"Family Guy" Brian: Portrait of a Dog (TV Episode 1999) Poster

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7/10
Season One Review
southdavid19 May 2023
Oh god. I'm not going to do this am I? There are 400+ episodes of "Family Guy" I can't be planning them all, can I? Let's find out. I rewatched season one anyway. My relationship with "Family Guy" is that I watched these, all the way back in 1999 and then bought the DVD so I have seen these particular episodes a number of times. I've drifted away from religiously watching the show though, so they'll be quite a few of the 400 I've not seen.

In Quahog, Rhode Island, the dysfunctional Griffin Family live a wacky life. Peter (Seth MacFarlane) works at a Toy Factory, but his interests are more centered on having beers with his friends. His wife, Lois (Alex Borstein) is focused on the family. His daughter Meg (Lacey Chabert) grapples with esteem issues, eldest son Chris (Seth Green) struggles academically, and with sports, but loves to draw, youngest son Stewie (MacFarlane) plans world domination from his crib and dog Brian (MacFarlane) is the most erudite member of the family.

So, it's hard with these early ones not to just compare them with what's going to come in later seasons. The biggest and most striking difference in this series to the rest of them is that Meg is voiced by Lacey Chabert, rather than Mila Kunis, and they definitely don't have the defining joke about her (that everyone hates her) down yet. That is perhaps true for several of the characters, Quagmire isn't yet a sex criminal, Cleveland is not yet his placid self and Joe Swanson only arrives in one of the episodes of this run. Visually it's a little lacking too, the character models and style is there, but occasionally the movement is lacking. I'm not sure whether that's an issue with the originals, or with the digital transfer to Disney Plus, we'll see if it continues.

Tonally though it seems pretty much there from the off, very near the knuckle from the beginning the cutaway non-sequitur styles gags are already present. It's not hilariously funny, but I did find these first seven to be reasonably amusing and that was with certain lines and gags that I remembered pretty well.

I don't know if I'm going to do all 400 episodes, but I'll certainly continue on.
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7/10
Pretty emotional! it makes you feel bad for Brian
celiawatsonanime4 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
It's almost like you can feel his extreme frustration of being a second class citizen due to being a talking dog.

It's just so sad how he wants to be a human so much.

Great that Peter saved him before he got put to sleep when, Brian thought he didn't even care for him. Nice plot twist!
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9/10
A Great, Funny Season Finale!
g-bodyl22 December 2013
The seventh and final episode of the very short Family Guy: Season One is a funny and sometimes moving episode. This episode puts the spotlight not on the Griffin Family this time around, but more on their dog, Brian. For the first time, Brian becomes more centralized and we see what kind of a dog he is and why he differs from the other dogs. This episode features some funny jokes, and of course some hilarious pop culture references.

This episode, "Brian: The Portrait of a Dog" is perhaps the strongest episode mainly because Brian is my favorite character. Essentially, this episode is about how Brian gets in trouble with the law and how close it was that Brian left the family for good.

Overall, this is a really funny episode that is a good conclusion for the first season. I think it was appropriate for an episode to be all about Brian. I rate this episode 9/10.
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9/10
Great Season Closer
injury-6544721 June 2020
I really enjoyed this one.

For a show that revolves around silly gags and puerile jokes, this episode has a surprising amount of heart and emotion. We really feel for Brian and his struggle to be accepted and the lick he gives Peter at the end is heartbreakingly sweet.

The most hilarious scene for me is when Peter & Brian are transported back into an old timey cartoon about fixin' the shed. It's great & adorable.

A superb episode that expertly balances the laughs with a genuine story.
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9/10
A great end to series 1
Sleepin_Dragon11 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A heatwave hits Quahog, and a dog show is coming to town, Peter sees an opportunity to win $500, Brian is reluctant to help though, and ends up leaving home. The Griffins replace Brian with a cat, but realise how important a part of the family he is.

A successful first series of Family Guy comes to a close, this is possibly the funniest episode in Series 1. It's very slick with some great dialogue, everyone's on top form, the Griffins, Tom and Diane, but it's very much a Peter and Brian story. The Jessica Fletcher scene is still one of the funniest scenes to this day.

A great way to round off Series 1 9/10
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10/10
One of Best Family Guy Episodes
zoran_kamen21 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This episode touched me deeply ! It shows beautifully relation between Peter and Brian . It shows also how Brian became part of family.

