Life of Brian (Family Guy)
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"Life of Brian" is the sixth episode of the twelfth season and the 216th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States and Canada on November 24, 2013, and is written by Alex Carter and directed by Joseph Lee.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). He also explained why they decided to kill off Brian and not one of the other characters, saying: "It seemed more in the realm of a reality that a dog would get hit by a car than if one of the kids died. As much as we love Brian, and as much as everyone loves their pets, we felt it would be more traumatic to lose one of the kids, rather than the family pet."[1]
He also discussed how the other Family Guy actors reacted when they heard Brian would be killed in the episode, saying: "I think they were glad it wasn't them. [Laughs.] I think they were surprised, as anyone would be and I think they were pretty stunned especially this far into the show. They were as shocked as anyone."[1] He also explained why they decided to replace Brian with another dog, saying: "It felt like the way that this show was conceived by Seth all those years ago, was this entire family unit including the parents, kids and a dog. So by losing Brian, it felt like a void needed to be filled both comically, and also for the interpersonal relationships between all the characters. We felt that we needed to fill that role."[1]
He went on to explain why they decided to get Tony Sirico to voice Vinny saying: "I think it was Seth's idea actually to get Tony to come in. He's a big fan of The Sopranos and always loved Tony Sirico in particular and he thought it would be fun to write a character based around his voice and his personality and just who he is as an actor."[1] He went on to discuss if he was worried about the backlash from Family Guy fans, saying: "I'm not, only because our fans are smart enough and have been loyal to our show for long enough, to know that they can trust us. We always make choices that always work to the greatest benefit of the series."[1]
In January 2014, Seth MacFarlane spoke about how he was surprised by the fan reaction after Brian was killed off, saying: "It surprised all of us. We were all very surprised, in a good way, that people still cared enough about that character to be that angry. We thought it would create a little bit of a stir, but the rage wasn’t something we counted on."[2]
Reception
Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club awarded the episode an A–, saying that Brian's death scene was "actually pretty poignant, coming as close as Family Guy can to genuinely moving", and said it was "surprisingly effective [...] at dealing with the sudden death of a main character".[3]
Within hours of the episode's air on November 24, 2013, a petition for the resurrection of Brian Griffin directed towards series creator Seth MacFarlane and Fox Broadcasting Company emerged on Change.org.[4] The petition reads "Brian Griffin was an important part of our viewing experience. He added a witty and sophisticated element to the show. Family Guy and Fox Broadcasting will lose viewers if Brian Griffin is not brought back to the show" and within hours of its launch had already gained thousands of signatures,[5] making the petition one of the fastest-growing entertainment-related petitions on the site.[6] The petition was started by Family Guy fan Aaron Thompson, who also started a Facebook page called "R.I.P. Brian Griffin From Family Guy" in an effort to get MacFarlane to bring back Brian.[7]
The episode received a 2.2 rating and was watched by a total of 4.58 million people. This made it the second most watched show on Animation Domination that night, beating American Dad! and Bob's Burgers but losing to The Simpsons with 6.78 million.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
eonline1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hibberd, James. "Seth MacFarlane breaks silence on why he killed Brian: Didn't expect 'rage'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ Thurm, Eric (2013-11-24). "Family Guy: "Life Of Brian"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- ^ Day, Patrick Kevin (2013-11-25). "Family Guy fans protest death of Brian the dog". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ^ "'Family Guy' fans protest death of Brian the dog". Los Angeles: Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. 2013-11-25. Archived from the original on 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ^ Cornet, Roth (2013-11-25). "Family Guy Petition to Save Fan-Favorite Character". IGN. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (2013-11-25). "Family Guy Fans Petition Against Brian's Death". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (2013-11-26). "Sunday Final Ratings: The Simpsons, The Amazing Race, American Dad & The Mentalist Adjusted Up; America's Funniest Home Videos Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
