Lois Griffin and Great Scott: Difference between pages
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{{for|the Massachusetts music venue|Great Scott (club)}} |
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'''Great Scott!''' is an exclamation of surprise or amazement. |
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{{Family Guy character |
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|name = Lois Griffin<!-- She goes by her married name, not "Pewterschmidt" --> |
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|picture = [[Image:Loisg.jpg|200px]] |
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|caption = |
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|age = early 40s <ref name="age">Lois' age has never been established in any episode, but she identifies herself in the episode "[[The Fat Guy Strangler]]" to be in her 40s. It was stated in the episode "[[Meet the Quagmires]]" that Peter and Lois were both 18 in the year [[1984]], whereas in "[[Let's Go to the Hop]]". In "[[The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou]]", Peter's age is given as 43, though this is inconsistent. The episode "[[Stewie Kills Lois]]" opens with Lois' birthday, suggesting she may have turned 41, though this has yet to be confirmed.</ref> |
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|relatives = '''Mother:''' [[Barbara Pewterschmidt]]<br>'''Father:'''<br>[[Carter Pewterschmidt]]<br>'''Siblings:''' [[Patrick Pewterschmidt|Patrick]] ''(brother)''<br>[[Carol Pewterschmidt|Carol]] ''(sister)''<br>'''Husband:''' [[Peter Griffin|Peter]]<br>'''Children:''' [[Meg Griffin|Meg]] ''(daughter)''<br>[[Chris Griffin|Chris]] ''(son)''<br>[[Stewie Griffin|Stewie]] ''(son)'' |
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|gender = Female |
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|hair = [[Red hair|Red]] |
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|occupation = Piano teacher<!-- "former Mayor of Quahog" is a single episode situation. Don't clutter the infobox with these. --> |
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|religion = [[Protestant]] |
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|heritage = German-American |
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|appearance = "[[Death Has a Shadow]]" |
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|voice = [[Alex Borstein]] |
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|}} |
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==Possible origins== |
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'''Lois Griffin''' (née '''Pewterschmidt''') is a [[fictional character]] from the [[List of animated television series|animated series]] ''[[Family Guy]]''. She is the wife of [[Peter Griffin]] and the mother of [[Meg Griffin|Meg]], [[Chris Griffin|Chris]] and [[Stewie Griffin|Stewie]]. She is voiced by former ''[[MADtv]]'' cast member [[Alex Borstein]]. |
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The expression dates back at least to the American [[Civil War]], and may refer to the one-time commander of the [[U.S. Army]], [[General]] [[Winfield Scott]]. In a May 1861 edition of the ''[[New York Times]]'' was the sentence: |
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:''These gathering hosts of loyal freemen, under the command of the great SCOTT.'' |
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In an 1871 issue of ''Galaxy'' magazine, there is: |
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==Life== |
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:''‘Great—Scott!’ he gasped in his stupefaction, using the name of the then commander-in-chief for an oath, as officers sometimes did in those days.'' |
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As established by episodes such as "[[Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater]]", Lois was born into the wealthy [[Pewterschmidt family]]. Peter Griffin, her husband, was a towel boy at the family country club; Lois eventually fell in love with him due to his low-class, easy-going manner, which she found more appealing than the stuffy, uptight suitors in her social circle. Lois was crowned Miss Teen Rhode Island and wished to pursue a career in modeling, but her father thought that was beneath the dignity of the family. |
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The phrase also appears in the [[3 May]] [[1864]] diary entry by Private [[Robert Knox Sneden]] (later published as ''Eye of the Storm: a Civil War Odyssey''): |
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Before meeting Peter, Lois had relationships with other men, especially those associated with [[Rock music#Rock diversifies in the 1980s|1980s rock bands]], such as [[The J. Geils Band|J. Geils]], [[Daryl Hall]], the "pyro guy" from the band [[Whitesnake]], and Chaim Witz—better known as [[Gene Simmons]] of [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] fame (a fact which caused Peter great pride in the episode "[[Road to Europe]]"). |
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:''‘Great Scott,’ who would have thought that this would be the destiny of the Union Volunteer in 1861–2 while marching down Broadway to the tune of ‘[[John Brown’s Body]]’.''<ref>[http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gre4.htm World Wide Words article on the origins of the phrase "Great Scott"]</ref> |
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Another possible origin of the phrase is that people seeking to emulate the German [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] altered and anglicized "[[Grüß Gott]]!", or "God bless!" into "Great Scott!". The etymologist and author [[John Ciardi]] once believed this, but later recanted in a radio broadcast in 1985. Despite that recantation, the expression is likely to be a [[minced oath]]: a mild substitute for invoking the name of [[God]]; very possibly derived from the phrase "[by the] grace of God". |
