"Brian Sings and Swings" is the 19th episode of the fourth season and the 69th episode of Family Guy. The episode was first broadcast on January 8, 2006.[1]Brian meets Frank Sinatra Jr. and begins to perform on stage with him, and they are shortly joined by Stewie. Meanwhile, Meg pretends to be a lesbian after being offered a chance to join the Lesbian Alliance Club at her school.[2]
As Peter prepares to leave for work, he backs his car out of the driveway, hitting Brian, who needs treatment at a hospital. Upon Brian's return, Peter makes too much of an effort to welcome him back into the family. Meanwhile, Meg makes friends with a girl named Sarah at her school, unaware that she is about to be offered a place in the Lesbian Alliance Club. After speaking with Neil Goldman, she realizes that she is now considered a lesbian by the group and prepares to drop out; however, when she realizes the effect being a member may have on her social status (finding herself more popular as a lesbian), she pretends to be one.
Meanwhile, Brian becomes depressed after the accident, but after speaking with Frank Sinatra Jr., he begins to perform with him, changing his outlook on life to that of positivity. After being told of Brian's new lifestyle, the family is impressed and encourage him to continue. However, when he is invited by Sinatra to perform with him again, their duo is interrupted by Stewie, who joins the performance. Meanwhile, Meg tells the family that she is now a lesbian, but is mocked by Lois, knowing that she is not being honest. Even as they do so, Chris and Quagmire exit Meg's closet, having attempted to film some lesbian interaction. Meanwhile, Brian and Stewie continue their performances across Quahog with Sinatra. In a drunken condition following a performance, Brian loses Stewie, which results in Stewie's ear being bitten off by a deer. Peter says that Brian will stop performing with Sinatra immediately and threatens to telephone Sinatra's "mother" Mia Farrow. Angry at Peter's bossiness, Brian bites his arm, which leaves Peter afraid of him; the next day, Brian tries to reconcile with Peter, but Peter, still scared, only pelts him with furniture, dishes and Stewie, angering Brian who storms off in a rage.
Brian, regretful of biting Peter, quits performing with Stewie and Sinatra, resorting to drinking wine from a gutter. However, Brian regains his confidence when Stewie finds him, where he tells Brian that there are things in life which are beyond his control, telling him that even though they aren't in his control, they do matter, contrary to Brian's common beliefs. Meanwhile, Meg prepares to tell Sarah that she is not a lesbian and that she only pretended to be in order to make friends; however, Sarah is in her underwear, believing Meg has come to her house to have sex with her. They are both interrupted by Quagmire and his production team filming their antics. The episode ends with Stewie, Brian and Frank Sinatra Jr. singing once more at a club until Mia Farrow (called in by Peter) intervenes, reprimanding Frank for "hanging out 'till all hours with a baby and a dog", and spanks him in front of the audience, much to his chagrin.[3]
Production
Michael Rowe wrote the episode.
Scripts and other production materials were altered and modified extensively. The rhythm and pacing of the show required frequent rewrites due to the inclusion of musical performances.[4] MacFarlane comments that "having Frank Sinatra, Jr. on board was a pleasure to the team."[5] The scene where Meg sees Chris in the bathroom parodies the scene from The Empire Strikes Back where Darth Vader has his helmet placed on his head. The producers acknowledged that John Williams had forbidden re-recordings of his music so the actual recording of "The Imperial March" was used with permission by Williams and Lucasfilm.[5]
The synopsis for this episode partially focuses on Meg becoming a lesbian; this was because Seth MacFarlane believed the United States loved lesbians, which he describes as "the best kind of love".[5] As Brian and Stewie move back and forth on the stage when performing with Frank Sinatra Jr., the scene originally appeared wrong, as the characters did not match the movement of the background.[6] Brian makes a comment about Stewie's weird laugh when he finds something really funny. This is the only time on Family Guy when MacFarlane has not voiced Stewie; instead, the laughing was performed by Ricky Blitt, a former writer of Family Guy.[5]
As Brian and Sinatra, Jr. are performing on stage, the song they are singing was originally composed for the 1960 film, High Time; however after the film, the song became so popular it was used in a new movie in 1973.[7] Another musical performance performed by Brian and Sinatra was based on a musical composition used in the film Scared Stiff.[5] When Brian is in the hospital after being hit by Peter's car, Stewie says that he will have to hang out with The Rock again. The cutaway shows a trailer with Stewie and the Rock. The narrator (Don LaFontaine) speculates about the Rock's race and then that of actress Jessica Alba. When Meg says that she is a super mega-lesbian, Sarah tells her that she will fit in with the other super-mega-lesbians, who sing "Elvira" by the Oak Ridge Boys, much to Meg's excitement. In a cutaway mentioned by Stewie, Thomas Edison hoards electricity, as he fights with Alexander Graham Bell. Edison talks about how much more fortunate he is than Bell, since he has hoarded electricity. He says that he watches The Office, and plays "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix. When Brian says "you gotta live life and live it hard", Stewie responds by calling it "the Chris Farley method", a reference to the late comedian. The scene where Meg is talking to a friend about kissing is interrupted by Quagmire coming out of the closet with electric equipment, commenting that is "just awful". Than a filmmaker he refers to as Mark and his friend, who Mark refers to as Mike, comes out of the closet which he asks their opinion on it. After Mark says he doesn't know, he asks Mike his opinion, where he proceeds to mumble. This is a reference to the cult 1999 documentary American Movie.
