Family Guy
Season 9
DVD covers for Volumes 9 and 10
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes18
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseSeptember 26, 2010 (2010-09-26) –
May 22, 2011 (2011-05-22)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 8
Next →
Season 10
List of episodes

The ninth season of animated television series Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 26, 2010, to May 22, 2011, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. Family Guy follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog.

Season nine was the debut of the series' eighth production season, which was executive produced by Chris Sheridan, David Goodman, Danny Smith, Mark Hentemann, Steve Callaghan and series creator Seth MacFarlane. The season's showrunners were Hentemann and Callaghan.

The season received a mixed reception from critics, who called it "a mixture of laugh out loud gags, groan inducing puns, and astonishing 'I can't believe they got away with that' statements."[1] Season nine contains some of the series' most acclaimed episodes, including "And Then There Were Fewer",[2] "Road to the North Pole"[2] and "New Kidney in Town",[3] as well as some of the most controversial episodes, including "And I'm Joyce Kinney", "Friends of Peter G.", and "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair".[4][5][6][7] This season marks the first time Family Guy aired in 720p high definition and widescreen with a remastered title sequence.[8] It was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series and Animation.

The Volume Nine DVD box set was released in Region 1 on December 13, 2011, and was released in Region 2 on May 9, 2011 (titled Season 10)[9] and Region 4 on June 15, 2011. Three of the eighteen episodes are included in the volume. The remaining fourteen episodes were included in the Volume Ten DVD box set, released in Region 2 on November 3, 2011, titled Season 11,[10] Region 4 on February 29, 2012, and finally on Region 1 on September 24, 2012.[11] One other episode, "It's a Trap!", was released independently on DVD.

In the UK, the debut episodes were shown on Sunday nights from May to July 2011 on BBC Three. These repeated the Saturday after, although re-runs of the series continue to be shown on the channel nightly.

Production

Production for the ninth season began in 2009, during the airing of the eighth season. The season was executive produced by series regulars Chris Sheridan, David Goodman, Danny Smith, Mark Hentemann and Steve Callaghan, along with series creator Seth MacFarlane. The showrunners for the ninth season were Hentemann and Callaghan,[12] who oversaw the series's transition into 720p high definition in the premiere of the ninth-season episode "And Then There Were Fewer".[8]

As production began, Callaghan, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Hentemann, Patrick Meighan, Brian Scully, Chris Sheridan, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin, John Viener and Wellesley Wild all stayed on from the previous season. Matt Harrigan, Dave Willis, Anthony Blasucci and Mike Desilets received their first writing credit for the series. Series executive producer David A. Goodman returned as a writer for the series, with Goodman leaving immediately afterward to work on the Fox animated series Allen Gregory.[13] Kirker Butler, who wrote five episodes for the show, left the series before the beginning of the ninth season, in order to write for the Fox animated series The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of Family Guy.[14][15] Writer John Viener left the series at the end of the season to also write for The Cleveland Show. Recurring directors Dominic Bianchi, Greg Colton, John Holmquist, Brian Iles, Jerry Langford, Pete Michels, James Purdum, Cyndi Tang and Julius Wu all stayed with the show from the previous season. Peter Shin briefly returned to the series as a director to direct the sequel to the episode "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", entitled "It's a Trap!". Shin also served as supervising director for the season, along with James Purdum.[14][15]

The main cast consisted of Seth MacFarlane (Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, Quagmire and Tom Tucker, among others), Alex Borstein (Lois Griffin, Loretta Brown, Tricia Takanawa and Barbara Pewterschmidt, among others), Mila Kunis (Meg Griffin), Seth Green (Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman, among others) and Mike Henry (Cleveland Brown and Herbert, among others).[16]

