Trading Places

"Trading Places" is the 15th episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 20, 2011. The episode follows the Griffin family as they decide to switch roles, in order to teach each other a lesson about responsibility, with father Peter and mother Lois becoming the children, and son Chris and daughter Meg becoming the parents of the household. They each discover hardships in their new roles, however, as the switch causes a strain on the family's relationship, and eventually resulting in the ultimate consequence. The episode was written by Steve Callaghan and directed by Joseph Lee. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 6.55 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Gary Cole, Carrie Fisher, Rachael MacFarlane, Laura Vandervoort, Lisa Wilhoit, and Nina Dobrev, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Trading Places" was one of five episodes submitted for consideration for an Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Comedy Series" category in 2011. Plot A drunk Tom Tucker appears on television, announcing a contest to win a dirtbike. Peter decides to enter the contest, in which the person who keeps their hand on the bike the longest wins. As time goes on, competitors continually begin to give up. Nine hours later, the last two contestants remaining are Peter and Mayor Adam West, the latter of whom is tricked into taking his hand off the bike when Peter sends him a text message with his free hand. The next day, Peter's children, Chris and Meg decide to get on the bike and take it for a ride through Quahog. Daring Meg he can jump over a fire hydrant, Chris suddenly crashes the bike, completely destroying it. Once their parents, Peter and Lois, discover that they crashed the bike (and Peter "punishes" Chris by making him start smoking), they decide to teach the two a lesson by switching roles in the family. Meg and Chris then become the parents, dressing more conservatively, with Meg doing housework and Chris going to the brewery where their father works, and Lois and Peter begin attending school. Peter and Lois undergo constant hard school work beyond their generation, as well as having to keep up a social status all the time, and dealing with bullies. Meanwhile, Meg and Chris find adult work to be very easy to handle.