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Peter Griffin

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This article is about the Family Guy Character. For other uses, see Peter Griffin (disambiguation).

Template:Family Guy character Peter Löwenbräu Griffin[1] is a fictional character, and the protagonist of the Fox animated comedy series Family Guy. Peter is the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is married to Lois Pewterschmidt, and is the father of Meg, Chris, and Stewie. He is also the father of Bertram, who is currently Stewie's enemy. He is voiced by the show's creator and lead writer, Seth MacFarlane, who performs his voice with a slight Rhode Island accent, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in the series premiere, "Death Has a Shadow", on January 31, 1999 after Super Bowl XXXIII. MacFarlane conceived Peter and the rest of the Griffin family in January 1999.

Peter's voice was inspired by a janitor that MacFarlane heard on his school, his design came from MacFarlane's last cartoon called Life of Larry and Larry and Steve; he took the design of Larry and redesigned it. As a character, Peter's reception has been critically mixed, and appears in several pieces of Family Guy merchandise, including toys, t-shirts, and a video game. He also has appeared in other shows such as The Simpsons, South Park and The Cleveland Show.

Role in Family Guy

Peter Griffin is the overweight husband of Lois and is the father of Meg, Chris, and Stewie, who reside in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. Peter has primarily worked as a safety inspector at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory until his boss Jonathan Weed died from choking on a dinner roll. He then became a fisherman using his own boat with the help of two Portuguese immigrants, Santos and Pasqual, until his boat was destroyed. He now works in the shipping department of the Pawtucket Patriot brewery.

Family Guy uses a floating timeline in which the characters do not age much, and as such the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. However, several of the characters, such as Meg Griffin, have aged 2 to 3 years since the show's pilot episode, while others, such as Stewie and Pepe Bravo, have remained the same age. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, though sometimes this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. 

Cormac Barry!!!

In a running gag, storylines are randomly interrupted by extremely long, unexpected fights between Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken. These battles parody the action film genre, with explosions, high-speed chases, and immense devastation to the town of Quahog. The sequences always conclude with Peter the victor leaving Ernie the Giant Chicken for dead, only for a sudden movement to show that the chicken is still alive. In the episode "Da Boom", the feud starts over a trivial incident where the chicken gives Peter an expired coupon at a grocery store.[2] While the story in "Da Boom" is outside the continuity of the series, the feud nevertheless became a running gag seen in regular episodes,[2] resuming briefly in "Blind Ambition".[3] In "No Chris Left Behind", the chicken is identified as "Ernie", and he is given a wife named Nicole, also a giant chicken. In the episode, Peter encounters the chicken once more; however, during their fight, the two seem to have forgotten about the expired coupon they were fighting over.[4] The two then make up and go out to dinner with Nicole, only to resume fighting over who pays the bill.[4] Ernie makes a brief, non-fighting appearance in the time travel themed episode "Meet the Quagmires", in which Peter unwittingly assaults the giant chicken at an 80s dance,[5] retroactively providing Ernie with a grudge against Peter. The chicken appears in the Star Wars parody episode "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side," as the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett, nemesis of Peter's Han Solo.[6]

Character

Series creator Seth MacFarlane based Peter's voice on the voice of a security guard he had heard talking, while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.

Creation

When he was still in college, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane created a cartoon short entitled Life of Larry.[7] The short centered around a middle-aged man named Larry and his anthropomorphic dog Steve.[8] In 1999, when MacFarlane was working for Hanna-Barbara Studios, writing for shows such as Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, and Cow and Chicken,[9] he made a sequel to Life of Larry, which Cartoon Network broadcast in 1995.[10] The short caught the eye of 20th Century Fox representatives, who asked him to create a TV series revolving around the characters.[8] MacFarlane received a US$50,000 budget to develop a pilot for the show, which was, as MacFarlane stated in a 2006 interview, "[...] about one twentieth of what most pilots cost".[9]

A series of three cartoon drawings of a man with brown hair, glasses, and white button-up shirt.
Peter's design has been subtly changed several times over the course of the series. Left to right: Peter as he appeared in "Pilot" (1998), "Death Has a Shadow" (1999) and "Family Goy" (2009).

