Quagmire's Baby
Encyclopedia
"Quagmire's Baby" is the sixth episode of the eighth season
of the animated
comedy series
Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on November 15, 2009. The episode centers around neighbor Glenn Quagmire
, after he suddenly discovers that he is the illegitimate father of a newborn baby girl, when she is left at his doorstep. While he takes care of the baby, Quagmire quickly becomes reluctant to give up his sex life, and must decide whether or not to give her up for adoption.
The episode was written by series regular Patrick Meighan
, and directed by Jerry Langford
. It received positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 8.28 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Luke Adams
, John Bunnell
, Max Burkholder
, Noah Gray-Cabey
, Christine Lakin
, Brittany Snow, Mae Whitman
, and Tom Wilson
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Quagmire's Baby" was released on DVD
along with seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
buys an amateur radio
at Quagmire's
garage sale
and finds out that he can use it to communicate with the spirit of Ronald Reagan
. Peter becomes fond of his friendship with the spirit until the he is found out as Rich Little
impersonating Reagan. He goes to return the radio to Quagmire, noticing a baby in a basket by his door. The baby turns out to be Quagmire's illegitimate
daughter. Quagmire takes her in and names her Anna Lee ("anally
"). However, she greatly affects his sex life. Joe is able to convince Quagmire to put Anna Lee up for adoption
, to which he reluctantly agrees. However, Quagmire cannot stop thinking about Anna Lee, so the group head to her adoptive house to regain her. Quagmire realizes that Anna Lee's new parents treat her importantly and decides to leave her with them.
Meanwhile, Stewie
clones himself an assistant and names the unintelligent duplicate "Bitch Stewie". After Bitch Stewie meets Brian
, he becomes interested in having a clone of his own. Stewie and Bitch Stewie comply by creating "Bitch Brian", who is even less intelligent than Stewie's clone and incapable of doing the simplest of chores. The clones eventually disintegrate due to their instability.
, and directed by Jerry Langford
, before the conclusion of the eighth production season.
"Quagmire's Baby", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, were released on a three-disc DVD
set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse
", and mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke.
In addition to the regular cast, actor Luke Adams, sheriff and television narrator John Bunnell
, voice actor Max Burkholder
, actor Noah Gray-Cabey
, voice actress Christine Lakin
, actress Brittany Snow, voice actress Mae Whitman
and actor Tom Wilson
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Danny Smith
, writer Alec Sulkin
and writer John Viener made minor appearances.
and MacFarlane's newest series The Cleveland Show
. It was followed by MacFarlane's second show American Dad!
. In a significant improvement over the previous week's two episodes, "Quagmire's Baby" was viewed in 8.28 million homes in its original airing, according to Nielsen ratings
. The episode was the second most watched episode of the night, following the The Simpsons
episode "The Devil Wears Nada
", despite airing simultaneously with Sunday Night Football
on NBC
, Desperate Housewives
on ABC
and Three Rivers
on CBS
. The episode also acquired a 4.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Cleveland Show and American Dad!.
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, citing "Quagmire's quirky storylines" and the pairing of Brian and Stewie as a good combination. Ahsan Haque of IGN
noted that the episode possessed "some memorable jokes", and that "this episode manages to entertain from start to finish". Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
reviewed the episode much more negatively, going on to state, "Tonight's episode started out promisingly", and found Bitch Brian to be "the sole saving grace of an episode that sort of meandered around after the first five or ten minutes".
Family Guy (season 8)
Family Guy eighth season first aired on the Fox network in twenty episodes from September 27, 2009 to May 23, 2010 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It ran on Sunday nights between May and July 2010 on BBC Three in the UK...
of the animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
comedy series
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. It originally aired on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States on November 15, 2009. The episode centers around neighbor Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. Quagmire is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family. He is best known for his hypersexuality...
, after he suddenly discovers that he is the illegitimate father of a newborn baby girl, when she is left at his doorstep. While he takes care of the baby, Quagmire quickly becomes reluctant to give up his sex life, and must decide whether or not to give her up for adoption.
The episode was written by series regular Patrick Meighan
Patrick Meighan (writer)
Patrick Meighan is an American animation writer. Meighan is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy and Titus.Meighan has also served as a production assistant on Dharma & Greg.-Family Guy:...
, and directed by Jerry Langford
Jerry Langford
Jerry Langford is an American animation director. Langford is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
. It received positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, it was viewed in 8.28 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Luke Adams
Luke Adams
Luke Kendall Adams is a male race walker from Australia, who was born in Tanzania. He is a two-time Olympian for Australia. He also guest starred in the Family Guy episode Baby, You Knock Me Out.-Achievements:...
, John Bunnell
John Bunnell
John Edwin Bunnell is a former Sheriff of Multnomah County, Oregon. Bunnell is best known for presenting World's Wildest Police Videos between 1998 and 2002.-Background:...
, Max Burkholder
Max Burkholder
Maxwell Henry Wolf "Max" Burkholder is an American child actor most noticeable for his role Max Braverman, who has Asperger Syndrome, in the NBC series Parenthood. Prior to that, he became known as a voice actor, among his many roles were those of Chomper in The Land Before Time television series...
, Noah Gray-Cabey
Noah Gray-Cabey
Noah Gray-Cabey is an American television actor and pianist. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the television series My Wife and Kids and Heroes.-Early life:...
, Christine Lakin
Christine Lakin
Christine Helen Lakin is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC/CBS situation comedy Step by Step and as Joan of Arc in Showtime's Reefer Madness...
