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Griffin family

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This article is about a fictional family. For the Pomeranian dynasty, seeHouse of Griffin.For other people called Griffin, seeGriffin (surname).For the pub in Adelaide, seeThe Griffins Hotel.

The Griffins
Family Guyfamily
The Griffin family. From left to right:Chris,Peter,Stewie,Lois,BrianandMeg.
First appearance"Death Has a Shadow"(1999)
Created bySeth MacFarlane
Duration1999–2002, 2005–present

TheGriffin familyis a fictional family and main characters in theanimated televisionseriesFamily Guy,and who also appear inThe Cleveland Show.The Griffins are adysfunctional familyconsisting of the married couplePeterandLois,their three childrenMeg,Chris,andStewie,and theiranthropomorphicdogBrian.They live at 31 Spooner Street in the fictional town ofQuahog, Rhode Island.Their family car resembles a red seventh-generationFord Country Sedan.They were created bySeth MacFarlane,in model of his twoanimated films,The Life of LarryandLarry & Steve.The family and the show itself debuted on January 31, 1999, afterSuper Bowl XXXIII,in theepisode"Death Has a Shadow".

Alongside the six main family members, there are a number of other major and minor characters in their family. The most common recurring characters are Lois's parentsCarterandBarbara Pewterschmidt,and Peter's now-deceased parentsFrancisandThelma Griffin,except for his biological father named Mickey McFinnigan. Other recurring family members include Lois's two siblings, Carol and Patrick, as well as Brian's cousin Jasper. He also has two late children namely Peter Griffin Jr., who died due to Peter shaking him too much and Dave Griffin, the twin of Stewie whom Stewie killed in Lois' womb. There are also other kids that he has due to his sperm donations like Bertram.

Creation

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MacFarlane conceived the idea forFamily Guyin 1998, developing it out of his two short films. MacFarlane caught the attention ofFox,and was given $50,000 to make a pilot episode. MacFarlane completed the 11-minute pilot after six months of hand animation. Upon review, Fox gave the green light toFamily Guyas a series.[1]AlthoughFamily Guy's cancellation was initially announced after the second season, Fox decided to make a third season,[2][3]after which it was cancelled in 2002. However, reruns onAdult Swimdrove up interest in the show, and its DVD releases did quite well, selling over 2.2 million copies in one year, which renewed network interest.[4]

Family Guyreturned to production in 2004, making four more seasons (for a total of seven) and astraight-to-DVDspecial,Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.The show celebrated its official100th episodeduring its sixth season in November 2007, resulting in the show'ssyndication.[5]The show is contracted to continue producing episodes.[6]

Casting

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Seth MacFarlane voices three of the show's main characters,Peter Griffin,Brian GriffinandStewie Griffin.[7]He has stated that he already knew what kind of voice he was looking for the main characters so it was easier to do it himself.[8]Peter's voice is inspired by the voice of a security guard MacFarlane overheard talking while attending theRhode Island School of Design.[9]Stewie's voice was based on the voice ofEnglishactorRex Harrison,[10]particularly based on Harrison's performance in the 1964 musical drama filmMy Fair Lady.[11]Brian's voice is MacFarlane's regular speaking voice.[8]In addition MacFarlane provides the voice of various recurring and one-time characters, most prominently those of the Griffin's neighborGlenn Quagmire,news anchorTom Tuckerand Lois' fatherCarter Pewterschmidt.[12][13]Alex BorsteinvoicesLois Griffin,television correspondentTricia Takanawa,Loretta Brownand Lois' motherBarbara Pewterschmidt.[14]Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working onMad TV.She had not met MacFarlane or seen any artwork and said it was "really sight unseen".[15]At the time, she was doing a stage show inLos Angeles,in which she played a redhead mother, whose voice she had based on one of her cousins.[14][15]The voice was originally slower, when MacFarlane heard it, he replied "Make it a little less... annoying... and speed it up, or every episode will last four hours".[14]

