Back to the Woods (Family Guy)

"Back to the Woods"
Family Guy episode
James Woods confronts Peter.
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 9
Directed by	Brian Iles
Written by	Tom Devanney
Production code	6ACX02
Original air date	February 17, 2008
Guest stars
James Woods as Himself Barry Manilow as Himself Dave Van Dam as David Letterman Stephen Stanton
Episode chronology
← Previous "McStroke" Next → "Play It Again, Brian"
Family Guy (season 6) List of Family Guy episodes

"Back to the Woods" is the ninth episode of season six in the FOX animated series Family Guy that aired on February 17, 2008. James Woods and Barry Manilow play themselves in special guest appearances, and impressionist Dave Van Dam portrays David Letterman. The episode is a sequel to "Peter's Got Woods".

Plot

Peter and his friends attend a Barry Manilow concert at which Manilow serenades Quagmire with a new version of his hit song "Mandy". After the concert, Peter realizes that he has left his wallet at the stadium. He soon discovers that someone is using his credit card to buy very expensive items. After receiving a bank statement, Peter and Brian track the culprit to a Chinese restaurant and discover him to be James Woods. Naturally, Woods is bitter towards Peter and, having stolen his wallet, is maxing out his credit card in his plan for revenge. Peter and Brian angrily demand that the wallet be returned immediately, but Woods refuses and leaves, saying that he is just getting started.

Peter and Brian return home to find Woods there again, having claimed property of his house and possessions with the documents in Peter's wallet. Woods calls Joe over to remove Peter from "his" house. The Griffins are outraged by this, but Joe has no other choice but to abide his request now that Woods has stolen Peter's identity; he even refers to Woods as "Peter". Woods has successfully stolen everything Peter has. Further more, Woods humiliates Peter more by compelling Joe to force Peter to take off all his clothes for Woods, leaving Peter naked.

The Griffins are resentful of Woods for what he has done, especially Lois and Brian. As Brian swears that Woods will not get away with what he has done, Woods responds by calling him an 'outdoor dog' and ties Brian up to a pole outside, much to Brian's anger. Unfortunately, Peter is forced to stay off of Woods' property (since Woods is armed with a shotgun). As Woods tries to weasel his way into the Griffins' lives to destroy them, Peter and Brian move into a hotel together, with Peter swearing to return to his family. Peter attempts to sneak into the house, disguising himself as one of Chris' friends from school. His happy yet secret reunion with his family is cut short, unfortunately, as his identity is revealed to the suspicious Woods after he tricks Peter into taking off his hat. Peter begins to give up until Brian points out that identity theft works both ways and he can assume Woods' identity himself and get revenge on him by discrediting him to the general public. Peter agrees to it because it's the only way to get rid of him.

Stewie helps forge a fake ID card for Peter to use at Brian's urging. Live on The Late Show with David Letterman he convinces the general public and David Letterman that he is James Woods. Peter soon makes several inconsiderate remarks that discredits Woods' reputation, such as mentioning that he is starring in a comedy based on 9/11 called September 11, 2000-FUN!, which he claims focuses on a window washer who sees the plane coming toward him while he wipes the window of the Twin Towers and exclaims, "Aw, c'mon!". He also claims that it would be an old-school comedy with two pies to the face, and one on a field in Pennsylvania. Letterman refuses to hear any more of the movie. Peter also claims that the plane will be voiced by comedian David Spade. The real Woods is furious and says he would never work with Spade. Peter's remarks outrage the American public.

At the Drunken Clam, Peter and Brian are watching the news in triumph as the public continues their riot destroying Woods' estate. Woods is furious and confronts him wanting to settle their conflict once and for all. Peter and Brian lure him into an alley with a trail of Reese's Pieces and trap him in a crate again; Peter, in a rare moment of hindsight, tells Brian that they should remember this immediately if Woods ever returns again, since he has already fallen for it twice. Peter reunites with Lois and the rest of his family, and Lois asks Peter what happened to Woods. In a parody of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Peter tells her that Woods has been sent to be studied by "top men" again, actually being returned to the warehouse.

Reception

This episode was watched by 7.2 million and had a 3.6/8 audience share. Ahsan Haque of IGN stated that the episode "doesn't quite live up to the other outings seen prior to the writers' strike" but it contains "a few entertaining moments". He rated "Back to the Woods" 6.4 out of 10. Jay Black of TV Squad praised the episode, saying that it had "a great returning guest star, a higher-than-average number of laughs, and a clear story from beginning to end". Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club also gave "Back to the Woods" a positive review, stating that she enjoyed Woods's performance and "the show's meta-moments, when it blatantly makes fun of its own tics". She graded the episode B.

External links

• "Back to the Woods (Family Guy)" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Back to the Woods" at TV.com

Preceded by McStroke

Family Guy (season 6)

Succeeded by Play It Again, Brian