23. Three Kings
Season: 7
Episode: 15
Original Air Date: May 10th, 2009 In the next-to-last episode of the show's seventh season, they decided to go in a bit of a different direction, splitting one episode into three segments, each a parody of a Stephen King stories. We start with the movie Stand By Me, which is based on King's novel, The Body. Peter, Quagmire, Joe, and Cleveland are now four 12-year-olds in 1955. With actors Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and George Wendt providing hilarious guest voice cameos, the boys set out to find a dead body in the woods, only to face numerous obstacles along the way, including a train and the town bully's gang, which consists of the most nonsensical (in a good way) people you can think of. Next up is the movie Misery, based on the novel of the same name. Brian is author Paul Sheldon, fresh off of completing a set of children's books, and looking to transition into something more current and serious in tone. After getting into a car accident during a snowstorm, where he runs Stephen King over (giving King a new novel idea as he flies through the air), he is rescued by Stewie Wilkes, who claims to be his number one fan. Paul is brought back to Stewie's cabin, where Stewie reveals a violent and insane side, holding him hostage and forcing him to rewrite his most recent book. If you've read or watched Misery, you know how creepy the story is, and how depressing it is. This version is, of course, a bit more humorous, but is still plenty "dark". The final story is The Shawshank Redemption, where Peter plays Andy Dufresne, a prisoner sent to Shawshank Prison. He deals with the ups and downs of trying to make friends behind bars, as well as the dealings with authority. Cleveland plays Red, a fellow prisoner, as well as the story's narrator, and he gets his Morgan Freeman on in doing so. People tend to view this as the weakest portion of the episode, but a lot of that has to do with just how good the movie is, and how high a bar that sets, even in the world of parody.