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Lois was raised [[Protestantism|Protestant]], for which Peter's staunch [[Irish Catholic]] stepfather, [[Francis Griffin|Francis]], despises her; on their [[wedding]] day, Francis spray-painted "To a Protestant Whore" underneath the "Just Married" sign on the back of their car. As she gave up her inheritance for Peter, Lois, not surprisingly, has a testy relationship with her father. |
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== Culture == |
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Lois teaches [[piano]] to supplement the family's income, though she spends the majority of her time caring for her family. [[Chris Griffin|Chris]], the middle child, was always overweight, even at birth (established by a newspaper article claiming "Local woman gives birth to elephant child" in the episode "[[He's Too Sexy For His Fat]]"), while her youngest son [[Stewie Griffin|Stewie]] is intent on [[matricide]], although Lois seems not to notice; there was one time when Lois noticed Stewie acting up, though she assumed it to be a result of Stewie lacking fatherly attention from Peter. Lois seems to dislike her eldest child and only daughter, [[Meg Griffin|Meg]], in keeping with the apparent popular perception of Meg. |
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The phrase "Great Scott" was commonly found in [[superhero]] [[comic books]], including [[Superman]]. [[Dr. Watson]] habitually used the expression in the [[Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes Films]] made between 1939 and 1946. |
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In the episode "[[The Story on Page One]]", it is hinted that Lois attended (at least for a period) [[Kent State University]] in Ohio through her comments: "My days in college were so exciting. This one time the National Guard came and shot some of my friends". This is an obvious allusion to the 1970 "[[Kent State shootings]]". |
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The exclamation can also be found in [[C.S. Lewis]]' ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', such as by [[Digory Kirke]] in the book ''[[The Magician's Nephew]]'', or by Peter in the book ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]''. One of the better-known contemporary uses was as the [[catchphrase]] of [[Doctor Emmett Brown]] in the ''[[Back to the Future trilogy|''Back to the Future'']]'' film trilogy. [[Christopher Lloyd]], who portrayed Brown in the films, used the expression in TV ads during [[2006]]-[[2007]] which refer back to this role ("Great Scott! I forgot to tell [[Marty McFly|Marty]] about [[DirecTV]]!") |
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Other occurrences include the television cartoon ''[[Sheep in the Big City]]'', which has a character called "Great Scott" who appears every time anyone says the phrase, replying "Ye-e-e-s?". Mr. Wilson, a character in the ''[[Dennis the Menace (TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]'' [[TV series]], frequently used the expression. In ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'', one of the characters is named [[Dr. Everett von Scott]]. At one point [[Brad Majors]] (played by [[Barry Bostwick]]) sees Scott and exclaims, "Great Scott!" This line is typically lampooned by the audience, who often throw toilet paper - a nod to the [[Scottissue]] brand. In the movie version of ''Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets'', the [[Hogwarts#Defence_Against_the_Dark_Arts|Defense Against The Dark Arts]] teacher [[Gilderoy Lockhart]] exclaims "Great Scott! Look at the time..." |
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After Peter had been lost at sea for a few months and presumed dead, Lois and [[Brian Griffin|Brian]] wed in a sexless [[marriage of convenience]] ("[[Perfect Castaway]]"). When Peter was finally rescued, Lois was torn between her love for Peter and her commitment to Brian. Brian understood her dilemma and divorced Lois, but was annoyed when he discovered that Lois was apparently one day away from having sex with him. |
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The phrase is also occasionally used by [[Hiro Nakamura]] on the television [[science-fiction]] series, ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', albeit sometimes in an exaggerated Japanese ("Gureito Sukotto!"). |
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Lois has a younger sister, Carol, who has had nine husbands, at least eight of whom have left her, and had a boy by her eighth husband. Lois also has an older brother, Patrick, whom she discovers for the first time in "[[The Fat Guy Strangler]]". Lois took Patrick out of the asylum in which he was interned, refusing to believe that he was a serial killer until Brian confronted her with evidence. |
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The phrase is used by [[Michael Scott (The Office)|Michael Scott]] on the television series, [[The Office (U.S. TV series)|''The Office'']], as his fictional production company at the end of all his mini films for the office. |
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Also, as shown in the episode "[[Untitled Griffin Family History]]", it is revealed that one of her ancestors had children with [[Nate Griffin]], Peter's black ancestor.<!-- All this is way too in-universe to remain, but for now I'm just removing blood relative speculation. Peter Griffin's real father is not a Griffin. --> |
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Members of the scientific community refer to the emerging, young scientist [[Scott J. Seltzer]] PhD<ref name=Seltzer> |
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==Personality and health== |
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{{cite journal |
