Brian Sings and Swings
Meg pretends to be a lesbian; Brian joins Frank Sinatra Jr.
The 69th episode of Family Guy, and the 19th of its fourth season, aired on January 8, 2006. In it, Brian starts singing onstage with Frank Sinatra Jr. and Stewie. Meanwhile, Meg fakes being a lesbian to get into her school’s Lesbian Alliance Club. Michael Rowe wrote it, with Chuck Klein and Zac Moncrief directing.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Family Guy
- Season
- 4
- Episode
- 19
- Air date
- 8 January 2006
- Production
- 4ACX21
- Writer
- Michael Rowe
- Director
- Chuck Klein; Zac Moncrief
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Peter hits Brian with his car while backing up, sending him to the hospital. Meg befriends a girl named Sarah and is offered a place in the Lesbian Alliance Club. After realizing she is considered a lesbian, Meg pretends to be one to gain popularity, though Lois mocks her. Brian, depressed after the accident, begins performing with Frank Sinatra Jr. and adopts a positive outlook. Stewie joins them, forming "The new Rat Pack." After a drunken performance, Brian loses Stewie, who returns home with his ear bitten off by a deer. Peter demands Brian stop performing and threatens to call Sinatra's mother, Mia Farrow. Brian bites Peter's arm, making Peter afraid. Brian later quits performing and drinks from a gutter, but Stewie gives him a pep talk. Meg confesses to Sarah that she is not a lesbian, while Sarah thought Meg came for sex. The episode ends with Stewie, Brian, and Sinatra Jr. singing until Mia Farrow intervenes, spanking Frank in front of the audience.
Production
Scripts and production materials were altered extensively due to the musical performances requiring frequent rewrites. Seth MacFarlane noted that having Frank Sinatra Jr. on board was a pleasure for the team. The scene where Meg sees Chris in the bathroom parodies a scene from The Empire Strikes Back, using the actual recording of "The Imperial March" with permission from John Williams and Lucasfilm. The synopsis focusing on Meg becoming a lesbian was because MacFarlane believed the United States loved lesbians. When Brian and Stewie perform on stage, the scene originally appeared wrong due to mismatched movement. Brian comments on Stewie's weird laugh, which was performed by Ricky Blitt, the only time MacFarlane did not voice Stewie.
Cultural references
The song Brian and Sinatra Jr. perform was originally composed for the 1960 film High Time and later used in a 1973 movie. Another performance was based on a composition from the film Scared Stiff. Meg's claim of being a super mega-lesbian leads Sarah to mention other super-mega-lesbians who sing "Elvira" by the Oak Ridge Boys. A cutaway features Thomas Edison hoarding electricity and fighting Alexander Graham Bell, mentioning The Office and playing "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix. Stewie calls Brian's advice "the Chris Farley method. Quagmire emerges from a closet with electric equipment, followed by filmmaker Mark and his friend Mike, a reference to the 1999 documentary American Movie.
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