Season 1 · Episode 5 · First aired 2 May 1999
A Hero Sits Next Door
Episode 5 of Family Guy season 1 (S01E05), the 5th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman and directed by Monte Young. First broadcast on 2 May 1999.
Story
Mr Weed brings in Guillermo, a ringer, for the toy factory's annual softball game. Peter, filling in as pitcher, injures him with a wild throw and must find a replacement or be sacked. Lois wants Peter to befriend the new neighbours, the Swansons, but he is rude to them. Meg develops a crush on their son Kevin. When Lois mentions that Joe Swanson played baseball at college, Peter apologises and recruits him. Peter learns at the ballpark that Joe uses a wheelchair. Joe plays well and the team wins. At his party Joe reveals he is a police officer, paralysed fighting the Grinch on an orphanage roof. Jealous, Peter tries to stop a bank robbery; he and Brian end up as hostages, and Joe talks the robbers down. Peter is deflated until his family tells him he is their hero.
Production and reception
- The episode introduces Joe Swanson, voiced by Patrick Warburton, his wife Bonnie, voiced by Jennifer Tilly, and their son Kevin. Wikipedia, A Hero Sits Next Door
- Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman wrote the episode, their first for the series, and Monte Young directed for the first time. Wikipedia, A Hero Sits Next Door
- It was the first episode without death or murder in its title, ending a convention Seth MacFarlane had started as a fan of the radio thriller Suspense. Wikipedia, A Hero Sits Next Door
- A gag involving a John F. Kennedy Pez dispenser was removed from later reruns, and in 2012 Seth MacFarlane told Entertainment Weekly he would not do that joke now. Wikipedia, A Hero Sits Next Door
- Ahsan Haque of IGN rated it 7.9 out of 10 in 2008, while Robin Pierson of The TV Critic gave it 55 out of 100. Wikipedia, A Hero Sits Next Door
Voices
| Voice | Characters |
|---|---|
| Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin |
| Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin, Woman on Game Show, Woman |
| Seth Green | Chris Griffin, Calvin Klein Model #2 |
| Carlos Alazraqui | Mr. Weed |
| Butch Hartman | Baseball Player, Robber #2 |
| Michelle Kwan | Michelle Kwan |
| Suzie Plakson | Tammy, Little Girl, Teletubbies |
| Jennifer Tilly | Bonnie Swanson |
| Patrick Warburton | Joe Swanson |
| Wally Wingert | The Grinch |
Principal voice credits as recorded by IMDb, which lists up to ten credits per episode, so recurring characters can be missing here. Guest voices below come from Wikipedia and TVmaze.
Guest voices
- Michelle Kwan as herself
- Suzie Plakson as various characters
- Wally Wingert as The Grinch/various characters
- Carlos Alazraqui as Mr. Weed, Mr. Jonathan Weed
- Butch Hartman as various characters
- Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
- Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson
- Seth MacFarlane as Kevin Swanson
Season 1: episode 5 of 7
- E1Death Has a Shadow
- E2I Never Met the Dead Man
- E3Chitty Chitty Death Bang
- E4Mind Over Murder
- E5A Hero Sits Next DoorYou are here
- E6The Son Also Draws
- E7Brian: Portrait of a Dog
SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 1 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.
Provenance
Facts only- Data refreshed
- 6 September 2026
- Verification
- Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
- Licence
- Facts are not copyrightable. Source text on Wikipedia is CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikidata is CC0; IMDb data is used for verification under its non-commercial terms.
- Note
- The story summary and notes were written for this site from the sources listed, by Claude in Claude Code on 2026-09-08, awaiting editorial review. Facts only; no dialogue is reproduced. Voice credits: Information courtesy of IMDb (https://www.imdb.com). Used with permission. Guest cast data from TVmaze (https://www.tvmaze.com), CC BY-SA.