"North by North Quahog" is the first episode of season four of Family Guy, following the revival of the series three years after its cancellation in 2002. Directed by Peter Shin and written by series creator Seth MacFarlane, the episode was first broadcast on May 1, 2005, on FOX. In "North by North Quahog", the show's main characters Peter and Lois Griffin go on a second honeymoon to spice up their marriage, but are eventually chased by Mel Gibson after Peter steals the sequel to The Passion of the Christ from Gibson's private hotel room. Meanwhile, their anthropomorphic dog Brian and their infant son Stewie take care of their teenage kids Chris and Meg. Family Guy had been canceled in 2002 due to low ratings, but was revived by FOX after reruns on Adult Swim became the network's most watched program, and more than three million DVDs of the show were sold. Much of the plot and many of the technical aspects of the episode, as well as the title, are direct parodies of the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest. The episode was watched by 12 million viewers and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
454:
Roman Emperor Valentinian III killed Aetius in Ravenna. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavius_Aetius
1792:
French Revolution: The National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy, and proclaimed the First Republic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Convention
1898:
The Hundred Days' Reform in China was abruptly terminated when Empress Dowager Cixi forced the reform-minded Guangxu Emperor into seclusion and took over the government as regent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days%27_Reform
1937:
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, a predecessor to The Lord of the Rings, was first published. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit
1939:
Romanian Prime Minister Armand Călinescu was assassinated in Bucharest by pro-Nazi members of the Iron Guard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_C%C4%83linescu
1999:
A 7.6 Mw earthquake struck Jiji, Nantou County, Taiwan, killing 2,416 people, injuring over 11,000 others and causing about NT$300 billion in damage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/921_earthquake
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
uraeus (n): A representation of the sacred asp, symbolising supreme power in ancient Egypt http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uraeus
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
''I'm guided by a signal in the heavens,
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin. --Leonard Cohen http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen