"PTV" is the fourteenth episode in thefourth season of the American animated television seriesFamily Guy. It originally aired on theFox network in the United States on November 6, 2005. The episode sees theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) censor the shows on television after a controversialwardrobe malfunction at theEmmy Awards.Peter starts to create his ownTV network which he calls PTV, broadcasting classic shows unedited and uncut, as well as original programming. PTV is a big success, andStewie andBrian join him, creating shows for the network.Lois calls the FCC to close PTV as she is concerned how children would be influenced by Peter's programming. Not only do the FCC close down the network, but they also start censoring the citizens ofQuahog, so theGriffin family travels toWashington, D.C., and convincesCongress to have the FCC's rules reversed.

"PTV"
Family Guy episode
Federal Communications Commission officials censorPeter after seeing him walk out of his shower.
Episodeno.	Season 4 Episode 14
Directed by	Dan Povenmire
Written by	Alec Sulkin Wellesley Wild
Production code	4ACX17
Original air date	November 6, 2005 (2005-11-06)
Guest appearances
Gary Cole as Mike Brady Keith Ferguson asCobra Commander Ralph Garman as FCC Member/OfficerReeses Maurice LaMarche asBob Hope Hunter Gomez Wally Wingert as FCC Member Stacey Scowley John Viener asApache Chief/FCC Member
Episode chronology
← Previous "Jungle Love" Next → "Brian Goes Back to College"
Family Guyseason 4
List of episodes

The episode was written byAlec Sulkin andWellesley Wild and was directed byDan Povenmire. The episode is a response to the FCC's measures to theSuper Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. Show creatorSeth MacFarlane commented that the episode's plot was inspired by the rage of theFamily Guy crew towards the strict rules that the FCC made after the controversy. The episode contains a sequence of various scenes from different previous episodes. Many of the scenes were cut from the episodes they were originally made for owing to Fox's internal censors. With aNielsen rating of 4.4, "PTV" was the nineteenth most-watched episode of the week in which it was broadcast. The episode gained mostly positive responses from critics, and received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) as well as anAnnie Award nomination for directing.

In a sequence unconnected to the remainder of the episode,Stewie preventsOsama bin Laden from sending a hostile message to theUnited States by attacking him and killing several of his henchmen (though before that happens, the terrorists were messing around when Laden was unable to recover from a slip of the tongue when first making the video), and (in a parody of the opening scene fromThe Naked Gun) rides off on hisBig Wheel, cycling throughscenesfromvariousfilmsandvideogames. He eventually arrives at his house, where he runs overHomer Simpson (itself a callback toThe Simpsons original opening). Upon seeing Homer on the ground,Peter asks "Who the hell is that?"

In the episode itself, Peter awakensLois by noisily installing a red carpet in their bedroom, anticipating watching theEmmy Awards, but Lois forces him to go toMeg'sschool play (which resembles the musicalGodspell) instead. AfterDavid Hyde Pierce'swardrobe malfunction during the ceremony, the FCC, led byCobra Commander, receives an insignificant volume of phone calls concerning the incident, and decides tocensor any content from television that could be even slightly harmful to viewers. The censorship is applied to such content as Chrissy Snow's cleavage fromThree's Company, Ralph Kramden’s threats of spousal abuse onThe Honeymooners and evenDick Van Dyke's name. Peter is outraged, and on advice fromTom Tucker, starts his ownTV network, PTV, on which he broadcasts classic shows unedited. He also includes original programming, such asBrian and Stewie'ssitcomCheeky Bastard,Quagmire'sMidnight Q,Dogs Humping, andThe Peter GriffinSideboob Hour.

PTV is successful, but Lois is furious about everyone's interest in perverted TV, as she is concerned over how children will be influenced by Peter's programming (in the DVD release, Peter andCleveland, in a parody ofJackass,defecate on top of Lois' car; the theme to theJackass parody would later be used in the episode "The Man with Two Brians" while the Griffins are actually watchingJackass). Brian comes to Peter's defense by arguing that parents and legal guardians are the ones who should ultimately take responsibility for what their kids watch—he also notes that there are much worse influences for kids besides what they see in pop culture. Regardless, Lois calls the FCC to have PTV switched off for good. This prompts Peter, along with Brian and Stewie, to perform an elaborate musical number lampooning the FCC's regulations. Although impressed with the song, the arriving FCC representatives shut down PTV. When Peter tells them that they cannot prevent people from being who they are even after they censor television, they decide to take on the challenge.

