Season 3 · Episode 17 · First aired 17 January 2002
Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
Episode 17 of Family Guy season 3 (S03E17), the 45th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Ali Adler and directed by Dan Povenmire. First broadcast on 17 January 2002.
Story
Brian dates a woman he finds unintelligent and comes home dejected. Lois says he is too picky and sends him to a laser rock concert with Peter, Quagmire and Cleveland. He drinks there and Joe arrests him for drink-driving on the way home. His sentence is 100 hours of community service with Pearl Burton, an elderly recluse. Brian loses patience with her complaints, then learns she was a celebrated opera singer from the 1940s to the 1960s. He stops her taking her own life and they become close friends. On their first outing a truck hits Pearl outside her door, and she dies in hospital. Meanwhile Peter grows a beard and an endangered swallow nests in it. The law forbids him from removing the bird, and he later raises its three chicks until Lois persuades him to release them.
Production and reception
- Allison Adler wrote the episode, her only script for the series, and Dan Povenmire directed it. Wikipedia, Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
- Seth MacFarlane originally planned to end the episode with a run of gags; Alex Borstein and Adler persuaded him to close on a sad note instead. Wikipedia, Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
- Guest voices included Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, Melora Hardin, Nicole Sullivan, Phil LaMarr, Wally Wingert, Butch Hartman, A. J. Benza and the opera singer Adria Firestone. Wikipedia, Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
- The episode's musical number won an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics; MacFarlane accepted it and said Povenmire deserved the award for the visuals. Wikipedia, Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
Voices
| Voice | Characters |
|---|---|
| Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin |
| Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin, Pearl Burton, Miracle Worker Mother |
| Seth Green | Chris Griffin, Neil Goldman, Theatre Man #6 |
| Mila Kunis | Meg Griffin |
| Lori Alan | Diane Simmons |
| Mike Barker | Ben Franklin Bear, Eric's Friend, Theatre Man #1 |
| A.J. Benza | A.J. Benza |
| Gary Cole | James 'Grizzly' Adams |
| Adria Firestone | Miracle Worker Child |
| Melora Hardin | Young Pearl Burton |
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
- A. J. Benza
- Gary Cole
- Adria Firestone as Pearl's opera voice
- Melora Hardin as Young Pearl Burton
- Butch Hartman as Various
- Phil LaMarr as the Judge
- Jane Lynch as Patsy Ramsey
- Nicole Sullivan as Muriel Goldman
- Wally Wingert as Various
- Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
- Adam West as Mayor Adam West
- Lori Alan as Diane Simmons
Season 3: episode 17 of 22
- E1The Thin White Line
- E2Brian Does Hollywood
- E3Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington
- E4One If by Clam, Two If by Sea
- E5And the Wiener Is...
- E6Death Lives
- E7Lethal Weapons
- E8The Kiss Seen Around the World
- E9Mr. Saturday Knight
- E10A Fish Out of Water
- E11Emission Impossible
- E12To Love and Die in Dixie
- E13Screwed the Pooch
- E14Peter Griffin: Husband, Father... Brother?
- E15Ready, Willing, and Disabled
- E16A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas
- E17Brian Wallows and Peter's SwallowsYou are here
- E18From Method to Madness
- E19Stuck Together, Torn Apart
- E20Road to Europe
- E21Family Guy Viewer Mail #1
- E22When You Wish Upon a Weinstein
SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 3 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.