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Template:Family Guy character Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy, and is voiced by show creator Seth MacFarlane. He is an anthropomorphic white Beagle who stands bipedally (although in early episodes he is often depicted sitting on all fours). MacFarlane uses his normal speaking voice for Brian, as opposed to the vocal modifications he makes when voicing other characters in the show such as Peter, Stewie, and Quagmire. In the Larry shorts, Seth MacFarlane provided the same voice as Brian for a dog named Steve, who had a similar personality. In the 1000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Brian Griffin was selected as the Dog for "The Perfect TV Family."

Overview

Brian is a talking dog who was born in Austin, Texas and has lived with the Griffin family since Peter picked him up as a stray. While he exhibits some typical dog behaviors such as eating garbage and being afraid of the vacuum, he also possesses various anthropomorphic qualities, such as the ability to speak intelligently and attending college. He also has a particularly sharp wit. Peter is his best friend, despite Brian's vastly superior intelligence. Seth MacFarlane has once described Brian as "a dog who has a wit as dry as the martinis he drinks." Brian is often the voice of reason in the family, frequently reminding Peter how stupid his plans are.

Brian is an atheist who often gets irritated when confronted with religious intolerance or blind faith.

Brian has a cultured background; he loves opera and jazz, has talented vocal ability, being able to sing all four parts to a barbershop quartet simultaneously. He attended Brown University, and is an avid writer. Brian also has aspirations as a novelist, and fleeting mentions of his novel are a running gag on the show.

While not seen holding a regular job in Quahog, Brian is depicted both owning and driving a silver Toyota Prius, paying bills, and maintaining a credit card. In various episodes, he has been a substitute teacher at Chris's school, a contributor for the The New Yorker, a taxi driver, and a drug-sniffing dog for the Quahog police department. He also worked selling cars while the Griffin family thought that Peter had died in the episode "Perfect Castaway". Brian held several jobs while living in Los Angeles including waiter, car wash attendant, screenwriter, and pornographic film director.

Background

Brian was born in Austin, Texas, at a puppy mill. For a while he was homeless, panhandling, washing car windows on the side of a highway exit when Peter found him. Having no money to give Brian, Peter brought Brian home to the Griffin family. Brian also intermittently attended Brown University, though he remains one class short of graduating. Brian references his unseen service in the Peace Corps in the season 4 episode "Jungle Love". When Brian returned to Austin to find his mother in "Road to Rhode Island," he found that she had died and her owners were using her stuffed body as a table; Brian absconded with her body to give his mother a proper burial. In another episode, when Brian teaches Chris's English class, it is mentioned by Chris that his father's name is "Coco" and that he was hit by a milk truck.

Relationships

Romantic

In addition to behaving like a human, Brian most commonly pursues relationships with humans. Usually, other characters do not comment on the zoophilic aspects of such a sexual relationship; exceptions include "The Perfect Castaway", where Peter asks Lois why she wants to stay with Brian, then remarks, "That, and uh, hi? He's a dog." MacFarlane mentions in the commentary for "Castaway" that making episodes about Brian being in love is "always a line that we have to walk," concerning the mainstream media's anxiety regarding bestiality.

Throughout the series, Brian is shown both pursuing casual sex as well as long-term relationships. In "The Former Life of Brian", Brian discovers that he has an illegitimate son named Dylan Flannigan; he slept with a former girlfriend named Tracy and unknowingly impregnated her before their relationship ended and they parted ways. Brian reconciles with his unruly son, who then moves back in with his mother. Brian had a regular girlfriend Jillian who appeared in several episodes. They broke up when Brian was not ready to commit to her. Brian finally express his true love for Jillian in the "We Love You, Conrad" episode during her wedding vows but Jillian married her human groom, Derek, anyway.

Brian also has relationships with dogs. In the episode "Screwed the Pooch", he is faced with being neutered as punishment for impregnating Seabreeze, a racing dog owned by Lois' father, Carter Pewterschmidt. At the last moment, however, he discovers that the real father turns out to be Ted Turner.

With family members

In "Barely Legal", Brian makes out with Meg at a dance after he gets drunk. The kiss affects Meg, causing her to become deeply infatuated with him. Brian's crush on Lois is an ongoing theme in the show. He first confesses this to his therapist in the Season 2 episode "Brian in Love", in which he eventually decides not to reveal it to Lois, settling for her friendship.

In the episode "Perfect Castaway", Peter comes home, after a long absence where he is presumed dead, to find Brian has been married to Lois for a period of several months, with Brian having taken a job to support the family in Peter's absence. Lois has insisted on keeping separate beds despite Brian's requests that they consummate their relationship. Lois returns to Peter, but later mentions she was "one day" from deciding to finally have sex with Brian, to Brian's great frustration.

