Road to the North Pole
"Road to the North Pole" | |
---|---|
Family Guy episode | |
Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 7 |
Directed by | Greg Colton |
Written by | Chris Sheridan Danny Smith |
Production code | 8ACX08-09 |
Original air date | December 12, 2010[1] |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Road to the North Pole" is the seventh episode of the
, along with a sickly, exhausted and suicidal Santa. Stewie and Brian take pity on him and decide to fulfill Christmas by delivering gifts to the entire globe, albeit unsuccessfully.The "
Critical responses to the episode were mostly positive; critics praised its storyline and its numerous cultural references, although it also received
Plot
On Christmas Eve, Brian takes Stewie to the mall, only to get a rude brush-off from the Santa who works there. Stewie vows to kill Santa and forces Brian to take him to the North Pole.
Stewie hitches a ride with a trucker and so Brian follows him to Canada. On the way, Stewie accidentally causes a traffic pileup by discharging a flare pistol in the cab of the truck, which catches fire and explodes. Crashing his car in a chain reaction, Brian becomes angry and tells Stewie that Santa does not exist. Stewie becomes frustrated and continues to attempt to hitchhike, coercing Brian to join him. The pair encounter a Canadian who gives them his snowmobile.
Continuing north, they run out of gas, but receive help from the Aurora Boreanaz, who instructs them to stay at a nearby cabin. The two set out on foot the next morning. They make it to Santa's workshop, only to find the place a gloomy factory in a polluted, lifeless wasteland. Santa is a sickly, exhausted and depressed old man, the elves are horribly mutated and inbred due to Santa's attempts to keep up with the increasing gift demand year after year, and the reindeer are carnivorous, feral monsters that eat the elves who wander out into the snow to die of exhaustion. Santa suddenly collapses and is too sick to deliver the presents. Brian and Stewie agree to do it, but they waste an hour and a half at their first house by assaulting a father and mother and duct-taping up them and their young daughter, only to discover they were in the wrong house the whole time. Realizing that they will not complete the delivery in time and understanding the impossibility of Santa's job, Stewie and Brian abandon the delivery in lieu of another plan.
On Christmas morning, everybody on Earth wakes up without any presents under their trees. They turn on the news, which is broadcasting the same story. Brian and Stewie appear on the broadcast and bring the dying Santa out in a wheelchair, explaining that humanity's greed is killing him, and if they do not shorten their demands to one Christmas present a year, they may have to abandon Christmas. Chastened, everyone agrees; one year later, Santa has recovered, the workshop is once again a lively, colorful cottage and the elves and reindeer are rejuvenated.
Production and development
"Road to the North Pole" is the sixth episode of the "
Two of the musical numbers, "All I Really Want for Christmas" and "Christmastime is Killing Us" were released as digital downloads on iTunes. "Christmastime is Killing Us" was available on December 3, 2010, while "All I Really Want for Christmas" was made available on December 10, 2010.[10][11]
In addition to the regular cast, the episode also guest starred actress
Cultural references
This episode as well as the entire "
The episode opens with a musical number in which the members of Quahog sing about what they want for Christmas. Peter wishes to have actress and models
Brian and Stewie go to the mall so they can meet Santa, but Peter is asking Santa for gifts (he asks for a game of Uno, a Magna Doodle, a pet chink (a mix of a chinchilla and a mink) and a Charles in Charge lunchbox.) When the mall Santa leaves for the night and Brian demands that he let Stewie sit in his lap, Santa mentions he will be at Applebee's. Stewie says that Santa leaving before he got a chance to sit in his lap felt like a bigger betrayal than the betrayal of Gary Busey by reality; this takes us to Busey looking himself in the mirror asking his reflection, in the form of a crazed clown, how he is doing.[14]
Brian and Stewie decide to go to the North Pole to kill Santa, but Brian does not want Stewie to get disappointed if Santa is not what everybody thinks he is; to this Stewie responds that Brian is as negative as
When they finally get to the North Pole and find it polluted and lifeless, Stewie compares it to Bridgeport, Connecticut; thus resulting in a cutaway to a Bridgeport resident writing an angry letter to the Family Guy writer staff about Stewie's comment.[14] When Santa Claus is near death, he shocks Stewie by saying "I'll be with Allah soon". When Brian and Stewie decide to deliver the presents for Santa, in their travel the Statue of Liberty can be seen. Unfortunately, they are not able to deliver the presents, and the next morning the residents of Quahog are upset because they have no presents, but Mort says he got eight mediocre gifts.[14]
Reception
"The Road to the North Pole, which is my favorite Family Guy episode in several seasons. This may be due to my Christmas bias, but I don't think so. Outside of a strange segment where Stewie and Brian, filling in for Santa in true sitcom Christmas plot fashion, kill an entire family, the episode is a good blend of solid gags, a fun story, and the kinds of envelope-pushing stuff Family Guy rarely does this well. The musical numbers, which have often been annoying in the past, are all nicely staged and performed (particularly the opening one, which closes with all of the characters being revealed in a big Advent calendar), and the episode's moral, while a little simplistic, is genuinely sweet".
