The Fat Guy Strangler
Encyclopedia
"The Fat Guy Strangler" is the seventeenth episode of season four of Family Guy
, which originally aired on November 27, 2005. Lois
discovers she has a long-lost brother, Patrick. She discovers he was put in a mental hospital after seeing his mother being seduced; so she consents to release him, but after a childhood flashback induced by Peter
, he becomes traumatized and starts murdering overweight people. The episode was written by Chris Sheridan and directed by Sarah Frost
, and guest-stars were Bob Barker
, Dave Boat, Max Burkholder
, Barclay DeVeau, Robert Downey, Jr., Margaret Easley
, Kim Parks, Will Sasso
, Anne-Michelle Seiler and Tara Strong
.
, Quagmire
, Cleveland
and Joe instead of going to his physical. When Lois finds out Peter was lying about going to the doctor, she brings him herself. There, he is told by the doctor that he is healthy but fat, which Peter takes badly. Later, after Peter breaks Lois's family picture, she discovers there is another child in the picture whom she believes to be her brother. When she telephones her father Carter, he tells her she doesn't have a brother and terminates the call. Intent on finding out the truth, Lois breaks into her parents' house and discovers her brother, Patrick, is secured in a mental hospital. He had apparently been committed there at a very young age after having a nervous breakdown brought about when he walked in on his mother having an affair with Jackie Gleason
, an incident that may or may not have been an halluciation.
Meanwhile, Peter announces to the family that he is fat, and decides to create the "National Association for The Advancement of Fat People" (NAAFP). Peter hosts the first meeting of the association, but it is unsuccessful due to those attending munching junk food
the entire way through.
Believing Patrick to be sane, Lois authorizes his release, and arranges for Patrick to stay with the family. Patrick soon announces he has a wife, Marion, albeit she is imaginary
and nobody else other than him can see her. This leads Brian
and Stewie
to believe he is crazy. Lois attempts to overlook the evidence, and instead tries to persuade Peter not to encourage people to be fat. Peter unintentionally traumatizes Patrick later by dressing up like Ralph Kramden and repeatedly using one of Kramden's catchphrases "Pow, right in the kisser!" which brings back memories of Gleason telling him to get out. This triggers Patrick to start killing fat people.
Lois' father, Carter, calls her and tells her how dangerous Patrick is, but she assures him Patrick is safe, although she becomes worried after seeing on the news that a fat man has been murdered. Lois remains in denial as more murders are committed, even though Brian tries to convince her that Patrick is the killer.
Peter brings the fat men back to his home to protect them, but after learning from Brian that Patrick is the killer, a chase between the fat men and Patrick ensues. Brian, still at the house, shows Patrick's room to Lois. The room contains one dead fat man, one half-dead fat man, and pictures of Patrick murdering them. Lois continues to make crazy excuses, still wanting to believe her brother is a sane person, but ultimately she snaps out of her denial and realizes that Patrick is dangerous. Lois and Brian pursue Patrick and Peter into the woods, where Patrick is strangling Peter. Patrick quickly releases Peter after Lois threatens to stab Marion, his imaginary wife. Patrick apologizes, telling Lois that he never meant to hurt her, and the two agree he be sent back to the mental hospital, where Lois and the family plan to visit him once a month.
after seeing him seduce his mother, Barbara, in front of him. Brian makes a reference to season-three Family Guy episode "To Love and Die in Dixie". Lois is shown watching American
game-show The Price Is Right, a reference to the actual show. The cavemen who "invented singing" perform an a cappella
version of Billy Joel
's "The Longest Time
".
; but the actual sequence took years to make. Barker has provided his voice for the show twice, although MacFarlane has never met him. MacFarlane also notes, in the DVD commentary, that he likes this episode, because it is rare when the show produces an episode where a lot of it takes place in the home, and where it would be possible to do it in a live action series. John Veiner voiced Bobby McFerrin
falling down a flight of stairs. The ball-in-a-cup scene is commented upon by MacFarlane, where he states that "the voice-overs work, the drawings work" and that Walter Murphy
"did a great job of creating a piece of deliberately annoying music." Several jokes had been pitched for Peter's words after killing an evil dragon, but all were dropped, as they weren't deemed funny enough by production staff.
MacFarlane notes that he was surprised they were allowed to do the pickle gag, which consisted of Stewie placing a cucumber on the sofa where Patrick's imaginary wife is sitting, but inserting it into her imaginary vagina (to see if it would turn into a pickle), but suggests that maybe broadcasting standards did not fully understand the scene. The music song by the overweight people at a funeral for a murdered obese man was only shown on the DVD version and not televised, for timing purposes, and for potential boredom to viewers.. The musical composition was recorded at Fox
studios on the Gary Numan
stage, and described by MacFarlane to be "beautifully, beautifully sung by our studio singers." The chicken falling out of an obese man's mouth when outside James Woods was used in a promotional sequence for Fox. George W. Bush
is portrayed hiding in a tree house and being informed by Brian of Hurricane Katrina
. Bush was offered the opportunity to voice himself, but declined.