Reception
Family Guy and this episode are highly regarded in the music community of Los Angeles, due to the show featuring many music-inspired scenes and for the use of its own orchestra.[7] Ryan J. Budke of TV Squad gave the episode a positive review, writing that it was not the show's "greatest episode this year, but it was still funny".[8]
References
^"Brian Sings and Swings". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
brian, sings, swings, 19th, episode, fourth, season, 69th, episode, family, episode, first, broadcast, january, 2006, brian, meets, frank, sinatra, begins, perform, stage, with, they, shortly, joined, stewie, meanwhile, pretends, lesbian, after, being, offered. Brian Sings and Swings is the 19th episode of the fourth season and the 69th episode of Family Guy The episode was first broadcast on January 8 2006 1 Brian meets Frank Sinatra Jr and begins to perform on stage with him and they are shortly joined by Stewie Meanwhile Meg pretends to be a lesbian after being offered a chance to join the Lesbian Alliance Club at her school 2 Brian Sings and Swings Family Guy episodeEpisode no Season 4Episode 19Directed byChuck KleinZac MoncriefWritten byMichael RoweProduction code4ACX21Original air dateJanuary 8 2006 2006 01 08 Guest appearancesMark Borchardt James Burkholder Don LaFontaine Mike Schank Stacey Scowley Frank Sinatra Jr as himself Nicole Sullivan Fred Tatasciore as John Goodman Audrey WasilewskiEpisode chronology Previous The Father the Son and the Holy Fonz Next Patriot Games Family Guy season 4 List of episodesThe episode was written by Michael Rowe and directed by Chuck Klein and Zac Moncrief It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references The episode featured guest performances by Mark Borchardt James Burkholder Don LaFontaine Mike Schank Stacey Scowley Frank Sinatra Jr Nicole Sullivan Fred Tatasciore Audrey Wasilewski along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Cultural references 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksPlot EditAs Peter prepares to leave for work he backs his car out of the driveway hitting Brian who needs treatment at a hospital Upon Brian s return Peter makes too much of an effort to welcome him back into the family Meanwhile Meg makes friends with a girl named Sarah at her school unaware that she is about to be offered a place in the Lesbian Alliance Club After speaking with Neil Goldman she realizes that she is now considered a lesbian by the group and prepares to drop out however when she realizes the effect being a member may have on her social status finding herself more popular as a lesbian she pretends to be one Meanwhile Brian becomes depressed after the accident but after speaking with Frank Sinatra Jr he begins to perform with him changing his outlook on life to that of positivity After being told of Brian s new lifestyle the family is impressed and encourage him to continue However when he is invited by Sinatra to perform with him again their duo is interrupted by Stewie who joins the performance Meanwhile Meg tells the family that she is now a lesbian but is mocked by Lois knowing that she is not being honest Even as they do so Chris and Quagmire exit Meg s closet having attempted to film some lesbian interaction Meanwhile Brian and Stewie continue their performances across Quahog with Sinatra In a drunken condition following a performance Brian loses Stewie which results in Stewie s ear being bitten off by a deer Peter says that Brian will stop performing with Sinatra immediately and threatens to telephone Sinatra s mother Mia Farrow Angry at Peter s bossiness Brian bites his arm which leaves Peter afraid of him the next day Brian tries to reconcile with Peter but Peter still scared only pelts him with furniture dishes and Stewie angering Brian who storms off in a rage Brian regretful of biting Peter quits performing with Stewie and Sinatra resorting to drinking wine from a gutter However Brian regains his confidence when Stewie finds him where he tells Brian that there are things in life which are beyond his control telling him that even though they aren t in his control they do matter contrary to Brian s common beliefs Meanwhile Meg prepares to tell Sarah that she is not a lesbian and that she only pretended to be in order to make friends however Sarah is in her underwear believing Meg has come to her house to have sex with her They are both interrupted by Quagmire and his production team filming their antics The episode ends with Stewie Brian and Frank Sinatra Jr singing once more at a club until Mia Farrow called in by Peter