Holy Crap
| "Holy Crap" |
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Holy Crap is an episode from the FOX animated series Family Guy. This was the ninth episode of Family Guy to be aired. It was produced for season one and aired in season two. After this episode, FOX put the series on hiatus, and then new episodes were shown irregularly thereafter. Guest starring Charles Durning as Francis Griffin, Dwight Schultz as the Pope, Carlos Alazraqui as Mr. Weed and Florence Stanley as Thelma Griffin (the wife of Francis Griffin).
Plot summary
Peter's religiously devout father Francis is forced to retire from his job at the mill. Peter brings his dad to live with his family (much to Lois' chagrin, since Francis hates her because she's Protestant and Peter is Catholic) and immediately problems start. He yells at Chris for masturbating in the bathroom when he is merely defecating, and makes Meg feel guilty for holding hands with a neighbor boy. Chris becomes convinced that defecation is a sin. When Francis is hired at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory where Peter works, he displays excellent proficiency and, when he is made foreman, he fires Peter. Peter decides to "kidnap" the Pope. He accomplishes this by taking the place of the Pope's regular driver. The driver has a medical condition that means a blow to the head will harmlessly knock him out for some time. Peter brings the Pope back to his house and His Holiness attempts to mediate his problems.
Peter and Francis reconcile at the end, and Francis is hired for a job with the Pope's tour of the United States. Francis becomes a security guard for the Pope, pushing down random people who are in the way, including FOX personnel. At the end of the episode, Peter's mom shows up at the door and wishes to live with the family, prompting them to jump in a pod to escape.
Notes
- The character of Francis Griffin could be compared to the character of Joseph from Wuthering Heights. Both characters are very old, with a strong accent and uses the Bible to make people do what they want.
- Patrick Warburton, who voices Joe Swanson on the show, appears in this episode voicing Superman (whom he also voiced on a commercial for American Express with Jerry Seinfeld).
- This episode marks the first appearance of Vern, the Vaudeville Guy; his piano-playing partner, Johnny, does not appear until the episode "Blind Ambition".
- At the end of the episode:
- When the Pope is walking to the church, an atheist symbol is seen on on the building behind him.
- When Peter's mom knocks on the door and demands entry, it is nighttime. However, a few seconds later when the family jumps into the pod and is launched, it is daytime.
- Francis Griffin next appears in the episode "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" (and has a cameo in "The Perfect Castaway" with Thelma for the mourning of Peter, Cleveland, Joe and Quagmire). He also makes another (and last) appearance in "Peter's Two Dads", where he is killed after Peter falls on him. It is also revealed in that episode that he is not Peter's biological father.
- During the scene in which the Pope enters the Griffin household, Lois greeted the Pope by calling him His Holiness, but she is a Protestant.
- Although the Pope at the time was Pope John Paul II, the pope in this episode had a resemblance to Pope John XXIII.
Cultural references
 | This article may contain minor, trivial or unrelated fictional references. |
- A commercial parodies the Got Milk? ad campaign.
- The Pope's entrance music (when he gets off the plane in Boston) is taken from the opening of Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose". The Song is used again in North By North Quahog in a parody of the Mall Chase Scene from The Blues Brothers Movie.
- After Brian mentions the Old Testament story in which "God told Abraham to kill Isaac", a cutaway shows President Abraham Lincoln shooting bartender Isaac from The Love Boat.
- Peter uses a Curious George story for one from the Bible while trying to impress his dad.
- The Griffins watch an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, which parodies Van Dyke's physical humor.
- The lyrics to the unofficial Major League Baseball anthem Take Me Out to the Ball Game make their way into Brian and Peter's conversation. (i.e. Peter: "He left after I asked him to buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks." / Brian: "I don't care if he ever gets back... I wasn't being cute; I really hope he's dead.")
- Peter imagines his father-son business with himself as Lamont Sanford and his father as Fred G. Sanford of Sanford and Son.
- Peter says that baseball worked as a means of male bonding that worked for Rosie O'Donnell and his dad in A League of Their Own.
- When imagining himself in Hell, Peter meets Adolf Hitler, Al Capone, John Wilkes Booth and Superman, who killed a hooker for making a joke about him being "faster than a speeding bullet".
- The back of the jacket of one of the Pope's road managers reads "Pope-a-Palooza", a reference to the alternative rock festival Lollapalooza.
- Peter drives the Pope past the death squad from the movie Cool Hand Luke.
- The popularized word "Jebus"; a convalution of Jesus, was later used in the The Simpsons episode "Missionary: Impossible".
- The Pope comments that he doesn't think that he is in Boston, and Peter supposedly points out Harvard, but instead points to a barn. When the Pope says "That's just a barn", Peter replies "Ohh, someone went to Yale!", a reference to the fierce rivalry between Yale and Harvard.
- Mirroring the end of The Wizard of Oz, Peter gives encouraging talks to the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, but instead of the Cowardly Lion, he compliments out-of-the-spotlight actress Kristy McNichol.
- The sequence in which Peter exclaims "To the Popemobile!" parodies sequences in which Batman and Robin rush to the Batmobile in the 1960s Batman television series (which starred Family Guy cast member Adam West). It can also be interpreted as a fairly obscure reference to a Monty Python sketch The Bishop (read transcript here[1], watch here[2]).
- The license plate of the Popemobile reads ZL PA PA and IL PA PA. "Il Papa" means "the Pope" in Italian.
- Peter takes his family along with Francis to a Pawtucket Red Sox game. Although, when buying a Hot Dog, he refers to it as a Fenway Frank. Fenway Franks are only sold under that name at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts which is home to the Boston Red Sox.
References
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (February 2008) |
- Callaghan, Steve. “Holy Crap.” Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 47–49.
- Delarte, Alonso. “Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 2.” Bob’s Poetry Magazine May 2005: 7–8. http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02My.pdf