The Story on Page One

Infobox Television episode
Title =The Story on Page One
Series =Family Guy


Caption =Peter tries to seduce Luke Perry.
Season =2
Episode =19
Airdate =July 18, 2000
Production =2ACX14
Writer =Craig Hoffman
Director =Gavin Dell
Guests =Mary Kay Bergman, Luke Perry
Episode list =List of Family Guy episodes
Season list = Infobox Family Guy Season 2
Prev =E. Peterbus Unum
Next =Wasted Talent

"The Story on Page One" is an episode from the second season of the FOX animated series "Family Guy". It is the 26th episode of "Family Guy". It guest-stars Luke Perry as himself.

Plot summary

A visit to Brown University (Brian's alma mater) shows that Meg, does not have enough extracurricular activities to be admitted, so Meg decides to write for her high school's paper. Meg's first story is an interview with Mayor West and his money-wasting investigation on water "theft". Mayor West shows Meg how the drain to his sink and his potted plants are stealing his water. Peter doesn't think that story will grab attention, so he replaces it with a story claiming Luke Perry is gay. When Perry reads this article, he files a lawsuit against the Griffins for libel.

Meg is deeply upset, but Peter, feeling responsible, promises to make it up to her. Trying to get Meg out of the suit, Peter tries to stage a photo of Perry acting gay through seduction, thus making the article seem valid, but Perry doesn't respond to his sexual antics (other than throwing up at the point of seeing Peter's buttocks). He finally confesses to Perry about what he did, who decides to drop all charges with the condition that Meg gets to interview him for a new article. Later, Peter gives Perry a copy of the revised article. Perry rushes back to bed with Mayor West who says he will have sex with Perry only if he would stop stealing his water. Perry agrees, although he has no idea what Mayor West is talking about.

Meanwhile, frustrated with his short size, Stewie puts a mind control device on Chris to make him do his bidding, especially trying to kill Lois. The plan backfires when the device is shorted out by the microwave oven, causing Chris to turn on Stewie, though Stewie manages to evade him.

Censorship

Cuts made in syndication:
*The entire "Sherry and the Anus" cold-open is removed.
*Brian's line "Peter, how the hell is he going to recognize us?" is cut.
*As Peter dances in a bikini in front of Luke Perry, the close-up of Luke realizing that Peter's butt is in his face followed by him gagging is shortened to only show the close-up of Luke gagging and shorten the time that we see Peter shaking his butt.

Cultural references

* The guard at the Dean's office shouts "Nobody sees the Dean, not nobody, not no how", a reference to the Wizard's guards in "The Wizard of Oz".
* Lois says that, when she was in college, the National Guard shot some of her friends, indicating that she went to Kent State during the 1970 shootings on the campus, or at least was friendly with the victims.
* The flashback showing Brian's college years, during which he was harassed for being a dog, parodies the 1992 film "School Ties," in which Brendan Fraser's character is harassed for being a Jew (in the movie, the message on the wall read "Go Home, Jew!" instead of "Go Home, Dog!"). Brian standing outside in the rain and yelling "Cowards!" is also part of the parody.
* Stewie inquires to some women "So... What do you think of this Music television?"
* Peter says that he wanted to name Meg after Twiki, a robot from "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century".
* When Stewie is walking along the street and happens upon a fortune telling machine, he says "I wish I were big." this is a reference to the movie "Big". He presses a button and is then presented with a ticket reading "I wish I could weigh people". This is a direct reference to the 1957 show Gumby, episode 41, part 2 "Weight and See". This episode depicts Gumby and Pokey finding a fortune telling machine that gives you a fortune (usually a bad one) just by taking your weight.
* After Adam West was pulled of to the hospital, a man went to Meg and gave her a bomb. It then exploded on her face and a beak was seen on the back of Meg's head. She then turned it back to the front and said "You realize of course, this means war." This parodies the famous Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck scene.
* A cutaway to Meg's probable future without a college education show her modeling in a bikini at a "bum fight", an event in which homeless people fight one another in exchange for food, alcohol or some other incentive. These events were captured in the controversial 2002 documentary "Bumfights".
* In the cutaway scene showing Peter as a Ghostbuster, he interrupts the famous pottery wheel scene in the movie "Ghost" and sucks up Patrick Swayze's character, who was still alive, much to Demi Moore's horror.
* When Peter's typing on the typewriter, the camera pans around him, then he tosses the paper from the typewriter, where it then forms the logo for Stephen J. Cannell Productions (mistakenly spelled "Steven" in the spoof logo). It was one of three logos, the others being UBU Productions and TriStar Pictures, from the world of TV, movies, or home video to have been parodied on "Family Guy".
* When Meg visits Mayor Adam West, he inquires "Are you Sarah Connor?", a reference to the "Terminator" series of films.
* Stewie uses his mind control device to force Chris to sing "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Irving Berlin. This refers to a scene in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" where the monster performs the same song.
* The scene in which Thomas Jefferson's family is shown as mostly black children is a reference to the recently unveiled evidence that he fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings.
* When Peter lists things that distract kids today, he includes the game Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, the geometric drawing toy the Spirograph, the psychedelic rock band Moby Grape, and "90210" despite the fact that they all (except "90210") date back to at least the mid-1960s.
* Peter tells Luke that "Dark Side of the Moon" syncs up with "The Wizard of Oz", a popular notion about the album. Perry mentions that he heard the same from "Beverly Hills, 90210" co-star Shannen Doherty but thought that she was "just being a bitch", a popular tabloid portrayal of the actress.
* A cutaway indicates Ricky Martín is actually Jewel.
* Peter thinks that Luke Perry, and not Tom Cruise, starred in "Rain Man".
* Peter made a reference to Walter Cronkite, saying that the Vietnam War never occurred in an attempt to convince his family that reporters make up stories.
* Adam West references the Got Milk? campaign as well as an old commercial for Connect Four.
* When we first see Luke Perry, a woman offscreen calls out "Luke! Luke! Time for dinner!". This is a reference to Aunt Beru from "Star Wars".

References

* S. Callaghan, “The Story on Page One.” "Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3". New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 116–119.
* A. Delarte, “Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 2” in "Bob’s Poetry Magazine", 2.May 2005: 26–27 [http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02My.pdf http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02My.pdf]

External links

*FGwiki
*imdb title|0576973
*tv.com episode|25466