Seth Greenprimarily playsChris Griffinand Jewish pharmacist Mort Goldman's nerdy sonNeil Goldman.[13][16]Green admittedly did an impression of theBuffalo Billcharacter from the thriller filmThe Silence of the Lambsduring his audition.[17]His main inspiration for Chris' voice was how "Buffalo Bill"would sound if he worked at a drive-thru in aMcDonald's(speaking through a PA system).[18]Mila KunisandLacey Chaberthave both played the voices ofMeg Griffin.[13]Lacey Chabert voiced Meg Griffin for the first production season (15 episodes). However, because of a contractual agreement, she was never credited.[19]Chabert left the series due to time constraints with her acting role inParty of Five,as well as schoolwork,[20]while Kunis won the role after auditions, a slight rewrite of the character and because of her performance onThat '70s Show.[21]MacFarlane called Kunis back after her initial audition asking her to speak slower; she was called back again later, this time instructed to enunciate more. Kunis said that she had it under control, and MacFarlane hired her.[21]In an interview with a Sun Media correspondent in 2007, Kunis was asked about her character and said: "She's the scapegoat". "Meg gets picked on a lot. But it's funny. It's like the middle child. She is constantly in the state of being an awkward 14-year-old, when you're kind of going through puberty and what-not. She's just in perpetual mode of humiliation. And it's fun."[22]

Main family

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Further information:List of characters in the Family Guy franchise

The show revolves around the adventures and activities of the family ofPeter Griffin,a bumbling, but well-intentioned,blue-collar worker.Peter is anIrish-AmericanCatholicborn inMexicowith a prominentRhode IslandandEastern Massachusetts accent.[23]His wifeLoisis a stay-at-home mother and piano teacher, and has a distinctNew England accentfrom being a member of thePewterschmidt familyof wealthysocialites.[24]Peter and Lois have three children:Meg,their teenage daughter, who is frequently the butt of Peter's jokes due to her "homeliness" and lack of popularity;Chris,their teenage son, who in many respects, appears as a younger version of his father; andStewie,their diabolical infant son of ambiguous sexual orientation who has adult mannerisms and speaks fluently with an upper-class affected English accent and stereotypicalarchvillainphrases.[25]Living with the family isBrian,the family dog, who is highlyanthropomorphized,drinksmartinis,occasionally smokescigarettes,drives a car, and engages in human conversation, though he occasionally acts like a normal dog; for example, he cannot resist chasing a ball.[26]

Peter Griffin

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Main article:Peter Griffin

Peter Griffin,[27]voiced bySeth MacFarlane.Peter is the father and patriarch of the Griffin family (hence the show's "family guy" ) and is a stereotypicalblue-collar worker.[28]Leader of the Griffin family, he is Irish-American Catholic. Peter is also an obese and bespectacled man who is just a big child. He has other roots beside his Irish ones, including African American, Spanish, Scottish and German.[29]In an interview withThe Advocate,MacFarlane described him as "Archie Bunkerwithout the knowledge of what he's doing. He has the mind of a child, basically, and a source of big laughs is when he does not realize he's doing something inappropriate. "[30]In the season four episode "Petarded",Peter takes anIQ test,and discovers that his low intellect places him in a category slightly belowmentally retarded,but higher than a creationist.[31]He is incredibly jealous of other attractions Lois has in her life, an attitude that tends to get out of hand in most cases, even assaulting a whale that kissed Lois atSeaWorld.[32]In theseason threeepisode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart",Peter and Lois split up because of Peter's jealousy only to discover that Lois has the same character flaw and the two decide to live with their mutually jealous nature.[32]Peter has a very short attention span and frequently ends up in bizarre situations, as Chris points out in "Long John Peter",after Peter's parrot dies" He will get over it pretty quickly and then move on to another wacky thing ", to which Peter finds apipe organand forgets about his parrot.[33]

