Stuck Together, Torn Apart

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“Stuck Together, Torn Apart”
Family Guy episode

Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 19
Guest stars	Jennifer Love Hewitt
Written by	Mark Hentemann
Directed by	Michael Dante DiMartino
Production no.	3ACX10
Original airdate	January 31, 2002
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List of Family Guy episodes

"Stuck Together, Torn Apart" is an episode of Family Guy. Guest starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as herself.

[edit] Plot Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

While the Griffins go to a bulk store, Stewie finds super glue and tries to taste some, but is stopped by Brian, whose hand is instantly joined to Stewie's. The two spend the rest of the episode trying to hide their predicament until the solvent arrives.

Meanwhile, Lois runs into an old boyfriend, named Ross Fishman, and the two go out to dinner to catch up on old times. Peter's jealous antics lead them to couples therapy where they decide to split up for a short time. While on different dates at the same restaurant (Lois with Glenn Quagmire, Peter with Jennifer Love Hewitt), who was last seen on the Season 2 episode "He's Too Sexy For His Fat", Lois displays her own jealous rage and the two decide to live with their mutually jealous nature.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Notes

There is a flashback in this episode of Stewie (with a rounded, normal-shaped head) jumping on the bed and getting his head squashed by the ceiling into a football-shaped head. This contradicts a flashback in "Chitty Chitty Death Bang", in which Stewie is seen being born with his unusual-shaped head. Due to the fact that Family Guy favors comedy over a strict continuity, however, it is likely that this is just a joke. When Ross Fishman mentions to Lois that she "hasn't aged a bit", Lois' eyes edge nervously towards the audience, breaking the Fourth Wall

[edit] Cultural references

CostMart is a combination of the warehouse club store Costco, and the department store Walmart.

The comedian Gallagher is seen at CostMart, stocking up on watermelons. He was known for smashing watermelons in his act. A bystander comments "Is it 1981?" pointing out that Gallagher's peak popularity was some time ago.

In a flashback, the Griffins see a movie starring British actor Hugh Grant who is often typecast as a "charmingly befuddled" romantic lead.

The song Quagmire hums after realizing that everyone can read his thoughts is the first three measures of the second strain of a march called "National Emblem" by E. E. Bagley.

To find his little black book, Peter uses a device similar to the ark-finding amulet from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Peter visits adult versions of Peppermint Patty and Marcie from the comic strip Peanuts, who have been interpreted as being lesbians.

The Goldman's practice of watching movies to the Hotel California album is a reference to the Dark Side of the Rainbow.

A flashback shows Peter at a discothèque smashing a disco ball, a popular decoration at such nightclubs. Peter apparently mistook it for a piñata.

When Stewie sees the midget woman stuck in the well, he says "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again!", a line from the movie The Silence of the Lambs.

Glenn Quagmire often orders a "Roofie Colada" for his dates. This is a play on the alcoholic drink, Piña Colada, but contains the modern pharmaceutical Rohypnol colloquially known as the date rape drug "Roofie".

In one of Peter's flashbacks, three of the ghosts from Pac-Man, Binky, Clyde, and Funky from Pac-Mania, visit Pac-Man to cheer him up after Ms. Pac-Man had to break up with him in a simlar way Peter has to break up with Lois in the present time. The ghosts allow Pac-Man to eat them. The ghosts give up trying to cheer up Pac-Man and go visit Q*Bert.

[edit] References

S. Callaghan, "Stuck Together, Torn Apart" Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1-3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 152 - 155.
A. Delarte, "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 3" in Bob's Poetry Magazine, 2.August 2005: 54 - 56 http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Au.pdf