"Family Guy" (1999) TV series 1999-????

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Creator:

Seth MacFarlane

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | unknown

Release Date:

31 tammikuu 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Tagline:

Don't Die Laughing. We Could Get Sued (Season 4).

Plot:

In a wacky Rhode Island town, a dysfunctional family strive to cope with everyday life as they are thrown from one crazy scenario to another.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Baby | Rhode Island | Homicidal Baby | Dysfunctional Family

Awards:

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 7 wins & 31 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 7	11:00 PM	CW	Brian Sings and Swings	#4.19
Sat. Nov. 7	11:30 PM	CW	The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz	#4.18

Cast

Seth MacFarlane	...	Peter Griffin / ... (133 episodes, 1999-2010)
Alex Borstein	...	Lois Griffin / ... (133 episodes, 1999-2010)
Seth Green	...	Chris Griffin / ... (133 episodes, 1999-2010)
Mila Kunis	...	Meg Griffin / ... (120 episodes, 1999-2009)
Mike Henry	...	Cleveland Brown / ... (117 episodes, 1999-2010)
Danny Smith	...	Various / ... (93 episodes, 1999-2010)
Patrick Warburton	...	Joe Swanson / ... (82 episodes, 1999-2010)
John Viener	...	Various / ... (65 episodes, 2005-2009)
Lori Alan	...	Diane Simmons / ... (56 episodes, 1999-2009)

Also Known As:

Padre de familia (USA: Spanish title)

Runtime:

22 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) (DVD rating) | Egypt:(Banned) | South Africa:(Banned) | Vietnam:(Banned) | Iran:(Banned) | Canada:G (Quebec) (DVD rating) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Singapore:PG (Season 1 & 2) | Philippines:PG-13 | Japan:Unrated | Poland:(Banned) | Australia:MA (some episodes) | USA:TV-14 | USA:TV-PG (some episodes) | Poland:15 | Hungary:16 (original rating) | China:13 | Czech Republic:15 | Singapore:M18 (season 6) | Singapore:NC-16 (some episodes) | Australia:M | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Brazil:12 | Ireland:15 | New Zealand:M | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 (some episodes) | Malaysia:(Banned) | India:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Chris' full name is Christopher Cross Griffin.

Goofs:

Continuity: When shown a quick view of Cleveland's House it is one and a half story Cape Cod house, like Peter's House. But, whenever Peter does one of his "Shenanigans' near Cleveland's house, it is a full two story, non-Cape Cod home.

Quotes:

Chris: I haven't been this confused since the ending of "No Way Out".
[Flashback to Chris & Brian coming out of a theater that's showing "No Way Out"]
Chris: How does Kevin Costner keep getting work?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Clerks: The Last Episode Ever (#1.6)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Don't You Forget About Me

Got stale too fast, More annoying than funny

Family Guy doesn't have much of a lasting appeal and isn't all that funny in my opinion. Its comedy relies on shock value and randomness. I do not think the show really pushes any boundaries, but when it does (usually Peter saying something incredibly racist or sexist), it is more often than not in bad taste and garners no laughs. In fact, I think this show is about as edgy as Mind of Mencia, possibly the worst show on Comedy Central (but I'll save that critique for another time). If you need shock comedy, I would suggest South Park as that provides more laughs and has recently up'd its satire and topical aspects.

The randomness part of Family Guy greatly contributes to its nonexistent lasting appeal and the show's increasing mediocrity. The cut away jokes that produce much of the randomness, get repetitive and often fall flat. While randomness can be initially funny, it gets old quick and, I find, can hardly ever be appreciated as good writing. Not to praise the preachy South Park, but I think they did a great job of "calling" out the Family Guy writers weak writing, and still making fun of themselves.

This leaves the show's comedy up to the characters. This is a bad thing. Much like Mad TV's reoccurring characters, the cast of Family Guy is a collection of idiots* who come off as more annoying and smug (when they reference celebrities and politicians) rather than funny. Many characters are one dimensional, and seem like place holders or random plot devices. Often, you can take a line from one character and give it to any other character and no one would know. Brian is the most complete, unique and least annoying character the show has to offer.

Others complain about its frequent 1980s pop culture references, but I see the real problem is that, for the most part, the show's demographic didn't live through the 80s, but instead were "cultured" by 30 hours of VH1's I love 80s. Any show that relies on these types of culture references is risking laughs because the audience may very likely not know what is being referenced.

Many also complain that the show is just a rip off of The Simpsons. While the family setting, characters and jokes can very often be linked to Simpsons counterparts, The Simpsons isn't all that original of a show either, though more so than Family Guy. As they say, there is nothing new under the sun.

Lastly, though there is worse out there, the animation is undeniably poor and simple. Some may say that animation doesn't matter, just like graphics with video games, but I would be quick to disagree. As with other media, cartoons and games are a form of art, and a lack of style or quality is a flaw. Both are absent in the board and expressionless Family Guy. Even South Park has some style, and actually contributes to the feel that the show is about fourth graders. And while The Simpsons isn't too much better, Groening's Futurama blows the competition away in all American cartoon television series**.

Fans are sure to cite that as long as the show makes you laugh, then it's done its job. To some, it's funny, but to others, I suspect, it is a show they once very much enjoyed but now sit through syndicated episodes not laughing anymore, as do I. With jokes that fail more often than not, that cannot provide laughs for multiple viewings, and increasingly annoying characters, I find Family Guy to be, overall, a bad comedy show/cartoon. I do not mean to come off as a pseudo-intellectual, and if you consider my reasons and reasoning, I think you'll find them to be valid and decently supported.

* Idiots as in silly and over-the-top; that is not an insult. ** For some reason, I always group The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, South Park, American Dad, and King of the Hill as competing cartoons and from separate from shows on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.