Brian Griffin
Family Guy Wiki, your fan-created Family Guy resource.
 Brian, seen here with his favorite drink, a dry martini | |
| Full Name: | Brian Griffin |
|---|---|
| Voiced by: | Seth MacFarlane |
| Jobs: |
Cab Driver, Club Owner, Seeing Eye Dog (briefly) |
| Quotes: Whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here? What the hell are you doing! Oh my god, they killed Meg! It's just like it's you and me, Peter | |
| Episodes: All | |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Brian Griffin is an 8-year-old talking white Labrador, who has lived with the Griffin family since Peter picked him up as a stray. Currently as of "The Man with Two Brians" While he exhibits typical dog behaviors like eating and rolling around in trash as well as licking himself, leaving dead birds on the porch, intensely fearing the vacuum cleaner, sleeping at the foot of Peter's bed, barking uncontrollably at black people, and having a tough time standing up in the car, he also possesses various anthropomorphic qualities, such as the ability to speak intelligently, drive a car, and walk bipedally. He also has a particularly sharp wit. Peter is his best friend, despite Brian's vastly superior intelligence - on several occasions, Brian has had to explain Peter's inability to do various things, such as haggling over prices. In Brian Goes Back to College, it is revealed that Brian went to Brown University in Rhode Island, but did not graduate.
Brian has a cultured background; he loves opera and jazz (he is a fan of John Coltrane) speaks fluent French and Tagalog, and is competent in Spanish. He is also a member of Mensa. He loves to sing and can imitate a barbershop quartet without accompaniment. He is an avid writer, having once been invited to write for The New Yorker, although he was fired once the magazine learned he did not graduate from college. He has also attempted to write a novel, although has made little progress other than the title "Faster Than the Speed of Love", and a synopsis similar to the film "Iron Eagle" (for which Stewie and Lois mock him). His novel is once again brought up in "Baby Not On Board", where Stewie is left home alone and he says he'll change every instance of the word "and" to "fart"; but he changes it back after deciding that it isn't really funnier that way. He is a smoker, an alcoholic and recovered cocaine addict. Brian discovered that his cocaine habit stemmed from his mother abandoning him for which he saw a therapist. He has also made references to either buying, being in possession of, or smoking marijuana in numerous episodes.
[edit] Background
In the Family Guy universe, dogs are either talking, anthropomorphic creatures like Brian and his cousin Jasper, or more true-to-life, such as his mother, Biscuit, his father Coco, and his one time lover, Seabreeze. Both classes are subject to the same rules, such as not being allowed inside certain shops or to wander the streets without an owner. Brian's "humanity" is rarely remarked upon, however, exceptions include when Peter's boss, Mr. Weed, referred to him as a "funny talking dog" and in the episode "Brian in Love" when Brian tries to explain his relationship troubles to Peter, who responds, "Oh my God, you can talk!" Another example of Brian's "humanity" is his attraction to human women; Brian has dated several since the show began, has a 13 year old son named Dylan, and is deeply in love with Peter's wife, Lois. No character has ever commented on the bestiality aspects of a relationship between Brian and a human (though in a deleted scene from Movin' Out (Brian's Song), a woman is disgusted by the idea of dating him, on account of him being a dog). Brian has also been accidentally been called "Brain Griffin" in episode 7: "Brian: Portrait of a Dog", by the dog show announcer.
Brian was born on a farm in Austin, Texas, in a litter of five puppies, of whom he was the only anthropomorphic. His youth and adolescence have not been explored in detail, although he somehow made his way to Rhode Island and attended Brown University. He is currently one class short of graduating from Brown (The class is Physics 101 - in the season 4 episode "Brian Goes Back to College", Brian re-enrolls in an attempt to earn his degree, but fails). Brian has also served in the Peace Corps. He has mentioned that he hung out with Andy Warhol in the 1970s, though this particular interlude is most likely one of the show's reality-bending cutaways, as he is said to be only seven years old (though in Dog Years he is 35).
His age is usually treated differently depending on the joke. In one episode, he states: "I'm seven years old and if I play my cards right, I got seven more years ahead of me." Brian spent some time as a homeless stray washing car windshields for change before he met Peter, who offered him a home with his family in Quahog, Rhode Island. When Brian returned to Austin years later to find his mother, 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. He has also been seen in the 80s but this is impossible with him being only seven years old.
Prior to Brian, the Griffins had another talking dog named Todd, who was put down at the age of 15 due to illness.