The representatives start to censor any foul language and inappropriate behavior in Quahog, ruining moments of privacy: a "censor's bar" is pulled over Peter's genitals by FCC employees as he leaves the shower, all expletives are drowned out with an air horn, audible farts are overdubbed withSteven Wright punchlines, andMayor Adam West is cautioned for shaking hispenis more than once after using a urinal. Everyone in Quahog is outraged by this change except for Lois, who believes that the citizens need a lesson in decency. However, she discovers that the FCC's guidelines ultimately prevent her and Peter from having sex. Realizing the consequences of her actions and that they were self-righteous as she haven't sex in two weeks, Lois apologizes to Peter and admits that he was right all along (prompting him to unveil a banner reading "Peter's Right!" which he had set up 15 years earlier in preparation for such an event; a clown was also supposed to appear, but he ended up dying and being reduced to askeleton).

They lobbyCongress to have the FCC's rulings reversed; at first they disagree due to their strong support of the FCC, but they relent when Peter retorts by making them realize the resemblance of manyWashington buildings to various private parts, including theWashington Monumentto a penis, theCapitol Building to abreast andThe Pentagon to ananus. With the oppression of the FCC finally over, Lois congratulates Peter, and the family watches an episode ofThe Brady Bunch that prominently featurestoilet humor.

The episode was co-written byAlec Sulkin andWellesley Wild.^[1] Patrick Meighan, John Viener,Cherry Chevapravatdumrong,Tom Devanney andKirker Butler acted as staff writers in the episode. The plot of "PTV" is a parody of the FCC's measures afterJanet Jackson'swardrobe malfunction during theSuper Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.^[2] In an interview, MacFarlane was asked where the inspiration to the episode’s plot came from, in his response he commented that "In the case of 'PTV' it came out of rage. Rage over all the crap we have to deal with since Janet Jackson showed her 67 year old boob."^[2]

The episode was directed byDan Povenmire, whilePeter Shin contributed as supervising director. Various scenes in "PTV" were taken out of the episode due to Fox's internal censors.^[3] As the writers worked on the episode the producers ended up, as theChicago Tribune describes it, "horse trading" with Fox, removing a body-part reference in exchange for a dirty word.^[3] While the writing staff of the show was disappointed with the number of scenes that were removed from the episode, they were happy with the final result.^[3] The opening sequence, of whichFamily Guy's creatorSeth MacFarlane was particularly proud, was added into the episode after the producers discovered the episode ran three minutes short.^[4][5] The episode contained a montage which showcased the most bawdy moments of the previous seasons; Povenmire recalled the sequence; about it he stated that "I just found those off the DVD and digitized them and edited them in. Basically because I didn't want to draw all those things! I found the most disgusting images from the first three seasons. And we actually got network notes on two of them saying, 'You're gonna have to cut that!' And I went, 'This has been on the air! And I'm only showing 8 frames of it!' And it turns out we cut them now when they're on the air. So apropos for the FCC episode."^[2]

"PTV" and the thirteen other episodes fromFamily Guy's fourth season were released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States, in Europe, and in Australia on November 16, 2006, April 24, 2006 and May 29, 2006 respectively.^[6][7][8] The DVDs included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane, various crew and cast members from several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, and a special mini-feature that shows director Peter Shin drawing Stewie.^[8] The episode was shown in theWilliam S. PaleyTelevision Festival, with which various writers, directors and voice actors of the show assisted.

All the mainFamily Guycast members lent their voices to the episode, along with semi-regularsLori Alan,Adam West,Ralph Garman,Gary Cole andPhil LaMarr. Staff writersChris Sheridan and John Viener also had minor speaking roles.^[1] Guest appearances included voice actorsKeith Ferguson,Maurice LaMarche,Hunter Gomez,Wally Wingert, and actress Stacey Scowley.^[1] Like with most episodes, the music in the episode was composed byWalter Murphy, including the song titled "The Freaking FCC", with additional music edited byRon Jones, who also composed for other episodes until 2014.

