HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" is the 18th episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
''. It originally aired on the
Fox network Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...
in the United States on December 18, 2005. The episode follows
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 su ...
's decision to find a new religion for himself. After several failed attempts, he chooses the one man who has always been there for him,
Fonzie Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lea ...
, and starts the First United Church of the Fonz. The episode was written by Danny Smith and directed by James Purdum. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, it was viewed in 8.26 million homes in its original airing in the United States. The episode featured guest performances by
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
,
Tom Bosley Thomas Edward Bosley (October 1, 1927 – October 19, 2010) was an American actor, television personality and entertainer. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham (Happy Days character), Howard Cunningham on the American Broadcasti ...
,
Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series '' M ...
,
Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...
,
Sherman Hemsley Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series ''All in the Family'' (1973–1975; 1978) and ''The Jeffersons'' (1975 ...
,
Phil LaMarr Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...
, Sherry Romito,
Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Eileen Ross; October 25, 1928) is an American actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham (Happy Days), Marion Cunningham on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television sitcom ''Happy Days'', on which ...
, Amir Talai,
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore ( , , born June 13, 1967) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk, Volstagg, and Beast in various Marvel media and ...
, Sarah Utterback and
Wally Wingert Wallace Wingert is an American voice actor and former DJ. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Psycho Blue in '' Power Rangers In Space'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in ''Tiger & Bunny'' ...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.


Plot

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 su ...
's devout
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
father,
Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
, visits Quahog. Upon arrival, he insists that Stewie be
baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...
as a Catholic. After visiting a church with Peter and Stewie, Francis is informed that the holy water is tainted and he will have to wait. Francis is in disbelief, and baptizes Stewie himself. Stewie soon becomes unwell and is informed by a doctor that he must be quarantined and kept in a germ-free environment until his immune system recovers.
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 ...
discovers that Francis coaxed Peter into having Stewie baptized without her knowledge, and tells Peter to choose his own religious beliefs and not allow himself to be a slave to his father's religion. Peter initially converts to
Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...
to take advantage of
polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
, but then discovers that Mormons cannot drink
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
. He then tries
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
and attempts door-to-door preaching. However, when he finds someone who is actually interested in hearing what he has to say, he realizes he has no idea what to teach them. As a last resort, Peter tries
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
but gets himself kicked out after tackling the
guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
to the floor, believing the red dot on his head to be a laser spot from a
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...
. Unable to find a religion suited to him, Peter decides to create his own religion, based on ''
Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'', calling his newly founded church the "First United Church of the Fonz". To the Griffins' (mainly Lois') surprise, many people turn up for the first worship service, much to the annoyance of atheist
Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...
, who disapproves of Peter being a religious leader, and Francis, who rejects the Church of the Fonz as not "real religion". Brian and Francis join forces to find a way to deter people from worshiping the Fonz. Three actors, serving as representatives from other religions, show up in quick succession to the second service of the Church of the Fonz. The first,
Sherman Hemsley Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series ''All in the Family'' (1973–1975; 1978) and ''The Jeffersons'' (1975 ...
, informs people that he has formed the Church of
George Jefferson George Jefferson is a fictional character played by Sherman Hemsley on the American television sitcoms ''All in the Family'' (1973–1975, 1978) and its spin-off ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985), in which he serves as the program's protagonist. ...
(from ''
All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
'' and ''
The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...
'') and a good portion of the congregation leaves with him. The second person is
Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod ( ; born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's ''The Love ...
, who claims to have created the Church of Captain Stubing (from ''
The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'') and another chunk of the congregation leaves with him. The third person is
Kirk Cameron Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor, author, Evangelism, evangelist, television host, documentarian and producer. He first gained fame as a teen actor playing Mike Seaver on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC si ...
and Peter assumes that Cameron is there to announce the formation of the Church of Mike Seaver (Cameron's character on ''
Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...
''), but Cameron says he's there to convert people to Christianity and the remainder of the congregation leaves with him. Back at home, Lois comforts Peter, who is upset at the failure of his Church, by telling him that the values he was preaching were noble, and if he inspired even one person to embrace them, it was worthwhile, but Peter highly doubts it and converts back to Christianity. The scene shifts to Francis, who is looking at a picture of the Fonz. He puts it down on a table, gets on his knees as if to pray, and claps to the beat of "
Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...
" as the episode ends.