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In contrast to the stereotype of the wife being the most ethical of the family, Lois' [[Morality|morals]] can seem questionable at times. In addition to being a long-time counterfeiter (making ten-dollar bills), she also went through a brief period of [[kleptomania]] ("[[Breaking Out Is Hard to Do]]"). She also showed a [[gambling]] addiction when the family went to an [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] [[casino]] in "[[The Son Also Draws]]", during the first season. Various episodes have hinted that Lois does drugs, but this is shown most clearly in "[[Deep Throats]]". In "[[Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington]]", in a dream when she realizes that Stewie is an evil genius bent on world domination (which she could hardly even remember when she wakes up) she revealed that she smoked [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] when she was pregnant with Stewie, a claim backed-up by series creator [[Seth MacFarlane]] on a DVD commentary. She also hints that engaged in similar activities when a younger Meg was around. The show also contains at least one allusion to Lois having used [[Methamphetamine|meth]] -- after being asked when she got a [[tattoo]], her response is "I don't know, Peter, meth is one hell of a drug", and when Peter asks what she means she goes to another subject very quickly but calmly. |
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| author=Seltzer, S. J. and Meares, P. J. and Romalis, M. V. |
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| title=Synchronous optical pumping of quantum revival beats for atomic magnetometry |
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| journal=Physical Review A | year=2007 | volume=75 | number=5 |
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| doi=10.1103/PhysRevA.75.051407 |
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| url=http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=PLRAAN000075000005051407000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes |
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}} |
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</ref> |
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as "The Great Scott." |
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Great Scott! was also the name of a now-defunct [[supermarket]] chain in the [[Detroit, Michigan]] area. |
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Lois has also been briefly shown participating in [[prostitution]] with Meg in the episode "[[No Chris Left Behind]]" in order to help pay to put Chris through [[boarding school]]. In many episodes scattered throughout the series, Lois is also seen smoking cigarettes. In the episode "[[Stewie Kills Lois]]" Meg and Chris got her smokers [[toothpaste]] for her birthday, after which Chris whispers to her "Take the hint!" Lois also had an extramarital affair with former President [[Bill Clinton]] which resulted in the temporary separation between her and Peter, although the relationship was later rekindled after Peter himself engaged in a sexual liason with Clinton. |
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== References == |
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When Lois appeared on Diane Simmons' talk show, an onscreen title described her as "Probably more of a bitch than she lets on" (To which Lois responds, "Oh, go fuck yourself, Diane"). |
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<references /> |
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"Great Scott, I think I've got it!" From the movie ''Blithe Spirit'' staring Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford (1945). |
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[[Category:English phrases]] |
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Lois has some unexpected talents. She can calculate the street value of confiscated drugs with ease ("[[The Thin White Line]]"), and is a skilled [[lounge music|lounge]] singer. |
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[[Category:Interjections]] |
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In "[[A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas]]", she has a [[mental breakdown|nervous breakdown]] when just about everything goes wrong, throws a destructive tantrum and is subdued with a [[Sedative|tranquilizer]] shot by a police sniper. Lois partially explains her role as a mother and homemaker by saying that [[feminism]] is about choice, and that she choose to not have a job and shouldn't be stereotyped as a typical housewife. In the episode "[[It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One]]", she gets into an argument with [[Mayor Adam West]] and threatened to run for mayor of Quahog against him, winning the election over West. However, she eventually returned the job to him after discovering it was too difficult for her to ignore special interests and maintain her integrity while in politics, conceding defeat. |
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It has been hinted throughout the series that Lois never actually wanted kids. She almost had an [[abortion]] when she was pregnant with Meg, a "busted [[condom]]" led to Chris's birth, and took drugs in order to have a miscarriage with Stewie, which might explain Stewie's violent behavior towards her. |
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Lois engages in the lengthiest actual conversations with her daughter [[Meg Griffin|Meg]], giving advice and so forth. It may be deduced, however, that she does not really care as much about Meg as she seems to, and she has been insulting and rude towards her daughter on multiple occasions--though she is not physically abusive towards Meg like Peter often is. Part of this seeming dislike may result from resentment over the inconvenience of Meg's birth; in the direct-to-[[DVD]] film ''[[Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story]]'', Lois reveals that her pregnancy with Meg prevented her from participating in the [[Olympic Games]] after which she comments, "Now I'm [[pro-choice]]." In an earlier episode she mentioned to Meg that birth control is nullified by [[antibiotics]], implying she became pregnant by accident. She also tried to get an abortion as stated in the episode "[[Stewie Kills Lois]]", which had also been hinted at in the earlier episode "[[Dammit Janet!]]". |
