Trading Places (Family Guy)
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"Trading Places" is the 13th episode of the ninth season of the
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
comedy series Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...
''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
''. It originally aired on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
in the United States on March 20, 2011. The episode follows the
Griffins The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
as they decide to switch roles, in order to teach each other a lesson about responsibility, with father
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
and mother
Lois Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...
becoming the children, and son
Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...
and daughter
Meg Meg is a feminine given name, often a short form of Margaret, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc. It may refer to: People *Meg (singer) (born 1980), Japanese singer *Meg Baird, American musician *Meg Bateman, Scottish writer * Meg Bellamy, British ac ...
becoming the parents of the household. They each discover hardships in their new roles, however, as the switch causes a strain on the family's relationship, and eventually resulting in the ultimate consequence. The episode was written by
Steve Callaghan Steve Callaghan is an American screenwriter, producer and voice actor, best known for his work on ''Family Guy''. He is a graduate of the Department of Public Policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. Callaghan started his career in 1999 as ...
and directed by Joseph Lee. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, it was viewed in 6.55 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by
Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series '' M ...
,
Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...
,
Rachael MacFarlane Rachael Ann MacFarlane (born March 21, 1976) is an American voice actress. Her voice credits include Hayley Smith on the animated television show ''American Dad!'', the creator of which, Seth MacFarlane, is her older brother; Supreme Leader Nu ...
,
Laura Vandervoort Laura Dianne Vandervoort (born September 22, 1984) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Lisa in the ABC science fiction series '' V'' (2009). She also known for role as Sadie Harrison in the CTV teen drama series '' Instant ...
, Lisa Wilhoit, and
Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva (; born January 9, 1989), known professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (20 ...
, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Trading Places" was one of five episodes submitted for consideration for an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in the " Outstanding Comedy Series" category in 2011.


Plot

A drunk
Tom Tucker Thomas, Tommy or Tom Tucker may refer to: Music * Tommy Tucker (bandleader) (1903–1989), big band leader in the 1930s * Tommy Tucker (singer) (1933–1982), American blues singer and songwriter * "Tommy Tucker", song by the band Bow Wow Wow Po ...
appears on television, announcing a contest to win a dirtbike.
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
decides to enter the contest, in which the person who keeps their hand on the bike the longest wins. As time goes on, competitors continually begin to give up. Nine hours later, the last two contestants remaining are Peter and
Mayor Adam West Mayor Adam West, or simply Mayor West, is a fictional character that was voiced by actor Adam West (as a fictionalized version of himself) on the American animated television series and franchise ''Family Guy''. Depicted as the mayor of the tow ...
, the latter of whom is tricked into taking his hand off the bike when Peter sends him a text message with his free hand. The next day, Peter's children,
Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...
and
Meg Meg is a feminine given name, often a short form of Margaret, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc. It may refer to: People *Meg (singer) (born 1980), Japanese singer *Meg Baird, American musician *Meg Bateman, Scottish writer * Meg Bellamy, British ac ...
decide to get on the bike and take it for a ride through
Quahog The hard clam (''Mercenaria mercenaria''), also known as the round clam, hard-shell (or hard-shelled) clam, or the quahog, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America from Prince ...
. Daring Meg he can jump over a fire hydrant, Chris suddenly crashes the bike, completely destroying it. Once Peter and
Lois Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...
discover that they crashed the bike (and Peter "punishes" Chris by making him start smoking), the ensuing argument leads to both sides questioning who has it harder, and they switch roles in the family for a week. Meg and Chris then become the parents, dressing more conservatively, with Meg doing housework and Chris going to the brewery where their father works, and Lois and Peter begin attending high school. Peter and Lois undergo constant hard school work beyond their generation, as well as having to keep up a social status all the time, and dealing with bullies. Meanwhile, Meg and Chris find adult work to be very easy to handle. Meg finishes the housework in under an hour and proves to be an exceptional cook, while Chris accomplishes a great deal of work Peter had previously been slacking off in. Once Chris begins working, his boss, Angela, is surprised to see his stellar work ethic and offers him a raise. That night, after returning home, Chris and Meg alert their parents that switching roles is easier than they thought, with Lois and Peter admitting that they are suffering and being bullied in school. Wanting to call off the role switching, Peter and Lois attempt to get their children to go back to school, Meg agrees to do so but Chris refuses on the grounds he has been hired at the brewery as Peter's replacement, even pointing out that, as he is now the breadwinner, they can't contradict him. In the meantime, Peter attempts to find a new job, as Chris begins working overtime at the brewery. Becoming exhausted by work, Chris begins drinking, and taking his anger and frustration out on the family, and eventually suffers a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. Realizing being an adult is just as hard as being a kid after recovering in the hospital, Chris agrees to go back to the way things used to be, and the family goes back to normal, with the exception of Dr. Hartman questioning them about their antics when the screen goes black.