Episodes

See also: List of Family Guy episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1481"And Then There Were Fewer"Dominic PolcinoCherry ChevapravatdumrongSeptember 26, 2010 (2010-09-26)8ACX019.13[17]
8ACX02
In a parody of a murder mystery, the residents of Quahog are invited over to a honorary dinner at James Woods' mansion, where Quagmire's overweight date Stephanie, James Woods, his girlfriend Priscilla, Muriel Goldman, and Derek Wilcox are all murdered in sequence. A bloody golden globe and Priscilla's dead body are found in Tom Tucker's room leading the group to believe he is the killer. In the morning, Lois finds out that Diane Simmons is the true killer and she did it because James Woods was her boyfriend and dumped her on her 40th birthday and Tom pushed Channel 5 to replace her with a younger woman so she planned to kill Woods and frame Tom. As she prepares to kill Lois, she is shot by Stewie, vowing to be the one to kill Lois.
1492"Excellence in Broadcasting"John HolmquistPatrick MeighanOctober 3, 2010 (2010-10-03)8ACX037.98[18]
Brian decides to confront Rush Limbaugh when he comes to Quahog for a book signing. Brian becomes a Republican after reading Rush's book. As Lois opposes his new ideas, he moves in with Rush and tries to "help" his party in different ways.
1503"Welcome Back, Carter"Cyndi TangWellesley WildOctober 10, 2010 (2010-10-10)8ACX046.97[19]
After Peter catches Lois's dad, Carter, having an affair, he is strong-armed into keeping a secret. Joe and Quagmire tell him about how he can use this situation to blackmail Carter. But when Peter accidentally spills the beans, Lois's mom demands a divorce, and Peter is in charge of Carter's return to bachelorhood.
1514"Halloween on Spooner Street"Jerry LangfordAndrew GoldbergNovember 7, 2010 (2010-11-07)8ACX068.00[20]
Peter and Joe team up to execute a series of painful and humiliating Halloween pranks on Quagmire. While Brian shows Stewie the ropes of trick-or-treating, Meg sets out to attend her first high school Halloween party with high hopes for the evening. She and Chris, who have both dressed up in an attempt to hide their faces, find themselves in an unpleasant situation.
1525"Baby, You Knock Me Out"Julius WuAlex CarterNovember 14, 2010 (2010-11-14)8ACX057.06[21]
After Lois accidentally gets involved in boxing, she proves herself extremely skilled in the ring as she tries to picture Peter in place of her opponent. Peter gets ambitious and tries to make Lois a professional boxer even when she is resistant.
1536"Brian Writes a Bestseller"Joseph LeeGary JanettiNovember 21, 2010 (2010-11-21)8ACX076.59[22]
Feeling discouraged with the progress of his writing career, Brian decides to throw in the towel until Stewie become his manager and one of his books hits the bestseller list. But when the fame goes to his head, Brian gets a wake-up call from Bill Maher (appearing in a live-action scene as himself).
1547"Road to the North Pole"Greg ColtonChris Sheridan & Danny SmithDecember 12, 2010 (2010-12-12)8ACX088.03[23]
8ACX09
After getting blown off by the mall's Santa, Brian and Stewie travel to the North Pole to kill Santa Claus. They get there, only to find that Santa is very sick and near dying because of all the work he does each Christmas. Brian and Stewie promise to deliver the presents for him, but fail at the first stop after being discovered by a family. On Christmas morning, when everyone wakes up with no presents under their trees, Brian explains the problem on the news and tells them to shorten their demands to one gift a year. Everyone agrees and one year later, Santa recovers and everyone has a merry Christmas.
1558"New Kidney in Town"Pete MichelsMatt Harrigan & Dave WillisJanuary 9, 2011 (2011-01-09)8ACX109.33[24]
Peter needs a new kidney after his disturbing energy-drink addiction causes renal failure. Brian agrees to give him both of his kidneys and the family prepares to bid adieu to their dog. Meanwhile, Chris is chosen to introduce President Obama at school after winning an essay contest. Trouble is, Meg wrote the essay.
1569"And I'm Joyce Kinney"Dominic BianchiAlec SulkinJanuary 16, 2011 (2011-01-16)8ACX127.06[25]
