| "Love, Blactually" | |||
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| Family Guy episode | |||
Brian finds Carolyn with Cleveland. |
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| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 1 |
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| Directed by | Cyndi Tang | ||
| Written by | Mike Henry | ||
| Production code | 6ACX03 | ||
| Original air date | September 28, 2008 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| Family Guy (season 7) List of Family Guy episodes |
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"Love, Blactually" is the first episode of the seventh season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Due to the shortened Season 6, this and all the other season 7 episodes were episodes produced for Season 6. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 28, 2008. The episode features anthropomorphic dog Brian, after he meets a fellow atheist named Carolyn at a book store, and the two begin dating. Heeding advice from Stewie, Brian decides not to have sex with her. Carolyn is led to believe that Brian does not want a substantive relationship, however, and begins to date Cleveland instead.
The episode was written by Mike Henry and directed by Cyndi Tang. It received positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 9.2 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Kat Foster and Meredith Baxter, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Love, Blactually" was released on DVD along with eight other episodes from the season on June 16, 2009.
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During a costume party, Lois suggests that Brian find a new girlfriend. After going to the book store to buy The God Delusion, Brian meets an atheist named Carolyn, who happens to be looking for the same book. Brian becomes interested in Carolyn, and the two begin to date. When she invites him to her house, Stewie apprehends Brian and tells him that his relationships fail because he has sex with his girlfriends immediately when they meet. Brian realizes that Stewie is right and decides to listen to his advice; however, he finds out that Carolyn began to date Cleveland, since Brian did not want to have sex for the three weeks they have dated.
A heartbroken Brian tries to deal with his loss, but keeps running into Cleveland and Carolyn having sex in various locations. Feeling sorry for Brian, Stewie suggests that find Cleveland's ex-wife, Loretta, and convince her to reconcile. The two visit Loretta and find out that she feels guilty for cheating on him with Quagmire. Brian feels uncertain that he should carry out this plan, but Cleveland announces plans to elope with Carolyn in Hawaii. Loretta invites Cleveland to meet her at her hotel room, which he does. Loretta tells her former husband that she wants to start a new life with him, and Cleveland forgives her but insists that the both of them move on. A despondent Cleveland visits Carolyn, only to find her and Quagmire having sex. Since both Brian and Cleveland have been cheated on by the same woman, they make amends. At this point, Cleveland suspects that he recently contracted genital warts.
"Love, Blactually" is the season premiere of the seventh season of Family Guy. It was written by Family Guy voice actor, and veteran writer Mike Henry,[1] who would later go on to create the Family Guy spin-off, The Cleveland Show, based around his character in the show, Cleveland Brown.[2] The episode was directed by Cyndi Tang, also a Family Guy veteran.[1]
"Love, Blactually", along with the first eight episodes of the seventh season were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on June 16, 2009, one month after it had completed broadcast on television.[3] The "Volume 7" DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode.[4]
In addition to the regular cast, actress Kat Foster portrayed the voice of Carolyn, and actress Meredith Baxter portrayed herself. Recurring guest voice actors Ralph Garman, writer Danny Smith, writer Alec Sulkin and writer John Viener also made minor appearances.[5] Then-series writer and regular voice actor Alex Borstein portrayed the voice of Loretta Brown.[1]
The episode's title is a reference to the British romantic comedy film Love Actually. The episode begins with a costume party, where Brian and Stewie are both dressed as Snoopy from Peanuts,[6] Quagmire dresses up as Napoleon Dynamite, Peter dresses as Laura Bush, Lois as Michael Dutton Douglas (the youth killed in a car accident that involved Bush in 1963), Joe as Mark Spitz, and Cleveland as Charlie Chaplin. Woodstock also makes a cameo appearance.[6] Stewie finds a book entitled Horton Hears Domestic Violence in the Next Apartment and Doesn't Call 911!, a parody of Horton Hears a Who![6] Cleveland's deadpan exclamation of "...and boom goes the dynamite" during sex with Carolyn is a reference to a phrase used during Ball State University student Brian Collins' appearance as television sports anchor, which became an Internet sensation.[7] Peter's statement to Brian "Sometimes, I don't believe I know you" parodied from the Sound of Music. Brian's dialogue as his nose gets longer is a reference to Airplane!.
The episode was watched by 9.2 million viewers, compared to 9.3 million that tuned in to The Simpsons and 7 million that watched King of the Hill for their season openers on Fox.[8] The episode received positive reviews. Ahsan Haque of IGN praised "Love, Blactually", writing that it had "many memorable scenes, quote-worthy dialogue, politically incorrect references, and great storyline". He graded the episode 8.9 out of 10.[9] Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club wrote that the episode was "pretty funny overall" with "some great meta-commentary", and graded it B+.[10]
| Preceded by Long John Peter |
Family Guy (season 7) | Succeeded by I Dream of Jesus |
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