"Brian: Portrait of a Dog" is the seventh and final episode of the first season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 16, 1999. The episode features anthropomorphic dog Brian after he swallows his pride, and joins a dog show, after much convincing, in order to win money for a new air conditioner. But after an argument over a trick gone bad, with his owner, Peter Griffin, Brian realizes he is a second-class citizen and runs away from home, landing him in the pound on death row. Desperate to save their dog, the Griffin family attempts to release Brian, and prevent him from being euthanized.
Michael Dante DiMartino directed the episode
The first season of Family Guy aired on Fox from January 31 to May 16, 1999, and consisted of only seven episodes, making it the shortest season to date. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, son Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog, a fictional city in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Lacey Chabert in the roles of the Griffin family. The executive producers for the first season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane. It is also the only full season to feature Chabert, before she was replaced by Mila Kunis for the rest of the series' run, starting with the season two episode "Da Boom".
Seth MacFarlane conceived the idea for Family Guy while working on his thesis film for college.
Matt Weitzman (left) and Mike Barker worked as co-producers for the season.
Michael Dante DiMartino directed the two best-received episodes of the season, "I Never Met the Dead Man" and "Brian: Portrait of a Dog".
