“Brian Goes Back to College”
Family Guy episode
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 15
Written by	Matt Fleckenstein
Directed by	Greg Colton
Production no.	4ACX18
Original airdate	November 13, 2005
Season 4 episodes
Family Guy - Season 4 May 1, 2005 – May 21, 2006
North by North Quahog Fast Times at Buddy Cianci, Jr. High Blind Ambition Don't Make Me Over The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire Petarded Brian the Bachelor 8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter Breaking out Is Hard to Do Model Misbehavior Peter's Got Woods The Perfect Castaway Jungle Love PTV Brian Goes Back to College The Courtship of Stewie's Father The Fat Guy Strangler The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz Brian Sings and Swings Patriot Games I Take Thee Quagmire Sibling Rivalry Deep Throats Peterotica You May Now Kiss the...Uh...Guy Who Receives Petergeist Untitled Griffin Family History Stewie B. Goode (1) Bango Was His Name Oh! (2) Stu and Stewie's Excellent Adventure (3)
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List of Family Guy episodes

“Brian Goes Back to College (and Stewie Goes with Him for Obvious Comedic Reasons)” is an episode from season four of FOX animated television series Family Guy. Image File history File links BrianCollege. ... is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... North by North Quahog is the first episode of Season 4 of Family Guy. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... “Blind Ambition” is the third episode of season four of Family Guy. ... Dont Make Me Over is the fourth episode of Season 4 of Family Guy. ... The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire is an episode of Family Guy. ... “Petarded” is the title of a fourth season episode of the animated series Family Guy. ... Brian the Bachelor is the seventh episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... 8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter is an episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy which guest-starred Joanna Garcia as Stewies babysitter, Liddane. ... Breaking Out Is Hard to Do is an episode of Family Guy. ... Model Misbehavior is an episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Peters Got Woods is an episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Perfect Castaway is an episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated series Family Guy. ... Jungle Love is the thirteenth episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... PTV is an Emmy-nominated episode from season 4 of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz is an episode from season 4 of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Brian Sings and Swings is an episode from season 4 of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... “Patriot Games” is an episode from season four of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... “I Take Thee Quagmire” is an episode from the fourth season of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... “Sibling Rivalry” is an episode from season four of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Meg, Mayor West, and the Noid, murdered by West because he ruined the pizza Deep Throats is an episode from season 4 of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Peterotica is an episode from season 4 of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... “You May Now Kiss the. ... “Petergeist” is an episode from season four of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Untitled Griffin Family History is an episode from season 4 of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... “Stewie B. Goode” is an episode from season four of FOX animated television series Family Guy, consisting of the first part of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. ... “Bango Was His Name Oh!” is an episode from season four of FOX animated television series Family Guy, consisting mostly of the second third of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. ... Stu and Stewies Excellent Adventure is an episode from season 4 of FOX animated television series Family Guy, consisting for the most part of the last third of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. ... The Thin White Line is an episode of Family Guy. ... “Stewie Loves Lois” is the season five premiere episode of Family Guy, which first aired on September 10, 2006. ... The following is a list of episodes for the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... Family Guy is an Emmy award winning American animated television series about a nuclear family in the fictional town of Quahog (IPA or ), Rhode Island. ...

Plot summary

Peter, Cleveland, Joe and Quagmire get dressed up as the protagonists from The A-Team to go to a 1980s TV show convention. The event is covered by Brian for a local newspaper. The editor of The New Yorker happens to read the paper, is impressed by Brian’s writing—and offers him a job. But when Brian admits he did not finish college, he is immediately fired. Peter Löwenbräu Griffin is the lead character in the American animated television series Family Guy. ... Cleveland Brown, Sr. ... Joseph Swanson is a fictional character in the Fox animated television show Family Guy. ... Glenn Quagmire (spelled Glen on some occasions but usually called Quagmire) is a character on the animated series, Family Guy. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Brian Griffin is a fictional cartoon character on the FOX animated television series Family Guy, and is voiced by show creator, Seth MacFarlane. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ...