"PTV" contained various cultural references. "PTV" has been described as asatire on the "government's ever-increasing reach into our living rooms" byTelevision Watch executive director Jim Dyke.^[9] The opening sequence in which Stewie beats up members ofAl-Qaeda and then rides his tricycle through various movie and game scenes is a reference to the opening sequence ofBobby's World andThe Naked Gun series of films.^[4] The movies from which animated scenes are shown areThe Wizard of Oz,Ben-Hur,The Shining, andThe Sound of Music. Actual footage ofThe Empire Strikes Back and the video gameDoom were also used.^[4]

The FCC censors various television shows, such asRalph Kramden's threats of physical violence inThe Honeymooners, two-thirds ofDick Van Dyke's name inThe Dick Van Dyke Show ("dick" and "dyke" being slang terms forpenis andlesbian, respectively),Archie Bunker and wife Edith dressed asKu Klux Klan members fromAll in the Family, John-Boy being caughtmasturbating inThe Waltons andChrissy Snow's bikini in aThree's Company episode.^[10] FormerFrasier cast member David Hyde Pierce was briefly mentioned in the episode.^[11] The extreme reaction of the FCC to Pierce's incident is a parody of theFCC's reaction toJanet Jackson's"wardrobe malfunction" during Super Bowl XXXVIII.^[4]Bob Hope,Wile E. Coyote,Ozzy Osbourne,Cobra Commander,Apache Chief,George W. Bush andHomer Simpson made appearances incutaway gags.^[12] TerroristOsama bin Laden was depicted prominently in the opening sequence. Stewie and bin Laden's sword fight has the same choreography asYoda andCount Dooku's fight in the filmStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.^[11] In the uncensored version, one of PTV's shows, "Douchebags" is a parody of theMTV'sJackass, both the TV show and its series of films. The end of the episode is a parody to the ending ofThe Brady Bunch.

The episode was broadcast on November 6, 2005 on Fox.^[14] It gained aNielsen rating of 4.4, making it the nineteenth most watched program in the week of October 31 to November 6.^[15]

The episode was positively received by critics. Maureen Ryan of theChicago Tribune called "PTV" "Family Guy's most rebellious outing yet".^[16]TV Squad critic Ryan Budke considered "PTV" his favorite episode ever.^[11] Jacqueline Cutler ofThe Star-Ledger called "PTV" "[...] the funniest, most sardonic half-hour on TV in a while."^[17] While exclusively airing the sixth season ofFamily Guy for British audiences,BBC Three aired this episode as part of theFamily Guy100th Anniversary special, declaring it to be "The Best Episode...So Far".^[18] TheHartford Courant, however, gave it a largely negative review, stating it was "not even funny for a second."^[19] MacFarlane revealed in an interview that the crew received a letter of inquiry from the U.S. regulatory board regarding the episode, but much to his surprise, "they actually thought it was funny."^[20] The59th Primetime Emmy Awards opened with Stewie and Brian singing about the upcoming TV season using the tune from "The FCC Song", originating from this episode.^[21] The altered version of the song contained references to shows such asScrubs,Two and a Half Men,The Sopranos andCavemen.^[22] Tom Eames of entertainment websiteDigital Spy placed the episode at number eight on his listing of the bestFamily Guy episodes in order of "yukyukyuks" and noted the episode was show writer's "way of aiming all their anger at the agencies who get in the way."^[23] He added that episode was "one of those episodes where all the jokes worked" and featured "the show's first over-the-top song numbers".^[23]IGN ranked PTV sixth in its "Top 15Family Guy Episodes," compiled in 2014 for the 15th anniversary of the series.^[24]

"PTV" received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination in theOutstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) category.^[25] Povenmire was nominated for anAnnie Award for Directing in an Animated Television Production, but lost the award toPeter Shin, who directed theFamily Guy episode "North by North Quahog".^[26] On June 1, 2007, the FCC song was voted second onThe Paley Center for Media special "TV's Funniest Moments," behindThe Chris Rock Show segment "Black Progress."^[27] The song was also voted sixth on IGN's list ofFamily Guy's "Top 10 Musical Moments", IGN stated "if there's a song that perfectly resonates whatFamily Guy is all about, then this is it."^[28]

• Channel J, public-access television channel featuring nude TV talk shows and other adult content

• "PTV" atIMDb