The Family Guy Episode So Controversial It Has Never Aired In The United States
Family Guy has been wildly controversial since it debuted in 1999, especially during the first seasons, and yet, it wasn’t until Season 8 that Fox banned an episode and refused to air it. Cartoon Network didn’t even run it as part of Adult Swim. No, it’s not “When You Wish Upon A Weinstein,” it’s “Partial Terms of Endearment,” an episode that took on the hot button topic of abortion and scared away every network in the country.
Hitting A Hot Button Topic
“Partial Terms of Endearment” has Lois agree to become a surrogate, but after she does, the biological parents are killed in an accident, leaving her at a loss with what to do. Peter (one of many characters voiced by Seth MacFarlane), brings up the abortion, then changes his mind after encountering activists (similar to what happens in Juno), leaving the couple to go around in circles before coming to a decision.
For Family Guy, the issue is actually handled well, representing different sides in the ongoing debate, and the banned episode is no more offensive than any other episode.
Banned By Fox
The difference was the topic being satirized, and that’s where the networks drew the line. The then-president of Fox, Kevin Reilly, defended his decision to ban the episode in an interview with the New York Times, stating, “It’s an extremely fragile subject matter at an extremely fragile economic time… Of all the issues, this is the one that seems to be the most of a hot button… [The episode] felt like it could cause trouble, and it was just not worth it.”
Family Guy’s banned episode isn’t because of anything the show did, except for being one of the first animated series to tackle the topic in a post-Bush America.
Multiple Shows Have Now Covered The Issue
Since 2010, multiple shows have handled abortion, ranging from Bojack Horseman to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Grey’s Anatomy went so far as to go through the procedure step-by-step. “Partial Terms of Endearment” may be Family Guy’s only banned episode, but if it came out today, it would raise a few eyebrows. Otherwise, it would be lumped in with the rest of the modern media landscape.
To this day, the episode is only available on DVD, and while it aired in the U.K. on the BBC, Disney left it off of Disney+’s international Star version.
That Other Banned Episode
Prior to “Partial Terms of Endearment,” “When You Wish Upon A Weinstein” was known as Family Guy’s banned episode, with the plot considered to be anti-semitic by Fox at the 11th hour and pulled from the schedule. Eventually, the episode aired, and by then, not only did some people not see the big deal, but the satire was better understood. This is a good thing, as the random Optimus Prime appearance is one of the best non-sequiturs the series has ever done.
Seth MacFarlane Loves Courting Controversy
Seth MacFarlane has never been one to shy away from tackling controversial subjects, and Family Guy’s banned episode isn’t even all that controversial by today’s standards. Yet “Partial Terms of Endearment” remains missing in action, only available as part of a DVD bundle.
For now, it’s at least a fun trivia fact that one episode went too far for every studio, even if the reality of the banned episode is that it’s just another of the hundreds of hit-or-miss episodes with at least one thing in them that will offend everyone.