Lois encounters the replacement to Diane as the anchorwoman for Quahog's news station, Joyce Kinney. Seeking a bond with someone famous out of sheer ego, Lois tries to befriend her. During a late-night dinner, Lois accidentally confides in Kinney that she is a former porn star. Kinney promptly reveals this on the news the next day which turns Lois into a pariah and enrages her. When Lois confronts her, Kinney reveals she's an ex-classmate of Lois during her days as a high-school cheerleader and that revealing her secret was part of a deep-seated grudge she had on Lois because of a terrible prank she played on Kinney in high school. Lois becomes depressed leading Brian to try and pull her out of it. Eventually, Lois decides to publicly admit her mistake during a church sermon and eventually win the town's approval back and completely infuriating Kinney.
15710"Friends of Peter G."John HolmquistBrian ScullyFebruary 13, 2011 (2011-02-13)8ACX135.98[26]
Brian and Peter are required to attend a 12-step program to deal with their drinking problems after a night of their disruptive drunken shenanigans; Death gives Peter a glimpse of what life would be like without alcohol.
15811"German Guy"Cyndi TangPatrick MeighanFebruary 20, 2011 (2011-02-20)8ACX146.57[27]
Chris's search for a new hobby leads him to befriend an elderly puppeteer named Franz, until his checkered past is revealed by Herbert. After Chris and Peter get in trouble with Franz, they are rescued by Herbert.
15912"The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair"Brian IlesTom DevanneyMarch 6, 2011 (2011-03-06)8ACX116.33[28]
Meg is enlisted to check in on Susie and Joe while Bonnie is away but she soon becomes a little too involved. Lois intervenes when she realizes that Meg‘s misrepresentation of the situation. Meanwhile, Stewie accidentally creates an evil twin. When he tries to take Stewie's place, Brian has to step in.
16013"Trading Places"Joseph LeeSteve CallaghanMarch 20, 2011 (2011-03-20)8ACX176.55[29]
Chris, Meg, Peter and Lois all trade places to teach each other a lesson. The stunt backfires on everyone except Meg, who surprisingly becomes an excellent housewife. Chris, however, proves to be incredibly productive at Peter's desk job leading Angela to fire Peter and replace him with Chris. Angela then proceeds to overwork Chris to the point where he becomes ill-tempered and nasty which eventually leads to a stress-induced heart attack.
16114"Tiegs for Two"Jerry LangfordJohn VienerApril 10, 2011 (2011-04-10)8ACX166.59[30]
Brian tries to score on a date with a new friend, Denise, but ends up striking out. Instead of throwing in the towel, he decides to enlist Quagmire's help through the latter's new class on how to score women. Unfortunately for Brian, the class was not to find love but to simply have sex. Fed up with Quagmire, he later encounters Cheryl Tiegs (Quagmire's one true love and the reason he became so sexually active). Brian and Cheryl hit it off immediately and the former begins rubbing it in Quagmire's face. This leads Quagmire to snag Jillian Russell (Brian's greatest romantic conquest) and rub it in Brian's face in response. Meanwhile, when the local dry cleaner loses his favorite white shirt, Peter goes ballistic.
16215"Brothers & Sisters"Julius WuAlex CarterApril 17, 2011 (2011-04-17)8ACX155.98[31]
Lois is skeptical when she hears that Mayor West is marrying her sister Carol, due to the problems she had before with nine break-ups. Meanwhile, Peter is ecstatic at the thought of having a new brother and gets mad at Lois when she tries to prevent the marriage.
16316"The Big Bang Theory"Dominic PolcinoDavid A. GoodmanMay 8, 2011 (2011-05-08)8ACX186.52[32]
Stewie discovers that his time travel has in someway caused the Big Bang that formed the universe, so when Bertram reveals his plan of killing Leonardo da Vinci, Stewie's ancestor, in order to erase Stewie from the universe, he and Brian go back in time to stop Bertram from accidentally deleting the whole universe too.
16417"Foreign Affairs"Pete MichelsAnthony Blasucci & Mike DesiletsMay 15, 2011 (2011-05-15)8ACX196.44[33]
Bonnie and Lois go to Paris, but Lois finds out that Bonnie only wants to go there to have an affair. After Joe discovers Bonnie's plans, he travels to Paris to try to get her back. All the while, Peter unsuccessfully homeschools Meg and Chris.
16518"It's a Trap!"Peter ShinCherry Chevapravatdumrong & David A. GoodmanMay 22, 2011 (2011-05-22)7ACX215.84[34]
7ACX22
Peter retells the story of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Home media