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Besides her quirkiness and hidden talents, Lois has a strong sexual side as well, to the point where it could be assumed she has [[Hypersexuality|nymphomania]]. One instance finds her in a [[dominatrix]] outfit, another instance has her entering the bedroom dressed as [[Prick Up Your Ears (Family Guy)|The Grimace]] while another episode has her reaching an emotional climax by yelling at Peter to slap her ass. Later, she role-plays the bad schoolgirl, asking Peter for a [[erotic spanking|spanking]]. In fact, she even displayed a level of masochistic arousal once when Peter accidentally grazed her with a bullet from a handgun. Lois can be cuddly, too, and aggressive as well. She is playful and willing to take the lead if she feels like it. On one occasion, after feeling empowered through Taijitsu classes, she even played "the man" during sex with Peter, nearly raping him and leaving him mentally scarred the next morning. Nonetheless, there are frequent suggestions that Lois is attracted to Peter predominantly because they're tolerant of each other's odder sexual quirks. |
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In the early episodes of the show, Lois was considered to be, in many respects, the smartest and most responsible member of the family, expressing the most concern about their well-being. However, as the characters began to develop over time, it seems that Brian has inherited many of her old characteristics while Lois' thoughts and actions have grown more questionable, thus landing her in more awkward situations she would less than likely have been in before. |
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Lois is often convinced her own morals, opinions and views are right, and often tries to force them onto others, especially her family. However, this habit has done more harm than benefit to her family; if that is the case, then she does not hold back in trying to fix the damage she has done, though she still tries to maintain a strong figure of authority, no matter how terrible or guilty she may feel. |
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Lois also tends to deny even the most obvious things (such as denying that her brother is a crazed serial killer) for various reasons and makes up several crazy excuses. It is only until after she runs out of excuses, or when someone else (often Brian) sharply intervenes, that she accepts something to be true. |
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In Season 4, it was revealed that what Lois did not realize was that she had acquired a [[tumor]] in her [[brain]] while [[Memory inhibition|repressing]] the feelings and thoughts of what kind of man she married, especially one with [[mental retardation]]. She puts up with his childish stupidity and hides how she truly feels about it, but at a hidden price. Along with other jokes and subtle implications, this suggests that Lois is not entirely happy with her marriage. Nevertheless, Lois loves him very much since she knows how important she is to him. |
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When Peter went blind from [[nickel]] poisoning in the episode "[[Blind Ambition (Family Guy)|Blind Ambition]]", Lois stops wearing makeup until Peter gets his sight back, no longer feeling self-conscious about her appearance. Without makeup, her skin is an unhealthy-looking pale color. |
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After being doused with hot French fry oil, Lois spent at least several days in the hospital bandaged from head to toe (in the episode "[[Petarded]]"). When she was released, she exhibited no visible scarring, but said she would smell like French fries for 6 months. |
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Lois also has an interest in show tunes, having been singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" from [[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]], "Steam Heat" from [[The Pajama Game]], and "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" from [[The Sound of Music]]. Lois also directed a local production of [[The King and I]], which Peter very loosely adapted by changing nearly everything in the script (in her eyes, the play was ruined, but she couldn't do much about it because the play was held in high regards by critics). |
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In the episode "[[Sibling Rivalry (Family Guy)|Sibling Rivalry]]," when Peter is unwilling to have sex after a vasectomy, Lois channels her sexual frustration into eating and becomes fat. Peter's interest is eventually renewed and things heat back up in the bedroom until her unhealthy eating habits get the best of her. She suffers a heart attack and, during the surgery, the doctor removes her fat, thus restoring her to her original size. |
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Despite all the physical harm she has suffered over the course of the series, it has been suggested in ''[[Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story]]'' that she is healthy enough to live at least another 30 years. This is, of course, assuming that Stewie did not in fact plant a time bomb in her uterus prior to his birth that was set to go off on her 50th birthday ("[[Lethal Weapons]]"). |
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==External links== |
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*{{FGwiki}} |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{Family Guy}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Lois}} |
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[[Category:Family Guy characters]] |
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[[da:Lois Griffin]] |
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[[es:Lois Griffin]] |
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[[gl:Lois Griffin]] |
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[[it:Lois Griffin]] |
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[[nl:Lois Griffin]] |
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[[pt:Lois Griffin]] |
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[[ru:Лоис Гриффин]] |
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[[sv:Lois Griffin]] |
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Revision as of 22:53, 10 October 2008
Great Scott! is an exclamation of surprise or amazement.
