Stew-Roids

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"Stew-Roids"
Family Guy episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 13
Directed byJerry Langford
Written byAlec Sulkin
Featured music"Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus
Production code6ACX18[1]
Original air dateApril 26, 2009 (2009-04-26)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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Family Guy season 7
List of episodes

"Stew-Roids" is the 13th episode in the

Connie D'Amico
. He begins to like her, and the two begin a serious relationship, leading him to become popular. His newfound popularity goes to his head, however, causing him to become mean and self-centered towards everyone around him.

The episode was written by

Meredith Baxter-Birney, Jeff Bergman, Gary Cole, Chace Crawford, Camille Guaty, Wentworth Miller and Mae Whitman
along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.

Plot

steroids
. Peter injects the drugs into Stewie, who becomes incredibly buff and develops an aggressive personality, much to the horror of his family. Stewie becomes tormenting towards Brian. As time passes, Stewie's drugs gradually wear off, much to his shock. His skin becomes incredibly loose and flabby. Stewie jumps out of his bedroom window to avoid Brian's wrath, only to have his loosened skin help him glide to safety.

Elsewhere,

Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs
. Connie instantly becomes popular again, while Chris is rendered back to his low social standing and apologizes to Meg for everything, and he tells her what it was like to be a part of the "in-crowd".

Production

Mae Whitman guest starred in the episode.

"Stew-Roids" was written by series regular Alec Sulkin in his first writing job for the season.[2] It was directed by former Mission Hill and The Oblongs director Jerry Langford, who had joined the show's staff that season when he directed the episode "Tales of a Third Grade Nothing".[2][3] Series regulars Peter Shin and James Purdum served as supervising directors.[2]

The role of Kevin Swanson has been portrayed by several people, including actor

There's Something About Paulie"; the character was revealed in this episode to have died in the Iraq War.[4] This would later be developed more in the tenth season episode "Thanksgiving", in which he was voiced by actor Scott Grimes.[5]

In addition to the regular cast, actors

Lisa Wilhoit guest starred in the episode.[6][7] The episode featured many of the show's recurring guest voice actors including: Alexandra Breckenridge, Chris Cox, Ralph Garman, and writers Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin, and John Viener also made minor appearances.[6] Recurring voice actors Jennifer Tilly and Patrick Warburton reprise their roles of Bonnie and Joe Swanson respectively.[2]

Cultural references

The episode includes various cultural references, including

Barbie doll.[9] Stewie composes a song about his toned body, pronouncing the word body as "bah-dy" a reference to the pronunciation of the word in John Mayer's "Your Body Is a Wonderland".[9] Chris' nude dance is a reference to a similar scene in The Silence Of The Lambs; this is in itself an in-joke as Chris Griffin's voice was initially Seth Green's impression of Buffalo Bill.[10][11] Brian compares Stewie's muscular body to actor Lou Ferrigno's feces.[12] Lois and Brian sit on the couch while they watch Lady and the Tramp and Michael Vick.[12] Adam Sandler's movie career is referenced.[9] Connie's best friend Gina says that Chris smells like Fred Flintstone's behind. Folkloric figure Santa Claus is seen getting a DUI.[9]

Chris says he hates classic rock stations because they always end up playing “

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.[9]

Reception

In a slight drop from the previous week, "Stew-Roids" was viewed in 6.80 million homes in its original airing.[13] It also received a 4.0/6 in Nielsen ratings, the audience measurement systems developed to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States.[14]

Ahsan Haque of IGN gave the episode a score of 8.2 out of 10, commending Chris' storyline and praising Stewie's temporary build, but criticizing the staleness of Meg's continued poor treatment.[8] Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club gave a much more critical review giving the episode a grade of a C. Heisler stated that neither of the storylines "held any water", because they were "ridiculously short". He also commented: "I'm starting to wonder if this show is even watchable anymore – 18 minutes of filler, 45 seconds of inspired silliness."[15]

The

Parents Television Council, a frequent critic of Family Guy, named "Stew-Roids" its "Worst TV Show of the Week" for the week ending August 28, 2009; the review was based on a repeat airing. The PTC's review cited the episode's crude jokes, "tiresome pop culture cutaways" and "its conceit that its content is original." The latter referred to the plotline about Chris' sudden popularity at school and having a swelled ego as a result.[12]

"Stew-Roids", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guy's eighth season and seven from the seventh season, were released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse", and mini-feature entitled "Family Guy Karaoke".[16]

References

  1. ^ "20th Century Fox – Fox In Flight – Family Guy". 20th Century Fox. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  2. ^
    Yahoo! TV
    . Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  3. Yahoo! TV
    . Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  4. ^ "Jon Fryer Credits – TV Guide". TV Guide. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  5. ^ McFarland, Kevin (November 21, 2011). "'Thanksgiving' – Family Guy – A.V Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Family Guy Episode: 'Stew-Roids'". TV Guide. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  7. Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original
    on 2011-06-15. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Haque, Ahsan (April 27, 2009). "Family Guy: 'Stew–Roids' Review". IGN. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Sarah (April 27, 2009). "Channel Guide Magazine – Family Guy – Stew–Roids". Channel Guide. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  10. ^ Green, Seth (September 27, 2005). Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story: Audio Commentary (DVD).
  11. Observer-Reporter
    . April 29, 2005. p. E5.
  12. ^
    Parents Television Council. August 28, 2009. Archived from the original
    on November 25, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  13. ^ "TV Ratings: CBS, 'Desperate Housewives' are Sunday best". Zap2it. October 8, 2012. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  14. Zap2It
    . April 27, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  15. ^ Heisler, Steve (April 26, 2009). "Serves Me Right For Giving General George S. Patton The Bathroom Key'/'Father Knows Worst'/'Miracles Are Real'/'Stew-Roids'/'Every Which Way But Lose'". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  16. ^ "Family Guy — This Just In: Volume 8 DVD Announced to Retailers, with Complete Details". TVShowsonDVD.com. March 24, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2012.

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