Production and development

The episode was written by series regular, executive producer and
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
Steve Callaghan Steve Callaghan is an American screenwriter, producer and voice actor, best known for his work on ''Family Guy''. He is a graduate of the Department of Public Policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. Callaghan started his career in 1999 as ...
, and directed by series regular Joseph Lee during the course of the ninth production season. Series veterans
Peter Shin Peter Shin (born: September 7, 1977) is an American animator, director, and producer who served as supervising director of the adult-animated show ''Family Guy'', himself directing the episodes " Death Has a Shadow" (the series premiere), " Emissi ...
and James Purdum, both of whom having previously served as animation directors, served as supervising directors for the episode, with Andrew Goldberg, Alex Carter,
Elaine Ko Elaine Ko is an American television writer and producer best known for her work on ''Modern Family'' and ''Only Murders in the Building''. Early life Ko is a Korean American, whose Korean name is Ko Yoon-ju. Career Ko's TV career began on th ...
, Spencer Porter and Aaron Blitzstein serving as
staff writer In journalism, a staff writer byline indicates that the author of the article is an employee of the periodical, as opposed to being an independent freelance writer. In Britain, staff writers may work in the office instead of traveling to cover a ...
s for the episode. Composer Ron Jones, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "Trading Places". In addition to the regular cast, actor
Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series '' M ...
, actress
Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva (; born January 9, 1989), known professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (20 ...
, actress
Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...
, voice actress
Rachael MacFarlane Rachael Ann MacFarlane (born March 21, 1976) is an American voice actress. Her voice credits include Hayley Smith on the animated television show ''American Dad!'', the creator of which, Seth MacFarlane, is her older brother; Supreme Leader Nu ...
, actress
Laura Vandervoort Laura Dianne Vandervoort (born September 22, 1984) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Lisa in the ABC science fiction series '' V'' (2009). She also known for role as Sadie Harrison in the CTV teen drama series '' Instant ...
, and voice actress Lisa Wilhoit guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors and writers
Steve Callaghan Steve Callaghan is an American screenwriter, producer and voice actor, best known for his work on ''Family Guy''. He is a graduate of the Department of Public Policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. Callaghan started his career in 1999 as ...
, Danny Smith,
Alec Sulkin Alexander Matthew Sulkin (born February 14, 1973) is an American screenwriter, producer, and voice actor known for his work on ''Family Guy'' and ''The Cleveland Show''. Career Sulkin began as a writer for '' The Late Late Show with Craig Kilb ...
and John Viener also made minor appearances. Actor
Adam West William West Anderson (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017), known professionally as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in ...
appeared in the episode as well.


Cultural references

When the family agrees to switch roles for one week Peter mentions the movie '' Criss-Cross''. He goes on to mention ''
Face/Off ''Face/Off'' is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by John Woo, from a screenplay by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. It stars John Travolta as an FBI agent and Nicolas Cage as a terrorist, who undergo an experimental surg ...
'' and ''
Roadhouse Roadhouse may refer to: Premises * Roadhouse (premises), a mixed-use premise to service passing travellers * Receiving house or roadhouse, a theatre for touring theatre companies * A truck stop in rural Australia Arts and entertainment Film * '' ...
'' (both of which have nothing to do with the current situation). When Peter enters the kitchen in a dress (as "Meg") Lois reminds him that he is supposed to switch roles, not genders. He returns with a pump-action shotgun and dressed up as a ''Trench-Coat Mafia'' member and saying "Time to make all those popular kids pay for ignoring me," referencing
Columbine Columbine may refer to: Places * Columbine, Colorado, a census-designate place in Jefferson and Arapahoe counties in Colorado, United States ** Columbine High School, a high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States *** Columbine Memorial, a ...
– he is even shown entering the scene with a sawn-off shotgun similar to the one used in the massacre. Chris compares his high school's hierarchical structure to ''
Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...
''. The title is a reference to the film ''
Trading Places ''Trading Places'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the film te ...
'', in which Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy have their lives swapped around in attempt to resolve a wager on the significance of someone's upbringing vs their genes (nature vs nurture) in determining what kind of person they become.


Reception

The episode was watched by 6.55 million viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Rowan Kaiser of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave "Trading Places" a mostly positive review, calling it "relatively entertaining", and stating that the moral of the episode "surprisingly felt earned, if cliché". She also praised the episode for giving Chris and Meg "more to do than just be punching bags for annoying jokes". She rated "Trading Places" a B. Jason Hughes of
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
was more critical of the episode, complaining about the lack of original ideas. However, he also praised the characterization of Chris and Meg, writing that he enjoyed "seeing Meg step up as a character and be more than the butt of her family's hatred" and "Seth Green was absolutely hilarious during Chris's psychological breakdown leading up to his heart attack". The episode was among four other episodes submitted by the ''Family Guy'' production team for consideration of an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nomination, in the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
category. "Trading Places" was submitted, along with " Halloween on Spooner Street", "
Road to the North Pole "Road to the North Pole" is the seventh episode of the Family Guy season 9, ninth season of the animated cartoon, animated television comedy, comedy series ''Family Guy''. Directed by Greg Colton and co-written by Chris Sheridan (writer), Chri ...
", "
New Kidney in Town "New Kidney in Town" is the eighth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 9, 2011. The episode follows Peter, after he drinks kerosene, causing him t ...
" and "
And I'm Joyce Kinney "And I'm Joyce Kinney" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 16, 2011. The episode follows housewife Lois as she becomes close friends ...
". The series was successfully nominated in 2009, but failed to merit an award.
Mark Hentemann Mark Henry Hentemann is an American screenwriter, creator and producer for television and film. He is a writer, executive producer and former showrunner of the animated series ''Family Guy'', where he started as a writer in its first season. In ...
, executive producer and
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
of ''Family Guy'' said of the nominating process, "We had internal discussions in the writers' room, and it seemed like we were much more akin to the other primetime comedies than we were to children's shows in animation. We assumed we would not get anywhere, and so it was a great surprise when we got the nomination."


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trading Places 2011 American television episodes Family Guy season 9 episodes