The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair
Encyclopedia
"The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" is the twelfth episode of the ninth season
of the animated
comedy series
Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on March 6, 2011. The episode follows high school student Meg
as she attempts to look after her handicapped neighbor, Joe, after his wife, Bonnie, has to leave town temporarily to visit her ailing father. Meg soon becomes infatuated with Joe, however, causing him to become nervous, and approach Meg's parents. Meanwhile, baby Stewie
inadvertently creates an evil clone of himself who rampages through Quahog before ultimately attempting to kill Stewie and his anthropomorphic
dog Brian
.
The episode was written by Tom Devanney
and directed by Brian Iles
. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving criticism from the Parents Television Council
. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 6.32 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Dee Bradley Baker
, Colin Ford
, Patrick Stewart
and Jennifer Tilly
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was first announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International.
is approached by Bonnie, who asks her to look after her husband, Joe, and daughter, Susie, while she is out of town. Lois agrees to do so, but then asks her teenage daughter, Meg
to look after them for her. The next day, Meg visits Joe and Susie, and tells them that she will be helping them out while Bonnie is gone. As Joe and Meg bond on the way to school, the two become close, causing Meg to believe that Joe is her boyfriend. The following morning, Meg decides to make breakfast for Joe, wanting him to like her. Joe takes no interest in Meg, who continually tries to approach Joe throughout the rest of the day. That night, after receiving a call from Bonnie that she will be returning home, Meg travels to the airport where Bonnie is departing (Bangor International Airport
), in an attempt to plant a weapon in her luggage. Bonnie is then arrested by airport security (also revealing that she was also smuggling cocaine
), giving Meg extra time to be with Joe. Unaware that Meg has sabotaged Bonnie's travel plans, the two go to dinner, where Meg suggests that they have a baby. Joe tells Lois and Peter of Meg's crush, expressing his concerns about Meg's behavior. Lois questions Meg about her infatuation with Joe, telling her that the two have nothing in common. Meg awaits Joe to return home, when she jumps in front of his police car, attempting to cripple herself in order to have a common interest. Joe takes Meg to the hospital, where it becomes clear that she will recover and not lose the use of her legs. Meg apologizes to Joe for her strange behavior, Joe tells her he is lucky to have her as a neighbor, and the two decide to become friends.
Meanwhile, Brian
tells Stewie
that he has become soft, and is no longer evil. In an attempt to refute this, Stewie creates a machine that inadvertently clones an evil twin of himself. (The clone is indicated by wearing clothes in reverse color of that as regular Stewie.) Later that day, the evil clone suddenly attacks Brian, shoving batteries in his nostrils and trying to strangle him with his collar, and disappears, with Stewie questioning what happened to him. The clone then approaches Stewie, causing him to believe he is a genius. Wanting to run tests, the evil clone immediately attacks both Stewie and Brian, and takes off into Quahog, stealing a car after violently slicing the occupant in half with a machete. Attempting to capture the clone, Stewie ties Brian to a lightpost, leaving him there as bait. As the clone prepares to kill Brian, Stewie jumps from behind and the two begin fighting. While fighting, they rip off each others clothes, and Brian cannot tell them apart (because of the clothing difference). Able to escape from the lightpost, Brian grabs the clone's laser gun, and fires at the Stewie that does not laugh at his feet, a weakness of regular Stewie. Stewie thanks Brian for shooting the correct clone, and the two begin to walk home. As the episode ends, Stewie turns back to the camera with a malicious grin and bright yellow cat eyes, to the sound of Vincent Price
's diabolical laughter.
, the episode was written by series regular Tom Devanney
and directed by series regular Brian Iles
during the course of the ninth production season
. Series veterans Peter Shin
and James Purdum
, both of whom having previously served as animation directors, served as supervising directors for the episode, with Andrew Goldberg
, Alex Carter, Elaine Ko, Spencer Porter and Aaron Blitzstein
serving as staff writer
s for the episode. Composer Ron Jones
, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair".
In addition to the regular cast, voice actor Dee Bradley Baker
, actor Colin Ford
, actor Patrick Stewart
, and actress Jennifer Tilly
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Alex Breckenridge
, actor Ralph Garman
and writer Danny Smith
also made minor appearances.
