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Brian is a [[talking animal|talking dog]], who has lived with the Griffin family since Peter picked him up as a stray. While he exhibits some typical dog behaviors like eating garbage, licking himself, leaving dead birds on the porch, intensely fearing the [[vacuum cleaner]] and the [[dog whistle]], sleeping at the foot of [[Peter Griffin]]'s bed, barking uncontrollably at other dogs, and trouble standing up in the car, he also possesses various [[anthropomorphic]] qualities, such as the ability to speak intelligently, drive a car, and walk [[biped]]ally. He also has a particularly sharp [[wit]]. Peter is his best friend, despite Brian's vastly superior intelligence. Seth Mcfarlane has once described Brian as a dog who has a wit as dry as the [[Martini]]s he drinks. |
Brian is a [[talking animal|talking dog]], who has lived with the Griffin family since Peter picked him up as a stray. While he exhibits some typical dog behaviors like eating garbage, licking himself, leaving dead birds on the porch, intensely fearing the [[vacuum cleaner]] and the [[dog whistle]], sleeping at the foot of [[Peter Griffin]]'s bed, barking uncontrollably at other dogs, and trouble standing up in the car, he also possesses various [[anthropomorphic]] qualities, such as the ability to speak intelligently, drive a car, and walk [[biped]]ally. He also has a particularly sharp [[wit]]. Peter is his best friend, despite Brian's vastly superior intelligence. Seth Mcfarlane has once described Brian as a dog who has a wit as dry as the [[Martini]]s he drinks. |
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Brian has a cultured background; he loves [[opera]] and [[jazz]], and loves to sing. He is depicted speaking fluent [[French language|French]], |
Brian has a cultured background; he loves [[opera]] and [[jazz]], and loves to sing. He is depicted speaking fluent [[French language|French]], [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], and decent [[Spanish language|Spanish]], He is also a member of [[Mensa International|Mensa]]. He is an avid writer, (in one episode invited to write for ''[[The New Yorker]]''), and may be working on a [[novel]]. |
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He is depicted smoking in early episodes but did not smoke during the 2006-2007 season. In the commentary for the episode [[Road to Rhode Island]] on ''The Freakin' Sweet Collection'', "Brian" (MacFarlane in character) states he has quit smoking and has gained weight as a result. |
He is depicted smoking in early episodes but did not smoke during the 2006-2007 season. In the commentary for the episode [[Road to Rhode Island]] on ''The Freakin' Sweet Collection'', "Brian" (MacFarlane in character) states he has quit smoking and has gained weight as a result. |
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* [[No Chris Left Behind]] - When Brian learns that Meg has connections to pot at her school, he makes up an excuse to Lois so that he and Meg can smoke pot and make the night go by faster (they were watching [[Swan Lake]]). |
* [[No Chris Left Behind]] - When Brian learns that Meg has connections to pot at her school, he makes up an excuse to Lois so that he and Meg can smoke pot and make the night go by faster (they were watching [[Swan Lake]]). |
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While not seen holding a regular job in Quahog, Brian is depicted owning a car, paying bills, and maintaining a credit card. In various episodes he has been a [[substitute teacher]] at [[Chris Griffin|Chris]]' school, |
While not seen holding a regular job in Quahog, Brian is depicted owning a car, paying bills, and maintaining a credit card. In various episodes he has been a [[substitute teacher]] at [[Chris Griffin|Chris]]' school, a [[taxi driver]], and a [[Detection dog|drug-sniffing dog]] for the [[Quahog]] [[police]] department.<ref name="s03e01" /> Brian held several jobs while living in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] including [[waiter]], [[car wash]] attendant, [[screenwriter]] and [[pornographic]] [[film director]].<ref name="s03e02">{{cite episode |
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| title = Brian Does Hollywood |
| title = Brian Does Hollywood |
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| episodelink = Brian Does Hollywood |
| episodelink = Brian Does Hollywood |
Revision as of 20:59, 20 September 2007
Template:Family Guy character Brian Griffin is a fictional cartoon character on the FOX animated television series Family Guy, and is voiced by show creator, Seth MacFarlane. MacFarlane uses a voice close to his normal speaking voice for Brian, as opposed to the vocal modifications he makes when voicing other characters in the show such as Peter and Stewie.
