Extra Large Medium
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"Extra Large Medium" is the twelfth episode of season eight of the Fox animated comedy Family Guy, and aired on February 14, 2010 on Fox. The episode follows Peter as he discovers his supposed newly developed "psychic ability" after Chris and Stewie go missing during a family hike. Later, Chris tries to win over a classmate at his school who was born with Down syndrome.[2]
The episode was written by series showrunner Steve Callaghan and directed by John Holmquist. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving some political criticism from the daughter of Sarah Palin. According to Nielsen Ratings, it was viewed in 6.42 million homes in its original airing. The episode also featured guest performances by Jennifer Birmingham, Jackson Douglas, Andrea Fay Friedman, Phil LaMarr, Michele Lee and Nana Visitor, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.
Plot
When the Griffin family decide to go for a hike in the local forest, Chris and Stewie get lost after chasing after a butterfly. As a result, they become lost and go missing for several days. With Lois at her wit's end. she chooses to see a psychic medium, who assures of her children's safety and well being. Eventually being rescued by Bruce, the boys return to their home in Quahog, but Lois and Peter's psychic obsession continues, annoying Brian as he tries to explain his belief that there is no such thing as "psychic powers."
Deciding to invite Lois to the park, Brian shows her Peter demonstrating a cold reading on a passerby, in order to disprove her belief as nothing more than delusion. Peter, however, believes he actually has extrasensory perception, and begins capitalizing on it by opening his own psychic readings business, including a performance in front of a live audience. Peter's bluff is finally called when Joe Swanson requests his help in a frantic search for a missing person, who has a bomb tied to him. Peter stalls for time during the search, eventually resulting in a gruesome death when the bomb finally explodes, and causing Peter to sheepishly admit that he actually has no psychic powers whatsoever. This scene is a parody of the movie Next, where Nicholas Cage's character is a psychic who gets recruited by the FBI to search for a hostage and bomb situation.
Meanwhile, during the time when Chris and Stewie were lost in the woods, Chris promises to ask out Ellen, a school classmate with Down syndrome, whose father is an accountant and her mother is the former governor of Alaska. After their rescue, Stewie helps prepare Chris for a date by dressing him up, and instructing him on how to act. During the date, Ellen winds up being pushy and demanding, and the relationship quickly fails. Stewie, however, congratulates him for demonstrating the confidence in asking her out on a date as he promised to do.[2]
Production
The episode was written by series showrunner Steve Callaghan, and directed by series regular John Holmquist.
In addition to the regular cast, voice actress Jennifer Birmingham, actor Jackson Douglas, Andrea Fay Friedman, voice actor Phil LaMarr, singer Michele Lee, and actress Nana Visitor guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Lori Alan, writer Danny Smith, writer Alec Sulkin and writer John Viener also made minor appearances. Friedman, who voiced Ellen has Down syndrome in real life.[1]
Cultural references
Peter mentions starring in Starlight Express, which was a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.[3]
Stewie's reference to a newspaper headline saying "Stewie Defeats Truman" is a takeoff of the famous "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline, which erroneously predicted that Thomas E. Dewey would defeat Harry S. Truman in the 1948 presidential election.[3]
Peter's new career as a psychic is a parody of John Edward and his TV show Crossing Over.[3]
While the police depend on Peter to help them find someone, Peter stalls by pretending to channel the spirit of Lou Costello; his exchange with Joe about the missing man, Mr. Hu who lives on First Street, is a takeoff of the famous Abbott and Costello routine "Who's on First?"[3]
Reception
In a slight improvement over the previous week, the episode was viewed in 6.42 million homes, a number significantly lower than the season premier, largely due to airing simultaneously with the 2010 Winter Olympics. The episode also acquired a 3.2/8 rating in the 18-49 demographic, beating The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show and American Dad!.[4]
Reviews of the episode were mixed to neutral, citing the episode as "a pleasant surprise." Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club noted that the Chris plotline "hung together in a way the storylines usually don't on this show," giving the episode a B-.[5] Ramsey Isler of IGN called the plot "uneven in quality," but with "some moments that could be in the Family Guy "greatest hits" archive."[6]
Controversy
At one point, Ellen states that her mother is the former governor of Alaska, which suggests that her mother is Sarah Palin. Bristol Palin, the daughter of Sarah Palin, publicly stated on her mother's Facebook page on February 16, 2010 that she took offense to the episode because it mocked her brother, who has Down syndrome, commenting, "If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my mom and my family yesterday, they failed." Sarah Palin herself also criticized the episode in an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor.[7]
References
- ^ a b Bauer, E. Patricia (2010-02-15). "Fox's 'Family Guy' tweaks Down syndrome, Palin". Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ a b "Peter Discovers he has Supernatural Powers on an All-New Valentine's Day "Family Guy"". Fox Flash. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^ a b c d "Extra Large Medium" Non-Sequiturs Explained at Sling.com
- ^ Seidman, Robert. "TV Ratings Sunday: Olympics Take Night, But Undercover Boss Strong in Second Outing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
- ^ ""Boy Meets Curl"/"Buried Pleasure"/"Extra Large Medium"/"May the Best Stan Win"". The A.V. Club. 2010-2-15. Retrieved 2010-2-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Family Guy: "Extra Large Medium" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ "Sarah Palin Responds To "Family Guy"". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
External links
"Extra Large Medium".
| Preceded by Dial Meg for Murder |
Family Guy (season 8) | Succeeded by Go, Stewie, Go! |