Brian resolves to take the one class he needs to get his college degree. Stewie tags along with Brian, leaving Gary Coleman as his replacement at home. Brian stresses about his class while Stewie parties. Stewie edits one of Brian’s papers, and Brian sees it as cheating. He doesn’t like how Stewie did that, but quickly, Brian has second thoughts. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Meanwhile, spurred by winning the costume contest, Peter and friends decide to become a real A-Team. However, rather than solving the town’s problems they end up causing havoc. The episode concludes with them achieving redemption by helping Brian get to his final exam on time. He fails it, but he is glad for managing to finally finish college, without cheating. His family tells him that he should have (cheated).

Notes

• The fact that Brian went to Brown was first stated in "The Story on Page One."
• Stewie begins to bug Brian about his novel in the same way he did (with the high pitched voice) in the episode “Brian the Bachelor,” but this time Brian hits him with a book before he goes on for too long.
• The Stephen Hawking functionary who had been a fellow contestant in “Brian the Bachelor” (and was a contestant in the Special Olympics in “Ready, Willing, and Disabled”) has since married a fellow quadriplegic who also speaks with an electronic keyboard.
• Immediately following the A-Team intro parody, Peter clutches his leg and exhales exactly as he did in “Wasted Talent,” although he only makes that noise once instead of continuing.

The Story on Page One is an episode from the second season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Brian the Bachelor is the seventh episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. ... Brian the Bachelor is the seventh episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... Ready, Willing, and Disabled is an episode of Family Guy. ... Quadriplegia, also known as tetraplegia, is a symptom in which a human experiences paralysis of all four limbs, although not necessarily total paralysis. ... Wasted Talent is an episode from the second season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy, guest starring Adam Carolla as Death. ...

Trivia

• The New Yorker eventually wrote a friendly response to this episode which parodied them. [1]
• The beginning of this episode was used in the animated version of the Internet comic VG Cats. This can be found on boe entertainment.
• Continuing a normal tradition of Meg-bashing, after Stewie stops filming Brian because he didn’t cry after getting fired, he goes to see what Meg is doing, sees her in her underwear, and starts to choke or possibly vomit.
• According to DVD commentary, Stewie’s “Amateur Gynecologist” T-shirt was originally supposed to read, “Free Mustache Rides,” but it was objected by Standards and Practices.
• The drawings of Brown’s campus are relatively accurate. Brian passes through the Van Winkle Gates to enter Brown’s campus. The large building directly in front of him in this scene is University Hall. In another scene, Sayles Hall is clearly visible.

Goofs

• Murdock’s name is misspelled as “Murdoch.” This mistake is very common.
• In the promos for this episode, Stewie’s shirt (in the scene where he and Brian are at a booth and Brian regrets cheating on his homework) is a plain white T-shirt, but in the actual episode, the T-shirt reads, “Amateur Gynecologist.”
• Though Brian’s experience in college suggests otherwise, it is impossible to fail a course at Brown University. The worst that could happen is he would receive a “no credit,” which wouldn’t even be recorded on his transcript. [2]

Brown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ...

Cultural references

• Peter and his friends impersonate the A-Team with Peter as “Hannibal” Smith, Quagmire as “Faceman” Peck, Joe as “Howling Mad” Murdock (misspelled “Murdoch” in the intro) and Cleveland as B.A. Baracus. Cleveland says, “I pity the fool,” a catch phrase associated with Mr. T, the actor who played B.A. on the show, although the line actually originated from his character Clubber Lang, in the film Rocky III, not The A-Team, where he mostly restricted himself to calling people “fools.”
• The original A-Team opening went as follows:

“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...THE A-TEAM.”

For this episode, it was changed to:

“In 2005, a group of local misfits won a costume contest at an ’80s TV convention. These men promptly returned home and drank some beer. Today they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...THE A-TEAM.”