Despite his anthropomorphic intelligence, Brian shares certain traits and shortcomings with real dogs. For example, he cleans himself with his tongue and scratches at fleas with his hind leg. On the commentary of "Road to Rhode Island" he confirmed that he sees in black and white (a common misconception of dogs as they can see some color). He has a fear of the toilet flushing and of the vacuum (which is ironic, considering that he was actually vacuuming in the episode "Fore, Father"). He also couldn't control his animal urges for the prized Pewterschmidt dog, Seabreeze. Furthermore, although his maturity and broad range of experiences seem to imply that he is as old as a middle aged human, as a dog he is only seven years old. Peter has been known to tease him about his shorter lifespan. In one episode, he seems to have a 'midlife crisis'. He is also shown to have a liking for dog food at times. In "Chitty Chitty Death Bang", he chases the chuck wagon from the commercials for Purina Chuck Wagon, and in "Barely Legal", he comes running with joy when Peter's daughter Meg shakes a bag of Dog Chow. In "The Thin White Line", Peter states after Brian bails him out "Brian, it's times like these that I regret that you're going to die 50 years before I do."
In "Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey", it is revealed that Brian is not potty trained but rather defecates outside like other dogs. Tired of stepping in his feces, Lois forces him to wear diapers, which he finds extremely humiliating. Amused, Stewie says that he looks "silly" in his diapers but tells him that it won't be so bad once he gets used to them. Brian eventually gets out of diapers by simply defecating in Mayor West's garden instead, leading Lois to think he is potty-trained. In an earlier episode, Brian suffers from incontinence due the stress of repressing his romantic feelings toward Lois. He initially tries to hide this condition by blaming it on Stewie, but is discovered when he has a public accident in the grocery store.
Brian seems somewhat ashamed of his animal urges and insecure about his canine status in general. He once refused to do degrading pet tricks for Peter during a dog show, despite it being necessary to win the money needed to buy the family a new air conditioner. He also chastised Lady and the Tramp for acting in typical dog-like behavior, saying that "that's just what they want you to do". He suffers mistreatment as a dog, with references to movies like The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and School Ties, movies about characters who suffer from racial segregation and anti-Semitism. He is humiliated when the Griffins catch him with canine pornography.
There is some confusion as to whether or not Brian is racist. Brian displayed some uncontrollable barking at a rap artist,and when he gets a job as a cab driver, he refuses to pick up Cleveland two times, the first time because he decided to go to the grocery store before he forgot. While it may not have been intentional, it certainly looked racist. He also says that a man who runs away from things is a black man, saying that was his father talking. He says he gets racism from his father too. However, in another episode, he is seen dating a black girl, Shauna Parks, which he points out that she shares the same surname as civil rights activist Rosa Parks. He also seems to have white guilt, as he becomes very apologetic for his "racist" behavior, such as his barking at black people and his comment about putting black people on a farm. He starts a campaign to rename James Woods High School after Martin Luther King, Jr.
Brian is notably intelligent, enjoying renowned works of art such as the opera Carmen and the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. He has also heavily invested in the stock market, and collects first editions of literary classics. In Meet the Quagmires he is shown to be able to play the guitar and keytar, although this may have just been another play on the scene in Back to the Future. His intellectual bent makes it very difficult for him to form romantic relationships with most human women, which may be one reason for his substance abuse as a coping mechanism.
In Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, which is set 30 years in the future, it is revealed that Brian died (or rather, will die) after "getting into the garbage and eating some chocolate". In heaven, he tries to get into intellectual conversations with Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, and Kurt Cobain, but is discouraged to learn that their deaths were far more artistically noble than his. It should be noted, however, that the future as depicted in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story may not actually happen, as Stewie takes action to prevent his own future as it is shown in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story from occurring.
Brian held several jobs while living in Los Angeles including being a waiter, car wash attendant, screenwriter and pornographic film director. He does not hold steady employment in Quahog, although did once become a substitute teacher at Chris' school as well as short stints as a taxi driver and police officer for the Quahog police department as a drug sniffing dog. He left the police force after becoming addicted to cocaine. Nevertheless, he is able to afford a car, pay bills to which some are payed to supposedly another family, and maintain a credit card. It should be noted that in a deleted scene from Screwed the Pooch, Lois asks Brian where he gets his money from, to which Brian nervously responds that he "picks up odd jobs." It then goes on to show him in a janitor's uniform pulling a janitor's cart through an office building, where he stops by a window, pulls out a sniper's gun, shoots a guy getting out of a limo, and then strolls away whistling after hiding the gun in the cart.
