Family Guy/North by North Quahog

North by North Quahog
Season 4, Episode 1
Airdate	May 1, 2005
Production Number	4ACX01
Written by	Seth MacFarlane
Directed by	Peter Shin
← 3x22 When You Wish upon a Weinstein	4x02 → Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High
Family Guy — Season Four

North by North Quahog is the first episode of the fourth season of Family Guy, and the fifty-first episode overall.

Guest Stars: Mike Henry (Various), Wally Wingert (Various), Phil LaMarr (Various), Chris Cox (Various), Lori Alan (Diane), Nicole Sullivan (Various), Don Lafontaine (Various), Hunter Gomez (Various), Bill Ratner (Various), Rick Kuhlman (Various), André Sogliuzzo (Various)

Plot Overview

"I've got some bad news. We've been cancelled!"

Peter watches the Passion of Christ, and becomes upset with its portrayal of Jesus. He and Lois go on a second honeymoon to revive their sex life, leaving Brian to watch over the kids, with the help of Stewie. Peter's incompetent driving crashes the car, leaving them without enough money to go on their second honeymoon, until Peter sees that he could impersonate Mel Gibson and stay in his private suite at a fancy hotel.

Meanwhile, Chris gets in trouble by drinking at a school dance, and Brian and Stewie have to talk with Tom Tucker about his son's behavior. Peter, stumbling into a secret room, finds a sequel to the Passion of the Christ, co-starring Chris Tucker. Peter decides to steal the film, getting him in trouble with the Catholic Church and Mel Gibson, which results in Lois's kidnapping. After battling on Mount Rushmore, Peter saves the day.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• Emmy Awards: This episode was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) at the 2005 Emmy Awards. However, it lost out to the South Park episode, "Best Friends Forever".

Allusions and References

• FOX Shows: All of the shows that Peter rattles off during the opening are shows produced and aired on FOX after Family Guy was cancelled and were in turn cancelled before Family Guy came back on the air. Those shows are listed in the quotes section.

Peter: Everybody, I've got bad news. We've been cancelled.

• North by Northwest: North by Northwest is an action thriller film from 1959 directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant. The film revolves around an advertising man who is mistaken for a government agent and framed for a murder he didn't commit. Several scenes in the episode correspond to scenes from the movie, like the escape from the biplane and the escape on Mt. Rushmore. Also, the climatic music used in several instances is the theme from the film by Bernard Herrmann.

• Blues Brothers: The Blues Brothers was a movie spun off from a popular Saturday Night Live sketch starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. The scene where Peter and Lois attempt to outrun the priests is a direct, shot for shot remake of a police chase scene from the film.

Quotes

• Peter: Everybody, I've got bad news. We've been cancelled.

Lois: Oh, no! Peter, how could they do that?

Peter: Well, unfortunately, Lois, there's just no more room on the schedule. We've just got to accept the fact that FOX has to make room for terrific shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That '80s Show, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Skin, girls club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, FreakyLinks, Wanda at Large, Costello, The Lone Gunmen, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal, Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddie, The $treet, American Embassy, Cedric the Entertainer, The Tick, Luis, and Greg the Bunny.

Lois: Is there no hope?

Peter: Well, I suppose if all those shows go down the tubes we might have a shot.