In three months, MacFarlane created the Griffin family and developed a pilot for the show he called Family Guy.[11] Peter's character was largely based on Larry and Steve would be the main inspiration behind the Brian character.[12] MacFarlane based Peter's voice, which was similar to Larry's,[12] on the voice of a security guard he once overheard talking, while he was attending the Rhode Island School of Design.[13] Other influences on the character's personality were the maintenance and security staffs at the schools he attended in New England and the father of one of his friend's, who fell asleep while watching the controversial 1993 Philadelphia.[14] The network executives were impressed with the pilot and ordered thirteen episodes, giving MacFarlane a 2 million dollar per-season contract.[11]

In "Peter's Two Dads" it is revealed that Peter's biological father is actually Irish; MacFarlane based Peter's biological father on his own father, who is Irish.[8] MacFarlane commented "When I was growing up, my father had lots of friends: big, vocal, opinionated New England, Irish Catholics. They were all bursting at the seams with personality, and Family Guy came out of a lot of those archetypes that I spent years observing."[8]

Personality

Peter frequently gets drunk with his neighbors Cleveland, Joe, and Quagmire at "The Drunken Clam", Quahog's local tavern,[15] and is a stereotypical blue-collar worker.[16] In an interview with The Advocate MacFarlane described him as "Archie Bunker without the knowledge of what he's doing. He has the mind of a child, basically, and a source of big laughs is when he does not realize he's doing something inappropriate."[17]

In the season four episode "Petarded", Peter takes an I.Q. test, and discovers that his low intellect places him in a category slightly below mentally retarded, but higher than a creationist.[18] Peter is known for his brash impulsiveness, which has led to several awkward situations,[19] such as attempting to molest Meg in order to adopt a redneck lifestyle.[20] He is incredibly jealous of other attractions Lois has in her life, an attitude that tends to get out of hand in most cases, even assaulting a whale that kissed Lois at SeaWorld.[21] In the season three episode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", Peter and Lois split up because of Peter's jealousy only to discover that Lois has the same character flaw and the two decide to live with their mutually jealous nature.[21] Peter has a very short concentration span and somehow frequently ends up in bizarre situations, as Chris points out in "Long John Peter", after Peter's parrot dies "He will get over it pretty quickly and then move on to another wacky thing", to which Peter finds a pipe organ and forgets about his parrot.[22]

Ancestry

"Head of the Griffin family is Irish-American Catholic Peter, an obese and bespectacled man who is just a big child – and has other roots beside his Irish ones, including African-American, Spanish, Scottish and German."

James Bartlett, The Great Reporter.[8]

Peter's mother Thelma went to Mexico to have Peter aborted when she was still pregnant.[23] However, she went into labor during the procedure, and smuggled him home[23] to Providence, Rhode, Island, where he spent his childhood.[24] Peter was raised by Francis and Thelma Griffin in the Roman Catholic faith.[25] However, in "Peter's Two Dads", he discovers that his biological father is an Irishman named Mickey McFinnigan.[26] Peter visits McFinnegan, who neglects him at first, yet eventually accepts him as his son.[26] Throughout the show, Peter has also mentioned a number of ancestors, as he noted in "Untitled Griffin Family History", "the Griffin family history is a rich tapestry".[27] Famous ancestors of Peter include Moses Griffin, who led the Jews out of Egypt; Willy "Black-eyed" Griffin, Peter's great-grandfather, a 1920s silent film star; and Peter Hitler, the flamboyant brother of Adolf Hitler.[27] Peter's ancestor Nate Griffin, an African American slave from Virginia, was owned by Lois' ancestors.[27] He fell in love with their daughter, and secretly raised a family with her.[27] Nate's family was eventually discovered and they escaped.[27]

Reception

Commendations

MacFarlane has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance category in 2009 for voicing Peter.[28] "Shipoopi", performed by Peter in Patriot Games ranked number 1 in IGN's top 10 musical moments in Family Guy. Peter has also sang several other songs that have appeared on the list, such as I Need a Jew, Can't Touch Me and This House Is Freakin' Sweet.[29] In IGN's list of the top 10 fights on the show, he ranked number 10 for the fight versus a giant robot of handicapped men in No Meals On Wheels, number 9 for his fight in the episode Long John Peter, number 6 for the fight on the episode Lethal Weapons, number 4 for the episode Believe It Or Not Joe's Walking On Air and other three times for his constant fights with Ernie the Giant Chicken.[30] British newspaper The Times rated Peter and the other characters as the forty-fifth best American show in 2009,[31] they were also named the seventh of the top one-hundred animated series by IGN.[32]

Critical reception

The character Peter Griffin has received mixed responses from television critics; the character has mostly been criticized for being too similar to Homer Simpson, the central character of the FOX animated comedy series The Simpsons. The Star-Ledger critic Alan Sepinwall has called Peter a "shameless copy" of the character.[33]. Family Guy is also mocked in a two-part episode, "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II", of South Park.[34]

In addition, the show's penchant for irreverent humor led to a controversy over a sequence in which Peter Griffin dances, in musical revue fashion, around the bed of a man with end-stage AIDS, delivering the patient's diagnosis in song.[35][36]

Cultural influence

File:Subwayrestaurant.jpg
Peter was featured in series of commercials to promote Subway restaurants in 2008.