The A-Team spoof can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4d7PUsFr2M

• At the convention, Peter mistakes Brian for Alf, the snouted, furry extraterrestrial of the sitcom of the same name. With this black tie, Brian says that he is actually impersonating Douglas Brackman from the drama L.A. Law.
• Bill Cosby is seen leading a group of similarly dressed men in aerobics that imitate Cosby’s mannerisms.
• The MC of the convention says that Alan Thicke, star of Growing Pains “will be up in a minute to answer your hate mail.”
• Stephen Hawking is parodied through-out, down to simulated sex with a fictional wife, called Helen. Hawking is taken in by Brian, who cheats on an assignment to stay in college.
• Brian watches an episode of the sitcom The Facts of Life in which a masculine Jo asks mentor Mrs. Garrett if it’s okay that her penis touched her vagina.
• Small Wonder, a 1985-1989 sci-fi sitcom, is referenced in this episode. When Peter and his friends visit the ’80s television convention, a booth for Small Wonder is seen in the background. Tiffany Brissette is seen sitting in the booth, with a sign that says Tiffany “Vicki” Brissette. Tiffany played the main character of the series, a robot named Victoria “Vicki” Ann-Smith Lawson.
• A sign says “In loving memory of Ubu,” the mascot of UBU Productions which produced shows such as Family Ties.

“This spray is definitely not for me.”

• In a flashback, Peter tries “TAG Body Spray for Sick Cats.” This parodies commercials for TAG, in which men simply spray TAG on themselves, and women flock to them. Peter has a similar experience, only with actual sick cats instead of women.
• A flashback shows Stewie performing at the 1969 Woodstock Festival where he tells the hippies not to smoke weed, and then begins to sing a song praising the establishment.
• After he is fired from his job at The New Yorker, Brian encounters a “No Dogs Allowed” sign, hears a booming voice enforcing the rule and then lays on top of a doghouse. This parodies the Peanuts character Snoopy in the 1972 film Snoopy, Come Home.
• Chris says he saw an after-school special about dropping out of college and that “it didn’t work out too well for Kristy McNichol. But then again, nothing did.” McNichol, star of the 1970s drama Family, has been out of the spotlight. Family Guy made another joke about McNichol in the episode “Holy Crap.”
• A cutaway parodies the execution of King Louis XVI of France as a simple job firing.
• Gary Coleman takes Stewie’s place while he’s at Brown. Coleman combines his catch phrase with one of Stewie’s to form “Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, vile woman?”, because he owed Stewie a favor.
• Actress Kelly McGillis hosts an educational video on college dating.
• Stewie buys a poster of a work by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher. He mistakenly calls it “Crazy Stairs.” Its actual title is Relativity.
• When Stewie points out to Brian that “lots of people cheat,” the scene cuts to Ashlee Simpson’s infamous performance on the Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Jude Law where she gets caught lip-synching and dances awkwardly before leaving the stage. The background music, however, is Paul Robeson performing “Ol’ Man River” from the musical Show Boat.
• Looking at the scoreboard when Brian and Stewie are at the Brown football game, you can see the opposing team to be “the Board of Education” a reference to the famous court case Brown v. Board of Education, which declared unconstitutional the segregation of public schools.
• The scene where Stewie falls to the floor, legs twitching just within frame with the camera still running after seeing Meg undress through his video camera is reminiscent of the final scene in the 1999 horror film The Blair Witch Project.
• Roger Williams Park is an actual park in Providence, Rhode Island, named after Rhode Island founder Roger Williams.
• Lois scares Brian with a Hoover vacuum cleaner. In “Brian Does Hollywood,” Lois mentions that “[Brian’s] come a long way from getting scared by the vacuum cleaner,” and in the season two episode “Fore Father,” Brian is seen using a vacuum cleaner withont being scared of it.
• The scene in which Brian and Stewie work out in preparation for Brian’s final exam is a parody of Rocky Balboa’s training session for his fight with Ivan Drago in the movie Rocky IV. Brian goes as far as to yell “DRAGO!” at the peak of the mountain, as Rocky did in the movie. This is the second Rocky reference in this episode. As in the film, the song in the background is “Heart’s on Fire” by John Cafferty.
• Peter complains that the recent Playboy pictorial of 1980s pop star Debbie Gibson came too late.
• Stewie plays Ultimate at Brown—Brown’s Ultimate team was the 2005 National Championship Team in US College Ultimate.