The remaining episodes of the eighth season and the first three episodes of the ninth season were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox in the United States and Canada on December 13, 2011. The DVD release features bonus material including four featurettes, "Who Done It? The Making of 'And Then There Were Fewer'", "Brian & Stewie: The Lost Phone Call", "The History of the World According to Family Guy" and the Family Guy panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, along with audio commentaries, animatics and deleted scenes.[35]

Family Guy Volume Nine / Season 10
Set details[35] Special features[35]
  • Optional commentary
  • Deleted/extended scenes
  • Animatics for three episodes
  • "And Then There Were Fewer" featurette
  • "Brian & Stewie: The Lost Phone Call" featurette
  • "The History of the World According to Family Guy" featurette
  • Family Guy panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International
Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
December 13, 2011[36] May 9, 2011[37] June 15, 2011[38]
Family Guy Volume Ten / Season 11
Set details[35] Special features[35]
  • 14 episodes
  • 3-disc set
  • Widescreen: 1.78:1 ratio video
  • Languages:
    • English (Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles)[35]
    • Spanish (Dolby Digital, with subtitles)[35]
    • French (Dolby Digital, with subtitles)[35]
  • Deleted/extended scenes
  • Select-scene animatics for "Baby, You Knock Me Out" and "Trading Places"
  • The Cleveland Show bonus episode ("The Way the Cookie Crumbles" [Region 1], "Beer Walk!" [Regions 2 and 4])
  • Digital copy: 20 clips-to-go, 5 mash-ups, 15 best moments from Volume 10/Season 11 and 9 downloadable songs
Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
September 25, 2012[11] November 7, 2011[10] February 29, 2012