Lois Griffin

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Main article:Lois Griffin

Lois Patrice Griffin(néePewterschmidt), voiced byAlex Borstein.Lois is the mother and matriarch of the Griffin family. Lois'moralsare often questionable, as she went through a brief period ofkleptomaniain the episode "Breaking Out Is Hard to Do",for which she went toprison.She also showed agamblingaddiction when the family went to anIndiancasinoin "The Son Also Draws"during the first season. Various episodes have hinted that Lois is an avid drug user, but this is shown most clearly in"Deep Throats",where she revealed that she smokedmarijuanawhen she was pregnant with Stewie, a claim backed-up by series creatorSeth MacFarlaneon a DVD commentary. Also, when asked by Peter where she got a tattoo on her lower back, she replied, "Oh, I don't know Peter,methis a hell of a drug "("Prick Up Your Ears"). When Meg is thought to have become pregnant, Lois tells her to" smoke and drink a lot "(when Meg does not want to have an abortion, which Lois hinted at beforehand)" but don't start, then chicken out halfway throughout the pregnancy, 'cause then you'll wind up with Chris'",which suggests she smoked and consumed alcohol while pregnant with Chris.

Meg Griffin

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Main article:Meg Griffin

Megatron[a]"Meg"Griffin,voiced byMila Kunis.Meg is a self-conscious and emotionally vulnerable teenage girl. She is currently 18 years old and enrolled at James Woods Regional High School. Her numerous insecurities cause her to desperately try to be part of the "in-crowd", but this only results in her getting rebuffed byConnie D'Amico,[35]the bullying headcheerleaderof her school. Initially valued to the family in earlier seasons, her standing in the family's "pecking order" is now much more similar to that of the stereotypical "middle child"(despite being the oldest of the Griffin children by age) such as being the butt ofPeter's jokes due to her "homeliness" and lack of self-confidence, despite frequently proving to be more responsible and reasonable than the rest of the family, although there is one episode where she is sent to prison. Despite all this, Meg has proven in various episodes throughout the show that she is surprisingly more talented, most notably in terms of music and even sports, than her family usually bothers to realize. However, another student namedNeil Goldmanhas a crush on her.[36] At times, she has been shown to be so self-conscious about herself that she engaged in dangerous sexual behavior just for attention.

Chris Griffin

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Main article:Chris Griffin

Christopher Cross"Chris"Griffin,voiced bySeth Green.Chris is a friendly and laid-back teenage boy. Physically, he is a younger version of Peter, but intellectually, he often shows better potential, as shown from moments of articulation and coherence within his speech, and makes good points when especially talking about films, TV series, actors and actresses, etc. Similar to Meg, Chris deals with the problems that most teenage boys face: acne, girls, and school. He is currently 15 years old and, like Meg, is enrolled at James Woods Regional High School. On the volume 1 DVD box set, it stated that Chris "would not hurt a fly, unless it landed on his hot dog". Chris is also willing to take drastic measures to get what he wants or needs, especially when it comes to getting good grades. He, at one point, believed that he got a bad grade on a mathematics test when he tickled his brain by sticking an army man's rifle into his nose and accidentally puncturing a lobe.

Stewie Griffin

[edit]
Main article:Stewie Griffin

Stewart Gilligan"Stewie"Griffin,voiced bySeth MacFarlane.Stewie is the youngest Griffin family member as a one-year-old. Stewie originally served as the main villain of the show. Though he was originally an antagonisticchild-geniussociopath, hell-bent on killing his mother and taking over the world, in more recent episodes he is a much more friendly yet flamboyant (and possibly homosexual) character, though nonetheless still rambunctious and disrespecting towards his elders and peers. Despite having a rivalry with the family dog,Brian,this seems to have ended as he and Brian now share a very close friendship, and they admitted that they loved each other, in the episode "Brian & Stewie".Stewie is considered to be the show'sbreakout character.[37]Wizardmagazine rated him the 95th-greatest villain of all time.[38]