intervenes reprimanding Frank for hanging out till all hours with a baby and a dog and spanks him in front of the audience much to his chagrin 3 Production Edit Michael Rowe wrote the episode Scripts and other production materials were altered and modified extensively The rhythm and pacing of the show required frequent rewrites due to the inclusion of musical performances 4 MacFarlane comments that having Frank Sinatra Jr on board was a pleasure to the team 5 The scene where Meg sees Chris in the bathroom parodies the scene from The Empire Strikes Back where Darth Vader has his helmet placed on his head The producers acknowledged that John Williams had forbidden re recordings of his music so the actual recording of The Imperial March was used with permission by Williams and Lucasfilm 5 The synopsis for this episode partially focuses on Meg becoming a lesbian this was because Seth MacFarlane believed the United States loved lesbians which he describes as the best kind of love 5 As Brian and Stewie move back and forth on the stage when performing with Frank Sinatra Jr the scene originally appeared wrong as the characters did not match the movement of the background 6 Brian makes a comment about Stewie s weird laugh when he finds something really funny This is the only time on Family Guy when MacFarlane has not voiced Stewie instead the laughing was performed by Ricky Blitt a former writer of Family Guy 5 Cultural references Edit Frank Sinatra Jr was the main guest star As Brian and Sinatra Jr are performing on stage the song they are singing was originally composed for the 1960 film High Time however after the film the song became so popular it was used in a new movie in 1973 7 Another musical performance performed by Brian and Sinatra was based on a musical composition used in the film Scared Stiff 5 When Brian is in the hospital after being hit by Peter s car Stewie says that he will have to hang out with The Rock again The cutaway shows a trailer with Stewie and the Rock The narrator Don LaFontaine speculates about the Rock s race and then that of actress Jessica Alba When Meg says that she is a super mega lesbian Sarah tells her that she will fit in with the other super mega lesbians who sing Elvira by the Oak Ridge Boys much to Meg s excitement In a cutaway mentioned by Stewie Thomas Edison hoards electricity as he fights with Alexander Graham Bell Edison talks about how much more fortunate he is than Bell since he has hoarded electricity He says that he watches The Office and plays Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix When Brian says you gotta live life and live it hard Stewie responds by calling it the Chris Farley method a reference to the late comedian The scene where Meg is talking to a friend about kissing is interrupted by Quagmire coming out of the closet with electric equipment commenting that is just awful Than a filmmaker he refers to as Mark and his friend who Mark refers to as Mike comes out of the closet which he asks their opinion on it After Mark says he doesn t know he asks Mike his opinion where he proceeds to mumble This is a reference to the cult 1999 documentary American Movie Reception EditFamily Guy and this episode are highly regarded in the music community of Los Angeles due to the show featuring many music inspired scenes and for the use of its own orchestra 7 Ryan J Budke of TV Squad gave the episode a positive review writing that it was not the show s greatest episode this year but it was still funny 8 References Edit Brian Sings and Swings IMDb com Retrieved 2007 12 23 Brian Sings and Swings British Broadcasting Corporation Retrieved 2007 12 23 Plot synopsis information for the episode Brian Sings and Swings DVD 20th Century Fox 2005 Smith Shannon 2005 Family Guy season 4 DVD commentary for the episode Brian Sings and Swings DVD 20th Century Fox a b c d e MacFarlane Seth 2005 Family Guy season 4 DVD commentary for the episode Brian Sings and Swings DVD 20th Century Fox Moncrief Zac 2005 Family Guy season 4 DVD commentary for the episode Brian Sings and Swings DVD 20th Century Fox a b Sinatra Jr Frank 2005 Family Guy season 4 DVD commentary for the episode Brian Sings and Swings DVD 20th Century Fox Budke Ryan J January 9 2006 Family Guy Brian Sings and Swings TV Squad Archived from the original on 2006 01 11 Retrieved 2010 02 26 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Brian Sings and Swings Television portal Brian Sings and Swings at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brian Sings and Swings amp oldid 1061292828, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
