A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks

"A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks" is the 11th episode from the second season of the Fox animated series Family Guy. It is the 18th episode of Family Guy to be aired. It guest-starred Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown, Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood and Charles Kimbrough as Jim Dial. Mila Kunis permanently takes over the role of Meg from Lacey Chabert beginning with this episode.

Plot summary

For his birthday, Peter drives his family to Bob's Funland and Putt Putt Golf. The attraction's owner, Bob Funland, soon asks them to leave, after Peter causes trouble for other customers. Peter grows unhappy over his lack of accomplishments when he remembers Bob Funland from school. Chris gives Peter an astonishingly good painting as a present, but Peter simply uses it to cover a hole in the window of his car. An art dealer named Antonio Monatti buys the painting for $5,000 and urges Peter to bring Chris to Manhattan, where he could become a famous artist.

Peter puts Chris completely in Monatti's hands while the rest of the family tour New York City, dazzled by the big-town sights. Monatti gives Chris a total makeover, dying his hair green, dressing him in fashionable clothes, renaming him "Christobel" and introducing him to Kate Moss. Since Monatti alienates Peter due to his lack of manners, he tells Chris that he must keep away from his father at all times. When Chris reluctantly complies, Peter disowns him and focuses on Meg's talent for bird calls.

Chris' masterpiece turns out to be a collection of portraits of Peter in a style reminiscent of that of Andy Warhol. Monatti and the art enthusiasts detest the new work and reject Chris. As the family prepare to return to Quahog, fashion designer Calvin Klein spots Stewie and immediately casts him in advertising for his new line of designer diapers.

Production

The episode was written by Craig Hoffman and directed by Gavin Dell, before the conclusion of the second production season. Beginning with this episode, Mila Kunis permanently takes over the role of Meg from Lacey Chabert, who left due to school work and her role on Party of Five. Supervising directors Peter Shin and Pete Michels help Dell direct this episode. Series regulars Craig Hoffman and Danny Smith serve as supervising producers, with Mike Barker, Matt Weitzman, and Sherry Gunther serving as producers, Ricky Blitt and Chris Sheridan as co-producers, and Neil Goldman, Garrett Donovan, Mike Henry, Mark Hentemann, Jim Birnstein, and Michael Shipley as story editors.

In addition to the regular cast, voice actors Dee Bradley Baker and Rachael MacFarlane, known for doing voice work on American Dad!, guest starred in the episode as Calvin Klein and Kate Moss/Minnie Mouse respectively. In addition to Baker and MacFarlane, Candice Bergen, Faith Ford, Charles Kimbrough, and Joe Regalbuto guest starred in the episode, reprising their Murphy Brown roles of Murphy Brown, Corky Sherwood, Jim Dial, and Frank Fontana respectively. Bergen and Ford make their second guest appearance this season, their first being in "I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar". Along with reprising his roles of Peter, Chris, Stewie, and Quagmire, series creator Seth MacFarlane voices art dealer Antonio Monatti in the episode. Also, Jennifer Tilly and Patrick Warburton reprise their roles of Bonnie and Joe Swanson, while writer Danny Smith has a minor voice appearance.

Reception

In his 2009 review, Ahsan Haque of IGN, rating the episode an 8.3/10, called the episode a "strong outing", with "some memorable cutaways, and a few interesting character moments". He also noted that the part about Chris making portraits of his father was "unusually heartfelt for an episode of Family Guy".^[1]

References

• S. Callaghan, "A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks". Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1-3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 81-85.

External links

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• "A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks" at the Internet Movie Database
• "A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks" at TV.com