References

  1. ^ Elliott, Dave (May 8, 2011). "Family Guy Season 10 DVD Review". GeekTown. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "2011 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  3. ^ Beachum, Chris (June 21, 2011). "Can 'Family Guy' get back into Comedy Series race at Emmys?". Gold Derby. Archived from the original on June 26, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  4. ^ "Family Guy on Fox". Worst TV Show of the Week. December 17, 2010. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  5. ^ "Family Guy on Fox". Worst TV Show of the Week. January 21, 2011. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  6. ^ "Family Guy on Fox". Worst TV Show of the Week. June 17, 2011. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  7. ^ "Family Guy on Fox". Worst TV Show of the Week. September 2, 2011. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Family Guy Preview: "And Then There Were Fewer"". IGN. September 24, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  9. ^ Family Guy: Season 10: Inflatable Flying Disc: Hmv Exclusive (2011): DVD. hmv.com (2005-12-15). Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
  10. ^ a b Family Guy – Season 11 Limited Edition with T-Shirt and Script DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis: Film & TV Archived 2023-01-17 at the Wayback Machine. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
  11. ^ a b "Family Guy DVD news: Announcement for Family Guy - Volume 10 | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  12. ^ Schneider, Michael (September 2, 2010). "'Guy's' Goodman reups at Fox TV". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  13. ^ "Fox 2011–12 New Series – Allen Gregory" (PDF). 20th Century Fox. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Family Guy – Season 9 Episode Guide". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on February 24, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  15. ^ a b "Family Guy – Season 10 Episode Guide". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  16. ^ Graham, Jefferson (January 29, 1999). "Cartoonist MacFarlane funny guy of Fox's 'Family' Subversive voice of series is his". USA Today. p. E7.
  17. ^ Gorman, Bill (September 28, 2010). "Sunday Finals: Amazing Race Premieres Up; Undercover Boss A Bit Less Bossy vs. Football". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 15, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  18. ^ Gorman, Bill (October 5, 2010). "Sunday Finals: The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives Rise; Undercover Boss A Bit Less Bossy vs. Football". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 9, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  19. ^ Gorman, Bill (October 12, 2010). "Sunday Finals: Housewives Adjusted Up; Brothers & Sisters Adjusted Down; Plus Final CBS Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  20. ^ Gorman, Bill (November 9, 2010). "Sunday Finals: 'Desperate Housewives' Adjusted Up; 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Cleveland Show' Down, Plus Final CBS, NBC Numbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 14, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  21. ^ Gorman, Bill (November 16, 2010). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Family Guy,' 'Amazing Race' Adjusted Up; 'CSI: Miami,' 'American Dad,' '60 Minutes' Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  22. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 23, 2010). "Sunday Final Ratings Including Amazing Race, Undercover Boss, and CSI: Miami". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  23. ^ Seidman, Robert (December 14, 2010). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' Adjusted Up; 'The Simpsons,' Down; Plus 'Amazing Race,' 'Undercover Boss,' and 'CSI: Miami'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  24. ^ Seidman, Robert (January 11, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Cleveland' Adjusted Up; 'Brothers & Sisters' Down; No Change for 'The Cape' or 'Bob's Burgers'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 14, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  25. ^ Gorman, Bill (January 19, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Bob's Burgers' Adjusted Down; Plus 'Golden Globes,' 'Undercover Boss,' 'CSI:Miami' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  26. ^ Gorman, Bill (February 15, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' 'America's Funniest Home Videos,' 'Dateline' Adjusted Up; 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Simpsons' Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  27. ^ Seidman, Robert (February 23, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Amazing Race' Adjusted Up; 'The Simpsons' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  28. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 8, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Secret Millionare,' 'Celebrity Apprentice' Adjusted up ; 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Bob's Burgers,' 'Cleveland Show' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 11, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  29. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 22, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Secret Millionaire' Adjusted Up; 'Family Guy,' 'Cleveland' Adjusted Down + CBS". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  30. ^ Gorman, Bill (April 12, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Celebrity Apprentice,' 'Secret Millionaire' Adjusted Up; Plus Unscrambled CBS Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  31. ^ Seidman, Robert (April 19, 2011). "Sunday Finals: 'Celebrity Apprentice,' 'Amazing Race,' 'Undercover Boss,' 'Extreme Makeover,' '60 Minutes' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  32. ^ Gorman, Bill (May 10, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Amazing Race,' 'American Dad,' 'Family Guy' Adjusted Up; 'Brothers & Sisters' Adjusted Down". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  33. ^ Calabria, Rosario T. (May 23, 2011). "Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, May 22, 2011". Your Entertainment Now. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  34. ^ Gorman, Bill (May 24, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Billboard Music Awards,' 'Celebrity Apprentice,' 'Funniest Videos,' 'Family Guy,' 'American Dad,' '60 Minutes' Adjusted Up". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lambert, Dave (June 24, 2011). "Family Guy – Does a Fan Site Message Board Have a List of Volume 9 DVD Contents and Extras?". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  36. ^ Lambert, Dave (July 21, 2012). "Family Guy – Street Date, Cost, and Other New Info for 'Volume 9' Come Out". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  37. ^ "Family Guy – Season 10". Amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  38. ^ "Family Guy – Season 10". EzyDVD.com.au. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2011.

External links

Family Guy episodes
Family Guy franchise
Categories