Emily VanDerWerff, The A.V. Club [14]
"Road to the North Pole" was broadcast on December 12, 2010, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by
This episode received generally positive response from critics. Emily VanDerWerff of
The episode was also nominated for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (for song "Christmastime Is Killing Us", written by Ron Jones, Seth MacFarlane, and Danny Smith) and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation (Patrick S. Clark and Jim Fitzpatrick).[20] It won for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation.[21][22]
The series was successfully nominated in 2009, but failed to merit an award. Mark Hentemann, executive producer and showrunner of Family Guy said of the nominating process, "We had internal discussions in the writers' room, and it seemed like we were much more akin to the other primetime comedies than we were to children's shows in animation. We assumed we would not get anywhere, and so it was a great surprise when we got the nomination."[23]
"Christmastime Is Killing Us" was nominated for
See also
References
- ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford (2010-10-11). "Exclusive: "Cleveland," "Family Guy" Land Holiday Specials, "Simpsons Movie" to Make FOX Debut on Thanksgiving". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
- ^ a b c d e f "Stewie and Brian Wreak Havoc on the North Pole". Fox Flash. 20th Century Fox. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
- ^ a b c "Family Guy Episode: "Road to the North Pole"". TV Guide. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ "Family Guy: Go Stewie Go – Cast". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ "Family Guy – Road to the Multiverse – Cast and Crew". Yahoo!. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ Colton, Greg; Wild, Wellesley; MacFarlane, Seth (2009-09-27). "Road to the Multiverse". Family Guy. Season 08. Episode 01. Fox.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (August 5, 2009). "'Family Guy' to table read abortion ep". Variety. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ "Family Guy Road to the North Pole". Yahoo!. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ "ASCAP Composer Ron Jones and Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane Jazz It Up". Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d "All I Really Want for Christmas – Single by Family Guy Cast". ITunes. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ "Christmastime Is Killing Us (from "Family Guy") – Single". ITunes. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ "Family Guy Road to the North Pole". Yahoo!. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ P., Ken. "Interview with Seth MacFarlane". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g h VanDerWerff, Emily (2010-12-13). ""Donnie Fatso"/"The Road to the North Pole"/"For Whom the Sleigh Bell Tolls"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (2010-12-14). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' Adjusted Up; 'The Simpsons,' Down; Plus 'Amazing Race,' 'Undercover Boss,' and 'CSI: Miami'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (2010-11-22). "TV Ratings Sunday: Eagles Fly for NBC; American Music Awards Hits Lows". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ Hughes, Jason (2010-12-13). "Sundays With Seth: 'Cleveland Show,' 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad' Recaps". TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
- ^ Moon, Kate (2010-12-13). "Family Guy Review: "Road to the North Pole"". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
- ^ Eames, Tom (19 March 2017). "The 16 best ever Family Guy episodes in order of yukyukyuks". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ "2011 Primetime Emmy Award Nominations" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ "2011 Primetime Emmy Awards Winners" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ "Outstanding Sound Mixing For a Comedy or Drama Series Half Hour And Animation Nominees / Winners 2011". Teleivision Academy. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ Beachum, Chris (2011-06-21). "Can 'Family Guy' get back into Comedy Series race at Emmys?". Gold Derby. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ^ "Nominees And Winners". grammy.com. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
External links
"Road to the North Pole".
- "Road to the North Pole" at IMDb