In contrast to the other characters on the show excluding Peter, Brian actually can remember things from previous episodes. In the "The Fat Guy Strangler" episode, Brian remembers Peter encouraging him to jump into the closed window of the General Lee in "To Love and Die in Dixie". In the "Airport '07" episode, Brian recalls Stewie beating him up mercilessly in "Patriot Games" and lets him swallow Peter's tobacco spittle in retaliation.
As the most sensible member of the Griffin family, Brian often serves as the voice of reason or as a mediator during family arguments. He is also usually the first (and often only) one to realize that there is impending danger.
Because of his intelligence and dry, deadpan manner, Brian sometimes acts as the "straight man" of the show.
He drives a 2004 Toyota Prius.
Brian is a rationalist and is often critical of organized religion. It is revealed in the episode Love Blactually that he is an atheist. This was revealed where he is seen at the library and he is looking for "The God Delusion" by avowed humanist Richard Dawkins. His atheism comes under attack in the episode Not All Dogs Go To Heaven when he comes out to the Griffins about his belief (or lack of) and Meg, at the time was acting like a Bible Thumper, revealed to all of Quahog about it. This turned Brian into a social pariah until the end of the episode, when Brian pretends to have found God, but takes advantage of Meg's gullibility to buy liquor. When Meg makes Brian attend a book burning, Brian confesses his lie and brings up the point why God would place her on Earth with an unattractive body, neglectful family, and abusive father. Meg gives up her religious tirade, although it isn't revealed if she just "converted" to atheism, or simply quit proselytizing.
A running joke on the show is Brain's inability to maintain a human girlfriend. Most of time this is usually due to bad advice given to him from Stewie, whose constantly insists to nose around in his relationships though other times it due to his own insecurity. The longest girlfriend hes had so far was Jillian, but the relationship ended after an attempt to move in together ended badly (partially due to Stewie). When Jillan was announced to be married, Brian took one last shot to try and get her back but in the end she let him down gently and the marriage goes on as planned much to Brian's dismay.
[edit] Notes
- This is the only character that Seth MacFarlane uses his normal speaking voice for, in opposition to the voice changes he made for Peter Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, and Stewie Griffin.
- Seth MacFarlane has revealed that Brian is his favorite character. He say he feels comfortable while playing the part of Brian, he also has a picture of Brian to the side of his name on the office door of his.
- Brian also loves Lois and also tried to have sex with her.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
- "You know Connie I think I have a theory about why you're such a bitch... you see Connie, you're popular because you developed early and started putting out when you were twelve, but now you can't stand to look at yourself in the mirror because all you see is a whore, so you pick on Meg to avoid the inevitable realization that once your body's used up by age nineteen, you're going to be a worn out, chalky skin, burlap sack that even your step-dad won't want, how's that, am I in the ballpark?"
- Whose leg do I have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
- "Pot helps"
- "Can I wham my oingo boingo into your velvet underground?"
- "I though only he without sin could cast the first Prius"
-Brian joking after his car is thrown through the window when the news reveals that he is an atheist
- "Gay." (To Stewie)
[edit] Relatives
- Peter Griffin (owner and best friend)
- Lois Griffin (ex-wife and good friend)
- Biscuit (mother)
- Jasper (cousin)
- Jillian(ex-girlfriend)
- Ricardo 'Jasper's Husband'(Cousin-in-law)
- Coco The Dog (Father)
- Dylan (Son)
- Stewie (rival/friend)
- Tracy Flannigan (ex-girlfriend)
- Carolyn (Girlfriend for one episode who then went off with Cleveland)
- Lauren Conrad (Girlfriend of his who he left when he realized he still loved Jillian)
[edit] Past Life
In Peter's Progress, Cleveland's cousin, Madame Claude who has come to visit Quahog, is a palm reader. So she reads all the guys palms. Even though she didn't read Brian's palm, in Peter's reading, he is the court jester for King Stewart III or Stewie after the last jester was killed because he wasn't very funny.
[edit] Future Death
When Stewie travelled to the future he learned that Brian died from eating chocolate. However, because Stewie returned to the present and avoided the near-death experience, this event might never occur. Nevertheless, causality was never established between these events so it is possible that Brian could still die from eating chocolate. When Stewie did see Brian dead he called him a "douchebag", though future stewie said that the meaning of that word was changed after the election of a man with the name Douchbag.
