In praise of...the triumphant return of Family Guy to network TV!

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They couldn't possibly have come up with a, uh, classier way to kick-off their first episode back after 3 years, either, IMHO.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:44 (twenty years ago)

Also, Peter as Jesus standing up during the whipping and telling the dude to stop...CLASSIC.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:45 (twenty years ago)

yeah, i was telling my italian housemate this last night. this is what you do when you have a year's worth of Passion jokes to get out of your system.

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

freals.

― carly (carly), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

I really don't like the Family Guy but I'm not sure why.
Oh, I didn't see the new one.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:49 (twenty years ago)

That pinochio joke was really forced. Funny. But forced.

― Zebra, Alpha Go! (cprek), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:02 (twenty years ago)

I thought the best moment was when Brian accidentally said something about that kid's upside-down face, and Stewie's head turned toward Brian so, so slowly and there was just silence.

― kirsten (kirsten), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:04 (twenty years ago)

still not funny

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:06 (twenty years ago)

Weird.

― kirsten (kirsten), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:06 (twenty years ago)

The pinnochio joke I think got funnier the longer it went on without really delivering, if that makes any sense. The weird joke timing on this show (some jokes super rapid-paced, others excruciatingly drawn out) is one of my favorite things about it.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:06 (twenty years ago)

Are their voices not slightly different?

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:08 (twenty years ago)

the only voices i could discern a difference would be Asian Reporter Trish Takanawa and Meg, but that could be b/c they've been out of practice for a coupla years...

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:13 (twenty years ago)

Mila Kunis was Meg the second time around. I don't who does it now.

― Doobie Keebler (Charles McCain), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:14 (twenty years ago)

i think that i saw her name in the credits last night, too.

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

Brian and Stewie were the ones I noticed.

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

I can do Cleveland's voice really well. It's uncanny.

― Zebra, Alpha Go! (cprek), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:46 (twenty years ago)

I don't like this show.

― Huk-L, Monday, 2 May 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm surprised (not fore the first time) that this is such a devisive show. I think it's great, always did.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:52 (twenty years ago)

Brian and Stewie were the ones I noticed.

oh yeah, you didn't know they got different people to voice them in the interim?

― lemin (lemin), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:54 (twenty years ago)

I think it's like Friends in that there's something about it that I find offensive (in Friends, it was the worldview and the charactersl; in Family Guy, I think it's that it's so dumb and the characters are so annoying and that it's such a Simpsons rip, but I'm not really sure) but that it also makes me laugh, which makes me hate myself, which makes me hate the show more than I probably should.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

It's not half as dumb as American Dad. Please take that crap off the air right now, thanks.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

And really, it's not more a rip of The Simpsons than The Simpsons is of The Flintstones. I mean, the dysfunctional cartoon TV family goes way, way back. The tone and the kind of jokes they do on Family Guy are significantly different enough that it doesn't bother me.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:05 (twenty years ago)

And really, it's not more a rip of The Simpsons than The Simpsons is of The Flintstones.

But the Flintstones wasn't still in production when The Simpsons started.

― Huk-L, Monday, 2 May 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

That's one of the things that makes it weird for me.

― Huk-L, Monday, 2 May 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

Whatever, I mean, it's a riff on an old TV formula. Like the hospital show or something.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:09 (twenty years ago)

Things that made me laugh last night:
* Bed, Bath & BEYOND
* The slow take that Stewie did after Brian made fun of that kid's face, as alluded to above.

That was about it.

Someone once said that "Family Guy" is nothing more than an animated "Fox Trot" cartoon with forced oh-so-shocking humor, and I still agree fully with that.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:13 (twenty years ago)

but the difference between the Family Guy and the Simpsons right now is that the Family Guy is actually funny most of the time. Judging the last 5 or so years of the Simpsons you can spot a 'funny show' if you laugh out loud once or twice.. the rest is just unfunny or the same joke told over and over.

Now Ill concede American Dad is a total piece of crap. Didnt they have a Simpsons episode where housewife becomes a real estate agent?

― Actor Sizemore fails drug test with fake penis (jingleberries), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:40 (twenty years ago)

i don't understand the appeal of family guy either.

and what the hell is american dad? it looks exactly the same!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:44 (twenty years ago)

I like Family Guy well enough but that's usually just 'cause by that time on Sunday night I have dined and wined enough not to be very discriminating. The list Peter read at the beginning of the episode (along with my thinking that AD will be cancelled too) made me realize how many shows have been pulled that I (as a viewer) would have stayed with.

American Dad is just dull.

― M. White (Miguelito), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:44 (twenty years ago)

Family Guy:South Park::American Dad:Team America

― Doobie Keebler (Charles McCain), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

I would kill for an Animated version of Foxtrot, maybe thats why I like Family Guy.

