Untitled Griffin Family History
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"Untitled Griffin Family History" is an episode from season four of FOX animated series Family Guy. On the DVD this episode is referred to as "The Griffin Family History."
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[edit] Plot summary
Lois is trying to get Peter to brush his teeth when they hear a noise coming from downstairs. Peter looks downstairs and find three robbers in balaclavas. The whole family wakes up and Meg startles Peter, and in a delayed response, he hits her in the head with the baseball bat he was carrying. The whole family then flee to Peter's panic room. It is a small steel room with boxes and TV monitors that can be used to watch every room in the house (a reference to the movie Panic Room, but Peter states he created after watching and wanting to get away from The Butterfly Effect). Unfortunately, the room has no phone, or an inside door handle, so Peter decides to tell stories about the Griffin family history.
These stories begin with the big bang, which was actually God farting through a lit lighter. Then comes the Jurassic age with the dinosaurs and then after that is the current ice age. Next is the Paleolithic Age, where it is discovered that Peter's ancestor invented the wheel. Next came the Bronze Age when Moses Griffin led the Israelites to freedom. Peter tells the story of black slave Nate Griffin (whose real name was Richard Bachman) who lived in the tiny village of Quahogsuana. He was later caught by Clevland, a white guy from South Carolina, and is taken to a ship en route to America. He along with Quagdingo and Joe Mama pranked the captain of the slave ship by cutting the floor off around the Captain's bed and floating it out in the ocean. Nate was a slave to the Pewterschmidt family (as in “Peter Griffin: Husband, Father...Brother?”), who Peter discovered was his ancestor, got married to Lois’ ancestor Lois Laura Bush Lynn Cheney Pewterschmidt and had a family. When Mr. Pewterschmidt found out, they escape to the north to start the Department of Motor Vehicles to get back at "the white man". Other stories include that of the greatest silent movie actor of the '20s, Willie "Black Eye" Griffin who died by getting stabbed in a card fight, and Adolf Hitler's annoying brother Peter Hitler who accidentally killed both HItler along with Hitler's girlfriend, Ava. Unfortunately, after telling the story of Nate Griffin, Peter accidentally activates the fire sprinklers with a flare gun, threatening to drown the family. While the sprinklers are going off and filling the panic room with water, Peter admits he does not care for The Godfather, something shocking that the rest of the family argues with him about, considering all the talented cast in that movie.
Meanwhile, Meg is sent down through a vent to get food. Peter talks to her through a loudspeaker (“I see you in the kitchen, Meg...”) and the robbers find and capture her (although they first mistake her for a boy). She hopes that they will rape her saying that she won’t scream or struggle, but, horrified, they decline her physical advances. As the water is reaching its peak, Joe shows up and opens the door. All the water drains out of the room, saving their lives. Joe also mentions that he caught the burglars, who press charges of sexual harassment against Meg and in the end she is taken down to the police station by Joe. Although he keeps telling the family that Meg needs a lawyer to fight the charges, they ignore him. Peter tells Meg to "have fun at the dance" and assures Lois that "she'll be fine" while adding "I hope she does. That kid really deserves it."
[edit] Cultural references
- Peter reveals that his ancestor Nate Griffin's real name is Richard Bachman, a reference to the pen name American horror novelist Stephen King used earlier in his writing career.
- Peter (as Moses) makes a commandment where the followers are ordered not to read the billboard signs as they walk through the desert. One of the signs is read aloud as “Mancow in the Morning”.
- Nate Griffin goes into the African jungle to find a log and stick so he can play the beginning of “Hot for Teacher” by Van Halen.
- The prank that Nate and his friends play on the captain is the same prank that Tripper (Bill Murray) and his friends played on Morty (Harvey Atkin) in the film Meatballs at the end of the film when Morty is out in his bed floating on the lake. The same song plays in both scenes, Are You Ready for the Summer?
- When Nate Griffin is brought to the plantation, the scene resembles the movie Song of the South.
- The story of Nate Griffin references Roots.
- Nate's flight in a cart pulled by a white bronco is a parody of the O.J. Simpson slow-speed chase, and he is picked up by (the man they believed to be) Al Cowlings, who drove O.J.
- When Peter is explaining evolution he is obligated to present the church's alternative theory due to the state of Kansas. The Christian theory features Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie appearing from the water creating the different species of animals, automobiles, gas pumps, Jesus Christ and Santa Claus.
- Peter's great-great-grandfather Willy “Black-Eye” Griffin starred in 1920s-era short films. The first silent film where he is looking at the moon is a reference to the film A Trip to the Moon which was a black and white silent film from 1902. Apparently, he didn’t do well when “talkies” came out, due to his unusual, stuttering voice, which sounded similar to Bobcat Goldthwait. This was in reference to many silent film stars such as Clara Bow who didn't make the transition to talkies.(In her case due to a heavy Brooklyn accent.)
- When ur-Peter is trying to sell the wheel to the cavemen, Brian says to Peter “You so money, don’t know it.” This is a reference from the movie Swingers.
- Peter Hitler tapes his nose up, proclaiming that he's “Tojo.” Tojo Hideki was the prime minister of Japan during World War II.
- After Lois helps Peter sell the wheel, he says to her, “You and I will party like it's 9,” a reference to Prince's song "1999".
- Moses Griffin yells, "Jews, Ho!" This is a reference to the television series ThunderCats, using Lion-O's battle cry, "ThunderCats, Ho!"
[edit] Censorship
The episode contains three deleted scenes that were kept intact on the DVD version.
- A scene between the big bang scene and the caveman scene where the Griffins are portrayed as dinosaurs.
- A scene (which was actually in the episode and cut for time on TV) showing “Black Eye” Griffin (the silent movie star) getting killed during a poker game.
- A scene (which was also in the episode but cut for content) showing Adolf Hitler talking to his wife after Peter Hitler ruined Adolf's speech and got accidentally killed, along with his wife, by Peter when he's playing with the gun.