Overview
Brian is a talking dog, who has lived with the Griffin family since Peter picked him up as a stray. While he exhibits some typical dog behaviors like eating garbage, licking himself, leaving dead birds on the porch, intensely fearing the vacuum cleaner and the dog whistle, sleeping at the foot of Peter Griffin's bed, barking uncontrollably at other dogs, and trouble standing up in the car, he also possesses various anthropomorphic qualities, such as the ability to speak intelligently, drive a car, and walk bipedally. He also has a particularly sharp wit. Peter is his best friend, despite Brian's vastly superior intelligence. Seth Mcfarlane has once described Brian as a dog who has a wit as dry as the Martinis he drinks.
Brian has a cultured background; he loves opera and jazz, and loves to sing. He is depicted speaking fluent French, Tagalog, and decent Spanish, He is also a member of Mensa. He is an avid writer, (in one episode invited to write for The New Yorker), and may be working on a novel.
He is depicted smoking in early episodes but did not smoke during the 2006-2007 season. In the commentary for the episode Road to Rhode Island on The Freakin' Sweet Collection, "Brian" (MacFarlane in character) states he has quit smoking and has gained weight as a result.
Brian is prone to alcoholism, and in one episode gets treatment for cocaine addiction.[1] He has also referred to buying, being in possession of, or smoking marijuana in the following episodes:
- A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas - After Peter tells Brian his idiotic plan to get the family's presents back, Brian asks, "Can I buy some pot from you?" in reference to a line from Animal House
- Jungle Love - When Brian tells Chris about his time in the Peace Corps, he says that that the country he went to had "great dope" which was growing wild, and that he and his friends had once gotten so high that they ate all the food that was meant for the natives.
- Deep Throats - Lois states Brian has some "inspiration" in a cigar box under his bed. However, this may not be a reference to Brian's drug problem because Brian, Lois and Peter sleep in the same bed.
- Whistle While Your Wife Works - When Stewie asks how he can watch MTV Brian responds by saying "Pot helps."
- Barely Legal - When Lois is telling Brian how much it means to Meg that he is taking her to the school dance, Brian asks "You got any weed?" to which Lois answers "I put it in your coat pocket."
- No Chris Left Behind - When Brian learns that Meg has connections to pot at her school, he makes up an excuse to Lois so that he and Meg can smoke pot and make the night go by faster (they were watching Swan Lake).
While not seen holding a regular job in Quahog, Brian is depicted owning a car, paying bills, and maintaining a credit card. In various episodes he has been a substitute teacher at Chris' school, a taxi driver, and a drug-sniffing dog for the Quahog police department.[1] Brian held several jobs while living in Los Angeles including waiter, car wash attendant, screenwriter and pornographic film director.[2]
In contrast to the other characters on the show,[original research?] Brian actually can remember things from show to show. In the "The Fat Guy Strangler" episode, Brian remembers Peter encouraging him to jump into the closed window of the General Lee in "To Live and Die in Dixie". Brian also recalls Stewie beating him up mercilessly in Patriot Games and lets him swallow Peter's tobacco spittle in retaliation in the "Airport '07" episode.
As the most sensible member of the Griffin family, Brian often serves as the voice of reason or as a mediator during family arguments. He is also usually the first (and often only) one to realize that there is impending danger.
Background
In the Family Guy universe, dogs are either talking, anthropomorphic creatures like Brian and his cousin Jasper, or more true-to-lifes, such as his mother, Biscuit, and his one time lover, Seabreeze. Both classes are subject to the same rules, such as not being allowed inside certain shops or to wander the streets without an owner. Brian's "humanity" is rarely remarked upon, however, exceptions include when Peter's former boss, Mr. Weed, referred to him as a "funny talking dog" and in the episode "Brian in Love" when Brian tries to explain his relationship troubles to Peter, who responds, "Oh my God! You can talk!" Another example of Brian's "humanity" is his attraction to human women; Brian has dated several since the show began, and is deeply in love with Peter's wife, Lois.
Brian was born on a farm in Austin, Texas, in a litter of five puppies, of which he was the only anthropomorphic. His youth and adolescence have not been explored in detail, though it is assumed that at some point in this time he made his way to Rhode Island. He was homeless when Peter found him and felt bad so he brought Brian into the Griffin's house and family. Brian also intermittantly attended Brown University, though he remains one class short of graduating (in the season 4 episode "Brian Goes Back to College", Brian re-enrolls in an attempt to earn his degree, but fails). Brian has also served in the Peace Corps. He has mentioned that he hung out with Andy Warhol in the 1970s, though this particular interlude is most likely one of the show's reality-bending cutaways, as he is said to be only seven years old.
His age is usually treated differently depending on the joke. In one episode, he states "I'm seven years old and if I play my cards right, I got seven more years ahead of me." Brian spent some time as a homeless stray washing car windshields for change before he met Peter, who offered him a home with his family in Quahog, Rhode Island. When Brian returned to Austin years later to find his mother, he found that she had died and her owners were using her stuffed body as a table. Brian absconded with her body to give his mother a proper burial.
