The King Is Dead (Family Guy)

"The King Is Dead" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 28, 2000, alongside "I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar". In the episode, Lois is named director of Quahog's theatre group production of The King and I. Meanwhile, Peter is required by his boss, Mr. Weed, to invent his own toy before an important inspection meeting. However, when Peter instead brings a sex toy, he is ridiculed for it. Embarrassed, Peter decides to take part in Lois' play, but starts making drastic changes to the play, upsetting Lois. Peter and Lois later apologize to each other.

Plot

Lois picks Stewie up from daycare and Chris and Meg from school; on the car ride home, Lois notices a billboard for a local contest involving the Quahog Players. She wins the contest, and is named director of the Quahog Players' theatre group production of The King and I. Meanwhile, Peter's boss, Mr. Weed, prepares for a meeting from famous toy executives to pitch new ideas. Workers begin bringing in their own invented toys to show them and give them ideas. Peter's toy, however, is ridiculed and criticized for resembling a sex toy. Peter is humiliated and decides to try out for Lois' play. During the auditions, Brian and Loretta are the only two happy about their roles in the play. When Peter realizes that he didn't get a part, Lois names him producer in an attempt to keep him out of the project. However, this plan fails to work as Peter gradually takes over, radically changing the play, and making Anna Leonowens's best friend a talking penguin.

When Peter gets the play mentioned on the news by news anchor Diane Simmons as Anna, Lois likes the fact that he got the play on the news, but is mad because Loretta, who was playing Anna, was doing a great job, but Peter recast her as Lady Teong. He also adds material inspired by The Jerry Springer Show and Flashdance and changes Anna's outfit into what he describes as "more this century". Peter makes another change: he decides to make play reveal that the Siamese twins aren't twins, but aliens. Everyone accedes to the idea except for Lois, who claims she hates the changes Peter has made to the play. She tells Peter that nobody will show up to the play, but is proven wrong when they sell out. When Lois quits, Peter is made the director, thus making him the most powerful figure on set. His constant changes to the plot of the play frustrate Diane into quitting, so he plays Anna himself.

Lois comes to the play, but only in the hope of seeing Peter's work ridiculed by everyone in town. Peter’s version of The King and I depicts a post-apocalyptic future set in the ruined world of 2015 AD after the 9th nuclear war. The world is a "grim future filled with lots of explosions and partial nudity", ruled by an oppressive king played by Brian. A.N.N.A., the main character, is an Automoton Nuclear Neo-humanoid Android, a robot ninja from the planet England. A.N.N.A., not succumbing to the enticing, bikini-clad "Siamese children's” all-female sex orgy, kung-fu fights with the King, thus destroying him, and reclaiming Siam for the United States. He then ends the play with a musical number, based on A.N.N.A's victory. To Lois’ frustration, the show is a hit. Lois berates the audience for applauding, claiming that the show is ruined dramatic art. Peter comes home from the wrap party and apologizes to Lois for stealing away her show, and in turn, she apologizes to him for scolding his work.

Production

"The King Is Dead" was written by Craig Hoffman and directed by Monte Young as part of the second season of Family Guy. Young was a freelance director who had previously directed the episode "A Hero Sits Next Door", which marks the first appearance of recurring character Joe Swanson. Hoffman was a freelance writer for the show who requested an episode involving Peter making drastic changes to a play. Hoffman wrote a 35-page outline. Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane pitched the idea of Lois directing the play when Hoffman asked which character (except Peter) would direct the play; Hoffman and MacFarlane settled on Lois to be the character. However, MacFarlane struggled on deciding which play Lois would direct. When Hoffman named the then-untitled episode "The King Is Dead", MacFarlane decided on The King and I as the musical Lois would direct for Quahog's production.

Reception

"The King Is Dead" received mixed to positive reviews. In a 2003 review, Ahsan Haque of IGN rated the episode an 8.5/10, stating that while the episode is not "above anything", it "still has a lot of potential" and has "a lot more clever moments". He also notes that there is "a slight increase in cutaway gags", and much of the humor comes from the cutaways. He commented that the episode did not have as many laugh-out-loud moments as its successor episode, but stated that it had bolder humor than the show would later be known for. In his review of the second volume DVD collection of Family Guy, Aaron Beierle of DVD Talk listed "The King Is Dead" as one of the series' "most brilliant moments", praising the plot and naming the fight between Peter and Lois among the best moments of the series, calling the conversation "absolutely funny."

Home media

"The King Is Dead" and the complete second and first seasons of the series were released under the title Family Guy Volume One; this standard four-disc DVD box set debuted in Region 1 on April 15, 2003, three months before the premiere of the third season. Distributed by 20th Century Fox Television, it included several DVD extras such as episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and online promo spots. The same episodes, without the special features, were released in Region 2 on November 12, 2001 and in Region 4 on October 20, 2003.

References

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