gate stormer
Member
Some episodes are ok, however I much prefer South Park and Futurama.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Better if Family Guy stayed Cancelled?
- Thread starter Mat-triX
- Start date
- Status
EvilMonkey77
Neo Member
The Lamonster
Member
huh? since when
PezDispenser
Banned
It's funny because I love South Park and almost always enjoy the political/social commentary of that show.
It's just that in Family Guy it's always some hollow, overly-safe, prepackaged half-sentiment that comes across like an eleventh grader's barely-conscious, pop culture-inspired political ramblings on his reach school application essay. Totally canned, lowest common denominator drivel with no unique observations whatsoever.
It also feels insulting coming from Family Guy. I know that South Park is full of poop jokes and totally irreverent itself, but Family Guy is on a different level.
In fact, I think part of what shaped FG's identity was its total refusal to adhere to any traditional conventions whatsoever, whether it be consistent character motivations or any semblance of narrative structure whatsoever- it was purely a platform to take shots at anything and everything (i.e. "Well, I bet you learned a very important lesson.." / "Nope!" *cue credits*). Having it suddenly try to package a moral lesson with the unbridled irreverence comes across as some kind of cheap and desperate pandering.
Doug Heffernan
Member
But if it had stayed cancelled then we wouldn't get masterpieces like Ted and Ted 2. Ugh, Seth McFarlane is such a hack.
Didn't South Park just have its best season ever? I think it did. Sorry, try again.
BassForever
Member
Seth McFarlane is a hack and later seasons of Family Guy and his various films prove he honestly has no clue what made those first few seasons of FG work, and even then a bunch of those episodes date themselves horribly.
And we actually have Family Guy getting uncancelled to thank for AD getting better about that. With McFarlane switching back over to working more on Family Guy, AD was able to cut back on that aspect, and, quite frankled, future proofed it a lot better than it would have if it had continued the course it was going under McFarlane's heavier involvement.
I wasn't talking about the quality.
Box of Kittens
Banned
This is an excellent post. I think you can really see this shift when you examine the characters. In the original run they're clearly subversions of stock family sitcom characters. Peter is the buffoonish father who learns a valuable lesson at the end of the episode, except he invariably doesn't learn anything or else learns the wrong thing ("it doesn't matter where you're from, as long as we're all the same religion"). On the surface Lois is the standard sitcom housewife, but scratch just beneath the surface and you discover her true personality is quite the opposite. In the new run these ideas were pretty much abandoned, and as time went on they got further from them. By the time I gave up on the show, Peter and Lois were barely distinguishable psychopaths whose actions were entirely driven by the needs of the plot.
Is it just me or was this "joke" just a rip off of Worker and Parasite from The Simpsons?
Duane Cunningham
Member
I think it was FAR better after the revival. I can't stand the first three seasons. It actually tries to be sentimental in those early seasons, with actual non-parody "teaching moments" and stuff. Tender music in the background and a cheesy "seriously, though, Peter really does love his family" type moment. Fuck that.
After the show came back, it stopped trying to force the "emotional Simpsons moment" and stopped trying to be poignant, or anything other than what it excels at. Which is dumb, fast paced, cheap shot humor and stupid references, but once the show runners accepted that, it got MUCH funnier.
Now these days, it has gotten kind of stale, sure. But when it was just dumb nonsense for those five years or so after its revival, it was at its peak.
EDIT: After reading Lionel's post, maybe some of those cheesy moments in seasons 1-3 WERE parody, and they were just too subtle to me. But either way, the "throw everything against the wall" post revival era was new and different to me, and I prefer it by far.
After the show came back, it stopped trying to force the "emotional Simpsons moment" and stopped trying to be poignant, or anything other than what it excels at. Which is dumb, fast paced, cheap shot humor and stupid references, but once the show runners accepted that, it got MUCH funnier.
Now these days, it has gotten kind of stale, sure. But when it was just dumb nonsense for those five years or so after its revival, it was at its peak.
EDIT: After reading Lionel's post, maybe some of those cheesy moments in seasons 1-3 WERE parody, and they were just too subtle to me. But either way, the "throw everything against the wall" post revival era was new and different to me, and I prefer it by far.
I know opinions and all, but you're just wrong. I cn think of one or two not so great Futurama episodes, but can't think of a single good recent family guy episode.
Worker and Parasite had at least some interesting visuals (and actual animation), and the Krusty reaction to the cartoon. It's hard to tell what even the joke in that gag even was.
i know right. i don't like the simpsons now but it being on air isn't going to take away my enjoyment of the first 9 seasons. why would i want to take it away from people who still enjoy the new episodes?
Stallion Dan
Member
If you need a character to react to a gag to get it the problem isn't the gag.
DrunkShogun
Member
I never liked it and found all the jokes to be disappointing. Always felt the writers were really smug with the jokes they wrote which are just painful to get through. My brother use to be a somewhat fan but even he have up. Think it was the time peters father in law was using a construction vehicle to cut a tree and it was just meh.
I actually liked all the star wars specials.....and now I can't stop thinking about that line
"hold your fire, there's no lifeforms aboard"
"hold your fire? What are we paying by the laser now?"