Peter has had several television appearances outside Family Guy, often in the form of direct parody. Peter has appeared in two episodes of The Simpsons, referencing how the two shows are frequently compared to each other; in The Italian Bob, a photo of Peter is in a book of criminals, which says he is wanted for plagiarismo,[37] in "Treehouse of Horror XIII", Peter is depicted as one of Homer Simpson's clones.[38] Among the other members of the Griffin family, Peter appeared in the South Park episode Cartoon Wars.[39] NFL News reporter Michael Fabiano felt it was a bad decision to have an obese character advertise for a chain of restaurants that based their advertisement campaigns on health.[40] Peter, and most of the central characters on Family Guy, also appeared in the pilot episode of the show's spin-off The Cleveland Show.[41]

The episode "Patriots Games" features a two-and-a-half-minute rendition of the song "Shipoopi" from the 1957 musical The Music Man, conducted by Peter and performed by the Patriots and people in the stadium.[42] Peter and the other Family Guy characters have been an influence to the idom as in an episode the curse word clemen was introduced, many viewers looked up the word on the Internet to try to find a definition. MacFarlane stated in the episode's DVD commentary that if someone invents an obscene definition for the word, the show will have to stop using it (it has not been used since this episode).[43]

In 2008, the character appeared in advertisements for Subway Restaurants, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich.[44][45] Chief marketing officer Tony Pace commented "Peter's a good representation of the people who are interested in the Feast, and Family Guy is a show "that appeals to that target audience."[46] The Boston Globe critic Brian Steinberg praised the restaurant's use of the character for the commercials.[44]

Merchandise

Peter is also featured on the Family Guy: Live in Vegas CD,[47] and plays a significant part in Family Guy Video Game!, the first Family Guy video game, which was released by 2K Games in 2006.[48] MacFarlane recorded exclusive material of Peter's voice and other Family Guy characters for a 2007 pinball machine of the show by Stern Pinball.[49] In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz, each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made.[50] Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released, with various forms of Peter.[51] Alongside the action figures, Peter has been included in various other Family Guy-related merchandise.[52]

