The Kiss Seen Around the World

"The Kiss Seen Around the World"
Family Guy episode
Meg and Neil share their moment.
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 8
Directed by	Pete Michels
Written by	Mark Hentemann
Production code	3ACX02
Original air date	August 29, 2001
Guest stars
Michael Chiklis as Holden Caulfield Hugh Downs as Himself Ralph Garman as Dustin Hoffman Josh Peck as Charlie the Bully (uncredited) Nicole Sullivan as Muriel Goldman Abe Vigoda as Himself Lisa Wilhoit as Connie D'Amico
Episode chronology
← Previous "Lethal Weapons" Next → "Mr. Saturday Knight"
Family Guy (season 3) List of Family Guy episodes

"The Kiss Seen Around the World" is the eighth episode from the third season of the FOX animated series Family Guy. It is the 36th episode to be aired, and the first aired episode produced for season 3. It guest stars Michael Chiklis as Holden Caulfield, Hugh Downs as himself, Josh Peck as Charlie the bully (uncredited), Ralph Garman as Dustin Hoffman, Abe Vigoda as himself, Nicole Sullivan as Muriel Goldman, and Lisa Wilhoit as Connie D'Amico. The episode is rated TV-PG-DV in the United States. It was written by Mark Hentemann and directed by Pete Michels, both firsts in the Family Guy series.

The scenes in this episode featuring slow motion use more frames of animation than other scenes.

Plot summary

Channel 5 announces they want two high school interns, and Meg, who has a crush on news anchor Tom Tucker, applies and is selected entirely due to her relative unattractiveness. The other intern turns out to be Neil Goldman, who himself has a crush on Meg, though Meg finds him repulsive. When the Mass Media Murderer threatens to kill Hugh Downs atop City Hall, Tom and Diane decide to send the interns to cover the event (rather than go themselves, thinking that the Murderer will kill anyone who arrives at the scene). The news copter is shot down. Fearing death and lamenting that she never got her first kiss, Meg kisses Neil, but Hugh Downs captures the Mass Media Murderer. That very night, Neil puts the kiss on the news but, he did not say that she only kissed him because she thought she was going to die and makes everyone think he and Meg are a couple. The next day, Neil gives everyone at school a T-shirt showing the kiss, and that evening Meg has to suffer through a dinner with his parents.

Meanwhile, Peter and Lois buy Stewie a tricycle, which Stewie absolutely loves. A bully steals Stewie's tricycle. He gets no help from the police and, when he attempts to bulk up to fight the bully, a gym just tries to hard-sell him a membership. In retaliation, Stewie captures the bully with a net launcher and ties him up in the basement to interrogate him. However, just as Stewie is about to start torturing the bully, Lois appears with the tricycle, which she found abandoned on the street.

In return, Meg goes on TV to declare she hates Neil Goldman, and that she only kissed him was because she thought she was going to die. She then conducts on-the-street interviews, asking if anyone would kiss Neil. No one would; even Mort Goldman, Neil's father. She declares that she never liked him, and never will. A despondent Neil threatens to jump off the City Hall roof. Meg's image of Tom Tucker is shattered when she realizes he does not want to save Neil, but just get a funny story for ratings. Neil falls, but Meg breaks his fall. She tells him that just because she does not like him, it does not mean she wants him to kill himself. Neil tells her that he did not want to kill himself.

In another subplot, at the beginning of the episode, a man calls Peter a phony, because he pretends to play the piano. The man then proceeds to paint PHONY on Peter's car and humiliate him in public. The episode ends with the man calling Neil a phony when he reveals he was never planning to jump. The man is revealed as Holden Caulfield in the credits.

Cultural references

Mark Hentemann wrote his first episode.

The episode title is a parody of the famous description of the shot in Lexington, Massachusetts at the very start of the American Revolution, the “the shot heard around the world”, and the assassination that sparked World War I. The episode name can also refer to the famous home run by Bobby Thomson in 1951.

The man who frequently appears throughout the episode calling Peter (and later Neil) a phony is named Holden Caulfield in the credits, a reference to the character of the same name who is the protagonist of the 1951 book The Catcher in the Rye, known to use the word "phony" many times throughout the book.

When filming Stewie on his tricycle, Peter films a plastic bag "dancing" in the wind. This is a reference to the film American Beauty.

While Meg is watching the news, she fantasizes Tom Tucker diving into a pool and flirting with her when he gets out. This is a reference to Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

When Meg realises she is missing the news, Peter mistakes this for the band Huey Lewis and the News.

In a flashback of Peter and Brian visiting Christopher Colombus, the two don similar looks to Sherman and Mr. Peabody; the flashback also parodies the format of the show, with the two going back in time and Brian teaching Peter.

When the Griffins have the Goldmans over for dinner, Mort Goldman talks about how he was bullied as a child. The story is similar to stories told by Sol Rosenberg, a fictional character created by The Jerky Boys. Mort's voice is nearly identical to Sol's both of which are done by Johnny Brennan.

When Stewie has the bully tied on the chair, he asks him age to which the bully replies, 'Seven.' Stewie then responds with 'Seven? My my you're practically a lady.' This is a reference to Julie Andrew's dialogue in The Sound of Music.

References

• S. Callaghan, “Kiss Seen Around the World.” Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 152–155.

External links

Preceded by Lethal Weapons

Family Guy (season 2)

Succeeded by Mr. Saturday Knight