Review: Family Guy “Short Cuts”

Overview:

Brian unintentionally becomes a local hero which lands him a big interview on the evening news. Celebrating his 15 minutes of fame, Brian’s old friend decides to reach out. Shredder was Brian’s running mate before he met Peter. Though he has since built himself into a successful millionaire. 

Shredder convinces Brian that the secret to his growth was getting neutered. Brian, in hopes of fulfilling his dreams, agrees to follow suit and get his own testicles removed. But, after the first one was taken, Shredder reveals his plans of trying to seek revenge on his old friend for abandoning him.

Meanwhile, Lois gets herself a new haircut, much to the disapproval of Peter. Acting shallow and vindictive, Peter challenges her with a look of his own that she would dislike. The two of them begin to outdo themselves, hoping to get under the other one’s skin. 

Though, it only leads to them having heated intercourse and resolving nothing.

Our Take:

Not going to lie, when I read the episode title “Short Cuts” I was very much expecting a clip show. It’s not out of the question for Family Guy to give us an entire variety episode of cutscenes. Actually, the prospect of that was quite exciting. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this was not that kind of episode. In fact, I don’t recall there being a single cutscene within “Short Cuts”. Which is even more of a rarity out of Family Guy.

That is not to say that this episode was a complete letdown. There is a solid story and B-plot filling up the time. Both of which are great additions to Family Guy lore.  Starting off with Brian, we may have met his own personal Frank Grimes. The complex story kicks off with the dog unintentionally saving the day and ends with him getting one of his balls cut off. All a part of the mastermind plan of his former best friend. 

Shredder, who has changed his name to George Townsend, has held a grudge against Brian ever since he ditched him to hang out with Peter. Which motivated him to become a success only to manipulate his old friend into neutering himself. That’s some deeply messed up stuff.

Everyone loves a good villain. And one willing to go this far in the name of revenge is worthy of respect. Voiced by former Oz star Christopher Meloni, Shredder is a villain with arch, layers, and devotion. The perfect recipe for a great arch-nemesis. Much like Thanos, Shredder even manages to win one. One nut that is. Which also makes him formidable. Please give us more George Townsend!

The aftermath of Lois getting her hair cut short was a great lighthearted B-plot to accompany the darker story. Just to see who could piss each other off more is good enough reason to have Peter and Lois go at it. Anyone who has been in a significant relationship would shiver at watching the threats the couple makes at one another in this episode. Not for the reasons you would expect either.

Overall this was a great Family Guy episode that was missing some of the Family Guy humour. It’s a hard balance sometimes with this show.  Trying to put ridiculous jokes within an entertaining story must be challenging. This was one of those episodes that teetered itself too far to one side. The cost of that usually means you lose out on some of the best parts of the show.  Thankfully, the villain and the plot were enough to make this episode enjoyable.