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April in Quahog

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Episode no.
  
Season 8 Episode 16

Written by
  
John Viener

Original air date
  
April 11, 2010

Directed by
  
Joseph Lee

Production code
  
7ACX18

April in Quahog

"April in Quahog" is the 16th episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 11, 2010. The episode features the Griffin family as they attempt to live out their last day on Earth, after hearing an announcement on the local news about a black hole that is sucking in the entire solar system. As the countdown approaches zero, Peter suddenly reveals his secret dislike of being in his children's presence, seconds before the world is expected to end. Then it is revealed that it is all an April Fools' joke, and Peter is left to attempt to win back his children's respect.

Contents

The episode was written by John Viener and directed by Joseph Lee. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 6.93 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by James Burkholder, Anne Hathaway and Jason Mraz, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "April in Quahog" was released on DVD along with ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.

Plot

The local news reports that Stephen Hawking has discovered a new black hole at the edge of the solar system, but the Griffin family pays no attention to the announcement. Peter alerts the family that he has been selected for jury duty, which he believes is an exclusive experience. After Brian informs him that everyone serves jury duty at some point, Peter tries to be kicked out of court by annoying the others, expressing fabricated prejudices, singing Surfin' Bird, and attempting to discuss the trial outside of the courtroom. When Peter returns home that night, the local news announces that the Earth will be destroyed by the newly discovered, and continually expanding, black hole within the next 24 hours. Frantic over the news, everyone in Quahog attempts to live out the best last day possible. Herbert finally attempts to have sex with Chris, Quagmire has sex with Bonnie, and Peter finally manages to steal a lion from the zoo and say the "you-know-what word" in a black neighborhood (he is well respected as a result). As the countdown reaches its final seconds, Peter confesses to Lois that while he loves her, he hates spending time with his kids. Immediately afterward, the news anchors reveal the black hole report was an April Fools' joke.

Stunned at their father's newly revealed hatred, Meg, Chris and Stewie avoid Peter. After realizing how angry they are, Peter tries to reconcile with his kids by spending time with each of them. However, he and his kids share no common interests and Peter only makes things worse by using the methamphetamine he had wanted to share with Chris. After a heartfelt speech does not work, Peter finally buys his kids' love by giving them a new Xbox 360, and they proclaim Peter "the best father ever". At the end of the show, Peter plays Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, albeit terribly, much to the other players' fury, two of them being Quagmire and Joe who tell Peter he sucks at the game.

Production and development

As his first official episode for the series, the episode was directed by Joseph Lee, who had previously served as an assistant director and storyboard artist for the show. In addition, the episode was written by series regular John Viener, his second episode for the season, the first being "Jerome is the New Black". In promoting the episode, an image of Stan and Francine Smith meeting and speaking with Lois and Peter, along with an image of Peter, Brian, Joe and Quagmire drinking cans of beer in front of the house from King of the Hill was released by 20th Century Fox. A press release of a purported crossover was also made public. Having released the information on April Fools' Day, the crossover was revealed to be an April Fools' joke after the episode aired without a crossover occurring.

"April in Quahog", along with the eleven other episodes from Family Guy's eighth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on December 13, 2011. The sets include brief audio commentaries by various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes and animatics, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "And Then There Were Fewer", a mini-feature entitled "The Comical Adventures of Family Guy – Brian & Stewie: The Lost Phone Call", and footage of the Family Guy panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International.

In addition to the regular cast, voice actor James Burkholder, actress Anne Hathaway and singer and performer Jason Mraz guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Lori Alan, Johnny Brennan, Chris Cox, Ralph Garman, writer and showrunner Mark Hentemann, voice actor Phil LaMarr, writer Chris Sheridan, writer Danny Smith, writer Alec Sulkin and writer John Viener also made minor appearances. Recurring guest voice actors Adam West and Patrick Warburton made guest appearances as well.

Reception

In a slight decrease from the previous week, the episode was viewed in 6.93 million homes in its original airing, according to Nielsen ratings. The episode also acquired a 3.4 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show, as well as the return episode of American Dad!, which had been put into a temporary hiatus, in order to accommodate Sons of Tucson. In addition, the episode significantly edged out all three shows in total viewership.

Reviews of the episode were mostly mixed, calling it a "tragedy," but "funnier than [...] expected." Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club noted that there are "funny lines tucked around the edges of every episode [...] but there's nothing here that justifies the needlessly elaborate plots." Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave the episode a more positive review, stating that Peter's attempts to bond with his children "brought some of the most hilarious visuals." Ramsey Isler of IGN gave the episode a much more negative review, noting that it did not "have many redeeming qualities," and the jokes were "mediocre." In a subsequent review of Family Guy's eighth season, Isler listed "April in Quahog" as being "full of the lowest of the lowest-common-denominator 'jokes', with heavy reliance on toilet humor and the characteristic cutaway gags that have steadily gotten more random and less funny."

References

April in Quahog Wikipedia