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The Son Also Draws

"The Son Also Draws" is the sixth episode of the first
season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It "The Son Also Draws"
originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 9, 1999. Family Guy episode
The episode follows Chris as he is ejected from the Youth
Episode no. Season 1
Scouts, and Peter drives the family to Scout headquarters to
Episode 6
get him readmitted. During a rest stop at a Native American
casino, Lois gambles away the family car. Peter pretends to be Directed by Neil Affleck
a member of the tribe in an attempt to get it back, and is sent Written by Ricky Blitt
on a vision quest to prove his heritage, giving him and Chris
an opportunity to bond. Production code 1ACX06
Original air date May 9, 1999
"The Son Also Draws" was written by Ricky Blitt and directed
by Neil Affleck, both working on their first Family Guy Guest appearances
episode. The episode guest starred actors Suzie Plakson, Kevin
Michael Richardson, Fred Tatasciore and Wally Wingert. Suzie Plakson
Recurring guest voice actors included writer and animator Kevin Michael Richardson as
Butch Hartman and actor Patrick Bristow. Much of the Howard Cunningham
episode's humor is structured around cutaway sequences that
Fred Tatasciore as Fonzie
parody popular culture, including references to Speed Racer,
Happy Days, Nova, One Day at a Time, and The More You Wally Wingert
Know. Bobby Slayton as Leonard
Cornfeathers
Critical reception for the episode was favorable; certain critics
believed the episode was not an "instant classic" in contrast to
the other episodes of the season but called it "memorable" and "brilliant" nevertheless, while
others regarded it as the black sheep of the season. The episode caused controversy in Canada for
the episode's final gag, in which Peter states that "Canada sucks." Ricky Blitt, the episode's writer,
is himself Canadian.

Plot
Chris hates being in the Youth Scouts and wants to quit, but is afraid to tell his father Peter. Chris
is finally kicked out when he runs over the troop leader during a Soap Box Derby. Peter insists on
driving Chris and the rest of the family (Peter's wife Lois, their daughter Meg and their infant
Stewie) to the Youth Scout headquarters, in Manhattan, to get Chris readmitted. While they are
gone, their talking dog Brian is watching Nova just as the show is interrupted to show several
episodes of the sitcom One Day at a Time. He tries to change the channel, but is unable to do so
(nor can he turn the TV off), losing his intelligence shortly after watching a few episodes.

The family stops at a Native American casino as Peter needs to use the bathroom, Lois quickly
becomes addicted to gambling and loses the family car. After hearing that Lois has gambled the car
away, Peter tries to get it back by claiming to be Native American. The doubtful Indian elders
demand that he go on a vision quest to prove his heritage. Chris accompanies Peter into the
wilderness, hoping to tell him that he only wants to draw instead of being in the Scouts. Delirious
from hunger, Peter begins talking to anthropomorphic trees and sees a vision of his spiritual guide,
Fonzie. After hearing Fonzie's advice Peter finally listens to Chris's complaints and realizes his son
is a talented artist.

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Peter and Chris return to the casino and reclaim the car. The episode ends with Lois, Stewie, and
Meg counteracting stereotypes about Native Americans, Mexicans, and Swedes, respectively,
before Peter comments that "Canada sucks."

Production
"The Son Also Draws" was written by Ricky Blitt, his first episode in the
Family Guy series, and directed by former Simpsons director Neil
Affleck, also in his first Family Guy episode.[1] Peter Shin and Roy Allen
Smith, who have since supervised other episodes of Family Guy, both
acted as supervising directors on this episode.[1] Alex Borstein, the voice
of Lois, helped write this episode, making her the first female member in
the Family Guy writing staff; show creator Seth MacFarlane mentioned
that her input on the character of Lois was particularly helpful.[2]
Andrew Gormley and voice actor Mike Henry acted as staff writers for
this episode, while Ricky Blitt, Neil Goldman and Chris Sheridan worked
Alex Borstein helped in as the story editors.[1] The subplot of "The Son Also Draws" that involved
the writing of the Lois losing the car was based on the 1985 comedy film Lost in
episode. America.[2] The part where Peter pretends to be an Indian to get the
family car back was inspired by real-life instances of people who were
"1/64th" Native American receiving money from wealthy casino tribes.[2]

In addition to the regular cast, "The Son Also Draws" featured the voices of actors Suzie Plakson,
Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Tatasciore and Wally Wingert.[1] Recurring guest voice actors
included writer and animator Butch Hartman and actor Patrick Bristow.[1]

Cultural references
The television show the family is watching near the beginning of the show is an episode from the
1974 ABC sitcom Happy Days.[3]

When the rest of the family is gone on the trip to Manhattan, Brian watches an episode of Nova,
which is interrupted by a PBS announcement that they will be showing various episodes of One
Day at a Time.[3]

Speed and Pops from Speed Racer make an appearance at the Soap Box Derby starting line and
again when the Griffins prepare to leave for Manhattan.