Prior to Brian, the Griffins had another talking dog named Todd, who is thought to have been put down at the age of 15 due to illness.
Despite his anthropomorphic intelligence, Brian shares certain traits and shortcomings with real dogs. For example, he cleans himself with his tongue and scratches at fleas with his hind leg. On the commentary of "Road to Rhode Island", he confirmed that he sees in black and white. He has a fear of the toilet flushing and of the vacuum (which is odd, considering that he was actually vacuuming in the episode "Fore, Father"). He also couldn't control his animal urges for the prized Pewterschmidt dog, Sea Breeze, resulting in a paternity dispute (he was ultimately proven not to be the father of Sea Breeze's pups, though).
Furthermore, although his maturity and broad range of experiences seem to imply that he is as old as a middle aged human, as a dog, he is only seven years old. Peter has been known to tease him about his shorter lifespan. In "The Thin White Line", Peter states after Brian bails him out "Brian, it's times like these that I regret that you're going to die 50 years before I do." In one episode, Brian seems to have a "mid-life crisis." He is also shown to have a liking for dog food at times. In "Chitty Chitty Death Bang", he chases a hallucination of the chuck wagon from the commercials for Purina Chuck Wagon, and in "Barely Legal", he comes running with joy when Peter's daughter Meg shakes a bag of Dog Chow. He also, like other dogs, defecates outside on a daily basis, which results in him being made to wear diapers in the episode "Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey". In "Brian in Love," he urinates inside the house and gets away with blaming Stewie for it, but the ruse is revealed when he urinates inside a supermarket.
Brian seems somewhat ashamed of his animal urges and insecure about his canine status in general. He once refused to do degrading pet tricks for Peter during a dog show, despite it being necessary to win the money needed to buy the family a new air conditioner. He also chastised Lady and the Tramp for acting in typical dog-like behavior, saying, "That's just what they want you to do". He suffers mistreatment as a dog, with references to movies like The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and School Ties, movies about characters who suffer from racial segregation and anti-Semitism. He is humiliated when the Griffins catch him with canine pornography.
Brian is notably intelligent, enjoying renowned works of art such as the opera Carmen and the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. He has also heavily invested in the stock market, and collects first editions of literary classics. In Meet the Quagmires, he is shown to be able to play the guitar and Keytar, although this may have just been another play on the scene in Back to the Future. His intellectual bent makes it very difficult for him to form romantic relationships with most human women, which may be one reason for his substance abuse as a coping mechanism.
In Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, which is set 30 years in the future, it is revealed that Brian died (or rather, will die) after "getting into the garbage and eating some chocolate". In heaven, he tries to get into intellectual conversations with Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, and Kurt Cobain, but is discouraged to learn that their deaths were far more artistically noble than his. It should be noted, however, that the future as depicted in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story might not actually happen, as Stewie takes action to prevent his own future as it is shown in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story from occurring.
Relationships
Romances
In addition to behaving like a human, Brian sometimes pursues relationships with humans. No character has ever commented on the zoophilic aspects of a sexual relationship between Brian and a human, except in "The Perfect Castaway" (see below), where Peter asks Lois why she wants to stay with Brian, then remarks, "That, plus, hello? He's a dog." MacFarlane mentions in the commentary for "Castaway" that making episodes about Brian being in love is "always a line that we have to walk," concerning the mainstream media's anxiety regarding bestiality.
"Whistle While Your Wife Works" was the first time where it was heavily implied that Brian did have sex with a human woman (albeit a very dim-witted one) named Jillian. Stewie pressed Brian the most for these details, noticing that his collar was insideout after being away for a whole night. After Stewie meets Jillian, he hassles Brian for the rest of the episode about her lack of intelligence, once asking if her parents were "brother and sister". Brian finally decides to attempt to break up with Jillian, but instead, he ends up leaving Stewie in the car for three hours, apparently to have sex with her. In the end, Brian's relationship with Jillian appears to be based solely on sex and has virtually no meaningful qualities. They are still together.
In the episode "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows", Brian falls deeply in love with an elderly human woman named Pearl Burton. Before Pearl passes away, Brian shares a virtual reality vision of their possible future together that involves marriage and children. He once made a pass at Meg while drunk, and had a brief fling with a prostitute named Tina while he was hooked on cocaine. During the show's fourth season, in "Brian the Bachelor", he falls for a woman named Brooke Roberts while appearing as a contestant on The Bachelorette. Although she chooses Brian as the winner, she doesn't return his affections outside of the show.
