up in the hospital and is thus unable to go to his bowling tournament, so he enlists a reluctant Lois to take his place. The guys have some reservations but Lois does remarkably well, winning the game for the guys. Celebrating at The Drunken Clam, Lois joins in the guys' sex talk, whilst making a rather bold reference to her
bisexuality
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, ...
, saying that she would have sex with
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...
. Joe surprises everyone with three tickets to a
Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
game just as Peter shows up to join them and they point out they do not have a ticket for him, preferring to take Lois. After the game, Peter confronts Lois about hanging out with his friends, lamenting that they are all he has. Peter joins the others but finds his jealousy and desperation leaves him out of the group. As Lois feels bad for him, she decides to help Peter regain his place, turning down a night out to allow Peter to rejoin his friends.
Meanwhile, the New England Toy & Game Company
recalls the
teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...
s for the eyes potentially coming loose and Lois sends Rupert back. When Stewie finds him missing, Brian tells him what happened and shows him the replacement toy giraffe they sent which Stewie rejects. Stewie decides to go to the factory and retrieve Rupert at all costs and enlists Brian's help. They slip into the factory on a tour and find the recall room, only to realize there are thousands of identical bears. As Stewie despairs of ever finding the real Rupert, he spots a conveyor belt loading the bears into a furnace and discovers the real Rupert. Stewie gains access to the belt and makes his way to Rupert. As Rupert nearly falls in, Stewie grabs him and tries to retreat off the belt himself before falling in. Brian tries failed toy after failed toy until he manages to stop the belt and Stewie is reunited for good. As Stewie celebrates getting Rupert back, one of Rupert's eyes pops off and into Stewie's mouth, choking him until he suffocates.
Cultural references
The opening credits are a direct parody of
ABC's ''
Modern Family
''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...
''.
The scene where Stewie rescues Rupert from the incinerator is similar to a scene in ''
Toy Story 3
''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to '' Toy Story 2'' (1999). It wa ...
''.
The title is a reference to
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
's film ''
Total Recall''.
Reception
The episode received a 2.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic and was watched by a total of 4.89 million viewers. This made it the most watched show on Fox's
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 car ...
line-up that night, beating ''
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, ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
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—wh ...
'' and ''
The Cleveland Show
''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, a ...
''. The episode was met with mixed reviews from critics. Kevin McFarland of ''
The A.V. Club'' gave the episode a C−, saying "The B-plot is much more light-hearted and fun and far less problematic. Stewie and Brian go on a mission to rescue Rupert, who has been recalled by the toy company that manufactures the teddy bear due to the choking hazard of easily detachable eyes. There were many different ways this could have gone, from an entire episode devoted to an extensive, far-reaching search, to a Willy Wonka-style romp around a toy factory, but buried in this episode as the other story the beats play out in predictable fashion. We’re already getting another “Road To…” episode this season, so a romp through a toy factory taking over an episode probably seemed like too much for one year."
Carter Dotson of ''TV Fanatic'' gave the episode four out of five stars, saying "This won't go down as an all-time great in the show's canon; the Modern Family intro parody felt weak and there was still a lot of lazy humor, but it'll be a solid way to pass time when the episode airs in syndication and I invariably see it a million times on Adult Swim."
Mark Trammell of ''TV Equals'' said "Given some people’s complaints that the show was losing touch with what made them like it in the first place, this one should have hit the target for the most part, playing like a classic episode of the show. Though I appreciated the attempt to steer things away from that sort of thing in favor of more original jokes, I have to admit, I laughed more at this episode than I have in some time. For that matter, I just plain enjoyed it more, storyline-wise."
References
External links
Total Recallat Family Guy Wiki
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{{Family Guy (season 11)
2013 American television episodes
Family Guy (season 11) episodes