Production

Episode writer and executive show producer Danny Smith has written all ''Family Guy'' episodes to date to feature
Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
; the first was "
Holy Crap The second season of ''Family Guy'' first aired on the Fox network in 21 episodes from September 23, 1999, to August 1, 2000. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie ...
". After Francis puts up the
Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...
on the Griffins' dining table, Stewie's line, "Yeah, nothing says 'eat up' like a bleeding, half-naked Jew nailed to a piece of wood," was censored from the
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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...
and syndicated airings, but retained on the Cartoon Network, TBS, and DVD versions. A sequence with Peter saying, "I'm sorry, but if another person says ''taint'' today, I am going to bust a nut", after the doctor informs him and Lois that Stewie was exposed to tainted holy water, was intended to be included in the episode, but was removed for unknown reasons. After Stewie is placed in a square box to quarantine him, Lois is shown leaving him halfway through changing his diaper—Stewie then says "finish the job, woman! It smells like
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
in here". The script for this episode, including this sketch, was prepared before the events of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
, so it was never intended to coincide with the events of Katrina. On all airings (including the volume 3 DVD set), Stewie's line has been changed to "It smells like
Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles i ...
in here!" The Fonz Statue in Peter's church was originally meant to depict The Fonz in a way similar to Jesus's depiction on the Christian cross, but it was rejected due to broadcasting standards. An animated scene showing the congregation of Peter's church singing the ''
Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'' theme tune was created but never used as the series producers were unable to obtain the rights to it. The series producers were not able to get
Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...
or
Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...
to guest-star in the episode, so to fill the time gap, they created the scene about
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
, which they deemed to be "quite funny".


Cultural references

At the beginning of the episode, the family is watching ''Aquaman'' on television. Peter is shown watching ''Jaws 5'' on the television, a sequence which MacFarlane describes as "one of isfavourite gags hey'veever done on the show". Stewie is shown asking viewers to change the channel to one which is showing ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...
''. When Peter is describing
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, he does so in a similar manner to that shown on ''
Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...
''. Peter's stuttering while attempting to say "wrong" is a reference to a scene in which
Fonzie Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lea ...
was unable to say the word on ''
Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
''. The episode uses a plastic bubble-encased Stewie as the pinball in a close parody of the
Pinball Number Count ''Pinball Number Count'' (or ''Pinball Countdown'') is a collective title referring to 11 one-minute animated segments on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'' that teach children to count to 12 by following the journey of a pinball ...
from ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''. One cutaway gag features a modified version of
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
's "
Opposites Attract "Opposites Attract" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut album, ''Forever Your Girl'' (1988). It was written and produced by Oliver Leiber. Vocals on the song, in addition to Abdul, were provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn ...
" with Peter - dressed like a cat - in place of MC Skat Kat. The music playing in the background during the end credits is "
Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...
", the original ''Happy Days'' opening theme; additionally, the credits themselves are shown in a similar style and font.


Reception

"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" finished 40th in the weekly ratings for the week of December 12–18, 2005, with a
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
of 8.26 million viewers. Ryan Budke, of
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
, said, "This was one of the funniest episodes this year." He added, "I was cracking up from beginning to end on this one." He was "a little disappointed that
Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...
did not actually show up in the show". The
Parents Television Council The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by Conservatism in the United States, conservative political pundit L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which ...
, a frequent critic of ''Family Guy'', named the episode the worst of the week for its treatment of religion.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Father, The Son, And The Holy Fonz, The Family Guy season 4 episodes 2005 American television episodes Happy Days