There is much love between Peter and Brian, and sometimes ego enter and bring some dirt with it. If this ego is not stopped it grows more and love is less. So we see in very cute way how Brian ego is hurt by being treated like "some dog" and how Peter get stuck also at his possessive side ; "you are my dog and you will behave" all this hurt Brian beyond words and he leave the Griffn family. But out there no honey and nectar waits for him ! On the contrary Brian is treated just like a dog in spite of his very human characteristic and behavior, plus his authentic charming style and elegance. Yes Brian is beautiful, intelligent, funny, charming, loving, courageous and loyal ! But in society he is treated like garbage, he is thrown out of restaurant, cause he is for them just dog, he don't get cigarettes in shop, but he is told he should be chained outside and he is kicked even out of sleep in the bus station , he is chased by police cause he dared to drink from the fountain in park !!! and finally he is arrested cause he finally got enough and start to bait people out of desperation ! They wanted to put him under lethal injection and he was given chance to defend himself at the jury, but again he is treated like a dog " we will not listen to dog" , out of desperation Peter offer bribe to jury and he finally succeed. this episode touched me deeply, but cannot put it in words, how society and law treat like garbage those who are not protected with their high positions ! At moment I was so angry (wacthing anime!!) that I felt desire to shot in the head all who mistreated dear BRIAN,specially when Brian very nicely defended himself before the jury and when one of the judges who reminded me on old feces, said "wait why we listen to a dog, take him away", at that moment I felt such anger that I would chop his head off and flush it down the toilet !! If so strong emotions came out of me, you can be sure this is supreme episode :-D Brian is the best and awesome as well as Family Guy and his creator Seth!!
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10/10
Hilarious
spongebobisgoated26 August 2021
Great episode one of my favorites. The first episode with Brian going against Peter's wishes.
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9/10
9/10 -- A GREAT FINALE TO AN EQUALLY GREAT SEASON!
Analog_Devotee4 May 2021
If you're a big Brian Griffin fan, there's no doubt that you consider this among your favorite episodes. We get a lot of character development in this episode for Brian, learning about his feelings, his strengths and weaknesses, and the vital presence he brings to the Griffin table.
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10/10
Brian: Portrait of a Dog
samcracc5 September 2007
This episode is Hilarius. Whats sad is that the police take Brian. Whats Hilarius is Laddy And The Tramp. Whats brilliant is that Brian the Dog sings and when he looks handsome. Thats funny when the baby has a lollipop when Peter does something with a woman and the heat with Mom Tucker and Tom Tucker that her bra was showing when there was the heat. Whats Hilarius is that an M & M thats blue is there and the deer. Whats hysterical is the Pilsberry gets squish then makes Cinnamon buns. Thats very funny when its a cartoon thats silent. This episode is when Brian looks beautiful with a collar but then Protraits. This episode is Hilarius you will like this episode and so does Brian when he looks beautiful with that collar on his neck.
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9/10
Great episode on Brian's character
jayjaxan20 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is the first great episode of Family Guy. First it starts as Peter wanting Brian to be in a dog show he goes with it at first but then goes against peter's wishes then the rest of the episode is focusing on Brian's values as A dog.
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10/10
This Portrait Is A Masterpiece
egunderson243 October 2022
This might be my favorite episode of the series. Not only is it really funny but also deep, questioning the moral status of society. As Brian feels like he's mistreated as a stereotypical dog by Peter, he leaves the family and gets the same treatment from everyone else. It's like an allegory for the civil rights movement down to the public outraging over his use of the same drinking fountain as them. This episode has some of the best jokes of the season, like the Griffin's new cat, the scene where they parody an old 1930's style cartoon, and of course the Jeopardy scene. With a combination of great jokes and a spectacular setup this is the season's highlight for sure. And that's saying a lot as I really really loved the pilot. Either way, the two best episodes of the season and nothing else comes close.
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10/10
This reminds me of when I was little
Loisgriffinfan20 June 2023
It's like going into the past the way they speak is so nostalgic to me im a massive fan of family guy I'm what you class as a family guy enthusiast all my socials are about the show I have all the DVDs my walls have family guy art on them but season 1 has a special place in my heart Brian really was a amazing character it's crazy because half of the characters don't feel like the same people I still love the new personality's and the old ones Aswell. As Lois is my favourite character something about Lois in season one really touches my heart Anyway the plot just felt like it took time and effort that's what made it special the jokes are just perfect even though I'm not that old the jokes I still get even in 2023. This was the golden age of family guy and even though the new episodes are still great something about season 1 felt different we will probably never get a show like this ever Again that's what makes me sad.
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9/10
The First Truly Great Episode of Family Guy
RandomInternetName26 June 2022
The first episode of Family Guy to feature Brian as a standout character, before he was purely a voice of reason who set Peter in the right direction but from this episode onwards he's given his own personality and worldview as we see things from his perspective more often. Brian episodes always tend to be more grounded than other characters and they are usually some of my favorites and this one sets a good precedent for Brian as a character which the next few seasons would continue to develop.
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