Brian Griffin

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Main article:Brian Griffin

Brian Griffin,voiced bySeth MacFarlane,is the Griffin family's pet dog. Brian has lived with the Griffin family since Peter picked him up as a stray. Peter is his best friend, despite Brian's superior intelligence. Brian is often the voice of reason for the family, frequently reminding Peter how stupid or corrupt his ideas are. He also has a very close friendship with Stewie, and the two of them have been at the center of some of the most critically acclaimed episodes during the series, most notably the "Road to..."episodes. Seth MacFarlane has once described Brian as" a dog who has a wit as dry as themartinishe drinks ".[39]MacFarlane also revealed that Brian is his favorite character from the series, as he feels most comfortable when playing that role.[40]

Brian was temporarilykilled off,after he was hit by a car in theseason 12episode "Life of Brian".Brian, however, returned two episodes later, in"Christmas Guy",after Stewie went back in time to save him. In his brief absence Brian was replaced by another dog named Vinny, who was voiced byTony Siricoand was never seen again after Brian's return[41](until theseason 15premiere, "The Boys in the Band",where he makes a cameo).

References

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  1. ^"Inside Media at MTR (2006):Family Guy2 ".Yahoo! Video.RetrievedAugust 24,2009.
  2. ^"Plenty of Changes at Fox, UPN, Fox Tinkers With its Prime-Time Lineup on 6 Nights, UPN on 3".newsbank.RetrievedOctober 3,2009.
  3. ^"ARTS & TV in Brief; 'Family Guy,' 'SportsNight' may move to new networks".pqasb.April 25, 2000.RetrievedOctober 3,2009.[dead link]
  4. ^McKinley, Jesse (May 2, 2005)."Canceled and Resurrected, on the Air and Onstage".The New York Times.RetrievedDecember 3,2007.
  5. ^"'Family Guy' Celebrates 100 Freakin' Sweet Episodes With Special Retrospective Sunday, November 4, On Fox ".Fox.The Futon Critic. October 8, 2007.RetrievedSeptember 3,2009.
  6. ^Goldman, Eric (May 5, 2008)."Big New Deal for Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane".IGN.RetrievedMay 11,2007.
  7. ^Graham, Jefferson (January 29, 1999). "Cartoonist MacFarlane funny guy of Fox's 'Family' Subversive voice of series is his".USA Today.p. E7.
  8. ^abCruz, Gilbert (September 26, 2008)."Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane".Time.Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2008.RetrievedAugust 28,2009.
  9. ^Smith, Andy (April 30, 2005)."A Real Family Reunion".Providence Journal TV.Archived fromthe originalon July 22, 2011.RetrievedAugust 28,2009.
  10. ^Dean, John (November 1, 2008)."Seth MacFarlane's $2 Billion Family Guy Empire".Fox Business.Archived fromthe originalon September 23, 2010.RetrievedAugust 24,2009.
  11. ^Franklin, Nancy (January 16, 2006). "American Idiots".The New Yorker.
  12. ^"Family Guy — Seth MacFarlane interview".garge tv.RetrievedOctober 3,2009.
  13. ^abc"Family Guy Cast and Details".TV Guide.RetrievedAugust 24,2009.
  14. ^abcMiller, Kirk (November 19, 2008)."Q&A: Alex Borstein".Metromix.Archived fromthe originalon February 18, 2012.RetrievedAugust 28,2009.
  15. ^ab"Alex Borstein (Lois) Laughs at the Once-DeadFamily Guy's Longevity ".TV Guide.November 13, 2006.RetrievedAugust 24,2009.
  16. ^Graham, Jefferson (April 9, 1999). "Seth Green fits right in with newFamily".USA Today.