A deleted scene had been made which showed the family traveling on board an airplane showing Peter, rather than using the airplane toilet as "he is too fat to get out of his seat," urinates in his seat, but unknowingly urinates on Brian in the process, as he is in a dog cage below Peter's seat. If this scene had been used in the episode, it was intended for Brian, after throwing a rock aimed at Peter's head to say "that's for pissing on me!" The gag produced for the episode showing Brian throwing a rock at Peter's head and shouting "that's for rolling up the damn window when I tried to jump into the The General Lee
" is a reference to "To Love and Die in Dixie."
tonight
, Family Guy actually did work their two storylines together. Their first big one, was about Peter's ever increasing weight problem. He skips out on going to his physical, so that he and Brian can go meet the guys at an all-you-can-eat steak restaurant." In a review of Family Guy, Volume 4, Nancy Basile regards "The Fat Guy Strangler" as one of her favorite episodes, as well as "PTV
." Basile moves on to comment that "Being prejudiced against fat people just isn't talked about, but this episode sheds a harsh light on that problem. At times the episode tries to show people who are fat as being victims of unfair bias, but other times just out and out makes fun of them."
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...
, which originally aired on November 27, 2005. Lois
Lois Griffin
Lois Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane...
discovers she has a long-lost brother, Patrick. She discovers he was put in a mental hospital after seeing his mother being seduced; so she consents to release him, but after a childhood flashback induced by Peter
Peter 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....
, he becomes traumatized and starts murdering overweight people. The episode was written by Chris Sheridan and directed by Sarah Frost
Sarah Frost
Sarah Frost-Goetz is an English television director animation director, composer, and storyboard artist in America.Frost is most known for directing The Fairly OddParents and episodes of the animated series Family Guy. She has also worked in animation on The Simpsons and Rocko's Modern Life.-Family...
, and guest-stars were Bob Barker
Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
, Dave Boat, 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...
, Barclay DeVeau, Robert Downey, Jr., Margaret Easley
Margaret Easley
Margaret Easley is an American actress. She has worked in the theater, television and movies and is in demand for voice-overs and commercials.-Filmography:* The Closer — Joan Marku...
, Kim Parks, Will Sasso
Will Sasso
William "Will" Sasso is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the American sketch comedy series MADtv, spending five seasons on the show.-Early life:...
, Anne-Michelle Seiler and Tara Strong
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
.
Plot
Peter has dinner out with BrianBrian 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...
, 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...
, Cleveland
Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,...
and Joe instead of going to his physical. When Lois finds out Peter was lying about going to the doctor, she brings him herself. There, he is told by the doctor that he is healthy but fat, which Peter takes badly. Later, after Peter breaks Lois's family picture, she discovers there is another child in the picture whom she believes to be her brother. When she telephones her father Carter, he tells her she doesn't have a brother and terminates the call. Intent on finding out the truth, Lois breaks into her parents' house and discovers her brother, Patrick, is secured in a mental hospital. He had apparently been committed there at a very young age after having a nervous breakdown brought about when he walked in on his mother having an affair with Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
, an incident that may or may not have been an halluciation.
Meanwhile, Peter announces to the family that he is fat, and decides to create the "National Association for The Advancement of Fat People" (NAAFP). Peter hosts the first meeting of the association, but it is unsuccessful due to those attending munching junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
the entire way through.
Believing Patrick to be sane, Lois authorizes his release, and arranges for Patrick to stay with the family. Patrick soon announces he has a wife, Marion, albeit she is imaginary
Imaginary friend
Imaginary friends and imaginary companions are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They...
and nobody else other than him can see her. This leads 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...
and 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....
to believe he is crazy. Lois attempts to overlook the evidence, and instead tries to persuade Peter not to encourage people to be fat. Peter unintentionally traumatizes Patrick later by dressing up like Ralph Kramden and repeatedly using one of Kramden's catchphrases "Pow, right in the kisser!" which brings back memories of Gleason telling him to get out. This triggers Patrick to start killing fat people.
Lois' father, Carter, calls her and tells her how dangerous Patrick is, but she assures him Patrick is safe, although she becomes worried after seeing on the news that a fat man has been murdered. Lois remains in denial as more murders are committed, even though Brian tries to convince her that Patrick is the killer.
