Mr. Saturday Knight
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"Mr. Saturday Knight" is an episode of Family Guy. It's name is a shot at the movie Mr. Saturday Night, starring Billy Crystal. It guest-stars Will Ferrell as the Black Knight, R. Lee Ermey as the Renaissance Fair jousting instructor, Adam Carolla as Death and Jimmy Kimmel as Death's dog. This is Mr. Weed's last appearance due to his death. Also "A Fish Out of Water" is continued partially to this episode.
Plot summary
When Peter appears at Career Day for Chris's class, the kids are not impressed with his menial job at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory; even nerdy pharmacist Mort Goldman receives a better response. Peter begins to worry that he is stuck at a dead-end job within the company, so Lois encourages him to invite his boss, Mr. Weed, to dinner. First, to impress Mr. Weed, the children sing "So Long, Farewell" from the musical The Sound of Music. The occasion proceeds surprisingly well, and Mr. Weed is quite impressed with Peter's home, family and referred to Brian as the "funny talking dog". He compares Lois' cooking to Emeril Lagasse. When Mr. Weed mentions that he will promote Peter to head of toy development, Brian begins choking on a dinner roll. When Peter and Lois try to get it out with the Heimlich Maneuver, it ejects out of Brian's mouth and into Mr. Weed's, causing him to choke on it and die.
At Mr. Weed's funeral, Peter pathetically attempts to convince his co-workers of Mr. Weed's dying promise to promote him (via a mustachioed hand puppet). Mr. Weed's videotaped will, however, reveals that immediately after his death, the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory is to be demolished to make way for the Happy-Go-Lucky Terminal Disease Institute. As promised, the building is immediately razed and all workers are laid off.
Peter experiences difficulties in finding a new career, and even tries to become a cheap hooker. Lois reminds him of his long-standing dream of becoming a Renaissance fair jouster. In a flashback, Peter remembers how he had a bad acid trip as a teenager. He jumped from a roof while attempting to fly and was saved by the Black Knight (Will Ferrell) on horseback. Peter enrolls in joust training with Mort, displaying enthusiasm but little patience for speaking in "ye"s and "thou"s. When the Black Knight's girlfriend flirts with Peter, the Knight bullies him into leaving the Fair. Peter remains inconsolable despite his family's encouragement but decides to watch the joust from the stands.
Unsurprisingly, the Black Knight defeats all challengers, inspiring Mort to flee in terror, before their horses near each other. The Black Knight notices Peter in the stands and begins berating him. Suddenly determined to defeat the Black Knight, Peter challenges him. Certain doom is averted when the Black Knight is distracted by an announcement that his Hyundai is being towed (by a vengeful Mort). Peter unhorses him and wins the competition. Peter refuses an offer to join the Renaissance Fair as their new champion jouster, and the family leaves for home. They note that Peter still has no job. Lois says the situation reminds her of the episode of The Honeymooners in which Ralph lost his job and did not get it back by the end of the episode.
Notes
- One of the classmates of Chris is also seen in "To Love and Die in Dixie" but featured as Chris's crush, Barbara.
- In the DVD commentary for this episode, Seth MacFarlane comments that, in the scene where Peter tries out prostitution as a job, the censors would not allow them to use the term "half and half" (a sexual 'service' - half oral sex, half vaginal sex). The censors did allow the term "Cleveland steamer", which MacFarlane cheerfully admitted is a much more vile, if lesser known, concept. Most viewers would assume it had something to do with Cleveland Brown. Although it remains unedited on Adult Swim and on DVD, the "Cleveland steamer" reference has since been cut out of rebroadcasts on FOX and in syndication, since the term has become more widely-known. The Cleveland steamer was later indirectly referenced in the episode "Long John Peter", in which the procedure was partially explained, though the name was obviously not used this time around.
- For the end credits, a "medieval" version of the theme song is heard.
- According to MacFarlane on the DVD commentary for this episode, the estate of Rodgers and Hammerstein asked that an unrelated "fart joke" be removed from the script before approving the use of the song "So Long, Farewell."
- Ollie Williams makes his first appearance, shouting "It's gonna rain!" as his entire weather report.
- The lances the jousters use would actually be used for war, since they have sharpened ends. Jousting in a tournment would have blunt knobs on the end.
Cultural references
- The Renaissance Fair juggler refers to Asian Reporter Trisha Takanawa as "bride of Genghis", referring to 13th century Asian conqueror Genghis Khan.
- Stewie plays Mad Libs based on the fairy tale Cinderella.
- Margot Kidder's behavior at the Griffins' house is a reference to the manic-depressive actress's 1996 mental breakdown [1].
- A flashback shows Peter on the 1970s educational show The Electric Company which also appeared in the episode "Hell Comes to Quahog" when they sing the introduction.
- Shortly after Mr. Weed's arrival for dinner, Peter blows a tune on a whistle to call the kids downstairs, and they come to attention & call out their own names. This references The Sound of Music, in which Captain Georg Ritter von Trapp introduces his children to Maria (with Stewie further referencing the film by calling himself "Liesl" after the von Trapps' eldest daughter).
- It is learned the original surname of Mr. Weed family was Bermudagrass. Bermuda grass, while prized for its hardiness, is sometimes considered to be a weed. Both are also slang terms for marijuana.
- Peter's eulogy at Mr. Weed's funeral drifts into the opening of the television series The Incredible Hulk; he takes a picture of Jesus Christ and covers half his face with a picture of the Hulk.
- Chris watches a rerun of the 1970s popular game show Match Game with host Gene Rayburn reading this question to the panel: "Forgetful Freddy was so forgetful, when he tried to remember someone's name he drew a blank", parodying the show's use of fill-in-the-blank queries.
- When Peter has his flashback to when he is eighteen, "Sunshine of Your Love" can be heard in the background.
- The entire LSD/cheeseburger joke is a parody of how members of the Manson Family fed member Linda Kasabian a cheeseburger laced with LSD in order to get her to change the story of her testify against Charles Manson in his trial for the Tate-LaBianca murders.
- The scene, when jousting instructor orders Mort to roar and Peter laughs, resembles Full Metal Jacket (which R. Lee Ermey starred in, thus mimicking the scene in the film).
- In his speech, the jousting instructor asks the cadets if they get sexually excited by the concept of a geocentric universe, and that they should want to make astronomer Johannes Kepler their collective bitch.
- The "Mutton Jeff" food stall is a reference to the comic strip Mutt and Jeff.
- When a server at the fair speaks in early modern English, Peter says "Listen you freak, we don't all watch Frasier", a reference to that show's high-brow appeal.
- When Peter flirts with the Knight's wench by seductively waving things in front of his face (including his mutton), it is a reference to a similar scene in the Woody Allen film Love and Death.
- The monks reprise Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2", a once popular song at sporting events, into a Gregorian chant.
References
- S. Callaghan, "Mr. Saturday Knight". Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 152–155.
- A. Delarte, "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 3" in Bob's Poetry Magazine, 2.August 2005: 44 http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Au.pdf