Episode no. Season 13
Episode 10 Written by Tom Devanney | Directed by Greg Colton | |
Original air date February 8, 2015 (2015-02-08) | ||
"Quagmire's Mom" is the tenth episode of the thirteenth season of the animated sitcom Family Guy, and the 241st episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on February 8, 2015, and is written by Tom Devanney and directed by Greg Colton.
Contents
In the episode, Glenn Quagmire is found guilty of unwittingly committing statutory rape and is sentenced to 20 years in prison. At the same time, his previously promiscuous but now born-again Christian mother returns to his life, and he struggles to forgive her for what he perceives as child neglect.
With an audience of 2.81 million, it was the most-watched show on Fox that night. It was also the subject of a campaign by the Parents Television Council, who believed that its sexual content broke broadcast decency laws.
Plot
When Meg needs a check for a field trip, Peter finds that his checks are fake so he insists on opening his own checking account. At Quahog Savings and Loans, Peter and Lois find that his birth certificate gives his real first name as "Justin" with his full name being "Justin Peter Griffin". Although Lois tries to rein in Peter, he immediately decides to change his persona to what he believes a "Justin" should be; young and wild. "Justin" decides to throw a party, where Quagmire meets a girl named Kira. Lois returns and orders everyone to leave, then plans to take "Justin" to City Hall to change his name back to Peter.
The next day, Quagmire learns that Kira is not 23 years old as she claimed, and she is under the age of legal consent in Rhode Island. Joe arrives at Quagmire's house with some police officers stating that he has received an anonymous tip that Quagmire was having sex with an underage girl. Quagmire confesses due to his pride in having had sex with her and he is arrested by the police for statutory rape. He is put on trial and his only chance for leniency is for character witnesses, since he is legally guilty once the proof of Kira's age is revealed.
At the courthouse, Peter, Cleveland, and Joe try to claim Quagmire's innocence, which proves difficult due to them being under oath. Chris repeatedly keeps asking why Kira is not present in the courtroom. This causes Quagmire to take the stand himself and explain about his childhood, in particular his promiscuous mother. Despite this, the judge finds Quagmire guilty and sentences him to 20 years in prison. Just then, his mother Crystal arrives in the courtroom as Mayor Adam West is surprised that every male in the courtroom knows her name. After fighting off a comment from Kira's mother, Crystal admits her past and then claims to be a born-again Christian and asks for leniency. The judge rejects her request and gives Quagmire 24 hours to get his affairs in order.
At home, Crystal tries to get Quagmire to find God to enter the afterlife and he lashes out at her. She tries to reason with him, but he rejects her advice. Brian makes fun of Quagmire and tells him to have fun in prison. Quagmire tells Crystal he will not listen to her and leaves the house to avoid her. As Quagmire walks out, Stewie asks Crystal if she knows that her ex-husband Dan had a sex change.
Outside the prison, Quagmire starts to say his goodbyes to his neighbors while Brian drives away ecstatic that Quagmire is going to prison. Quagmire prepares to enter the prison as Peter shouts to the prison guards to take care of him. Just then, the judge arrives with Crystal to tell Quagmire that his sentence has been commuted after "new DNA evidence was produced." He is surprised that despite her religious views she would have sex outside of marriage, but she responds that it was the most Christian thing to do to protect her son. Peter remarks that Quagmire got away with the crime and learned nothing.
Reception
The episode received an audience of 2.81 million, making it the most watched show on Fox that night.
The Parents Television Council, a long-time critic of Family Guy, took offence to the episode's jokes on statutory rape and a description of Quagmire urinating into a condom, freezing it and using it for sexual penetration. It asked its members to complain to the Federal Communications Commission that it had broken indecency laws, citing that similar content in an episode of this show had been found to have breached such laws over a decade ago.