When Peter has to search for his spiritual guide, it turns out to be Fonzie from Happy Days.[3]

The song sung by trees is Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin.

The end of the episode features a parody of the series of public service announcements The More
You Know.[3]

Reception
Reviews for "The Son Also Draws" were mixed to favorable. In a 2008 review, Ahsan Haque of
IGN rated the episode an 8/10, stating that while the episode is not an "instant classic", it is "still
quite strong" and has "more than a few clever moments". He also notes that the cutaways are "kept
to a minimum", and much of the humor comes from the storyline. He commented that the episode
did not have as many laugh-out-loud moments as other episodes, but stated that it had bolder

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humor than the show would later be known for.[3] In his review of the first volume DVD collection
of Family Guy, Aaron Beierle of DVD Talk listed "The Son Also Draws" as one of the series' "most
brilliant moments", praising the spiritual vision sequence and naming the conversation between
Peter and Brian among the best moments of the series, calling the conversation "rolling-on-the-
floor funny."[4]

Robin Pierson of The TV Critic, however, was far more hostile towards the episode, giving it the
lowest rating of the season, a 44 out of 100.[5] Pierson believed the episode was "very poor" and
called the storyline "lame" and "unfocussed [sic]," with "a bunch of jokes to match."[5] The gag at
the end of the episode, in which Peter states that "Canada sucks", inspired anger from Canadian
viewers of the show, which led them to send letters to the show's producers.[2] Ricky Blitt, the
writer of the episode and the person responsible for the controversial gag, is Canadian.[6]

Home media
"The Son Also Draws" and the complete first and second seasons of the series were released under
the title Family Guy Volume One; this standard four-disc DVD box set debuted in Region 1 on
April  15,  2003,[7] three months before the premiere of the third season. Distributed by 20th
Century Fox Television, it included several DVD extras such as episode commentaries, behind-the-
scenes footage, and online promo spots.[7][8][9] The same episodes, without the special features,
were released in Region 2 on November 12, 2001 and in Region 4 on October 20, 2003.[10][11]

References
1. "Family Guy – Mind Over Murder Cast and crew" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012101707374
3/https://tv.yahoo.com/family-guy/show/chitty-chitty-death-bang/episode/1546). Yahoo!.
Archived from the original (https://tv.yahoo.com/family-guy/show/chitty-chitty-death-bang/episo
de/1546) on 2012-10-17. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
2. MacFarlane, Seth (2003). Family Guy volume 1 DVD commentary for the episode "The Son
Also Draws" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
3. Haque, Ahsan. "Family Guy: "The Son Also Draws" Review" (http://tv.ign.com/articles/883/883
786p1.html). IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
4. Beierle, Aaron (2003-03-21). "Family Guy Volume 1" (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/5879/fa
mily-guy-volume-1/). DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
5. Pierson, Robin (2009-08-18). "Episode 6: The Son Also Draws" (http://thetvcritic.org/the-son-al
so-draws/). The TV Critic. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
6. Callaghan, Steve (2005). Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3 (https://books.
google.com/books?id=gyIVS0q09ZsC&q=family+guy). New York: Harper Collins. p. 32.
ISBN 978-0-06-083305-3.
7. "Family Guy – Volume 1" (https://web.archive.org/web/20121015144536/http://www.tvshowson
dvd.com/releases/Family-Guy-Volume-Release/1666). TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from
the original (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Family-Guy-Volume-Release/1666) on
October 15, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
8. Conrad, Jeremy (March 20, 2003). "Family Guy - Volume 1: DVD Review" (http://uk.dvd.ign.co
m/articles/390/390195p1.html). IGN. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
9. "Family Guy – Vol. 1 (Seasons 1 & 2) DVD" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110716035054/htt
p://foxshop.seenon.com/detail.php?p=52257&v=fox_shows_family-guy_dvds-cds-books-mor
e). Fox Shop. Archived from the original (http://foxshop.seenon.com/detail.php?p=52257&v=fo
x_shows_family-guy_dvds-cds-books-more) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2010.

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10. "Family Guy  Season 1 DVD" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110719081011/http://www.dvdorc

hard.com.au/ProductS1TV.asp?PND=107727&CS=1&NoCache=0.5207025). dvdorchard.
Archived from the original (http://www.dvdorchard.com.au/ProductS1TV.asp?PND=107727&C
S=1&NoCache=0.5207025) on July 19, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
11. "Family Guy – Season 1" (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00005OL9E). Amazon.co.uk.
Retrieved November 3, 2009.

Callaghan, Steve. "The Son Also Draws". Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–
3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 34–37.

External links
Television portal

"The Son Also Draws" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0576972/) at IMDb

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