"Peter-assment" is the 14th episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 21, 2010. The title of the episode, like the fourth season's episodes "Petarded", "Peterotica" and "Petergeist", is a portmanteau between "Peter" and "Harassment". The episode follows Peter after he becomes a paparazzo, and begins to annoy the citizens and local celebrities in Quahog, and eventually breaks his glasses. Peter then becomes the target of sexual lust by his boss at the Pawtucket Brewery, Angela, who finds him attractive without his occasional eyewear. Continually refusing to have relations with her, Peter tries to avoid Angela, but she fires him and attempts suicide, leaving him with no other choice but to acknowledge her deep-rooted sexual desires.
The episode was written by Chris Sheridan and directed by Julius Wu. It received mostly mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving some criticism from the family of Terri Schiavo for its opening act. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 6.65 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Max Burkholder, Richard Dreyfuss, Carrie Fisher, Jim Goldenberg, Max Hodges, Maurice Lamont, Harvey Levin, Jack Samson, Will Shadley, Anthony Skillman and Steve Urquilla, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Peter-assment" was released on DVD along with ten other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.
Plot
Attending a play being held at the Little Clam Pre-School about Terri Schiavo, the Griffin family wait eagerly to see Stewie appear in the starring role as "The Plug." Succumbing to stage fright, however, Stewie wets himself and begins crying, with Peter recording it all on video tape. Panning the camera down to another row in the auditorium, Peter notices actor Richard Dreyfuss and begins recording him while pestering him with personal questions. Deciding to sell the video to TMZ, Peter quickly becomes enthralled with being a Paparazzo and decides to buy a professional-grade video camera. He then begins recording other town celebrities, including Tom Tucker, Mayor Adam West, and Ollie Williams who smashes Peter's camera as well as his glasses. Unable to fix them in time for work the next day, he decides to wear contacts instead. When he arrives at work, his boss, Angela, notices something different about his appearance and develops a sexual attraction for him. Angela begins hitting on Peter, enlisting him to do various odd sexual favors for her. This culminates in her inviting Peter to her house one evening, which Peter realizes as an attempt to have sex with him. Peter fears of going against her will result in being fired, and agrees to visit Angela. He then enlists his neighbor, Quagmire, to go with him, and hides him inside Peter's clothing, planning to have sex with Angela in place of Peter. He soon backs out, however, when he finds Angela to be unattractive, leading Peter to have to refuse to have sex with her, and eventually being fired from his job.
Deciding to drink away his sorrows, Peter begins watching an old film featuring Robert Mitchum, in which he slaps a woman. Mitchum then breaks the fourth wall and tells Peter to stand up for himself. Deciding to use physical violence against Angela, Peter drives to her house where he finds her in her car in the garage, attempting suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Peter quickly resuscites her, and Angela confesses that she has no hope in life, after not having been with another man for more than ten years. Deciding to help her out by getting her a date with another man, Peter disguises himself as a high society Englishman named "Reginald Knickerbocker." The two then have dinner together, before Angela brings hin back to the house and tries to seduce him while still threatening to kill herself if he refuses. Peter, as Reginald, reluctantly agrees, rekindling her will to live. Seeing through his disguise, Angela then rehires Peter. Later, at The Drunken Clam with Quagmire and Joe, Peter reveals that he had actually secretly paid Mort Goldman to have sex with his boss and remembers that Mort is still inside his clothes.