. The scene where Evil Stewie appears in the empty machine is a direct homage to the Star Trek
episode "The Enemy Within," down to the lighting and piano fill, which has a similar premise involving an evil duplicate of Captain Kirk. While driving Meg to school, Joe asks what Lady Gaga
is, asking if the popular singer is "a band", "a soda", or "a store", among other things. Stewie shown with yellow eyes and Vincent Price
's laughter is a direct reference to Michael Jackson
's "Thriller" music video.
and Bob's Burgers
, and followed by Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane
's spin-off, The Cleveland Show
. It was watched by 6.23 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings
, despite airing simultaneously with Desperate Housewives
on ABC
, Undercover Boss
on CBS
and the season premiere of The Celebrity Apprentice
on NBC
. The episode also acquired a 3.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and The Cleveland Show in addition to significantly edging out all three shows in total viewership. The episode's ratings decreased somewhat from the previous week's episode.
Television critics reacted mostly positive toward the episode, calling the storyline "a decent return to wacky adventures of Quahog." In a simultaneous review of the episodes of The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers that preceded the show, and the episode of The Cleveland Show that followed it, The A.V. Club
s Rowan Kaiser wrote, "It was still weird and a bit experimental: An awkward conversation between Meg and Joe was done almost naturalistically, while an evil Stewie clone engaged in hyper-violence beyond the usual implied cartoon violence. It wasn't as funny as it should be, but it did have its moments." Kaise went on to criticize Meg's role in the episode, commenting, "The problem with Meg isn't just that she's treated as a punching bag by the show; it's that as either a normal character or as the butt of all the jokes, she's almost never funny or interesting." He concluded his review by stating, "I'm not sure I liked it, but I did engage with it, which is an improvement over the last few weeks of the show," and ultimately gave the episode a C+ rating, placing it third out of four, being beaten by The Simpsons episode "The Scorpion's Tale
" and the Bob's Burgers episode "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?", and beating The Cleveland Show episode "The Blue, The Gray and The Brown
". In slightly more positive review of the episode, Jason Hughes of TV Squad praised the episode for its Meg-centric storyline, writing, "Meg is great as the incredibly needy, creepy, crazy, stalker type." Hughes also praised actress Mila Kunis
for her portrayal of Meg, noting, "almost expected her to turn into Annie Wilkes
from Misery
and strap Joe to a bed." Hughes also stated his concern about the developments in the Stewie storyline writing, "I wonder if this was an acknowledgement that Stewie has changed with an intention to try and bring some of his edge back, or more like a swan song farewell to that level of callousness."
The Parents Television Council
, a conservative media watchdog group that frequently criticizes Seth MacFarlane works, named "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" its "Worst TV Show of the Week" for the week ending on September 2, 2011, basing the review on a repeat broadcast. It got this rating due to sexual content, drug references and excessive violence. Specifically cited were scenes where Quagmire tries to proposition sex to Bonnie in an "aw, shucks" manner, the evil Stewie clone's vicious behavior and Bonnie being detained at the airport for (unknowingly) bringing a weapon into the airport.
Family Guy (season 9)
Family Guy ninth season first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 26, 2010 to May 22, 2011 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication...
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 March 6, 2011. The episode follows high school student Meg
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
as she attempts to look after her handicapped neighbor, Joe, after his wife, Bonnie, has to leave town temporarily to visit her ailing father. Meg soon becomes infatuated with Joe, however, causing him to become nervous, and approach Meg's parents. Meanwhile, baby 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....
inadvertently creates an evil clone of himself who rampages through Quahog before ultimately attempting to kill Stewie and his anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
dog 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...
.
The episode was written by Tom Devanney
Tom Devanney
Tom Devanney is an American animation television writer. Devanney is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
and directed by Brian Iles
Brian Iles
Brian Iles is an American animation director. Iles is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving criticism from the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
. 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 6.32 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
, Colin Ford
Colin Ford
Colin Ford is an American child actor and voice actor. He is best known for his role as young Sam Winchester in the 2005 TV Series, Supernatural.-Biography:...
, Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
and Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was first announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International.
Plot
While in her home, LoisLois 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...
is approached by Bonnie, who asks her to look after her husband, Joe, and daughter, Susie, while she is out of town. Lois agrees to do so, but then asks her teenage daughter, Meg
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
to look after them for her. The next day, Meg visits Joe and Susie, and tells them that she will be helping them out while Bonnie is gone. As Joe and Meg bond on the way to school, the two become close, causing Meg to believe that Joe is her boyfriend. The following morning, Meg decides to make breakfast for Joe, wanting him to like her. Joe takes no interest in Meg, who continually tries to approach Joe throughout the rest of the day. That night, after receiving a call from Bonnie that she will be returning home, Meg travels to the airport where Bonnie is departing (Bangor International Airport
Bangor International Airport
Bangor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located west of the city of Bangor, in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is owned and operated by the City of Bangor and was formerly a military installation known as Dow Air Force Base. The airport possesses a single...