In "Play it Again, Brian", Brian takes Peter and Lois on a vacation to Martha's Vineyard, which he won to receive a writing award for a poem he wrote. There, he read an excerpt from the poem, which is about Lois. He then spends an entire day with her, though his repressed feelings of love lead him to have fantasies of him kissing Lois. He eventually loses his self-restraint and ends up trying to have sex with her while openly professing his passion. When Brian apologizes, Lois herself finally admits that she had thoughts about being with Brian, saying she imagined having sex with him would be the same as "doing it with a stuffed animal," though they both agree she should be with Peter, for the time being.

As Peter's best friend, Brian has had to adapt to Peter being substantially less intelligent than he is. Brian's affection for Peter is shown in the episode "Brian: Portrait of a Dog" when, after Peter saves him from being killed, Brian licks Peter's face. Also in "The Thin White Line" when Brian defends Peter when he is accused of being Brian's "x-factor".

Although they share a shifting dislike for one another, Brian and Stewie have similar levels of intelligence and sophistication, as well as sharing several cultural interests. They are often paired as a duo. In the episode "Brian: Portrait of a Dog", when Brian is on the equivalent of Death Row, Stewie makes numerous expressions of delight at Brian's situation; however, at the end of the episode, when Brian has triumphed and returned home, Stewie addresses Brian and bows to him, in a sort of gesture of respect between adversaries. Stewie at times considers himself as Brian's buddy but revels in tormenting Brian by openly professing disgust for the dog, particularly for Brian's natural dog behavior, alcohol problems, different opinions, and difficulty completing his novel. Brian, in turn, expresses open contempt for Stewie's plans to kill Lois and take over the world.

Brian and Stewie are often paired in storylines as a comedy duo, specifically the Road to... episodes which openly imitate the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby pairing in their "Road" movies, complete with musical numbers. Though they seem to often show enmity towards each other, Brian and Stewie are good friends.

Drug usage

Brian is the most drug-prone character on the show, running the gamut from the legal to the illicit.

Brian is depicted smoking in early episodes but did not smoke during the 2006–2007 season. In the commentary for the episode "Road to Rhode Island" on The Freakin' Sweet Collection, "Brian" (MacFarlane in character) states he has quit smoking and has gained weight as a result.

Throughout the series, Brian is prone to alcoholism, one of the qualities for which Stewie derides him. He is often seen holding his trademark martini in several episodes. He also drinks Pawtucket Patriot Ale, Jack Daniels, Jagermeister and Mojitos.

In The Thin White Line, he develops a cocaine addiction after becoming a detection dog.

Casual mentions of Brian's marijuana usage are also recurrent in the show, though are usually fleeting and ancillary to the main plot line. Despite being apparently ignorant of the drug in Road to Europe in Amsterdam, Brian has referred to buying, being in possession of, or smoking marijuana in a number of episodes. In 420, Brian successfully lobbies for the drug's legalization after being arrested for possession.

Political beliefs

Brian has a liberal political philosophy mirroring MacFarlane's, stating in Don't Make Me Over that he votes Democrat (despite that in Death has a Shadow, he states he doesn't vote at all.). Brian's views have been demonstrated: through his criticism of then-Presidential candidate George W. Bush in his musical number "You've Got a Lot to See"; he has been shown reading Michael Moore's book Dude, Where's My Country?, Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and reading Utne Reader, driving a Toyota Prius which displays a "Kucinich '04" bumper sticker, and voicing support for Hillary Clinton and same-sex marriage. He is an environmentalist and has been critical of anti-immigrant sentiment. He is also a vehement supporter of marijuana legalization.

Racism

In several episodes, Brian is embarrassed by his own displays of racism.

In "Don't Make Me Over" he barks in reflexive hostility toward a black man, then apologizes anxiously, blaming his father. In the episode "Chick Cancer", Stewie asks Brian a rhetorical question along the lines of "What kind of man would I be if I ran off now?" to which Brian replies "You'd be a black man," after which Brian again cites his father. However, in the episode "Peter's Two Dads", Brian is taken aback after Peter says that he acquired crack cocaine "from Black's," referring to a white guy selling crack behind Black's Hardware Store.

Brian seems normally comfortable around Cleveland and the Brown family. However, when working as a cab driver, Brian gets in trouble anyway for not picking up Cleveland, stating his hurry to run an errand for Lois as an obvious excuse.

In the episode "Peter's Got Woods", Brian dates a black woman named Shauna Parks, to whom he often nervously rambles about how much he likes African-Americans. He even requests to change "James Woods High School" to "Martin Luther King High School" in order to impress her.

