page_title: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz
section_title: Cultural references
hierarchical_section_title: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz / Cultural references
caption_attribution_description: Gary Cole in January 2009.
context_page_description: "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" is the 18th episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 18, 2005. The episode follows Peter's decision to find a new religion for himself. After several failed attempts, he chooses the one man who has always been there for him, Fonzie, and starts the First United Church of the Fonz.
  The episode was written by Danny Smith and directed by James Purdum. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 8.26 million homes in its original airing in the United States. The episode featured guest performances by Paula Abdul, Tom Bosley, Gary Cole, Charles Durning, Sherman Hemsley, Phil LaMarr, Sherry Romito, Marion Ross, Amir Talai, Fred Tatasciore, Sarah Utterback and Wally Wingert, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.
context_section_description: At the beginning of the episode, the family is watching Aquaman on television. Peter is shown watching Jaws 5 on the television, a sequence which MacFarlane describes as "one of [his] favourite gags [they've] ever done on the show". Stewie is shown asking viewers to change the channel to one which is showing Desperate Housewives. When Peter is describing Jesus, he does so in a similar manner to that shown on Quantum Leap. Peter's stuttering while attempting to say "wrong" is a reference to a scene in which Fonzie was unable to say the word on Happy Days. The episode uses a plastic bubble-encased Stewie as the pinball in a close parody of the Pinball Number Count from Sesame Street. At one point a modified video of "Opposites Attract" with Paula Abdul is shown with Peter dressed like a cat. The music playing in the background during the end credits is "Rock Around the Clock", the original Happy Days opening theme; additionally, the credits themselves are shown in a similar style and font.
caption: Gary Cole made a cameo appearance in the episode as Bill Lumbergh from the cult film Office Space.
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