), in an attempt to plant a weapon in her luggage. Bonnie is then arrested by airport security (also revealing that she was also smuggling cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
), giving Meg extra time to be with Joe. Unaware that Meg has sabotaged Bonnie's travel plans, the two go to dinner, where Meg suggests that they have a baby. Joe tells Lois and Peter of Meg's crush, expressing his concerns about Meg's behavior. Lois questions Meg about her infatuation with Joe, telling her that the two have nothing in common. Meg awaits Joe to return home, when she jumps in front of his police car, attempting to cripple herself in order to have a common interest. Joe takes Meg to the hospital, where it becomes clear that she will recover and not lose the use of her legs. Meg apologizes to Joe for her strange behavior, Joe tells her he is lucky to have her as a neighbor, and the two decide to become friends.
Meanwhile, 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...
tells 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....
that he has become soft, and is no longer evil. In an attempt to refute this, Stewie creates a machine that inadvertently clones an evil twin of himself. (The clone is indicated by wearing clothes in reverse color of that as regular Stewie.) Later that day, the evil clone suddenly attacks Brian, shoving batteries in his nostrils and trying to strangle him with his collar, and disappears, with Stewie questioning what happened to him. The clone then approaches Stewie, causing him to believe he is a genius. Wanting to run tests, the evil clone immediately attacks both Stewie and Brian, and takes off into Quahog, stealing a car after violently slicing the occupant in half with a machete. Attempting to capture the clone, Stewie ties Brian to a lightpost, leaving him there as bait. As the clone prepares to kill Brian, Stewie jumps from behind and the two begin fighting. While fighting, they rip off each others clothes, and Brian cannot tell them apart (because of the clothing difference). Able to escape from the lightpost, Brian grabs the clone's laser gun, and fires at the Stewie that does not laugh at his feet, a weakness of regular Stewie. Stewie thanks Brian for shooting the correct clone, and the two begin to walk home. As the episode ends, Stewie turns back to the camera with a malicious grin and bright yellow cat eyes, to the sound of Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
's diabolical laughter.
Production and development
First announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International by recurring cast member Patrick WarburtonPatrick Warburton
Patrick John Warburton is an American actor of television, film, and voice. He is best known for his several TV roles, including the title role of The Tick, David Puddy on Seinfeld, the evil Johnny Johnson on NewsRadio, and anchorman Jeb Denton on Less Than Perfect...
, the episode was written by series regular Tom Devanney
Tom Devanney
Tom Devanney is an American animation television writer. Devanney is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
and directed by series regular Brian Iles
Brian Iles
Brian Iles is an American animation director. Iles is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
during the course of the ninth production season
Family Guy (season 9)
Family Guy ninth season first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 26, 2010 to May 22, 2011 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication...
. Series veterans Peter Shin
Peter Shin
Peter Shin is the:*supervising director of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story*director of Big Bug Man.*director of Family Guy episodes:**"Death Has a Shadow"**"Emission Impossible"**"North by North Quahog"**"It's a Trap!"...
and James Purdum
James Purdum
James Purdum is an American animation director. Purdum is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy....
, both of whom having previously served as animation directors, served as supervising directors for the episode, with Andrew Goldberg
Andrew Goldberg (TV writer)
Andrew Goldberg is currently a writer for Family Guy, where he has written several episodes. He is also the author of Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads, and the Lost Art of Being a Man, a book published by HarperCollins focusing on Brian Griffin's beliefs.- Biography :Andrew Goldberg was born...
, Alex Carter, Elaine Ko, Spencer Porter and Aaron Blitzstein
Aaron Blitzstein
Aaron Blitzstein is an American television writer. He has written for shows including Family Guy, Mad, The Late Show with David Letterman, the FX series The Riches, The Andy Milonakis Show, Best Week Ever, Crank Yankers, and Ugly Americans. He was also vice-president of World Championship Wrestling...
serving as staff writer
Staff writer
Staff writer is a byline that indicates that the author of the article at hand is employed by the periodical that published the article as a regular staff member, and not as a freelance writer or special contributor....
s for the episode. Composer Ron Jones
Ron Jones (composer)
Ron Jones is an American composer who has written music for TV shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Duck Tales, American Dad!, and Family Guy...
, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair".
In addition to the regular cast, voice actor Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
, actor Colin Ford
Colin Ford
Colin Ford is an American child actor and voice actor. He is best known for his role as young Sam Winchester in the 2005 TV Series, Supernatural.-Biography:...
