Love Thy Trophy

Infobox Television episode
Title =Love Thy Trophy
Series =Family Guy


Caption =Peter and co. with their trophy.
Season =2
Episode =5
Airdate =March 14, 2000
Production =1ACX13
Writer =Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman
Director =Jack Dyer
Guests =Debra Wilson
Episode list =List of Family Guy episodes
Season list = Infobox Family Guy Season_2
Prev =If I’m Dyin’, I’m Lyin’
Next =Death Is a Bitch

"Love Thy Trophy" is an episode from the FOX animated series "Family Guy". It is the 12th episode of "Family Guy" to be aired. It was produced for season one but aired in season two. The episode title is probably a parody of the famous Christian saying in the Bible: "Love Thy Neighbor".

Plot summary

For Quahog's yearly harvest festival parade with floats, the theme by Peter, "That episode of "Who's the Boss?" where Tony sees Angela naked in the shower", is chosen.

The float built by Peter, Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe wins, but the men can't agree at whose house the golden clam trophy should reside. They eventually decide on having it be placed over the road, held up by the statues from the float. The next day, the trophy is found to be missing, and everyone immediately suspects each other of stealing it.

Meanwhile, Meg gets a job at a pancake house so she can buy herself a Prada bag. She lets the restaurateur, Flappy, believe that Stewie is her baby so she'll get the job. She soon realizes that allowing customers to think Stewie is a crack-addicted baby and that she is his single mother makes people give her higher tips. Stewie plays along because he loves the restaurant's pancakes.

Things come to a head when a woman from Child Protective Services asks Flappy for Meg's address. Upon questioning the Griffin's neighbors, they show disdain for the Griffins because of the fight over the missing trophy, leading CPS to place Stewie in a foster home. Upon finding this out, Peter, Lois, Quagmire, Cleveland, Loretta, Joe, and Bonnie put their argument aside to bail Stewie out. When an espionage mission fails, they instead trade Meg's newly-acquired Prada bag for Stewie, but they still don’t know what happened to the trophy. That night, it is revealed (by Rod Serling) that Brian buried it in the Griffins' yard (he has an uncontrollable habit of burying shiny objects). Brian knocks Serling out with a shovel and proceeds to bury him as well.

Notes

*Quagmire's first name (Glen) is revealed by the woman from Child Services.
*Lois calls Bonnie "Debbie" at one point.
* According to the "Family Guy" Volume 2 DVD in a featurette about the show’s politically incorrect humor, Seth MacFarlane cites this episode as the one that solidifed Glenn Quagmire’s character as a (to quote MacFarlane), “heartless sex hound” (cf. the scene after he has sex with the social worker, she asks, “Glenn, honey, I have a question for you: what do you do for a living?” to which Quagmire [and, with a split screen effect, Seth speaking in Quagmire’s voice on the DVD featurette] replies, “Hey, I got a question for you too: why are you still here?”)
* Lois points out that Peter’s idea is esoteric; he believes it means delicious. Esoteric actually means something which is recognized by a select few, i.e., a rather specific cultural reference.
* This episode marks the first appearance of Cleveland and Loretta's son, Cleveland Jr.

Censorship

Edits made in syndication:
*The "Who's the Boss?" floats scene, the Mona tree bark on the age spots comment is cut out.
*At the child agency, the scene between Lois and Chris talking about where babies come from is cut out.
*When Loretta is talking, her uses of the word "damn" are cut out.

Cultural references

* Actor Charlton Heston chooses the winning parade theme by shooting pigeons who have suggestions for parade themes tied to their legs. This is a reference to the fact that Heston was president of the National Rifle Association at the time, and a strong supporter of gun ownership. His line “Let my pigeons go!” is a parody of his line “Let my people go,” from the film "The Ten Commandments".
*Cleveland found out a way to get free Cinemax for Spooner Street.
* Peter’s parade theme is “The Episode of "Who’s the Boss?" where Tony sees Angela naked in the shower.” "Who’s the Boss?" was an ABC sitcom, lasting from 1984 until 1992, starring Tony Danza and Judith Light. The episode in question was the second episode of the sitcom, titled “Briefless Encounter.”
* Stewie’s letter blocks spell “REDRUM,” or “MURDER” backwards, a reference to the 1980 horror film "The Shining".
* In a cutaway, Quagmire tries to guess a woman’s astrological sign. After two incorrect guesses, he says “Well, I "know" you’re not a Virgo”, causing the woman to punch him. Virgo is generally associated with purity and virginity. On the floor, Quagmire says “From down here, you look like a Pisces,” a reference to the vagina’s supposed resemblance to a Vesica Piscis.
* Rod Serling, former host of "The Twilight Zone", appears in the episode to give a typical exposition seen on the show. The neighborhood strife is similar to the episode “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”
* Under Meg’s encouragement, Stewie says he is “cuckoo for crack,” a reference to the slogan “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.”
* When Stewie says “My God, I’ve been adopted by a Benetton ad!”, this refers to the overtly multicultural Benetton Group clothing advertisements.
* When the children are debating about Santa's race, the Chinese girl “Mulan,” referring to the Chinese folk character Hua Mulan and the Walt Disney character Mulan.
* In the end credits, while Stewie is coming down from his pancake addiction, he is haunted by a vision of himself crawling on the ceiling. This is a parody of a scene in the 1996 film "Trainspotting".

References

* Callaghan, Steve. “Love Thy Trophy.” "Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3". New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 56–59.
* Delarte, Alonso. “Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 2.” "Bob’s Poetry Magazine" May 2005: 11–12. [http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02My.pdf http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02My.pdf]

External links

*FGwiki|Love Thy Trophy
*imdb title|0576947
*tv.com episode|25452