Writing

Brian is also known for writing a novel, with Stewie poking fun at his inability to finish the novel in numerous episodes. In the Season 6 episode Movin' Out (Brian's Song), Brian reveals the title, "Faster Than The Speed Of Love". He describes the book to Lois, and she humorously reveals that it has the same plot as the movie Iron Eagle. In the Season 7 episode 420, Brian's novel is finally published, and it breaks a record by not selling a single copy.

Similarities with Seth MacFarlane

In 2004, in an interview with The Daily Princetonian, MacFarlane noted his similarities to Brian on Family Guy, revealing, "I have some Brian type issues from time to time — looking for the right person — but I date as much as the next guy." He made a similar statement on the radio show "Loveline," on which he frequently appears as a guest. During an interview with KTLA, when asked to whom of the characters MacFarlane relates the most, he replied: "Easily Brian... because he drinks, because he's complex, because he over-analyzes everything; he's a delightfully charming neurotic."

References

1. "TV: Breaking Down the List," Entertainment Weekly," #999/1000 June 27 & July 4, 2008, 56.
2. TV Guide staff, TV Guide: The Ultimate Resource to Television Programs on DVD. New York: Macmillan (2005): 87. "Nihilistic animated antics of the grousing Griffins, including Peter, ... Lois, ... Meg and Chris; ... Stewie, ... and family dog Brian, the smartest of the lot."
3. Navjeet Singh, "Download Family Guy Episodes", Los Angeles Chronicle March 27, 2008. "That one dog, Brian, walks upright, can speak, is highly intelligent and loves to drink as well."
4. In The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz, when Brian makes a remark to Peter's father, Francis Griffin, asking when Stewie will be baptized, Francis threatens him. Brian sarcastically responds: "That's very Christian; believe what I say or I'll hurt you."
5. In "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven," Brian is dubious of Meg's new found faith in Jesus, eventually dissuading her from it.
6. http://www.wvah.com/programs/familyguy/briangriffin.shtml
7. "Deep Throats". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 23. 2006-04-09. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
8. ^ "The Thin White Line". Family Guy. Season 3. Episode 1. 2001-07-11. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help) Brian becomes addicted to cocaine and attends treatment in the first part of this two-part episode.
9. "Brian Does Hollywood". Family Guy. Season 3. Episode 2. 2001-07-18. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help).
10. ^ Moore, Frazier (May 4, 2009). "Hindsight: 'Family Guy' dog Brian dates MTV star". Associated Press.
11. "Brian in Love". Family Guy. Season 2. Episode 4. 2000-03-07. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
12. Voss, Brandon (2008-02-26). "Big Gay Following Seth MacFarlane" (Magazine). The Advocate. PlanetOut. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
13. In the episode "He's Too Sexy For His Fat", Brian is quoted as saying "You know, I like Hillary Clinton; I don't care what anyone says."
14. In the episode "You May Now Kiss The...Uh...Guy Who Receives," Brian goes out of his way to prevent a same-sex marriage ban proposed by mayor Adam West after his cousin Jasper comes to Quahog to get married to his Filipino boyfriend.
15. In "Hell Comes to Quahog," Brian turns off the air conditioning in favor of a more environmentally safe alternative, to which Lois replies, "Save your hippie BS for the winter months."
16. In Padre De Familia, Brian harshly criticizes the newly patriotic Peter's border patrol efforts, accusing Peter of being swept up in post-9/11 patriotism and saying that immigrants are an instrumental part of society.
17. In the episode 420, Brian successfully lobbies for the legalization of marijuana.
18. "Don't Make Me Over". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 4. 2005-06-05. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
19. "Chick Cancer". Family Guy. Season 5. Episode 7. 2006-11-26. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
20. "Peter's Two Dads". Family Guy. Season 5. Episode 10. 2007-02-11. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
21. "Deep Throats". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 23. 2006-04-09. Fox. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help) Brian tells Lois he'll pick up the milk at the end of his shift because he's "gotta go... first fare of the night." When he pulls over and looks at Cleveland (it is not clear whether they personally recognized each other), he changes his mind and remarks "I should really pick up that milk now before I forget." Cleveland calls Brian a "son of a bitch," throws a rock at the cab, and smashes it later in the episode.
22. Rusli, Evelyn. "'Family Guy': Today Princeton, tomorrow the world". The Daily Princetonian. Princeton University. Retrieved 2008-01-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Published February 5, 2004.
23. Family Guy celebrates 100 episodes with Seth MacFarlane. KTLA's YouTube channel. Retrieved Apr. 3, 2009. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)

• Family Guy characters
• Fictional United States Democrats
• Fictional dogs
• Fictional characters from Rhode Island
• Fictional characters from Texas
• Fictional anthropomorphic characters
• Atheism in popular culture