Saving Private Brian
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| Family Guy Episode | |||
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| "Saving Private Brian" | |||
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| Episode no.: | 84 | ||
| Prod. code: | 4ACX34 | ||
| Airdate: | November 5, 2006 | ||
| Writer(s): | Cherry Chevapravatdumrong | ||
| Director: | Cyndi Tang | ||
| Guest star(s): | Louis Gossett, Jr. and Macaulay Culkin | ||
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"Saving Private Brian" is a season 5 episode of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. The title is a parody of the film Saving Private Ryan.
[edit] Plot summary
A US Army recruiter visits Chris' school, giving a picture of army life consisting of women in bikinis, money, and Oscar awards (with the disclaimer, "your experience may differ"). Chris is impressed, and tells his parents he wants to join. They are opposed to the idea, and decide to find another activity to distract him.
Peter notices a goth metal band practicing at the school, and introduces Chris. They doubt Chris can sing, but are impressed by his scream when Peter drops a piano on Chris' foot. The band, Splash Log, is a hit with Chris singing "Evil, Evil Monkey" at a school dance, but the noise and antisocial attitude Chris picks up bothers Lois and Peter. They notice he's a fan of Marilyn Manson, so they confront Manson at the Grammy Awards. He goes back to the house to talk to Chris. Manson encourages Chris to respect his parents and be a responsible citizen. Manson suggests that Peter and Chris share an activity like fishing.
Meanwhile, Brian is outraged by the army's distortions, and, along with Stewie, goes to the recruiting station to complain. However, Stewie is impressed by the guns and enlists himself and Brian. Brian does poorly at boot camp and plans to desert, but Stewie encourages him to stay. They pass basic training and are deployed to Iraq, but attempt to get discharged. Fortunately for them, democracy abruptly kicks in exactly as George W. Bush predicted, allowing them to go home.
[edit] Notes
- Vern and Johnny, the vaudeville duo, after many appearances in other episodes, are killed by Stewie in this episode.
- The scene showing an Iraqi terrorist about to behead an American on camera (only to be stopped by democracy kicking in in Iraq) is an obvious reference to the beheadings of Nicholas Berg, Jack Hensley, and Eugene Armstrong.
- Stewie breaks the fourth wall twice in this episode:
- After killing Vern and Johnny, he states, "OK. They're dead. All right? We're not going to be seeing them again."
- When Brian contemplates deserting the army, Stewie tells him "they'll go after you like Peter went after that hockey coach." When no cutaway appears, Stewie says "what, no clip? I thought we had a clip."
- The song "Evil, Evil Monkey" is a reference to the Evil Monkey that lives in Chris' closet.
[edit] Goofs
- In the exterior shot of the school immediately before the dance scene, the sign outside reads "James Woods Reglonal High School"
[edit] Cultural references
- The sergeant's banter with Brian includes lyrics from Tina Turner's "Private Dancer", and Primus' "Sgt. Baker".
- Muddy Waters trys to pass a kidney stone; his screams of pain form a call and response with the Chicago blues band in his bathroom.
- During the obstacle course Brian rides a unicycle, solves a Rubik's Cube, plays Perfection, finds Waldo, offers a couple eating salad at a dinner table some fresh pepper, and consoles a woman who was just dumped by her boyfriend.
- Also during the obstacle course, the theme to the film Stripes plays.
- The infamous head butt of Zinedine Zidane is referenced in a cutaway in which the French football player, as part of a birthday telegram, headbutts an elderly woman unconscious and drops a birthday cake on her. He then says "Bon anniversaire" ("Happy birthday" in French).
- When the Griffins are looking for Marilyn Manson at the Grammys some well known musicians are seen in the background which include Bob Geldof, Michael Jackson, MC Hammer, Ashlee Simpson, Will Smith and Sisqó.
- While in Chris's room Lois and Peter repeat lines from a popular Wu-Tang Clan song titled "Bring Da Ruckus" found on Chris's floor.
- Chris's singing voice is realized in a similar way to the cavemen in Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part I.
- The background music to the US Army commercial is reminiscent to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me".
- Everybody Loves Raymond character Robert Barone is parodied in his own sitcom, in which all the jokes seem to be revolving about Ray and Debra from the first show. This could be an allusion to Brad Garrett's new show 'Til Death, which is very similar to Everybody Loves Raymond.
- There are references to the musicals West Side Story, Anything Goes, Miss Saigon, and Cabaret.
- When Brian and Stewie are marching in boot camp, the march turns into choreographed dancing to "Mambo" from "The Dance at the Gym" in West Side Story.
- Much of the lines spouted by the sergeant to Brian, as well as the scene where the sergeant finds a half-eaten bird in Brian's foot locker, is an allusion to Full Metal Jacket where Gunnery Sergeant Hartman finds a jelly donut in Private Pyle's foot locker.
- After a suicide bomber blows himself up near Stewie and Brian, part of Stewie's distress call is "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman", an obscure soap opera satire from the mid-seventies. He also says "Charlie Tango Cash," which references to the 1989 film Tango & Cash starring Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell.
- Stewie misunderstands the location of their deployment to be "Fraggle Ir-rock", rather than Iraq.
- there is a reference to Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.
| Preceded by: "Hell Comes to Quahog" |
Family Guy Episodes | Followed by: "Whistle While Your Wife Works" |
