Meet the Quagmires

"Meet the Quagmires" is the eighteenth and final episode of the fifth season of the FOX animated series Family Guy. It aired on May 20, 2007. The title of the episode refers to the movies Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. 9.1 million watched on its first run.

Plot

After hearing Quagmire brag about his sexual exploits, Peter feels that he has missed out on enjoying the single lifestyle. Death is summoned to The Drunken Clam on a false alarm, and he grants Peter's wish by sending him (along with Brian) back to 1984 for one night. Appearing to others as his 18-year-old self, Peter cancels his scheduled movie date to see Zapped! (which actually came out on 1982, not 1984) with Lois Pewterschmidt, instead accepting an invitation from Cleveland to go and party at a bar. Peter enjoys the evening, and is making out with actress Molly Ringwald when Death appears to return him to the present.

Back in the present day, Peter discovers that his past actions have had drastic effects on the world: he and Molly have been married for 20 years; Lois is married to Quagmire; Chris, Meg and Stewie have Quagmire's chin, nose and mannerisms; Judd Nelson frequently crashes at Peter's house, Chevy Chase is host of The Tonight Show; and Al Gore is President of a much wealthier, cleaner, safer, healthier, better educated and more technologically advanced United States where he killed Osama bin Laden (with his bare hands) who was hiding within the cast of MADtv. Dick Cheney, who is just known as the chairman of Halliburton, has just shot dead Antonin Scalia, Karl Rove and Tucker Carlson. Brian explains to Peter (through use of a blackboard which is a reference to Back to the Future Part 2) that by missing out on his date with Lois and making out with Molly, he altered the timeline. Over Brian's objections about leaving the perfect world Al Gore could have possibly created, Peter begs Death to return him to the past so he can undo his mistake. Back in the past, Peter is determined to accept Lois' invitation, but stupidly blows his opportunity again and again, and ends up repeatedly asking Death for a do-over. When Peter parties again with Cleveland instead of keeping the date, he asks Death for another chance. Death, however, is fed up with Peter's bumbling and refuses to give him another chance, and Lois is upset with Peter for missing their date. Peter and Brian sneak into the country club dance to prevent the kiss that caused Lois to fall in love with Quagmire. After Lois informs Peter that he'd had his chance and blown it, Peter almost gives up, but then demonstrates his passion by punching out Quagmire and kissing Lois, winning back her heart. He asks her to marry him, and she accepts. Brian sings Rick Astley's hit 1987 single "Never Gonna Give You Up," creating an ontological paradox as it serves as Astley's actual inspiration for the tune. Peter then accidentally elbows Ernie the Giant Chicken. Ernie looks angrily at Peter, but is held back by another party goer, and is told that he'll probably never see Peter again.

Afterwards, Peter and Brian return to present day where they find that life is seemingly back to normal - until Roger from American Dad! appears to be living with them.

A synth-pop version of the theme music plays over the end credits.

Continuity

This episode contradicts Lois and Peter's history as established in several earlier episodes. Major continuity contradictions include:

In Death Lives it is revealed that Peter met both Quagmire and Cleveland some time after becoming involved with Lois. However, in this episode he and Lois appear to know both of them well before they even started dating.
Peter inadvertently elbows Ernie the Chicken in the face, which sets in motion the numerous fight scenes; but in Da Boom, which is non-canon, the fight started when Ernie gave Peter an expired coupon.
In the episode Let's Go to the Hop it's established that Lois is two years younger than Peter. In this episode, she should have been aged 16.

