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" Business Guy" is the ninth episode in the eighth season of the American cartoon series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 13, 2009. The episode centers on Peter Griffin as he assumes temporary control of his father-in-law Carter Pewterschmidt's billion-dollar empire after he suffers a heart attack and is in a coma. Peter immediately becomes power hungry, however, and develops several ridiculous items, prompting Lois Griffin and Carter, after he recovers from his coma, to try to trick him into relinquishing control of the company.
The episode was written by Andrew Goldberg and Alex Carter, and directed by Pete Michels. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving criticism from and being reported to the FCC by the Parents Television Council. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 7.67 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Hugh Laurie, Bobby Lee, Nana Visitor, Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Business Guy" was released on DVD along with ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
On his first day on the job, Peter dismisses the entire board of directors for being unable to keep up with his ideas and hires his friends to manufacture ridiculous items. Soon after, Carter reawakens from his coma and finds what Peter has done with his company. Carter confronts Peter in his former office and demands for him to relinquish control of the company, but he refuses; he instead forces him to work as a janitor, have and invite people to his mansion for a Big Bang Theory viewing party, pay a compliment to a sharply dressed Asian man, and clean out the fridge in the employee lounge.
Carter is embarrassed, so he and Lois trick Peter into surrendering the company by scaring him into believing a swamp monster will eat him if he does not. A seemingly real swamp monster scares Peter out of the office, chases Lois and a disguised Carter, before being found out as House.
In the end, Lois cheers Peter up by revealing that the contract he signed allows him to keep the corporate plane. Peter is delighted and jumps in a freeze frame shot, but he and his family grow alarmed when he actually remains in midair.
"Business Guy", along with the eleven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on December 13, 2011. The sets include brief audio commentaries by various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes and animatics, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "And Then There Were Fewer", a mini-feature entitled "The Comical Adventures of Family Guy – Brian & Stewie: The Lost Phone Call", and footage of the Family Guy panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.
In addition to the regular cast, actor Hugh Laurie made his second appearance in the series, the first being "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea"; Laurie lampooned his role as House protagonist Gregory House. Actors Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons reprised their roles as Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory respectively. Bobby Lee of MADtv and Nana Visitor also guest star in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Alexandra Breckenridge, Chris Cox, Ralph Garman, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin and John Viener also made minor appearances. Actor Patrick Warburton appears in the episode as well.
Returning home from firing the board of directors, Peter calls attention to Lacey Chabert, formerly the voice of Meg Griffin before being replaced by Mila Kunis, when he notes that he can also fire Lois for "misbehaving." In introducing new products for Pewterschmidt Industries, Peter decides to create several unorthodox items, which include a cereal line for Jeremy Irons entitled "Jeremy Irons Cereal," a "Scream in a Box," as well as an African American heart rate monitor, which Carter later uses at the hospital, with the system's two settings, Barry White, and Bill Cosby impersonated voices.
Once Carter Pewterschmidt wakes up from his coma, Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons appear as Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper in the episode when Carter is forced by Peter to hold a viewing party for the CBS comedy sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which Carter is reluctant to do at first, but soon begins to enjoy the show. In an attempt to get the company back from Peter, Carter and Lois trick him into thinking a swamp monster is out to get important businessmen, and if he does not sign the company back over to Mr. Pewterschmidt, he will be eaten. Gregory House also dresses as a swamp monster, however, and causes Lois to become confused, until she unmasks the monster in the style of Scooby-Doo. House then interjects by speaking in Hugh Laurie's original English accent, as opposed to the American accent used on the television show in which he stars.
Receiving mixed reviews from critics, the episode was deemed "a throwback to the earlier more successful seasons." Ahsan Haque of IGN praised the storyline as consistent "from start to finish." Jason Hughes of TV Squad also praised the "inside jokes" in the episode, as well as the Scooby-Doo sequence as "a flash of satiric brilliance." In contrast, Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club called the storyline "an excuse jokes," giving the episode a B− rating. Glenn Diaz of BuddyTV praised Laurie's performance in the episode, stating that "his scenes were among the funniest on the episode." The TV Critic's Robin Pierson rated the episode 55, praising the storyline and Laurie's cameo while criticizing a non sequitur parody of Scooby-Doo.
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