Tom Tucker

Lore & Background

In "Mother Tucker," Tom Tucker enters the Griffin family's life when Lois takes Thelma to a meeting for "single people," where Thelma meets Tom. They begin dating, which upsets Peter, who attempts to sabotage the new relationship. However, Tom eventually persuades Peter to let his mother be happy, and the two begin bonding. This bonding is cut short when Thelma suddenly ends the relationship, leaving Peter feeling abandoned and believing it is his fault. The next day, Peter learns that it is important for fathers and sons to spend time together, and tells Tom that he should spend more time with his own son, Jake, instead. A deleted scene would have revealed the origin of Jake's upside-down face, but it was removed from the broadcast. Tom also appears in a scene where Thelma tries to convince Peter to accept the relationship, saying, "Tom here has won a local Emmy for his work with the retardeds" — a line that was permitted despite Fox's rule against the word "retard" or "retarded."

Reader's Guide

Tom Tucker is defined by his deep, commanding voice and his professional demeanor as a news anchor. In "Mother Tucker," he is shown as a patient and persuasive figure, able to win over Peter's trust after initially being the target of his sabotage. He is also a father to Jake Tucker, a boy with an upside-down face, though the episode's deleted scene that would have explained this condition was not broadcast. Tom's key moments in the episode include his bonding with Peter, his spanking of Peter during the ice cream scene (a Kramer vs. Kramer reference), and his eventual departure from the relationship after Thelma ends it. The episode was written by Tom Devanney and directed by James Purdum, and it aired on September 17, 2006, to 9.23 million homes. Guest stars included Phyllis Diller as Thelma and Gore Vidal as himself.

Did You Know?

• Tom Tucker's son Jake has an upside-down face, but the scene revealing its origin was cut from the broadcast of "Mother Tucker."
• In the episode, Tom spanks Peter for eating ice cream during dinner, a reference to the 1979 film Kramer vs. Kramer and its 1995 Indian remake, Akele Hum Akele Tum.
• Author Gore Vidal appeared as himself in the episode, but left in disgust when Brian and Stewie's radio show turned into a low-brow shock jock format.