Cultural references

The premise of the episode is based on the Back to the Future. There are also numerous specific references to the film.
- Peter is astounded that "Ronald Reagan - the actor?!" is president, though he is the one from the future; this parodies a scene in which the Doc Brown from the 1950s has the the same reaction.
- The scene in which Brian uses a chalkboard to explain to Peter why the present is different than it was before they traveled to the past is based on a similar scene in Back to the Future Part II between Doc Brown and Marty McFly.
- The entire final dance sequence is a parody, with Brian in Marty McFly's role as the guitarist; he plays the song "Earth Angel" just as Marty does in the film, complete with Brian looking at a photo of Peter's three children as they begin to fade away. Brian then plays the 1980s hit "Never Gonna Give You Up", in place of the 1950s hit "Johnny B. Goode" which Marty plays in the film. Despite different songs, both singers receive a call from their Cousin Marvin.
Eighteen-year-old Lois' entrance at Newport Country Club is a homage to Caddyshack, complete with Kenny Loggins' "Mr. Night" playing.
The Drunken Clam, in 1984, is known as "St. Elmo's Clam", a reference to the Brat Pack movie St. Elmo's Fire. However, the movie was actually released in 1985, a year after the episode is set.
When dancing in the club, 18-year old Cleveland is wearing the same jacket as seen in Michael Jackson's "Thriller".
Also during Never Gonna Give Up, another Michael Jackson reference is made when a group of people of people are doing dance moves from the "Beat It" music video.
Pinhead is seen in a part of this episode, and Peter makes a reference to the Hellraiser film.
After waking up in the alternate time line, Peter asks Brian, "Did you ever see that episode of the Twilight Zone? You know the one where the woman wakes up in a hospital and all the doctors are pigs?" The Twilight Zone episode he is referring to is "The Eye of the Beholder."
The opening of The Jetsons is parodied. When the theme reaches the line "Jane, his wife", the normal gag from the opening in which George Jetson takes a bill and attempts to hand it to Jane Jetson, only to have her take his wallet, occurs. As she begins to fly away with his wallet, however, he grabs her wrist, telling her "I pulled out this bill for you. So you take this and I'll keep the wallet." She then says "I was only going to buy groceries," to which he responds "Bull shit."
When Quagmire talks about the "Fourth Hole", he says that you have to know just where to look for it, like the entrance to Hogwarts, the school from the Harry Potter books and movies.
A poster for the movie Sixteen Candles can be seen hanging on the wall of Peter's living room in the alternate timeline.
When Brian is showing Peter his alternate timeline theory, Peter says, "That's more ridiculous than the theory of why Tom Cruise runs in all his movies", leading to a cutaway of Tom Cruise running from his gay thoughts.
When time traveling, the effect used is the same one used in Quantum Leap. Peter appearing as his normal self in 1984, but appearing to everyone else as an 18 year old is another Quantum Leap reference.
Osama bin Laden is said to have been hiding within the cast of MADtv (with Quagmire claiming that "...it's the one place no one would look", making light of the fact that MADtv isn't as critically successful as its rival sketch show, Saturday Night Live). Supervising Producer Alex Borstein, who also voices Lois Pewterschmidt (among others), was a cast member on MADtv from Season 3 till Season 7.
The song that Peter and Cleveland dance on two separate occasions in St. Elmo's Clam during the 1980s scenes is "Axel F", the theme to Beverly Hills Cop.
When Peter meets Quagmire's two sons (Chris and Stewie in the unaltered timeline), they seem to be playing a PlayStation 2 console.
Seeing as how Meg, Chris and Stewie's appearance doesn't change except for their chin (Quagmire's chin) it is only possible that the children gained all their physical characteristics from Lois while they only inherited Peter's chin and nose.
Peter is seen playing Menstrual Ms. Pac-Man, where she deters the ghosts with a vocal outburst. The sound effects come from the original Pac-Man.

Censorship

Brian asks eighteen year-old Lois if he can "Wham!" his "Oingo Boingo" into her "Velvet Underground" in the FOX version. The version shown on Cartoon Network uses the line, "I would eat your poo."
On the FOX version, when Brian is hitting on the 1980s woman and her boyfriend confronts him, the scene then cuts to Peter making out with Molly Ringwald in a booth at the bar. On Cartoon Network, there is an additional scene where the 1980s man tells Brian he'll kick his ass anytime, anywhere, and Brian challenges the man to meet him on top of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, at 8:00 in the morning.
When Quagmire is first shown with Lois in the FOX version, he tells her that he wants to play "Schoolgirl and Guy Who Has Sex with the Schoolgirl". On Adult Swim, the game is "Hide and Go Anal".
At the prom, when Lois says, "Ow, something poked me.", Quagmire says, "It's o.k. it's o.k. It's just my penis." on TBS and Adult swim, but on Fox, "penis" is changed to "wang".

Notes

Brian comments that Never Gonna Give You Up was "written by a gay guy". There is no evidence that seems to support this claim, and it's intent is unclear. The original performer, Rick Astley, is not gay, and none of the three men that wrote the song are either (at least not openly).
The way Brian supplied the inspiration to Rick Astley (when his cousin Marvin had him listen to it over the phone) seems to suggest an ontological paradox, as the true origins of song are seemingly non-existent in the Family Guy universe.

External links

Meet the Quagmires at Family Guy Wikia wiki.

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