"You don't do the budget Terry, I do"
Because if they would have just shot the damn pod like they were supposed to like the evil empire they are, we never would have had star wars.
Haven't watched anything since that Halloween episode where stewy didn't know what trick or treating was......but it was a pretty funny episode.
"hold your fire, there's no lifeforms aboard"
"hold your fire? What are we paying by the laser now?"
"You don't do the budget Terry, I do"
Because if they would have just shot the damn pod like they were supposed to like the evil empire they are, we never would have had star wars.
Haven't watched anything since that Halloween episode where stewy didn't know what trick or treating was......but it was a pretty funny episode.
Like Simpson haters people will pretend you don't exist since you don't align to their impeccable taste
Maybe I wasn't clear with what I meant. I thought that Krusty's reaction was funny. It has nothing to do with getting the joke, it just ads to the gag. Because it's connected to the main story of the episode.
The shoe and shoelace gag on the other hand is just random for sake of being random. I guess that's the problem I have with all those cutaway gags.
internetwolf
Banned
I stopped watching after 3 seasons because I outgrew most of the humor, and never looked back, tbh I didn't even know it was ever cancelled.
Megalosaro
Banned
No because then we wouldn't have the tom Brady episode
I wouldn't have mind if it stayed cancelled after the second time. The first time there was still a lot there to enjoy. Since the second cancellation I think the only episodes that have been top tier were the star wars episodes (and even then, the first one was the best, the other two was them milking it and trying too hard in some spots) and the murder at the mansion one with the whole cast.
Coffee Dog
Banned
American Dad is too good for me to say yes, but Family Guy is trash.
Nerdkiller
Membeur
I always felt that
Horsemama1956
Member
I don't like the first run of the show. When they changed Stewie, that's when I though it got funnier.
iamaustrian
Member
I disliked the first season when it was drawn differently. it was too mild (black humour wise) in those days. it almost felt like an early "married with children" episode.
the last season fucking sucked too. everything in berween was fine or even great.
way too much simpson copycat though
edit: I might add that family guy (and south park) is one of the few examples I prefer the german sync because it's truely vastly superior to the original. normally I watch stuff in english
the last season fucking sucked too. everything in berween was fine or even great.
way too much simpson copycat though
edit: I might add that family guy (and south park) is one of the few examples I prefer the german sync because it's truely vastly superior to the original. normally I watch stuff in english
Zen_Arcade
Banned
Krusty's reaction is the second punch in the one-two punch that is that joke.
Seeing what it became when it returned, yes. The first few seasons after the cancellation were hit or miss and now it's just miss. Probably it shouldn't have been cancelled in first place.
Then again I think that Comedy Central-era Futurama was hit or miss too and I enjoyed the Cleveland Show, so don't pay attention to me.
Then again I think that Comedy Central-era Futurama was hit or miss too and I enjoyed the Cleveland Show, so don't pay attention to me.
davepoobond
you can't put a price on sparks
its generally kept the same humor going, but i think we feel nostalgic for the first 3 seasons because it was such an underdog show in the shadow of The Simpsons and the like.
i agree that the first 3 seasons were the best Family Guy will ever have, but no show can stay 100% good throughout. it's bound to change
i agree that the first 3 seasons were the best Family Guy will ever have, but no show can stay 100% good throughout. it's bound to change
Davey Cakes
Member
Season 4 wasn't even that bad. Season 5 was really boring and made me quit the show though.
It was obvious that they were going to start running every joke into the ground. They basically killed characters like Quagmire and Herbert by overdoing their funny quirks.
I want to say the characters degraded in general. Peter may have been a Homer Simpson copy but he was a "lovable oaf" in the earlier seasons, where later on he seems to become more like manchild with mental disabilities. Stewie became really gay. Brian became more of a self-righteous douchebag than ever. And they continually doubled down on making Meg the ugly daughter that no one likes.
It was imperfect in the early running anyway, but at least had likable characters (to a degree) and even some charm. That seemed to evaporate as time went on.
It was obvious that they were going to start running every joke into the ground. They basically killed characters like Quagmire and Herbert by overdoing their funny quirks.
I want to say the characters degraded in general. Peter may have been a Homer Simpson copy but he was a "lovable oaf" in the earlier seasons, where later on he seems to become more like manchild with mental disabilities. Stewie became really gay. Brian became more of a self-righteous douchebag than ever. And they continually doubled down on making Meg the ugly daughter that no one likes.
It was imperfect in the early running anyway, but at least had likable characters (to a degree) and even some charm. That seemed to evaporate as time went on.
Just_myles
Member
Family Guy suffers from the Simpsons syndrome. It is hard to have long legs through a 20 something episode season. I can understand if the writing were to dip here and there. It happens with South Park all the time. Sometimes, some seasons just suck.
Yeah. It ended very well, and was a nosedive in quality writing and humor when it was revived. The renewed seasons were utterly forgettable.
Syph Medwes
Member
Family Guy has become considerably better the past few seasons while Simpsons has gone downhill. The latter has regressed to counting on tired tropes while Family Guy, while still employing some of their traditional tropes, has dared to make jokes about topics other shows (besides South Park) won't and it's quite refreshing to see. There's a reason Mr. MacFarlane's ventures are successful even today.
- Status
Similar threads
- Poll