In a different episode ("Peter's Got Woods"), Brian has another brief romance, with Shauna Parks, one of Meg's teachers at James Woods High. Parks is black, in contrast to Brian's other on-screen girlfriends, who have all been white. Although not hostile (as in later episodes), Brian is awkwardly conscious of race in this episode, which Shauna seems to find sweet — "Nothing cuter than a nervous white dog". She breaks up with him over his loyalty to Peter, who foiled her (and Brian's) attempts to change the name of the high school to honor Dr. Martin Luther King.
Although he seems to be somewhat ashamed of it, Brian also has relationships with "regular" dogs. In the episode "Screwed the Pooch", he is faced with being neutered as punishment for impregnating Seabreeze, a racing dog owned by Lois' father, Carter Pewterschmidt. In the last moment, however, he discovers that the impregnating male turns out to be Ted Turner.
Brian has had a kiss with Meg Griffin in the episode Barely Legal. This resulted in Meg becoming very clingy towards him. When he tried to break it off, Meg became obsessed with him to the point that she baked her hair into an apple pie that she made for him, built a shrine in her room to him, and even abducted him and tied him up so they could have "good, old-fashioned, all-American fun" together. However, she eventually got over him after she visited Quagmire and he gave her a copy of Shel Silverstein’s The Missing Piece.
With Meg and Chris
Brian is one, if not the only, member of the family who does not treat Meg as badly as the others, but he seems to ignore her more than anyone else does. He has, however, been known to join in on laughing at Meg's misfortunes, as well as reading her diary along with the rest of the family. In "Barely Legal", he makes out with Meg at a dance after he gets drunk. The kiss affects Meg, causing her to become deeply infatuated with him. Even after he tells Meg that he doesn't want to be attached to her, she continues to irritate him. The infatuated Meg kidnaps Brian and brings him to a hotel where she attempts to seduce him. However, Peter, Lois, Cleveland, Quagmire, and Joe appear and rescue Brian before she can.
Brian also seems to ignore Chris most of the time. He mostly reacts when Chris says something extremely stupid, such as "Brown is the color of poo!", when Brian reminisces about attending Brown University, or answering "eating a pebble!", when Brian asks the family what would be really exciting. In both cases, Brian reacted with a simple, flat "yes", implying that his main attitude towards Chris seems to be bemused tolerance of Chris's stupidity. However, he did give Chris advice on what to do when Chris kissed Sam in "To Live and Die in Dixie".
With Lois
Brian has a special relationship with Lois. He realizes that he harbors romantic and sexual feelings towards her in the episode "Brian in Love", but learns to accept friendship in lieu of a romantic relationship. However, he seems to retain a certain amount of longing for her. In the episode "The Perfect Castaway", Brian was married to Lois for a period of several months after they thought Peter and his friends were killed in a hurricane while fishing. The marriage was largely based on Brian's ability to support the family financially in Peter's absence by taking a job at the local car dealership. Despite Brian's desire to consummate their relationship, Lois insisted throughout their marriage on keeping their beds separated. When Peter unexpectedly returns home alive, Lois' feelings for Peter rekindle and Brian and Lois divorce, as Brian accepts that Lois still loves Peter. Lois declares shortly afterwards that she was one day from deciding to finally have sex with Brian, to his great frustration. He additionally reveals that his attraction may go beyond skin-deep; in "Sibling Rivalry", as Lois begins to gain weight, Peter comments that he is no longer attracted to her. When he asks Brian if he still is, he replies, "I don't care what she looks like, I would wreck that chick."
Lois is sometimes alternately oblivious to, or intolerant of, Brian's feelings for her. In "I Take Thee Quagmire", Lois discusses, with Brian, problems arising due to her inability to wean Stewie from breast milk; Brian offers to "medically examine" Lois' breasts while giving Lois the impression that he knew what he was doing. After that discussion, Brian also offers to "medically examine" Lois' genitals; when Lois becomes confused as to why Brian would want to examine that area of her body, Brian simply replies hastily "Please pull down your underpants." In "Prick Up Your Ears", Brian immediately tells Lois, after Meg walked out of her room after she and Lois had a spirited discussion about vaginal intercourse, that he loves her. In "Peter's Two Dads", Lois and Brian secretly celebrate the death of Francis Griffin, but she slaps him when he grabs her breasts.
Brian was once seen wearing Lois' clothes, much to Stewie's surprise and disgust (though he appears to have just been mocking her).
With Peter
I'm not gonna call the hospital because you won't learn anything if I do.
