Excellence in Broadcasting
The episode features anthropomorphic dog Brian, an adamant liberal, confronting conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh at a book signing in Quahog, and ultimately having a political change of heart when Limbaugh persuades him to read his latest book.
In light of "And Then There Were Fewer", the Griffins are watching the news—where Tom Tucker casually reveals that Diane Simmons committed the murders at James Woods' mansion and is now dead.
As Lois reads the newspaper, she discovers that conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is holding a book signing in Quahog.
Lois points out that Brian purposefully disagrees with the general consensus on many things just so he can feel like "the smartest guy in the room" and accuses him of being a contrarian rather than a genuine believer; for example, he hated Titanic and Slumdog Millionaire but defends the movie Cocktail.
Brian then proceeds to follow Limbaugh to his radio show, where he attempts to voice his own political opinions on the air about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Reassuring Brian of his liberal convictions, Limbaugh leaves the jail, making a Grapes of Wrath-like pledge to "be around" wherever conservative causes need help.
The episode ends with Brian watching Limbaugh transform into a bald eagle and subsequently flying away into the skyline.
"[5] "Excellence in Broadcasting", along with two other episodes from Family Guy's ninth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on December 13, 2011.
The sets include brief audio commentaries by various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes and animatics, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "And Then There Were Fewer", a mini-feature entitled "The Comical Adventures of Family Guy – Brian & Stewie: The Lost Phone Call", and footage of the Family Guy panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.
[11] The episode featured a brief cameo appearance of conservative character Stan Smith from Seth MacFarlane's second show, American Dad!.
Returning home after being saved by Limbaugh, Brian begins watching the NBC comedy series The Office, featuring actor and comedian Rainn Wilson.
A parody of the animated television series Scooby-Doo is then shown, including McCain and Limbaugh capturing United States Congressman Barney Frank from Massachusetts, disguised as a mummy.
[14] After deciding to sing a song entitled "Republicantown," several political figures are shown and parodied, including former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney and former Presidents of the United States Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
It was watched by 7.94 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, despite airing simultaneously with Desperate Housewives on ABC, the season premiere of Undercover Boss on CBS and Sunday Night Football on NBC.
"[4] Hughes went on to comment positively on the episode's debut of the high-definition opening sequence, and its introduction of Joyce Kinney as a replacement for news anchor Diane Simmons, who was killed off in "And Then There Were Fewer.
"[4] Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The show definitely skewered Brian’s hardcore conservative conversion, but overall it seemed like a pretty fair fight.
But Seth MacFarlane, the whiskey-soaked Dada creator of Family Guy, is responsible for more sophomoric cartooning than the combined patrons of America’s truck stop and dive bar bathrooms."
"[citation needed] Prior to the episode's official broadcast on television in the United States, Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post called Limbaugh's guest appearance in the episode "genuinely funny,"[21] and David Weigel of Slate commented, "I'm not at all surprised that Limbaugh would embrace the show and answer its mockery of conservatives; the plotline [...] is a perfect conservative narrative.
