Spies Reminiscent of Us (Family Guy)

Spies Reminiscent of Us is the third episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series, Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 11, 2009.

Plot
The episode pays homage to the 1985 comedy film Spies Like Us, featuring baby Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian as they discover that American spies Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd have moved into their neighbor Cleveland Brown's old house; they eventually follow them on a secret mission to Russia. Meanwhile, Peter, Joe, and Quagmire attempt to start an improv comedy group with very little success.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It’s another great adventure of Stewie and Brian, as the duo go with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd to go against the KGB and defend the world.
 * 2) Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd are great guest stars in this episode, as their animated counterparts are super spies.
 * 3) It was nice to see Cleveland on Family Guy again after he got his spin-off.
 * 4) The characters are still likable here, and are portrayed much better than the previous episode, as this is the 3rd episode of this season, so the score is still good 2 good/1 bad.
 * 5) Funny moments in the episode, like Peter doing his comedy bits, the mini Stewie scene, and the return of the classic Cleveland's bathtub gag.
 * 6) The bond between Brian and Stewie is still great, and they work well with Chevy and Dan in this episode.
 * 7) They also team up with the animated counterpart of Vladimir Putin to stop the missile.
 * 8) Good action in this episode, such as Brian, Stewie, Chevy and Dan fighting a brainwashed Mayor West.
 * 9) The Spy vs Spy cameo is great.
 * 10) A good ending where the Missile was redirected back into space, and it exploded in space, and the fuselage only crashes on Cleveland’s house with nobody hurt, only making the funny Cleveland’s bathtub gag.
 * 11) The subplot is also good with Peter, Joe and Quagmire being a trio of comedians.
 * 12) One of the few times that seasons 8-14 Meg didn’t receive painful torture, as during the ending, she was a sleeper agent, and only called the contact when Brian accidentally said the trigger words near her, and the contact just told her to shut up, knowing the plan is long gone.
 * 13) This still kept season 8 on a good side (2 good/1 bad), if only for a short time, which could’ve been a great season if it wasn't for all the flanderization and other negativities that happened during the season.
 * 14) The Russian cutaway gag. If you don't understand Russian, its incoherency is hilarious, while if you do, it becomes hilarious for other reasons.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) There are some gross and mean-spirited moments, like Peter using Joe’s USA flag as toilet paper while using Cleveland’s old house’s toilet.
 * 2) The ending, while mostly good, had a weird thing with Meg being another sleeper agent, yet not another plan from the KGB has ever come on the show again.

Reception
In its initial broadcast, this episode received a Nielsen rating of 5.1/8, totaling 8.88 million viewers in the 18–19 demographic. The episode ranked one of the lowest in the 9:00PM timeslot, behind The Amazing Race on CBS, Sunday Night Football on NBC, and Desperate Housewives; however, it was ahead of fellow Fox animated sitcom American Dad!, which was shown immediately after Family Guy.

Reviews of the episode were mostly positive. The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff noted her enjoyment of the storyline, but she mostly enjoyed the episode's inclusion and voice work of Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd and commented favorably on the gags that describe Russia as filled with bears on unicycles and that Adam West turns out to be the Russian sleeper agent. She criticized the improv comedy storyline, and commented that improv troupes and 1980s comedies are lazy targets, and ultimately graded the episode a B, tying that The Simpsons and American Dad!, and beating its spin-off The Cleveland Show. IGN Television critic Ahsan Haque gave the episode a mixed review, stating that he did not like the improv storyline, and he was not amused with Peter's usage of Joe's American flag as toilet paper. However, he praised the scene that involved Stewie's, Brian's, Chevy Chase's, and Dan Aykroyd's travel to Russia, and he ultimately gave the episode 7.7 out of 10.