Model Misbehavior

"Model Misbehavior" is the tenth episode and the mid-season finale from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. The episode title is a parody of the TV movie Model Behavior.

Plot summary

During a visit with her parents, Lois recalls her teenage aspirations to be a model, which her father stopped her from doing. Later the Griffins compete in a boat race against her parents and win by removing most of their clothes (and pushing Meg off). In defiance of her father’s wishes, Lois begins modeling and becomes very successful. Peter is proud of her at first, but he soon becomes jealous of the lust she inspires in other men. Fed up with Peter's envy, Lois rebels by taking diet pills and staying out all night at parties. Desperate to get her out of the fashion world, Peter collaborates with Lois’ father Carter to get her back. They kidnap her at a Vogue party, while she and another model are using their ribs for Xylophones. They gag Lois, carry her into the car, tie her up and bring her back to the Griffins' house, where Carter demands that Lois quit her modeling career. Seeing his wife’s passion for modeling, Peter soon acquiesces to Lois, insisting to Carter that it is her right to model if she chooses, and that they have no right to interfere with her happiness. Carter shouts that no child of his has the right to feel happy, but Peter knocks him out with a punch. Realizing that she has the freedom to fulfill her wishes, Lois decides to quit modeling after all. Peter and Lois then decide to annoy Carter by having sex on top of him. Carter revives and acts with immediate disgust, but Peter calmly knocks him unconscious with a lamp.

Meanwhile, Stewie starts a pyramid scheme business (“Ca$hscam”). Brian learns he has worms and does not want to tell Peter because of his inability to keep personal matters private (one incident led to Peter yelling at 3:00am about Meg having her first period), so Stewie gives Brian the money he needs and Brian works for Stewie until he can pay him back. Stewie is shown to be working with the Cookie Monster and Grover. Eventually, Brian gets fed up with Stewie's pretense that Ca$hscam is a real company. Stewie fires Brian and warns him not to "come back and shoot up the place."

Reception

Steve Callaghan wrote the episode.

On this episode's airdate, Fox was the most-watched network among the 18-49 demographic, and this episode had 6.73 million viewers.^[1] Allmovie reviewer Hal Erickson also noted that the episode includes a joke aimed at viewers "who have nothing better to do with their time than pause their DVDs to catch the jokes they'd missed first time around."^[2]

Cultural references

• The episode contains jokes about Sesame Street and Six Feet Under and a reference is made to Rob Schneider's "The Richmeister (Makin' Copies)" sketch on SNL.
• The Evil Monkey listens to "Slow Ride" by Foghat on headphones, reminiscent of a scene in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused.
• The music sung by the "Four Peters" is "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, using Peter's trademark laugh.
• Peter paraphrases the "catwalk" line from Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy".
• Carter listens to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" in a reference to the Hitachi Maxell advertising campaign.
• When Brian gets a job at Stewie’s Cash$cam, Stewie tells Brian “If Cookie Monster calls, tell him I’m not talking to him until he gets out of rehab."
• The title of this episode "Model Misbehavior" is a reference to the TV movie Model Behavior (2000), with Justin Timberlake.

Footnotes