— Brian, to Peter, injured on an indoor water slide made by running water down the stairs
As Peter's best friend, Brian has had to adapt to Peter being substantially less intelligent that he.
With Stewie
You and I are / too awfully different / too awfully different / to ever be pals
— musical duet by Brian and Stewie, "Road To Europe"
Haphazard rivals, Brian and Stewie have similar levels of intelligence and sophistication, and suffer comparable reality-based shortcomings (being respectively a dog and a baby).
Brian and Stewie are often paired in storylines as a comedy duo, especially in the Road to... episodes (starting with "Road to Rhode Island"),[3] which openly imitate the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby pairing in their "Road" movies, complete with musical numbers. In these and other episodes Brian is sometimes charged by Lois or Peter with caring for Stewie, sometimes along with the older siblings, Meg and Chris.
Even though most adult characters seem to at least occasionally understand Stewie, only Brian fully considers what Stewie says, and only Brian notices how abnormal Stewie's behavior is.
Political beliefs
Brian has liberal political leanings, which mirror MacFarlane's; he is meant to be a manifestation of Family Guy's creator within the show (MacFarlane uses his ordinary speaking voice while portraying Brian, which makes director commentary sound as if done by the character). Brian's views have been demonstrated several times; through his criticism of then-Presidential candidate George W. Bush in his musical number "You've Got a Lot to See;" he is shown reading Michael Moore's book Dude, Where's My Country? in "North by North Quahog;" his car, a Toyota Prius, (which is addressed in "North by North Quahog" and the commentary for "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story") displays a "Kucinich '04" bumper sticker; also in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story he is shown eating Stewie's teddy bear Rupert's leg because of Stewie's support for a flat tax system. Brian mentions in the episode "Don't Make Me Over" that he votes Democrat, though he also said in the first episode, "This is why I don't vote," suggesting that he was not a registered voter until a later date; in the episode He's Too Sexy For His Fat, Brian is quoted as saying "You know, I like Hillary Clinton, I don't care what anyone says." In the episode "You May Now Kiss The...Uh...Guy Who Receives," Brian goes to extremes to prevent a gay marriage ban proposed by mayor Adam West after his cousin Jasper comes to Quahog to get married to his Filipino boyfriend (West merely wanted the ban as a distraction after he squandered the entire city budget on a gold statue of the Dig 'Em Frog). In "Hell Comes to Quahog," Brian turns off the air conditioning in favor of a more environmentally safe alternative, to which Lois replies, "Save your hippie bullshit for the winter months."
In "Meet the Quagmires," it is revealed that in 1984 when Peter blew off Lois for their date and thus altered the future, Al Gore was elected President, which Brian seems happy about. When they call for Death to help them fix things, he reveals that "it has been a busy day" because Dick Cheney shot Justice Scalia in a hunting accident and the bullet went right through him killing Karl Rove and Tucker Carlson in the process; this makes Brian think that staying in the altered future isn't such a bad thing, and earlier he tells Peter that his not marrying Lois is the best thing that ever happened to the world.
Racism
Brian often uses civil rights metaphors to describe his second class status as a dog. However, in several episodes, Brian is embarrassed by his own displays of thoughtless racism.
In "Don't Make Me Over" he barks in reflexive hostility toward an African-american, then apologizes profusely, blaming his father ("Oh god. ... Please forgive me ... I get that from my father"[4]), only to catch himself barking again.
In the episode Chick Cancer, Stewie asks Brian a hypothetical along the lines of "What kind of man would I be if I ran off now?" to which Brian replies "A black man". Even Stewie, never exactly the liberal humanist, is disgusted by this remark,[5] after which Brian again tries to excuse himself by citing his father.
In No Meals on Wheels, Brian is enraged by the O.J. Simpson murder case. When he said "What the hell?!", his black room mate, at the same time, was happy for O.J. Simpson. Both Brian and his room mate pulled out a pistol, planning to kill each other.
He usually seems perfectly comfortable around Cleveland and the Brown family, but when Brian gets a job as a cab driver, he doesn't pick Cleveland up, because he didn't want to forget to pick up some milk for Lois.[citation needed]
References
Citations
- ^ a b "The Thin White Line". Family Guy. Season 3. Episode 1. 2001-07-11. Fox.
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- ^ "Don't Make Me Over". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 4. 2005-06-05. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
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Bibliography
- S. Callaghan Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide : Seasons 1 - 3 New York: Harper Paperbacks, 2005
- A. Delarte, "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 4" in Bob's Poetry Magazine, 3.January 2006: 11, 14, 17 - 21, 24 - 26 http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs03Ja.pdf