TV-Reviewed

It is well known that Family Guy includes a large number of references to television shows, music, and movies, but the references aren’t always ones I particularly like. This was different this week with the many references to Lost, Back to the Future, and Home Alone. With Back to the Future being one of my all-time favorite films, I really enjoyed seeing Peter riding through town on the skateboard just like Michael J. Fox.

The week’s episode dealt with Peter winning a year of free gas. It sounds interesting, but the way in which he won it was incredibly ridiculous: threatening to sue the store because Chris exposed himself to his father. It doesn’t make any more sense now than it did when I saw it.

Stewie at work on the fryer

That being said, much of the episode was a big tribute to the popular 90s movie Home Alone, which featured a child being left behind while the family went on vacation. I liked the movie but I thought the references could have been better. Stewie could have done more to Cleveland and Quadmire, though the end result was quite funny.

Stewie went through some of those same things that Kevin did in Home Alone, though there were quite a few differences. There weren’t enough scenes in a 30-minute episode to be able to really compete to the movie, of course, but it was handled fairly well for the most part.

The biggest thing I didn’t like about “Baby Not on Board” would be a few scenes. They included the one with Joe and his wheelchair and then Peter leaving the car only to see his family crash. Both of those fell flat, with the “Ground Zero” scene being one of the highlights, overshadowing those weaker moments.

Rating: 7.9