You Can't Do That on Television, Peter
| "You Can't Do That on Television, Peter" |
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"You Can't Do That on Television, Peter" is the eighteenth episode of the tenth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. The episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 1, 2012. Peter creates and stars in a children's TV show after his favorite kiddie show is canceled. Meanwhile, Meg shadows Dr. Hartman at the hospital.
This episode was written by Julius Sharpe and directed by Bob Bowen. It guest-stars Katharine McPhee as Mother Maggie. It received mostly mixed to negative reviews from critics.
Plot
When Peter sets off to make a coffee table book named "Lesbian Butts in 80s Jeans," Lois shoots him down and insists he spend time with Stewie while she goes out. While they watch television together, Peter becomes hooked on Jolly Farm Revue and loses track of Stewie to Lois' anger leaving Peter to wish she was more like Mother Maggie. But when Mother Maggie announces the show will be canceled, Peter creates and stars in his own children's TV show called "Petey's Funhouse." Lois is surprised that Peter managed to get a show and is not sure how things will work out.
Peter's television lessons prove to be a bit over-the-top for his audience. In addition, Lois continues to be upset with Peter spending his nights out. Peter makes a puppet of Lois called "Saggy Naggy" that presents her as a bitch. Lois finds out that her puppet's reputation has followed her to real life when she is attacked by children at Costmart (including Stewie as a testament to his original intent to kill her). When Peter wants to spend a night making love, Lois turns him away. Peter confronts her about her nagging and Lois agrees to quit nagging in exchange for Peter to quit using the puppet. But she races down to the studio in horror when Peter unwisely decides to do a Who's on First? routine involving a live puma only to watch as the puma mauls and severely injures Peter.
Meanwhile, Meg does well in biology class and her teacher sets her up with an internship with Dr. Hartman at the hospital. She follows him around and enjoys the learning experience, although she's stunned by how truly stupid Dr. Hartman is. Dr. Hartman advises Meg that there is a cheat sheet in each patient's file with the names of body parts, and has to reference the chart to tell Meg that she has a good "head" on her "shoulders." When Dr. Hartman is drawn away, he leaves her in charge stating that she knows as much as he does. As Meg examines Bruce and his embarrassing "thingee" situation, a rude doctor kicks her out of the hospital. As Peter lies bleeding to death from a torn jugular vein, Meg arrives from the studio and gives aid, saving Peter's life.
At the hospital, Peter admits that Lois was right and Lois says that it was only because she loves him. When Meg points out that she helped, Peter ignores her and asks for a glass of water. When the puma from the WOF joke arrives, he is pleased and says that he now understands the WOF joke, as the episode ends.
Production and development
The episode was written by Julius Sharpe and directed by Bob Bowen.
Cultural references
- The title references the Canadian show You Can't Do That on Television.
- Peter refers to Who's on First?, and subsequently performs with a puma playing Abbott's part and Peter doing Costello.[1]
- The name of Peter's children's show Petey's Funhouse is a pun on Pee-wee's Playhouse.[1]
- Peter's children's show is also remarkably similar to "Uncle Nutsy's Clubhouse" from the 1989 cult film UHF.
Reception
This episode was watched by 5.5 million U.S. viewers, with a 2.5/6 rating share in the 18-49 demographic group.[2]
Critical reception for the episode was generally negative, with Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club giving it a "D" grade. He particularly disliked its portrayal of Peter, calling him "so misogynistic and uncaring that whenever Family Guy goes back to the well for one of these plots, it’s a chore to keep track of every piece of the story that mirrors another time Peter ignored his family’s well-being for his own purposes." He referred to the episode as "another showcase for Peter’s misogyny."[1]
It debuted on September 2, 2012 in the United Kingdom and managed 1.23 million viewers, becoming the most-watched peak time multichannel broadcast of the night.[3]
References
- ^ a b c McFarland, Kevin (April 2, 2012). ""You Can't Do That On Television, Peter"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (April 3, 2012). "Sunday Final Ratings:'Once Upon A Time,' 'Bob's Burgers,' '60 Minutes' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
- ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a403401/channel-4-steams-ahead-of-itv-with-paralympics-on-sunday-night.html
External links
"You Can't Do That on Television, Peter".
| Preceded by Forget-Me-Not |
Family Guy (season 10) | Succeeded by Mr. and Mrs. Stewie |