Excellence in Broadcasting
"Excellence in Broadcasting" | |
---|---|
Family Guy episode | |
Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 2 |
Directed by | John Holmquist |
Written by | Patrick Meighan |
Production code | 8ACX03[1] |
Original air date | October 3, 2010 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Excellence in Broadcasting" is the second episode of the
The episode was written by Patrick Meighan and directed by
Plot
In light of "
Returning home, Lois is unimpressed when Brian tells her that Limbaugh will be coming over for dinner. That night, Lois begins arguing and challenging Limbaugh politically—with Peter joining in as well. She then accuses Limbaugh of brainwashing Brian, and demands for their dog to go back to the way he used to be. Limbaugh insists Brian became a conservative on his own terms, and the two sing a number based on "The Company Way", "Republican Town". Brian, outraged by Lois's unsupportive behavior, decides to move out and become roommates with Limbaugh—who reluctantly allows him to move into his house. Brian soon begins to irritate Limbaugh with his blind devotion. He replaces many of Limbaugh's possessions with American-Made versions, which all go wrong. Brian then proceeds to follow Limbaugh to his radio show, where he attempts to voice his own political opinions on the air about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. This frustrates Limbaugh, who ends up having Brian thrown out. Despite this, Brian continues to try and prove his devotion to the conservative cause by waterboarding Pelosi—only to end up getting apprehended and sent to jail.
Later on, Limbaugh
Production and development
First announced by series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane in an interview on August 13, 2009, the episode was written by series regular Patrick Meighan, and directed by series regular John Holmquist shortly after the conclusion of the production of the eighth season. In the interview, with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane conceded that Family Guy tends to be very liberal because "it's written by liberals". In choosing the conservatives who would be featured in the episode, MacFarlane stated, "we put it out there to a lot of Republicans—'we're doing this show, who wants in?'—and we got some bites."[3] Series regulars Peter Shin and James Purdum served as supervising director, with Andrew Goldberg, Alex Carter, Elaine Ko and Spencer Porter serving as staff writers for the episode. Composer Walter Murphy, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "Excellence in Broadcasting". It is the first episode to feature a high-definition opening credit sequence.[4]
On
"Excellence in Broadcasting", along with two other episodes from Family Guy's ninth season, was released on a three-disc
In addition to the regular cast and Limbaugh, actor Gary Cole, actress Christine Lakin, voice actor Phil LaMarr, actress Shelley Long, actress Nana Visitor and actor Rainn Wilson guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Chris Cox, actor Ralph Garman, and writers Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin, John Viener and Wellesley Wild also made minor appearances.[8]
Family Guy series producer Kara Vallow is not credited in this episode. According to an Instagram post Vallow made following Limbaugh's death in 2021, she had her name removed in protest.[9]
Cultural references
In the opening scene of the episode, the
The scene of Limbaugh rescuing Brian is an almost shot-for-shot homage to the scene of Mr. Miyagi rescuing Daniel in The Karate Kid. Returning home after being saved by Limbaugh, Brian begins watching the NBC comedy series The Office, featuring actor and comedian Rainn Wilson.[2] Deciding to thank Limbaugh for his newfound conservatism, Brian is taken by Limbaugh to the National Republican Party headquarters in Washington, D.C., in order to meet former President of the United States George W. Bush and United States Senator John McCain from Arizona.[13] McCain then recalls when he and Limbaugh solved mysteries together. A parody of the animated television series Scooby-Doo is then shown, including McCain and Limbaugh capturing United States Congressman Barney Frank from Massachusetts, disguised as a mummy.[14]
After deciding to sing a song entitled "Republicantown," several political figures are shown and parodied, including former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney and former Presidents of the United States Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.[14] Actors Mickey Rourke, Chuck Norris and Jon Voight also appear, while Voight's "pretty hot at one time" daughter is Angelina Jolie.[14] The song "Republicantown" is a parody of the song "The Company Way" from the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.[14]
Reception
"Excellence in Broadcasting" was broadcast on October 3, 2010, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by
Television critics reacted mostly mixed to "Excellence in Broadcasting", calling the storyline "funny,"
Limbaugh's appearance in the episode has drawn both praise and criticism from news outlets, including Daniel Foster of
References
- ^ "20th Century Fox – Fox In Flight – Family Guy". 20th Century Fox. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ a b "Brian Switches Parties on an All-New "Family Guy"". Fox Flash. 20th Century Fox. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ Hibberd, James (2009-08-13). "Limbaugh, Rove to guest on 'Family Guy'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2010-09-26. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ a b c d Hughes, Jason (2010-10-04). "Sundays With Seth: 'American Dad' Celebrates Its 100th Episode". TV Squad. Archived from the original on 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ a b c d "Rush on Family Guy Airs Sunday October 3rd at 9PM ET on FOX". The Rush Limbaugh Show. Premiere Radio Networks. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ Lambert, Dave (2011-06-24). "Family Guy – Does a Fan Site Message Board Have a List of Volume 9 DVD Contents and Extras?". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
- ^ Lambert, Dave (2011-07-21). "Family Guy – Street Date, Cost, and Other New Info for 'Volume 9' Come Out". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
- ^ a b "Family Guy Episode: "Excellence in Broadcasting"". TV Guide. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ "@karavallow on Instagram: "Racist homophobic misogynistic pig fuckers don't get to be fun."".
- ^ Jefferson, Whitney. "Family Guy Transitions into HD With a Filthy Brady Bunch Joke". Gawker. Archived from the original on 2010-10-09. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
- ^ Haque, Ahsan (2009-03-23). "Family Guy: "FOX-y Lady" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ Paras, Peter; Gretchen Putnam; Jennifer Arrow (2010-10-01). "Will There Be a Family Guy-American Dad-The Cleveland Show Triple Crossover?". E! Online. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ Jefferson, Whitney (2010-10-04). "Rush Limbaugh Stars in Family Guy Episode About the Republican Party". Gawker. Archived from the original on 2010-10-08. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ a b c d "Family Guy: A Career Challenge". The Rush Limbaugh Show. Premiere Radio Networks. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (2010-10-04). "TV Ratings: Simpsons, Desperate Housewives, Sunday Night Football Rise; CSI: Miami Premieres". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (2010-09-27). "TV Ratings: Sunday Night Football Wins; Simpsons, Cleveland Show, Family Guy, Makeover, Housewives All Down vs. Last Season's Premieres". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ a b c Kaiser, Rowan (2010-10-04). ""Loan-a-Lisa"/"Cleveland Live!"/"Excellence in Broadcasting"/"100 A.D., Pt 1 of 2"". The A.V. Club. AOL, Inc. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ Markovitz, Adam (2010-10-04). "Rush Limbaugh on 'Family Guy': Who took more hits, the right or the left?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ Foster, Daniel (2010-10-01). "Isaiah 11:6". National Review. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ Lewis, Matt (2010-10-01). "Rush Limbaugh Does 'Family Guy'". Politics Daily. AOL, Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ Wieselman, Jarett (2010-10-01). "Whoa, I actually like something Rush Limbaugh did". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ Weigel, David (2010-10-01). "Rush Limbaugh on "Family Guy"". Slate. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
External links
"Excellence in Broadcasting".
- "Excellence in Broadcasting" at IMDb
- "Excellence in Broadcasting". Watch TVSeries.net. 2010-10-30.
- "Excellence in Broadcasting episode promotion by Fox Broadcasting". YouTube.com. 2010-10-30. Archived from the original on 2010-10-07.