Season 8 · Episode 4 · First aired 8 November 2009

Brian's Got a Brand New Bag

Episode 4 of Family Guy season 8 (S08E04), the 130th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Tom Devanney and directed by Pete Michels. First broadcast on 8 November 2009.

Story

Peter buys the film Road House at a closing video shop and starts kicking everything in sight. Steering with his feet, he crashes into a young woman's car. Brian asks her out, but she stands him up and he ends up talking to her mother Rita. The two begin dating. The Griffins mock Rita behind her back, and at dinner they press her until she admits she is 50. Angry with the family, Brian proposes to Rita and they give the couple their blessing. Rita breaks her hip during sex, and Peter warns Brian the relationship will not survive him becoming her carer. Sent out for her medicine, Brian is drawn into a bar and has sex with a younger woman. He confesses to Rita, who decides he is too young for her and ends the engagement.

Production and reception

The first broadcast on 8 November 2009 was watched in 7.38 million homes with a 4.3/7 Nielsen rating among 18 to 49 year olds. Wikipedia, Brian's Got a Brand New Bag
Nana Visitor voiced Rita after earlier minor roles on the series. Wikipedia, Brian's Got a Brand New Bag
It aired as part of an all Seth MacFarlane evening, ahead of the live-action Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, and is dedicated to Patrick Swayze. Wikipedia, Brian's Got a Brand New Bag
Bruce Willis and Reginald VelJohnson were among the guest voices. Wikipedia, Brian's Got a Brand New Bag
Ahsan Haque of IGN rated it 6.5 out of 10, and The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff graded it B. Wikipedia, Brian's Got a Brand New Bag

Voices

Voice	Characters
Seth MacFarlane	Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin
Alex Borstein	Lois Griffin, Woman from Roadhouse, Mrs. Garrett
Seth Green	Chris Griffin
Mila Kunis	Meg Griffin
Mike Henry	Black Man
Alexandra Breckenridge	Elizabeth Clay
James Burkholder	Kid
Steve Callaghan	Drive-Thru Attendant

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

Hart Bochner as Harry Ellis
James Burkholder
Alexandra Breckenridge as Girl in Bar
Aimee Garcia as Nicole
Paul Gleason as Dwayne T. Robinson (archive recording), Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson
Jack Samson
Stacey Scowley
Debra Skelton
Reginald VelJohnson as Al Powell (archive recording), Sgt. Al Powell
Nana Visitor as Rita
Tico Wells
Mae Whitman
Bruce Willis as John McClane (archive recording), Officer John McClane
Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
Adam West as Mayor Adam West
Debra Wilson as Whitney Houston
John Viener as Video Store Clerk

Season 8: episode 4 of 21

Season hub with air dates and credits for all 21 episodes

SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 8 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.

Provenance

Facts only

Sources: Wikipedia: Brian's Got a Brand New Bag
Wikidata Q4035416
IMDb
TVmaze
Data refreshed: 6 September 2026
Verification: Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
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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.