The song “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen is featured in multiple episodes of the animated comedy series Family Guy. The song is often used as a running gag in the show, with characters spontaneously bursting into the catchy but repetitive tune. The first and most well-known use of “Surfin’ Bird” on Family Guy is in the Season 5 episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”.
Summary of “I Take Thee Quagmire” Episode
In the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”, Peter convinces Quagmire to marry a prostitute named Joan so that Quagmire can get out of paying taxes on an inheritance from his deceased aunt. However, Joan ends up falling in love with Quagmire and refuses to get an annulment after the allotted time period.
Desperate to get out of the marriage, Quagmire pretends to have an obsession with the song “Surfin’ Bird” in order to appear insane and drive Joan away. He constantly sings snippets of the song, breaks into full performances of it, and even gets it stuck in Peter and Joe’s heads, leading them to spontaneously sing it as well.
The “Surfin’ Bird” gag culminates in an elaborate musical number where Quagmire performs the song in a theater, complete with backup dancers and pyrotechnics. The over-the-top performance convinces Joan that Quagmire is mentally unstable, and she agrees to call off the marriage.
Other Notable “Surfin’ Bird” appearances
While “I Take Thee Quagmire” features the most memorable showcase of “Surfin’ Bird”, the song has made numerous other appearances throughout the show:
Season 7, Episode 2 – “I Dream of Jesus”
Peter discovers a record of “Surfin’ Bird” in the trash and becomes obsessed with playing it constantly. This annoys his family and friends, who break the record in an attempt get the song out of his head.
Season 7, Episode 7 – “Ocean’s Three and a Half”
Peter makes several attempts to distract The Chippendales dancer he’s fighting by singing “Surfin’ Bird”.
Season 7, Episode 15 – “Three Kings”
Peter sings along loudly and annoyingly to “Surfin’ Bird” playing on the car radio, frustrating Brian who is trying to concentrate on driving.
Season 8, Episode 16 – “You Can’t Do That On Television, Peter”
Peter performs “Surfin’ Bird” over the end credits.
Season 9, Episode 12 – “Episode 420”
Peter hallucinates that everything in the grocery store is speaking to him via “Surfin’ Bird” lyrics after he consumes a large amount of weed brownies.
Conclusion
While “Surfin’ Bird” has made multiple appearances on Family Guy, the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire” clearly features the most significant and memorable showcase of the song. Quagmire’s elaborate stage performance of “Surfin’ Bird” in order to convince his wife Joan that he’s insane is considered one of the classic and definitive uses of the running gag on the show. The song has since become deeply intertwined with Family Guy and its brand of absurd humor and non-sequiturs.
The song “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen is featured in multiple episodes of the animated comedy series Family Guy. The song is often used as a running gag in the show, with characters spontaneously bursting into the catchy but repetitive tune. The first and most well-known use of “Surfin’ Bird” on Family Guy is in the Season 5 episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”.
Summary of “I Take Thee Quagmire” Episode
In the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”, Peter convinces Quagmire to marry a prostitute named Joan so that Quagmire can get out of paying taxes on an inheritance from his deceased aunt. However, Joan ends up falling in love with Quagmire and refuses to get an annulment after the allotted time period.
Desperate to get out of the marriage, Quagmire pretends to have an obsession with the song “Surfin’ Bird” in order to appear insane and drive Joan away. He constantly sings snippets of the song, breaks into full performances of it, and even gets it stuck in Peter and Joe’s heads, leading them to spontaneously sing it as well.
The “Surfin’ Bird” gag culminates in an elaborate musical number where Quagmire performs the song in a theater, complete with backup dancers and pyrotechnics. The over-the-top performance convinces Joan that Quagmire is mentally unstable, and she agrees to call off the marriage.
Other Notable “Surfin’ Bird” appearances
While “I Take Thee Quagmire” features the most memorable showcase of “Surfin’ Bird”, the song has made numerous other appearances throughout the show:
Season 7, Episode 2 – “I Dream of Jesus”
Peter discovers a record of “Surfin’ Bird” in the trash and becomes obsessed with playing it constantly. This annoys his family and friends, who break the record in an attempt get the song out of his head.
Season 7, Episode 7 – “Ocean’s Three and a Half”
Peter makes several attempts to distract The Chippendales dancer he’s fighting by singing “Surfin’ Bird”.
Season 7, Episode 15 – “Three Kings”
Peter sings along loudly and annoyingly to “Surfin’ Bird” playing on the car radio, frustrating Brian who is trying to concentrate on driving.
Season 8, Episode 16 – “You Can’t Do That On Television, Peter”
Peter performs “Surfin’ Bird” over the end credits.
Season 9, Episode 12 – “Episode 420”
Peter hallucinates that everything in the grocery store is speaking to him via “Surfin’ Bird” lyrics after he consumes a large amount of weed brownies.
Conclusion
While “Surfin’ Bird” has made multiple appearances on Family Guy, the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire” clearly features the most significant and memorable showcase of the song. Quagmire’s elaborate stage performance of “Surfin’ Bird” in order to convince his wife Joan that he’s insane is considered one of the classic and definitive uses of the running gag on the show. The song has since become deeply intertwined with Family Guy and its brand of absurd humor and non-sequiturs.