, Brittany Snow, Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
, and Tom Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Quagmire's Baby" was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
along with seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
Plot
PeterPeter Griffin
Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
buys an amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
at Quagmire's
Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. Quagmire is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family. He is best known for his hypersexuality...
garage sale
Garage sale
A garage sale, also known as a yard sale, rummage sale, tag sale, lawn sale, attic sale, moving sale, or junk sale, is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used goods by private individuals, in which "block sales" are allowed, so that sellers are not required to obtain business...
and finds out that he can use it to communicate with the spirit of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. Peter becomes fond of his friendship with the spirit until the he is found out as Rich Little
Rich Little
Richard Caruthers "Rich" Little is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor. He has long been known throughout the world as a top impersonator of famous people, resulting in his nickname, "The Man of a Thousand Voices"....
impersonating Reagan. He goes to return the radio to Quagmire, noticing a baby in a basket by his door. The baby turns out to be Quagmire's illegitimate
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
daughter. Quagmire takes her in and names her Anna Lee ("anally
Anal sex
Anal sex is the sex act in which the penis is inserted into the anus of a sexual partner. The term can also include other sexual acts involving the anus, including pegging, anilingus , fingering, and object insertion.Common misconception describes anal sex as practiced almost exclusively by gay men...
"). However, she greatly affects his sex life. Joe is able to convince Quagmire to put Anna Lee up for adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, to which he reluctantly agrees. However, Quagmire cannot stop thinking about Anna Lee, so the group head to her adoptive house to regain her. Quagmire realizes that Anna Lee's new parents treat her importantly and decides to leave her with them.
Meanwhile, Stewie
Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
clones himself an assistant and names the unintelligent duplicate "Bitch Stewie". After Bitch Stewie meets Brian
Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
, he becomes interested in having a clone of his own. Stewie and Bitch Stewie comply by creating "Bitch Brian", who is even less intelligent than Stewie's clone and incapable of doing the simplest of chores. The clones eventually disintegrate due to their instability.
Production and development
The episode was written by series regular Patrick MeighanPatrick Meighan (writer)
Patrick Meighan is an American animation writer. Meighan is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy and Titus.Meighan has also served as a production assistant on Dharma & Greg.-Family Guy:...
, and directed by Jerry Langford
Jerry Langford
Jerry Langford is an American animation director. Langford is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
, before the conclusion of the eighth production season.
"Quagmire's Baby", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, were released on a three-disc DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse
Road to the Multiverse
"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009...
", and mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke.
In addition to the regular cast, actor Luke Adams, sheriff and television narrator John Bunnell
John Bunnell
John Edwin Bunnell is a former Sheriff of Multnomah County, Oregon. Bunnell is best known for presenting World's Wildest Police Videos between 1998 and 2002.-Background:...
, voice actor Max Burkholder
Max Burkholder
Maxwell Henry Wolf "Max" Burkholder is an American child actor most noticeable for his role Max Braverman, who has Asperger Syndrome, in the NBC series Parenthood. Prior to that, he became known as a voice actor, among his many roles were those of Chomper in The Land Before Time television series...
, actor Noah Gray-Cabey
Noah Gray-Cabey
Noah Gray-Cabey is an American television actor and pianist. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the television series My Wife and Kids and Heroes.-Early life:...
, voice actress Christine Lakin
Christine Lakin
Christine Helen Lakin is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC/CBS situation comedy Step by Step and as Joan of Arc in Showtime's Reefer Madness...
, actress Brittany Snow, voice actress Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
and actor Tom Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Danny Smith
Danny Smith (writer)
Daniel "Danny" Smith is an executive producer, writer and voice actor on the American animated television series Family Guy. He has been with the show since its inception and throughout the years has contributed many episodes, such as "Holy Crap", "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz", "Chitty...
, writer Alec Sulkin
Alec Sulkin
Alec Sulkin is an American television writer. Most notable for writing and producing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy, he has also contributed to The Cleveland Show, another series by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane....
and writer John Viener made minor appearances.
Reception
"Quagmire's Baby" was broadcast on November 15, 2009, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by an episode of The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and MacFarlane's newest series The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
. It was followed by MacFarlane's second show American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
. In a significant improvement over the previous week's two episodes, "Quagmire's Baby" was viewed in 8.28 million homes in its original airing, according to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. The episode was the second most watched episode of the night, following the The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "The Devil Wears Nada
The Devil Wears Nada
"The Devil Wears Nada" is the fifth episode of the twenty-first season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 2009...
", despite airing simultaneously with Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football is a weekly American football game held throughout most of the season by the National Football League. Sunday night games have been played regularly since 1987 and have thus far aired on three different television outlets:...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and Three Rivers
Three Rivers (TV series)
Three Rivers is a medical drama, which premiered on CBS on October 4, 2009 and aired Sundays at 9 pm Eastern Time/Pacific Time. The series was set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at a fictional hospital specializing in transplants, with Alex O'Loughlin starring as a famous transplant surgeon...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. The episode also acquired a 4.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Cleveland Show and American Dad!.
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, citing "Quagmire's quirky storylines" and the pairing of Brian and Stewie as a good combination. Ahsan Haque of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
noted that the episode possessed "some memorable jokes", and that "this episode manages to entertain from start to finish". Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
reviewed the episode much more negatively, going on to state, "Tonight's episode started out promisingly", and found Bitch Brian to be "the sole saving grace of an episode that sort of meandered around after the first five or ten minutes".