  17. ^"Fans help 'Family Guy' return to Fox".Observer-Reporter.April 29, 2005. p. E5.
  18. ^Green, Seth(September 27, 2005).Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story: Audio Commentary(DVD).
  19. ^Epstein, Daniel Robert."Interview with Seth MacFarlane, creator of The Family Guy".UGO Networks.Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 2007.RetrievedNovember 23,2008.
  20. ^"Sonic the Horndog".GameSpy.RetrievedOctober 3,2009.
  21. ^ab"Inside Media at MTR (2006):Family Guy7 ".Yahoo! Video.RetrievedAugust 24,2009.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^De Leon, Kris (September 25, 2007)."Mila Kunis Talks About Working onFamily Guyand Her Upcoming Movie ".BuddyTV.Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 3,2009.
  23. ^"Cavalcade Of Cartoons, No Joke: Animated Shows Make Up A Third Of The Midseason Replacements For Axed Fall Premieres".The Charlotte Observer.January 10, 1999.
  24. ^Hines, Michael (September 15, 2007)."Familyfunny business ".Chicago Tribune.
  25. ^James, Caryn (January 29, 1999)."TV Weekend; Where Matricide Is a Family Value".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 23,2008.
  26. ^Graham, Jefferson (March 7, 2000). "Fox revisitsFamily Guy".USA Today.
  27. ^"Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater".Family Guy.Season 2. Episode 1. September 23, 1999.Fox.
  28. ^MacIntosh, Dan (November 29, 2005)."Family Guy, Volume 3".PopMatters.RetrievedOctober 18,2009.
  29. ^Bartlett, James (March 12, 2007)."Seth MacFarlane – he's the 'Family Guy'".The Great Reporter.Presswire Limited.RetrievedOctober 18,2009.
  30. ^Voss, Brandon (February 26, 2008)."BGF: Seth MacFarlane".The Advocate.PlanetOut. Archived fromthe originalon July 24, 2009.RetrievedOctober 18,2009.
  31. ^Writ.: Sulkin, Alec; Wild, Wellesley; Dir.: Kearsley, Seth (June 19, 2005). "Petarded".Family Guy.Season 4. Episode 6.Fox Broadcasting Company.
  32. ^abWrit.: Hentemann, Mark; Dir.: DiMartino, Michael Dante (January 31, 2002). "Stuck Together, Torn Apart".Family Guy.Season 3. Episode 19.Fox Broadcasting Company.
  33. ^Writ.: Devanney, Tom; Hentemann, Mark; Dir.: Holmquist, John (March 4, 2007). "Long John Peter".Family Guy.Season 6. Episode 12.Fox Broadcasting Company.
  34. ^"A Fistful of Meg".Family Guy.Season 12. Episode 4. November 10, 2013.Fox.
  35. ^"IMDB — Family Guy — Stew-Roids (2009) Movie Connections".IMDb.
  36. ^Aurthur, Kate (July 12, 2005)."Sharing the Ratings Spoils".The New York Times.RetrievedMarch 26,2009.
  37. ^Nathan Rabin (January 26, 2005)."Seth MacFarlane".The A.V. Club.Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2007.
  38. ^"The 100 Greatest Villains of All Time".Wizard(177): 86. July 2006.
  39. ^Graham, Jefferson (March 7, 2000)."Fox revisits 'Family Guy'".USA Today.Archived fromthe originalon January 31, 2013.
  40. ^Rusli, Evelyn (February 5, 2004)."'Family Guy': Today Princeton, tomorrow the world ".The Daily Princetonian.Princeton University. Archived fromthe originalon August 21, 2004.RetrievedJanuary 5,2008.
  41. ^"Brian Griffin back from the dead on Family Guy after Stewie comes to the rescue".Metro.

Notes

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  1. ^In the episode "A Fistful of Meg",it is revealed thatPeter Griffinput the name "Megatron"on her birth certificate, thoughLois Griffinhad already chosen the name Megan, by which she is still commonly known.[34]
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