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm not going to get in a long discussion about this because I don't care about it that much, but even if Family Guy is currently better than the Simpsons, I still can't get past how completely derivative its humor is of the Simpsons. There are some differences in tone, but overall, it's just a big rip, and that's something that I can't respect. Like I said, I still laugh if I watch it, but I don't really enjoy myself. Call it comedy guilt, call it overthinking, whatever.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

Um. I think you mean Family Guy:American Dad::South Park:Team America.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:51 (twenty years ago)

Re: different-sounding voices ... Chris' voice sounded very different, even though it's voiced by Seth Green and always has been. It sounded less whiny than it used to.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

I like Fanmily Guy a lot. I watched last night and belched laughter into our living toom air.

― X-PAT (nordicskilla), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

i'm with n/a.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

"with" with.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

The Simpsons losing all sense of character and settling for mere gag-after-gag was depressing. The Family Guy was always gag-after-gag. The Family Guy has a better gag-per-minute ratio now too. Better sense of structure even! I'm not going to give the Simpsons points for sucking cuz they used to be classic. Family Guy is a consistently amusing and occasionally inspired show. and more shows should rip off the simpsons sense of humor. its a good one, i liked it, someone should be keeping it alive if the original show can't.

haven't seen the new one though.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

Miccio otm

― Leon Jones Reynolds (Ex Leon), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

When was Family Guy on? Wasn't the Simpsons still good at that point?

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

Thanks Dan.

― Doobie Keebler (Charles McCain), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

I'll be kind and say the Simpsons jumped the shark when Maude Flanders died. This happened in Febuary 2000. Family Guy started the year before. So there may have been a year where the simpsons was as good as The Family Guy.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

i may be hallucinating this, but didn't the simpsons REALLY start sucking (not just the slow slide that set in after about season 9 or so) after family guy went on the air. (nb: i like family guy. but could never love it. it's still better than the bulk of "adult cartoons" beloved of college-age stoners.)

xpost

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

and pointing out random decent scenes in later simpsons is pointless. even the maude RIP episode had the Star-fade dating video, but such jokes are as reliable as fuck from the family guy.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:04 (twenty years ago)

I'd never seen an episode of the Simpsons that I out-and-out LOATHED until the 300th episode. That was a noxious pile of fuckstain.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

I always thought that the Simpsons slide started when South Park started broadcasting, to be honest.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

watching the simpsons now is a bit like watching all in the family if between seasons they had replaced archie with angela davis

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

I missed a ton and then saw the one were Homer got medical marijuana (and I have to believe this episode was written by someone who has never smoked pot). Me and my sister actually stopped watching about halfway through and then talked about how we couldn't believe we were unable to finish watching a simpsons episode. there was one good joke about how Homer could blow smoke in the president's face and all he could do is groove on it.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

wait, no that would be great

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

"All In The Family" was the American "Till Death Us To Part", right?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

The worst Simpsons episode is the jockey one. Or maybe the one where they go to Af-reee-kaaaah.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

TOMACCO

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

had a few jokes but the one involving the REAL principal skinner had a real "we've turned a dark corner" quality to it.

I will give the show credit for making the "goes to space" episode, usually the death knell for any show involving live humans, a bonafide classic. This is why the show was good for almost a decade. Now its season 15 or 16 or wtf now Matt Groening says the show will never end he's the hipster George Lucas

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

http://www.jimhair.com/angeladavis.JPG

"Well would that make you feel better if they was pushed outta windows?"

also, The Onion interviews Norman Lear.

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:14 (twenty years ago)

or jesus how about the one where they get arrested for killing the giant aligator

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:14 (twenty years ago)

bad

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

there's gotta be about five seasons of "oh damn what about that one where...ugh" I've thankfully missed

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

I cannot fathom a Simpson episode worse than that horrifically bullshit 300th episode with the "extreme sports" nonsense bundled together in a loathsome pile of elk sick.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

The rot started in the second half of the Max Power episode. Did they just switch writers halfway through that week and never replace them?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

The opening was perfect. THe GI Joe thing was totally forced, but thats the crux of what Family Guy is, and I did laugh.

― Ash (ashbyman), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

hey have they ever introduced a new supporting character to the show that was NEVER EVER funny? I haven't seen it in years but it seems that would be a possibility.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

i havent really watched it in the last three years or so, but occasionally i'll catch one on rerun and my nose will start bleeding

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

from imdb

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has allayed fears the upcoming 350th episode will mark the beginning of the end for the long-running show - by insisting he's still dreaming up new ideas for future series. Writers on the animated comedy are already working on scripts for the 17th series - a TV sitcom record - quashing reports the escapades of Homer and his disaster-prone family are destined for the archives. And Groening has promised to continue making The Simpsons until they run out of ways to excite the show's loyal fans. He says, "That's what you're looking for in television - surprise. I think they're as sharp and surprising as anything we've done since the beginning of the show. I don't see any end in sight. I want to get to 366 (shows) so we have one for every day of the year, including leap years." The 350th Simpsons show will be screened in America on Sunday.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

"hey have they ever introduced a new supporting character to the show that was NEVER EVER funny?"