, actor Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
, and actress Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Alex Breckenridge
Alex Breckenridge
Alexandra "Alex" Breckenridge is an American film and television actress, photographer and voice artist. Noted for her role as Willa McPherson on the television series Dirt, she also had a supporting role on the short lived series The Ex List...
, actor Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
and writer 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...
also made minor appearances.
Cultural references
Along with the episode's title, the Meg and Joe plot line heavily borrows from the storyline, as well as several scenes, of The Hand That Rocks the CradleThe Hand That Rocks the Cradle (film)
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a 1992 American thriller about a vengeful nanny out to destroy a naïve woman and steal her family. The film was directed by Curtis Hanson, starring Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, and Matt McCoy...
. The scene where Evil Stewie appears in the empty machine is a direct homage to the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
episode "The Enemy Within," down to the lighting and piano fill, which has a similar premise involving an evil duplicate of Captain Kirk. While driving Meg to school, Joe asks what Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
is, asking if the popular singer is "a band", "a soda", or "a store", among other things. Stewie shown with yellow eyes and Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
's laughter is a direct reference to Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "Thriller" music video.
Reception
"The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" was broadcast on March 6, 2011, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by 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 Bob's Burgers
Bob's Burgers
Bob's Burgers is an American animated television sitcom, which premiered on January 9, 2011 on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series was created by Loren Bouchard and focuses on the Belcher family, who runs a hamburger restaurant. On April 7, 2011, Bob's Burgers was renewed for a second season...
, and followed by Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
's spin-off, 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 watched by 6.23 million viewers, 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...
, despite airing simultaneously with 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...
, Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
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...
and the season premiere of The Celebrity Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. season 11)
The Celebrity Apprentice 4 is the eleventh installment of the United States version of the reality television series, The Apprentice. On May 16, 2010, NBC announced that the show would be returning to its Celebrity Apprentice format after returning to its regular version for the tenth season of...
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...
. The episode also acquired a 3.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and The Cleveland Show in addition to significantly edging out all three shows in total viewership. The episode's ratings decreased somewhat from the previous week's episode.
Television critics reacted mostly positive toward the episode, calling the storyline "a decent return to wacky adventures of Quahog." In a simultaneous review of the episodes of The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers that preceded the show, and the episode of The Cleveland Show that followed it, 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...
s Rowan Kaiser wrote, "It was still weird and a bit experimental: An awkward conversation between Meg and Joe was done almost naturalistically, while an evil Stewie clone engaged in hyper-violence beyond the usual implied cartoon violence. It wasn't as funny as it should be, but it did have its moments." Kaise went on to criticize Meg's role in the episode, commenting, "The problem with Meg isn't just that she's treated as a punching bag by the show; it's that as either a normal character or as the butt of all the jokes, she's almost never funny or interesting." He concluded his review by stating, "I'm not sure I liked it, but I did engage with it, which is an improvement over the last few weeks of the show," and ultimately gave the episode a C+ rating, placing it third out of four, being beaten by The Simpsons episode "The Scorpion's Tale
The Scorpion's Tale
"The Scorpion's Tale" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 6, 2011.-Plot:...
" and the Bob's Burgers episode "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?", and beating The Cleveland Show episode "The Blue, The Gray and The Brown
The Cleveland Show (season 2)
Season 2 of The Cleveland Show, an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane, began airing on September 26, 2010 and ended after 22 episodes on May 15, 2011...
". In slightly more positive review of the episode, Jason Hughes of TV Squad praised the episode for its Meg-centric storyline, writing, "Meg is great as the incredibly needy, creepy, crazy, stalker type." Hughes also praised actress Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...
for her portrayal of Meg, noting, "almost expected her to turn into Annie Wilkes
Annie Wilkes
Anne Marie Wilkes Dugan, usually known as Annie Wilkes, is a fictional character and the antagonist/main villain in the 1987 novel Misery, by Stephen King. In the 1990 film adaptation of the novel, Annie Wilkes was portrayed by Kathy Bates, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal...
from Misery
Misery (film)
Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes...
and strap Joe to a bed." Hughes also stated his concern about the developments in the Stewie storyline writing, "I wonder if this was an acknowledgement that Stewie has changed with an intention to try and bring some of his edge back, or more like a swan song farewell to that level of callousness."
The Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
, a conservative media watchdog group that frequently criticizes Seth MacFarlane works, named "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" its "Worst TV Show of the Week" for the week ending on September 2, 2011, basing the review on a repeat broadcast. It got this rating due to sexual content, drug references and excessive violence. Specifically cited were scenes where Quagmire tries to proposition sex to Bonnie in an "aw, shucks" manner, the evil Stewie clone's vicious behavior and Bonnie being detained at the airport for (unknowingly) bringing a weapon into the airport.