A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas

"A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas"
Family Guy episode
Merry Christmas from Family Guy.
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 16
Directed by	Brian Hogan
Written by	Danny Smith
Production code	2ACX03
Original air date	December 21, 2001
Guest stars
Peter Criss as Himself Ace Frehley as Himself Gene Simmons as Himself Paul Stanley as Himself Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Wally Wingert
Episode chronology
← Previous "Ready, Willing, and Disabled" Next → "Brian Wallows and Peter’s Swallows"
Family Guy (season 3) List of Family Guy episodes

"A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas" is the 16th episode of the third season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, an episode produced for Season 2. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 21, 2001. The episode features the Griffin family, after father, Peter, accidentally gives all of his family's Christmas presents to charity. Unable to take them back, the family sets out to replace them on Christmas Eve, but are unable to do so. Meanwhile, the family dog, Brian, is left home alone, and is unable to put out a fire from the family's chimney, or oven, resulting in Peter's wife, Lois, finally being pushed over the edge and taking her anger out on the town's Christmas tree.

The episode was written by Danny Smith and directed by Brian Hogan, in his third episode, the first two being "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington" and "Lethal Weapons". The episode features guest performances by KISS, Jennifer Tilly and Wally Wingert, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.

Plot

Lois encourages Stewie to star as the baby Jesus in a nativity scene during the Quahog Christmas pageant. Although Stewie initially resists, he eventually plays along in hopes of pleasing Santa, whom he believes is omnipotent and thereby can supply him with plutonium.

After Lois repeatedly reminds Peter to donate a present to charity, he mistakenly donates all of the family's Christmas gifts to a needy kids' charity. Lois seems unfazed by the mistake, but insists that the entire family shop for new presents at the mall. Peter reluctantly agrees, although he only wants to watch Kiss Saves Santa on television; Brian stays behind to keep an eye on the turkey cooking in the oven. While at the mall, Peter finds a pair of barrettes that Meg wanted and ends up chasing down an old lady to a pet fish store called "Age of Aquariums", where the old lady throws fish food on him and all the fish jump on him while the old lady escapes.

Meanwhile at the Griffin house, an ember shoots onto the family rug from the fireplace. While Brian tries to deal with this crisis, the overcooked turkey begins to burn. Brian finds a fire extinguisher, but to his dismay, it is merely a novelty item filled with plastic snakes, which, upon being released into the fire, promptly explode and make it worse. When he rushes into the living room for the fire extinguisher (the real one), he slips on the foam from the real extinguisher and the TV falls on top of him. Afterwards the interior of the house is destroyed; Brian escapes, but with his hands burnt hairless. Amazingly, Lois maintains a cheerful attitude, saying that they just need to clean up a bit; but when Meg tells her that there are no more paper towels, Lois finally snaps, in a parody of the "wire hangers" scene from Mommie Dearest. She screams at the family about how difficult it is to ensure that Christmas happens without a hitch, then runs from the ruined house on a rampage (Meg then ironically finds some paper towels mere seconds after Lois' rampage).

Lois storms throughout the town, berating people for their ridiculous Christmas optimism. Lois also pushes George Bailey off a bridge in the scene from It's a Wonderful Life. Then, on the way to town square, she melts Frosty the Snowman. When Lois reaches the town square, she begins to climb the huge Christmas tree there, bent on destroying the ornamental star on top. The rest of the family arrives and Stewie, eager to perform a good deed to earn Santa's grace, performs an extemporaneous monologue about Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. Lois, watching Stewie, regains her sanity and begins to descend the tree; but Peter, who feels Lois still does not get it, orders the police to shoot her with a tranquilizer dart.

The next morning at Christmas, the family has gathered in the charred living room, happily opening their presents; Stewie gets his plutonium, Peter gets his own copy of Kiss Saves Santa, Brian gets at what first appears to be a wine bottle, but actually turns out to be a book of some type, and Lois, as Peter would put it, is as cheerful as ever, despite still being heavily sedated, sitting limply in a rocking chair and drooling. In the closing scene, the Griffins wishes everyone a Merry Christmas (though Lois is still too numb to speak clearly).

Syndicated cuts

• The line "I'm the virgin Mary; that's my story and I'm sticking to it" to "I'm the virgin Mary".
• The reflection of Stewie's buttocks on the ornament.
• The line the boy in the trailer park remarks about the VCR being named "Sony".
• Brian's statement after shooting the snakes out of the novelty fire extinguisher.

Reception

Alynda Wheat of Entertainment Weekly ranked the episode 21 on her list of "26 Classic Holiday TV Episodes".

References

• S. Callaghan, “Husband, Father...Brother?” Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 152–155.

External links

Preceded by Ready, Willing, and Disabled

Family Guy (season 3)

Succeeded by Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows