Eleanor (who feels her life has become dull and meaningless) writes a children's book called "The Fat Little Pig," featuring a character based on Jay. Meanwhile, Jay adopts a Great Dane puppy, who grows up too fast and becomes a nuisance.
This episode has examples of
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Jay's nightmare about Tiny's growing size initially sees him in a parody of the T-Rex attack from Jurassic Park. Pleading, Jay asks for either help or to be put in a better Spielberg movie. He ends up in the opening scene of Jaws instead.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The last line alludes to ABC's schedule at the time.Jay: Goodnight, Critic fans. And a special goodnight to those of you just tuning in to Home Improvement.
- End-of-Episode Silliness: After the main plot wraps up, we are shown Margo riding her horse, Elenor riding Jay's full-grown dog, Franklin riding a rhino, and Jay riding a sled pulled by pigs.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Jay adopts a starving puppy off the street. After it becomes clear that Tiny is too destructive to keep, he tries to find him a good home and absolutely refuses to leave him with Vlada (who intends to cook and serve the dog at his restaurant).
- Ignore the Fanservice: A buff, handsome deliveryman shows up, does all kinds of tantalizing things, and Elenor shoves a cookie in his mouth and sends him away.
- Ironic Name: Jay's name the dog for the dog ("Tiny") becomes this after the dog hits a major growth spurt.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Elenor's reaction when she sees people harass Jay for his resemblance to her book's titular character.
- Overly Long Gag: Franklin's second chat with "Wilson" goes on long into the night because an Owl is perched behind the fence.Owl: Whooo.
Franklin: My wife, Eleanor.
Owl: Whooo.
Franklin: My wife, Eleanor.
Owl: Whooo.
Franklin: My wife, Eleanor. - Shaming the Mob: Subverted. Cornered and harassed by the fans of Eleanor's book, Jay tries this and fails.Jay: I am not a pig; I am a human being! And I have feelings, too. And if you think about it, I bet there's a scared, fat, little pig inside each of you.
[beat, as everyone thinks about it]
Man: Get him for showing us the truth about ourselves! - Shout-Out:
- Duke at one point yells, "Make him squeal!"
- To get some advice, Franklin goes to the backyard's fence and talks to Wilson (completely unaware that this is actually just a scarecrow).
