The Old Man And The Big 'C'
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"The Old Man and the Big 'C" is the third episode of the eleventh season of the
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
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 ''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 ...
'' and the 191st episode overall. It originally aired on 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 ...
network in the United States on November 4, 2012. It was initially going to be aired on October 21, 2012 but due to a previous
rainout Rainout may refer to: *Rainout (radioactivity) *Rainout (sports) Rainout, washout, rain delay, and rain stopped play are terms regarding an outdoor event, generally a sporting event, delayed or canceled due to rain, or the threat of rain. It is n ...
, the
NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Major League Baseball po ...
Game 6 bumped all the sitcoms of
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.


Plot

At a
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ballgame, Quagmire accidentally loses his
toupée A toupée ( ) is a Fake hair, hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic fiber, synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women a ...
going for a fly ball, and it is put up on the scoreboard and YouTube. When he becomes a laughingstock both at the game and due to a
Kia Motors Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, ...
-sponsored story with the slogan, "Too bad it's a Kia," on Quahog 5, he decides to ditch the wig. The change in his appearance affects his attitude. The guys become reluctant to hang out with him and convince him to get a hair transplant. At the hospital for Quagmire's hair transplant,
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. ...
wanders off and overhears that Carter has terminal
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. He returns and tells Stewie who confirms it via online camera in the Pewterschmidt house. Brian tells
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 ...
who rounds up the family and heads for her parents' home, but when they arrive they find Carter in good health, Lois becomes angry at a stunned Brian for surprising her like that, with Meg shaming him, and Peter saying "he will get it when he drinks". Brian suspects that Carter is an impostor in order to protect the family business interests and convinces Stewie to come with him to prove his theory. Brian and Stewie follow Carter around in Pewterschmidt Industries in order to prove he is an impostor. They hear Carter talking to one of his executives about a "Specimen Z" in the sub-levels that might be the description for the "real" Carter Pewterschmidt. While sneaking into a sub-level medical facility to find "Specimen Z," Brian and Stewie discover that "Specimen Z" is actually for a chemical that is the cure for cancer. Carter finds them in the room where it is being held and reveals that he has been sitting on the cure since 1999 in order to protect his sales of treatment pharmaceuticals. Carter then has the
security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...
s throw Brian and Stewie out. As Brian fumes on their way home, Stewie reveals that he stole the cure. They take it home to show Lois, but Carter arrives with his men to take it back and Brian tells what it is. Lois is appalled, but Carter refuses to show pity until she brings up some of his closest loved ones possibly dying of cancer. After an argument with Lois, Carter promises to reveal the cure. The next day in a press release, Carter only gives the news of a new type of deodorant for mentally disabled people called "Slow Stick" (a parody of Speed Stick), which is also apparently edible. Lois calls to find out why he did not reveal the secret as Carter reveals that he lied before hanging up on her. The episode ends with Peter assuring to Lois that they will get over the fact that Carter's a bad man when he is shown on the cover of ''
Forbes Magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...
'' with
devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
-like horns.


Reception

The episode received a 2.5 rating and was watched by a total of 5.11 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 Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are d ...
that night, beating ''
Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is centered on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and their three children, Tina Belcher, Tina, G ...
'', ''
The Cleveland Show ''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry (voice actor), Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Family Guy'', and the second television ...
'' and ''
American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...
'' but losing to ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' with 5.54 million. The episode was met with mixed reviews from critics. Kevin McFarland of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...
'' gave the episode a B, saying "But even without an emotionally sweet turn, this is still the funniest episode of ''Family Guy'' so far this season. Tons of throwaway lines get laughs, and a surprising number of cutaways actually worked." Carter Dotson of ''TV Fanatic'' gave the episode three out of five stars, saying "Even the cancer cure plot seemed half-baked. It was the typical glazing over of a message that was to be presented: just a top-level message that rich corporations would rather make money by treating cancer rather than curing it. A simple one, and handled by the show in the way that it usually does, like in the “legalize pot” episode: present the point and change nothing."


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Old Man And The Big C, The 2012 American television episodes Family Guy season 11 episodes