References

Template:Reflist-2

  1. ^ "Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater". Family Guy. Season 2. Episode 1. September 23, 1999. FOX. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Callaghan, Steve (2005). "The Giant Chicken". Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. Harper Paperbacks. New York: HarperCollins. p. 51. ISBN 978-0060833053.
  3. ^ "Blind Ambition". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 3. 2005-05-15. Fox Broadcasting Company. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "No Chris Left Behind". Family Guy. Season 5. Episode 16. 2005-05-08. Fox Broadcasting Company. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Meet the Quagmires". Family Guy. Season 5. Episode 18. 2007-05-20. Fox Broadcasting Company. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "The Griffin Clan Spoofs the First Star Wars Movie - Family Guy Presents: "Blue Harvest"". Forbes. November 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ ""Family Guy Seth MacFarlane to speak at Class Day". Harvard Gazette. November 5, 2006. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d e Bartlett, James (March 12, 2007). "Seth MacFarlane – he's the "Family Guy"". The Great Reporter. Presswire Limited. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  9. ^ a b MacFarlane, Seth (2006). "Inside Media at MTR (2006): Family Guy 2". Yahoo! Video. The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  10. ^ Graham, Jefferson (January 29, 1999). "Cartoonist MacFarlane funny guy of Fox's 'Family' Subversive voice of series is his". USA Today. p. 7E.
  11. ^ a b Dean, Josh (October 13, 2008). "Seth MacFarlane's $2 Billion Family Guy Empire". Fast Company. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  12. ^ a b Strike, Joe (February 13, 2007). "Cartoon Network Pilots Screened by ASIFA East at NYC's School of Visual Arts". Animation World Network. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  13. ^ Smith, Andy (April 30, 2005). "A Real Family Reunion". Providence Journal TV. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  14. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (July 7, 2004). "The Young Guy of 'Family Guy'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  15. ^ McNarma, Chris (September 14, 2007). "'Family Guy Live' a fresh channel for laughs". Chicago Tribune. p. 1.
  16. ^ MacIntosh, Dan (November 29, 2005). "Family Guy, Volume 3". PopMatters. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  17. ^ Voss, Brandon (February 26, 2008). "BGF: Seth MacFarlane". The Advocate. PlanetOut. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  18. ^ Writ.: Sulkin, Alec; Wild, Wellesley; Dir.: Kearsley, Seth (June 19, 2005). "Petarded". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 6. Fox Broadcasting Company. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Nearing, Brian (May 31, 2009). "Union guy is 'Family Guy'". Albany Times Union. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  20. ^ Writ.: Devanney, Tom; Hentemann, Mark; Dir.: Holmquist, John (March 4, 2007). "Airport '07". Family Guy. Season 5. Episode 12. Fox Broadcasting Company. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ a b Writ.: Hentemann, Mark; Dir.: DiMartino, Michael Dante (January 31, 2002). "Stuck Together, Torn Apart". Family Guy. Season 3. Episode 19. Fox Broadcasting Company. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Writ.: Devanney, Tom; Hentemann, Mark; Dir.: Holmquist, John (March 4, 2007). "Long John Peter". Family Guy. Season 6. Episode 12. Fox Broadcasting Company. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ a b Writ.: Butler, Kirker; Dir.: Michels, Pete (November 18, 2007). "Padre de Familia". Family Guy. Season 6. Episode 6. FOX. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ I Dream of Jesus
  25. ^ Writ.: Hentemann, Mark; Dir.: Purdum, James (October 4, 2009). "Family Goy". Family Guy. Season 8. Episode 2. FOX. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ a b Writ.: Smith, Danny; Dir.: Tang, Cindy (November 2, 2007). "Peter's Two Dads". Family Guy. Season 5. Episode 10. FOX. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ a b c d e Writ.: Viener, John; Dir.: Moncrief, Zac (May 14, 2006). "Untitled Griffin Family History". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 27. FOX. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "The 61st Primetime Emmy® Awards and 2009 Creative Arts Emmy® Awards Nominees are..." Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-07-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ Haque, Ahsan. "Family Guy: Top 10 Musical Moments". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  30. ^ Haque, Ahsan. "Family Guy: Top 10 Fights". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  31. ^ "The 50 best US television shows". The Times. April 15, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  32. ^ "7, Family Guy". IGN. October 14, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
  33. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (September 25, 2009). "'The Cleveland Show' review - Sepinwall on TV". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  34. ^ Created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. "Cartoon Wars Part I & II". South Park. Comedy Central. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ Adams, Bob (August 22, 2005). ""Family Guy" has fun with AIDS". Advocate.com. PlanetOut Inc. Retrieved December 12, 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  36. ^ Bozell, Brent (April 10, 2009). "Fox's "Comedic Genius"". Townhall.com. Retrieved August 24, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  37. ^ Budke, Ryan (December 12, 2005). "The Simpsons: The Italian Bob". TV Squad. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  38. ^ Finley, Adam (July 14, 2005). "Family Guy and The Simpsons". TV Squad. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  39. ^ McFarland, Melanie (July 14, 2006). "The Tom Cruise Stink, Censoring Mohammed and Doing God's Work: Happy 10th Anniversary, "South Park"!". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  40. ^ Fabiano, Michael (2008). "Fabiano's two-minute drill: Week 11". NFL News. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  41. ^ Conroy, Tom (October 8, 2009). "Cleveland Show, acquired lack of taste". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  42. ^ Schellework, Charles (March 27, 2008). "'Music Man' marches into Century High". The Maryland Gazette. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  43. ^ McFarlane, Seth (writer); Henry, Mike (voice actor); Tang, Cyndi (director); Povenmire, Dan (director of "Shipoopi" sequence); Elias, Mike (editor) (November 14, 2006). Family Guy: Volume Four: Commentary for "Patriot Games". Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  44. ^ a b Steinberg, Brian (December 30, 2007). "The year in advertising". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  45. ^ "Subway - it's for the fat-loving guy, too". The News Tribune. November 30, 2007.
  46. ^ Elliot, Stewart (June 18, 2008). "Crude? So what? These characters still find work in ads". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  47. ^ Owen, Rob (May 1, 2005). "'Family Guy' goes beyond TV with CD, movie". Press-Enterprise. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  48. ^ "'Family Guy' makes for simple-but-funny gaming". The Gazette. November 24, 2006.
  49. ^ Finley, Adam (February 3, 2007). "Family Guy pinball is freakin' sweet". TV Squad. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  50. ^ Clodfelter, Tim (November 11, 2004). "Here's the Offbeat Stuff that true geeks are made of". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 33.
  51. ^ Szadkowski, Joseph (June 3, 2006). "Undead monster doomed to wander the high seas". The Washington Times.
  52. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (April 29, 2005). "'Family Guy' after brand world domination". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
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