Possible origins
The expression dates back at least to the American Civil War, and may refer to the one-time commander of the U.S. Army, General Winfield Scott. In a May 1861 edition of the New York Times was the sentence:
- These gathering hosts of loyal freemen, under the command of the great SCOTT.
In an 1871 issue of Galaxy magazine, there is:
- ‘Great—Scott!’ he gasped in his stupefaction, using the name of the then commander-in-chief for an oath, as officers sometimes did in those days.
The phrase also appears in the 3 May 1864 diary entry by Private Robert Knox Sneden (later published as Eye of the Storm: a Civil War Odyssey):
- ‘Great Scott,’ who would have thought that this would be the destiny of the Union Volunteer in 1861–2 while marching down Broadway to the tune of ‘John Brown’s Body’.[1]
Another possible origin of the phrase is that people seeking to emulate the German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha altered and anglicized "Grüß Gott!", or "God bless!" into "Great Scott!". The etymologist and author John Ciardi once believed this, but later recanted in a radio broadcast in 1985. Despite that recantation, the expression is likely to be a minced oath: a mild substitute for invoking the name of God; very possibly derived from the phrase "[by the] grace of God".
Culture
The phrase "Great Scott" was commonly found in superhero comic books, including Superman. Dr. Watson habitually used the expression in the Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes Films made between 1939 and 1946. The exclamation can also be found in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, such as by Digory Kirke in the book The Magician's Nephew, or by Peter in the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. One of the better-known contemporary uses was as the catchphrase of Doctor Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future film trilogy. Christopher Lloyd, who portrayed Brown in the films, used the expression in TV ads during 2006-2007 which refer back to this role ("Great Scott! I forgot to tell Marty about DirecTV!")
Other occurrences include the television cartoon Sheep in the Big City, which has a character called "Great Scott" who appears every time anyone says the phrase, replying "Ye-e-e-s?". Mr. Wilson, a character in the Dennis the Menace TV series, frequently used the expression. In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of the characters is named Dr. Everett von Scott. At one point Brad Majors (played by Barry Bostwick) sees Scott and exclaims, "Great Scott!" This line is typically lampooned by the audience, who often throw toilet paper - a nod to the Scottissue brand. In the movie version of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart exclaims "Great Scott! Look at the time..."
The phrase is also occasionally used by Hiro Nakamura on the television science-fiction series, Heroes, albeit sometimes in an exaggerated Japanese ("Gureito Sukotto!").
The phrase is used by Michael Scott on the television series, The Office, as his fictional production company at the end of all his mini films for the office.
Members of the scientific community refer to the emerging, young scientist Scott J. Seltzer PhD[2] as "The Great Scott."
Great Scott! was also the name of a now-defunct supermarket chain in the Detroit, Michigan area.
References
- ^ World Wide Words article on the origins of the phrase "Great Scott"
- ^
Seltzer, S. J. and Meares, P. J. and Romalis, M. V. (2007). "Synchronous optical pumping of quantum revival beats for atomic magnetometry". Physical Review A. 75 (5). doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.75.051407.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
"Great Scott, I think I've got it!" From the movie Blithe Spirit staring Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford (1945).