There's probably somebody who'd make a case for Lindsay Nagal, but it ain't me.

― Not That Logged Out, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

http://www.englisch.schule.de/wiesmoor/matt-groening.jpg

They drove a dumptruck full of money up to my house...oh god, I'm not made of stone!

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1115041883023_110451083/?hub=Entertainment

'The Simpsons' looks beyond 350th show milestone
Associated Press

When a show reaches an impressive 350 episodes, it's fair to reflect on its mortality. So how long can "The Simpsons," which hit the milestone Sunday, keep going?

"I don't see any end in sight," creator and executive producer Matt Groening told The Associated Press.

Those are reassuring words for the millions of fans who have remained loyal to the Simpson family through 16 seasons, and counting. Writers are already at work on episodes for 2005-06, the 17th season.

The key to its longevity is simple, Groening said: "We try to keep surprising the audience. That's what you're looking for in television -- surprise."

As long as the show can meet that burden, "we'll keep going..."

and there's more fun in that article, too...

DAMN XPOSTIN'

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

I don't think I realized the Groening looked quite so much like... that.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

i am usually quite loathe to use the phrase "sell out" but

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

WAIT WAS CHIEF WIGGUM THE CHARACTER WHO CAME OUT????????

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

Groening today makes a lot more sense if you imagine he's like Krusty.

http://www.utdallas.edu/~mah026000/photogallery/photo9944/krusty.jpg

"We try to keep surprising the audience. That's what you're looking for in television -- surprise."

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

I NEED A BIGGER LOLLY!

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

what i'd like is i'd like to hug and kiss you

― strng hlkngtn, Monday, 2 May 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

WHAT NO LIKE MY FRIPPING DICKEY?!?! ME SO SOLLY!

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:36 (twenty years ago)

the alligator episode did have some redeeming qualities..

'youre insincere.. I like that.'

― Actor Sizemore fails drug test with fake penis (jingleberries), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:49 (twenty years ago)

Does Nickalicious have the worst taste ever?

the answer is cleary in the affirmative but I love you nonetheless.

― Aaron A., Monday, 2 May 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

groening is never what made the show funny. witness season 1 or futurama

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

LAY OFF FUTURAMA

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Monday, 2 May 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

Okay, forget the Simpsons shit. I'm stuck here in Angle-land, so where can I d0wnload the new FG episode? Please, help a brotha out.

― Girolamo Savonarola, Monday, 2 May 2005 22:37 (twenty years ago)

www.btefnet.net

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 2 May 2005 22:46 (twenty years ago)

I thought the new episode was *great*! The voices all sounded the same to me. I think they may have recorded them "better" somewhow. Stewie is on again. Also please note, I am not a college stoner!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Monday, 2 May 2005 22:53 (twenty years ago)

plus, they kept the standard duos, e.g. Stewie or brian alone, not as good. together, they both work great as foils for each other.

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Monday, 2 May 2005 23:22 (twenty years ago)

the stewie/brian pairing was a bit much in terms of how much it ran thru the episode. half was great, half fell totally flat. the pinnochio thing was amazing. the jesus action hero thing felt totally tired. the north/northwest bits felt like they were just ... there.

american dad was mostly awful, except for a few "oh shit, did they make the main character *that* much of an asshole!?" moments.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 3 May 2005 02:57 (twenty years ago)

the new FG was great, if a little creaky. i noticed lois' and stewie's voices as being different. as for american dad, well, i like the gay paul lynde alien.

The worst Simpsons episode is the jockey one. Or maybe the one where they go to Af-reee-kaaaah.

SOOOOOO correct. the africa episode is where i really pinpoint the beginning of the decline. i wish they'd just let it die.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Tuesday, 3 May 2005 08:36 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

"Looks like there's a lot of gay guys here..."
"Yeah, everyone's having a good time"

― Dom Passantino, Tuesday, 2 October 2007 13:04 (eighteen years ago)

I cut myself shaving this morning because I was thinking about Stewie's delivery of that line and started laughing.

― Dom Passantino, Tuesday, 2 October 2007 13:05 (eighteen years ago)

okay i will admit that's funny : )

― omar little, Tuesday, 2 October 2007 17:27 (eighteen years ago)

"we're gonna have ANTS"

After last year's run of really annoying stupid Family Guys, Sunday reestablished the vast gulf in quality between this and the Simpsons, which is now like watching a nonsensical half-hour just to cherry-pick three great jokes.

― nabisco, Tuesday, 2 October 2007 18:03 (eighteen years ago)

this fall Family Guy went into syndication and replaced the Simpsons in a couple of timeslots on my local channels and it really bummed me out. I'll watch FG now and again on the Cartoon Network, but apparently it's way funnier at 11pm than 6pm, and now when I do watch it I think about how much I'd rather be watching an early Simpsons episode (which usually isn't a nagging thought for me).

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 2 October 2007 18:09 (eighteen years ago)

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