'Family Guy' Season 10, Episode 22 Recap - 'Viewer Mail #2'

It's viewer mail time again! The first outing was back in season three, and offered one pretty memorable storyline (the superpowers one), one decent storyline (the genie/no bones one), and a third that I had to look up because I had no recollection of it (the kid version of Quahog one). So, all this episode had to do was go 1 for 3 with a walk to match the previous effort. Did it do so?

Family Guy, Wot:

The first installment is a British version of "Family Guy," titled "Chap of the Manor." Like the "Road to the Multiverse" episode, it's mostly just an opportunity to offer alternate versions of our characters for inside-jokey gags. In fact, we get alternate versions of the chicken fight (looks like a pheasant this time, and it's just a short slap fight and an apology), Peter's knee injury ("Sssssss...bugger! Sssssss...bugger!"), and the "Roadhouse" gag ("Rowhouse"). Quagmire's "googity googity glop" was pretty funny too.

Those are all worth a chuckle, even though the story itself is just a method of delivering said jokes. The alternate names weren't bad (Peter is Neville, Lois is Lydia, Chris is Collinsworth and Meg is British Meg), and it was a nice touch changing the ordinarily British Stewie into a redneck southerner. I always like it when they comment on their cutaways, too, and the British version of the cutaway was entertaining. I'd call this one a base hit.

Gooooooooood Morning Quahog!

When Peter watches a roast of Robin Williams and gets angry about the actor's mistreatment, he runs out of the house and curses the heavens. "I wish everyone was Robin Williams!" he cries, which leads him to be struck by God with the ability to turn everyone he touches into--you guessed it--Robin Williams.

This mini-episode is an excuse to take the Robin Williams character that the show does (fairly well) and run with it, as Peter predictably turns everyone in Quahog into Robin Williamses of all shapes and sizes, most of them adhering to one of Williams' famous roles.

The joke gets old pretty fast, and the ending is really disturbing. Ultimately, this wasn't a strikeout, but I wouldn't call it a hit either. Pop fly? 1-2 thus far.

Through the Eyes of Babes:

The final installment is a simple one: a day in the life of Stewie. The hook is that we see everything from Stewie's point of view, so it's literally through his eyes. Activities include getting his diaper changed and whispering horrible things to Lois, going down the slide at school, accidentally hitching a ride on Brian's Prius, and going back in time to stop Kurt Cobain from killing himself.

It's not the most eventful episode, but it's a creative idea and the gags serve well enough. We'll call it a walk, which puts this episode on par with the previous Viewer Mail. Not to mix sports metaphors or anything.

Cut-Aways of the Week:

Practically none, besides the British one!