The song “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen is featured in multiple episodes of the animated comedy series Family Guy. The song is often used as a running gag in the show, with characters spontaneously bursting into the catchy but repetitive tune. The first and most well-known use of “Surfin’ Bird” on Family Guy is in the Season 5 episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”.
Summary of “I Take Thee Quagmire” Episode
In the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”, Peter convinces Quagmire to marry a prostitute named Joan so that Quagmire can get out of paying taxes on an inheritance from his deceased aunt. However, Joan ends up falling in love with Quagmire and refuses to get an annulment after the allotted time period.
Desperate to get out of the marriage, Quagmire pretends to have an obsession with the song “Surfin’ Bird” in order to appear insane and drive Joan away. He constantly sings snippets of the song, breaks into full performances of it, and even gets it stuck in Peter and Joe’s heads, leading them to spontaneously sing it as well.
The “Surfin’ Bird” gag culminates in an elaborate musical number where Quagmire performs the song in a theater, complete with backup dancers and pyrotechnics. The over-the-top performance convinces Joan that Quagmire is mentally unstable, and she agrees to call off the marriage.
Other Notable “Surfin’ Bird” appearances
While “I Take Thee Quagmire” features the most memorable showcase of “Surfin’ Bird”, the song has made numerous other appearances throughout the show:
Season 7, Episode 2 – “I Dream of Jesus”
Peter discovers a record of “Surfin’ Bird” in the trash and becomes obsessed with playing it constantly. This annoys his family and friends, who break the record in an attempt get the song out of his head.
Season 7, Episode 7 – “Ocean’s Three and a Half”
Peter makes several attempts to distract The Chippendales dancer he’s fighting by singing “Surfin’ Bird”.
Season 7, Episode 15 – “Three Kings”
Peter sings along loudly and annoyingly to “Surfin’ Bird” playing on the car radio, frustrating Brian who is trying to concentrate on driving.
Season 8, Episode 16 – “You Can’t Do That On Television, Peter”
Peter performs “Surfin’ Bird” over the end credits.
Season 9, Episode 12 – “Episode 420”
Peter hallucinates that everything in the grocery store is speaking to him via “Surfin’ Bird” lyrics after he consumes a large amount of weed brownies.
Conclusion
While “Surfin’ Bird” has made multiple appearances on Family Guy, the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire” clearly features the most significant and memorable showcase of the song. Quagmire’s elaborate stage performance of “Surfin’ Bird” in order to convince his wife Joan that he’s insane is considered one of the classic and definitive uses of the running gag on the show. The song has since become deeply intertwined with Family Guy and its brand of absurd humor and non-sequiturs.
The song “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen is featured in multiple episodes of the animated comedy series Family Guy. The song is often used as a running gag in the show, with characters spontaneously bursting into the catchy but repetitive tune. The first and most well-known use of “Surfin’ Bird” on Family Guy is in the Season 5 episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”.
Summary of “I Take Thee Quagmire” Episode
In the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire”, Peter convinces Quagmire to marry a prostitute named Joan so that Quagmire can get out of paying taxes on an inheritance from his deceased aunt. However, Joan ends up falling in love with Quagmire and refuses to get an annulment after the allotted time period.
Desperate to get out of the marriage, Quagmire pretends to have an obsession with the song “Surfin’ Bird” in order to appear insane and drive Joan away. He constantly sings snippets of the song, breaks into full performances of it, and even gets it stuck in Peter and Joe’s heads, leading them to spontaneously sing it as well.
The “Surfin’ Bird” gag culminates in an elaborate musical number where Quagmire performs the song in a theater, complete with backup dancers and pyrotechnics. The over-the-top performance convinces Joan that Quagmire is mentally unstable, and she agrees to call off the marriage.
Other Notable “Surfin’ Bird” appearances
While “I Take Thee Quagmire” features the most memorable showcase of “Surfin’ Bird”, the song has made numerous other appearances throughout the show:
Season 7, Episode 2 – “I Dream of Jesus”
Peter discovers a record of “Surfin’ Bird” in the trash and becomes obsessed with playing it constantly. This annoys his family and friends, who break the record in an attempt get the song out of his head.
Season 7, Episode 7 – “Ocean’s Three and a Half”
Peter makes several attempts to distract The Chippendales dancer he’s fighting by singing “Surfin’ Bird”.
Season 7, Episode 15 – “Three Kings”
Peter sings along loudly and annoyingly to “Surfin’ Bird” playing on the car radio, frustrating Brian who is trying to concentrate on driving.
Season 8, Episode 16 – “You Can’t Do That On Television, Peter”
Peter performs “Surfin’ Bird” over the end credits.
Season 9, Episode 12 – “Episode 420”
Peter hallucinates that everything in the grocery store is speaking to him via “Surfin’ Bird” lyrics after he consumes a large amount of weed brownies.
Conclusion
While “Surfin’ Bird” has made multiple appearances on Family Guy, the episode “I Take Thee Quagmire” clearly features the most significant and memorable showcase of the song. Quagmire’s elaborate stage performance of “Surfin’ Bird” in order to convince his wife Joan that he’s insane is considered one of the classic and definitive uses of the running gag on the show. The song has since become deeply intertwined with Family Guy and its brand of absurd humor and non-sequiturs.