Big Man on Hippocampus
| "Big Man on Hippocampus" |
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"Big Man on Hippocampus" is the tenth episode of the eighth season of the Fox animated comedy Family Guy. It aired on January 3, 2010 on Fox. The episode follows Peter after he is diagnosed with having amnesia, and can no longer remember anything about his life, including his wife, Lois.
The episode was written by Brian Scully, and directed by Dominic Bianchi.
The episode also featured guest performances by Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, and Rick Pasqualone, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.
Plot
When Peter hits his head and suffers amnesia after getting in a fight with Richard Dawson on Family Feud, he forgets everything about his life, including his family and friends. In an attempt to try to bring back his memory, Lois decides to reintroduce Peter to his old self, until he begins to hit on other women, much to Lois's dismay. She decides to take the kids and leave Peter, giving Quagmire the opportunity to score with Lois. Peter now must prove to Lois he can remember her and make himself worthy of her again. [1]
Production
The episode was written by Brian Scully, and directed by Dominic Bianchi.
In addition to the regular cast, actor and professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson made a live action appearance in the episode, as well as actress Adrianne Palicki, and voice actor Rick Pasqualone. Recurring guest voice actors Alex Breckenridge, Steve Callaghan, Ralph Garman, Mark Hentemann, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin and John Viener also made minor appearances.
Cultural references
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As the episode opens, the family sees an announcement for auditions for the game show Family Feud. Deciding to audition, the family is chosen, along with the family of showrunner and writer Steve Callaghan. The segment features the show's original 1976 set and rules, and features Dawson's practice of kissing the female contestants.
When introducing Meg to Peter as his daughter, he gives the annoyed grunt "D'oh!," Lois goes on to correct him that it is not his catchphrase.
In an attempt to return Peter's memory, Lois decides to show Peter footage of their honeymoon, which is reminiscent of the Corona commercials with its scene of a bottle of beer placed in between two people who are sitting on a beach. Going on to teaching Peter how to drive, Lois gives him a copy of the video game Grand Theft Auto. As the episode then cuts to commercial, a series of white on black text is shown, in a parody of the Cartoon Network block Adult Swim.
Peter rediscovers Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen and sings to it while dancing, annoying the family because he over sang it in I Dream of Jesus.
When Peter spots the Pretty Woman] video and reads the critics' comments, the comment from Gene Siskel indirectly mentions the brain cancer that caused Siskel's death in 1999; the comment says that the movie made him have blurred vision and headaches, leading him to go to the doctor for tests which are pending.
Returning home from a night out, Peter brings home Tiffani Thiessen, from Saved by the Bell, naively thinking he is allowed to have sex with her, despite being married to Lois. The reference is made clear when Peter asks her if she bought a necklace using her money from the show. Tiffani also tells Peter "I'm already pregnant" and in real life, Thiessen is expecting her first child.
Approaching Lois at the Quahog Market, Quagmire hums the theme song to the 1975 film Jaws.
At the game show Family Feud Peter gives the answer "... the flute that Captain Picard (Jean-Luc Picard) played, first in his imagination and then in real life, in the episode The Inner Light from Star Trek The Next Generation." Then Lois says " What! No you idiot we said money!," after which Richard Dawson points to the screen saying "Show me Picard's Flute!," and then the board shows "Picard's Flute" with a single answer. Surprised at the outcome, Lois asks "Peter how did you..." before Peter interrupts with "I was in the survey."
Reception
The episode was viewed by 8.10 million people with a Nielsen Rating of 3.9/9 and was the second most viewed and highest rated show on FOX's Animation Domination after The Simpsons's Thursdays with Abie and beating The Cleveland Show and American Dad it also got third in it's timeslot.[2]
References
External links
"Big Man on Hippocampus".
| Preceded by Business Guy |
Family Guy (season 8) | Succeeded by TBA |