Peter brings the fat men back to his home to protect them, but after learning from Brian that Patrick is the killer, a chase between the fat men and Patrick ensues. Brian, still at the house, shows Patrick's room to Lois. The room contains one dead fat man, one half-dead fat man, and pictures of Patrick murdering them. Lois continues to make crazy excuses, still wanting to believe her brother is a sane person, but ultimately she snaps out of her denial and realizes that Patrick is dangerous. Lois and Brian pursue Patrick and Peter into the woods, where Patrick is strangling Peter. Patrick quickly releases Peter after Lois threatens to stab Marion, his imaginary wife. Patrick apologizes, telling Lois that he never meant to hurt her, and the two agree he be sent back to the mental hospital, where Lois and the family plan to visit him once a month.
Cultural references
Patrick, was traumatized as a child by Jackie GleasonJackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
after seeing him seduce his mother, Barbara, in front of him. Brian makes a reference to season-three Family Guy episode "To Love and Die in Dixie". Lois is shown watching American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game-show The Price Is Right, a reference to the actual show. The cavemen who "invented singing" perform an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
version of Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's "The Longest Time
The Longest Time
"The Longest Time" is a doo-wop single by Billy Joel. The song was released as a single in 1984 as the fourth single from the album An Innocent Man. It reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart...
".
Production
The origins of the episode and the character of Patrick began when Robert Downey, Jr. telephoned the show production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode creation, as his son is a fan of the show, so the producers came up with the character of Patrick for Downey. Show producer Seth MacFarlane believes Downey "did a great job," and brought a "very kind of half crazy, and maybe just eccentric personality to that character that really worked out great." Bob Barker voiced himself presenting The Price Is RightThe Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
; but the actual sequence took years to make. Barker has provided his voice for the show twice, although MacFarlane has never met him. MacFarlane also notes, in the DVD commentary, that he likes this episode, because it is rare when the show produces an episode where a lot of it takes place in the home, and where it would be possible to do it in a live action series. John Veiner voiced Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin
Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
falling down a flight of stairs. The ball-in-a-cup scene is commented upon by MacFarlane, where he states that "the voice-overs work, the drawings work" and that Walter Murphy
Walter Murphy
Walter Anthony Murphy, Jr. is an American instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger. He rose to fame with the hit instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of passages from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in 1976, when disco was at the height of its...
"did a great job of creating a piece of deliberately annoying music." Several jokes had been pitched for Peter's words after killing an evil dragon, but all were dropped, as they weren't deemed funny enough by production staff.
MacFarlane notes that he was surprised they were allowed to do the pickle gag, which consisted of Stewie placing a cucumber on the sofa where Patrick's imaginary wife is sitting, but inserting it into her imaginary vagina (to see if it would turn into a pickle), but suggests that maybe broadcasting standards did not fully understand the scene. The music song by the overweight people at a funeral for a murdered obese man was only shown on the DVD version and not televised, for timing purposes, and for potential boredom to viewers.. The musical composition was recorded at 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...
studios on the Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
stage, and described by MacFarlane to be "beautifully, beautifully sung by our studio singers." The chicken falling out of an obese man's mouth when outside James Woods was used in a promotional sequence for Fox. George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
is portrayed hiding in a tree house and being informed by Brian of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Bush was offered the opportunity to voice himself, but declined.
A deleted scene had been made which showed the family traveling on board an airplane showing Peter, rather than using the airplane toilet as "he is too fat to get out of his seat," urinates in his seat, but unknowingly urinates on Brian in the process, as he is in a dog cage below Peter's seat. If this scene had been used in the episode, it was intended for Brian, after throwing a rock aimed at Peter's head to say "that's for pissing on me!" The gag produced for the episode showing Brian throwing a rock at Peter's head and shouting "that's for rolling up the damn window when I tried to jump into the The General Lee
The General Lee
The General Lee is the modified Dodge Charger driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. It is known for the chases and stunts, especially high jumps, in almost every episode, and for having the doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out...
" is a reference to "To Love and Die in Dixie."
Reception
In a review of the episode, TV Squad commented positively about the storyline, noting that "Unlike 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...
tonight
The Last of the Red Hat Mamas
The Last of the Red Hat Mamas is the seventh episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. The episode originally aired on November 27, 2005. This episode was the second highest rated of the season with 11.5 million viewers.-Plot:...
, Family Guy actually did work their two storylines together. Their first big one, was about Peter's ever increasing weight problem. He skips out on going to his physical, so that he and Brian can go meet the guys at an all-you-can-eat steak restaurant." In a review of Family Guy, Volume 4, Nancy Basile regards "The Fat Guy Strangler" as one of her favorite episodes, as well as "PTV
PTV (Family Guy)
"PTV" is the fourteenth episode of season four of the FOX animated series Family Guy. The episode sees the FCC censor the shows on television after a controversial wardrobe malfunction at the Emmy Awards. Peter starts to create his own TV network which he calls PTV, broadcasting classic shows...
." Basile moves on to comment that "Being prejudiced against fat people just isn't talked about, but this episode sheds a harsh light on that problem. At times the episode tries to show people who are fat as being victims of unfair bias, but other times just out and out makes fun of them."