When You Wish Upon a Weinstein (9 Nov. 2003)

Peter wants Chris to become Jewish so he'll grow up smart.

Director:

Dan Povenmire

Writers:

Seth MacFarlane (creator), Seth MacFarlane (developed by),

Stars:

Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Seth MacFarlane	...	Peter Griffin / Brian Griffin / Stewie Griffin / Glenn Quagmire / William Shatner / Additional Voices (voice)
Alex Borstein	...	Lois Griffin / Additional Voices (voice)
Seth Green	...	Chris Griffin / The Penguin / Herschel (voice)
Mila Kunis	...	Meg Griffin (voice)
Mike Barker	...	(voice)
Andrea Hutchman	...	(voice) (as Andrea Beutner)
Ricky Blitt	...	Mordecai (voice)
Mark Hamill	...	Luke Skywalker / Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice)
Mike Henry	...	Cleveland Brown (voice)
Phil LaMarr	...	Louis Farrakhan (voice)
Ed McMahon	...	Himself (voice)
Peter Riegert	...	Max Weinstein (voice)
Mary Scheer	...	(voice)
Danny Smith	...	Jim Kaplan (voice)
Ben Stein	...	Rabbi Goldberg (voice)

Storyline

After hearing about the good jobs his friends' lawyers and accountants are doing, Peter becomes fixated on the idea of Jews as mathematical and legal geniuses. Hoping to give Chris a chance for a better future than he can provide as a Catholic, Peter decides to have his son convert to Judaism at a quickie Las Vegas Bar Mitzvah in order to turn him smart.

---

Plot Keywords:

jewish convert | nun | lost episode | jewish stereotype | unaired episode | 

---

Genres:

Animation | Comedy

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Roman Productions, Fuzzy Door Productions, Hands Down Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is based on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" from the 1940 Walt Disney movie Pinocchio.

---

Goofs

Peter and Chris are already in Las Vegas, waiting in line at the Bar Mitzvah Chapel when Lois learns where they've gone. She makes the two-day drive to Nevada and runs three miles to Las Vegas while they're still waiting.

---

Quotes

Peter Griffin: They better not be expecting us to give money, because I gave at church last Sunday, and I'm pretty sure it all goes to the same God.

---

Connections

References The Transformers (1984)

---

Soundtracks

"I Need A Jew"
(uncredited)
Performed by Seth MacFarlane

User Reviews

Not offensive, but just not that good

Family Guy is known for having potentially offensive humour, and this one in particular took a while to actually be aired on television. The concern was that with its storyline and jokes about Jews, the episode would look anti-Semitic. However, Seth MacFarlane claims the script was endorsed by two rabbis as not offensive. Indeed, I agree the episode isn't anti-Semitic; it's not as funny as it should be, however.

The Griffins run into financial problems and Peter becomes convinced that since Jews are known for their skills with finances, he needs a Jewish accountant. He wishes for one with a song and eventually comes across a Jewish accountant named Weinstein, who indeed solves Peter's problems. Impressed with Weinstein's intelligence, Peter reaches the dubious conclusion that converting his son Chris to Judaism will also make him more intelligent.

I liked a few jokes about Jews here, like Weinstein getting upset when Peter sings he now has a Jew, and when Lois says Jews built the pyramids (a Biblical reference). The episode avoids racism, however, when at the end Peter realizes Jews are no better or worse than other people, though this message is expressed without any subtlety. Peter demonstrating to Weinstein how his son isn't too bright is also funny. But other parts of the episode aren't as funny. For example, Peter soiling himself twice is just puerile. As someone interested in Jews, this episode was slightly disappointing. But it shouldn't be censored.