Family Guy - 35 Brand New Episodes! (1 Viewer)

[Robert Ringwald]

I'm sure the cast would be very easy to get back together. This is such great news. I'm all excited.

 

[David Galindo]

USA TODAY- In a sign of the growing importance of DVD sales to Hollywood, 20th Century Fox is considering a plan to resume production of Family Guy, a sometimes crude animated comedy that the Fox network took off the air more than 18 months ago.

As many as 35 new episodes could return in January 2005, marking the first time that a canceled series has been revived based on strong DVD demand and ratings in syndication.

Fox Television Entertainment Group chairman Sandy Grushow said a decision is expected soon and called the series a late-blooming phenomenon that may have aired before its time.

A DVD set of the show's first 28 episodes released in April has sold nearly 1 million copies, making it this year's top-selling TV show and the No. 4 television title ever, according to Video Store magazine. A second collection, of 22 episodes, has sold 520,000 copies. And the series is Cartoon Network's most popular among adults.

Family Guy premiered with a big audience — 22 million viewers — and some controversy after Fox's 1999 Super Bowl telecast. In the pilot episode, Stewie, a talking toddler with a clipped British accent, was openly contemptuous of his loutish dad and bent on killing his sweet-natured mother in a quest for world domination.

Creator Seth MacFarlane, then 24, wrote scripts, drew characters, provided voices and infused the show with rapid-fire sight gags, a nod to The Simpsons. But ratings faded, and the show ended with a whimper early last year.

The relatively short network run may have helped DVD sales, Video Store's Judith McCourt says. "It really speaks to something that had a following, was cut off network TV, and people said, 'What did I miss?' "

DVD and cable viewers have "created kind of a groundswell that could lead to better ratings" on Fox, Grushow says, although new episodes could end up going directly to Cartoon Network.

A decision to restart the show suggests a reversal from the old TV business model, in which a network hit predicts a profit windfall in syndication. This time, the promise of DVD and syndication gold could justify a show's return even if low network ratings didn't.

But canceled favorites aren't likely to rise from the grave en masse. Family Guy has one major advantage: With no actors and no sets, it can simply be drawn back into existence.





Edit by moderator: I merged your thread in "Software" into this one. Cees Alons

 

[Michael St. Clair]

This is a wonderful precedent.

 

[Joey Gunz]

Wow. I'm not a fan of Family Guy, but this is still good news. Kind of tells you the power DVD has.

Man, I wish someone at the networks would wake up and produce some new episodes of Futurama.

 

[TedT]

YAY!

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Just because people buy the DVDs doesn't mean they'll watch it on TV- I won't watch anything with the damn network logo "bugs" on the screen.

 

[Eric Emma]

I didn't watch family guy on TV cuz I never knew what damn day it was on!

 

[Sean Frost]

Awesome news. I can't believe they are bringing it back! :b

 

[DonRoeber]

Yeah, really. The biggest reason Family Guy failed the first time was Fox's scheduling. As soon as the show got popular, they moved it to a different time slot. And then as soon as people figured out when it was on again, they moved it a second time. It's no surprise people gave up on it.

Personally, I love the show.

 

[Raymond_H]

Wether or not it will get high ratings, I am just happy that they are considering it to be back on the air with NEW episodes.

Great news indeed.

Raymond

 

[Richard Travale]

Actually that shouldn't be too hard as the creator of the show Seth McFarlane does the voices of Peter, Brian, Stewie and Quagmire.

Are you serious? I was always under the impression that Stewie was done by Edward Hibbert, who plays Gil Chesterton on Frasier. I also thought Brian was done by Larry Miller.

 

[ChrisBEA]

This is very cool news, I think I caught most of them the first time around. I also own both sets.
I would love to see more of thi series.

I also seconmd the idea of more Futurama, another casualty of Fox's wonderful scheduling....

 

[Eric Paddon]

Would everyone please buy the Battlestar Galactica original series DVDs so lightning can strike twice?

 

[Joe6pack99]

Damn nice i bought the box sets based off recommendations of friends and am now a fan of the show.

 

[Malcolm R]

Haven't you listened to any of the commentaries? Seth's normal voice sounds quite a lot like Brian, and he frequently lapses into Stewie when they start ad-libbing.

 

[Estevan Lapena]

"Good, Good."
To quote the evil bug from an episode of the funniest show on television. I pray to god that this works out, and they don't mess it up thrice.

 

[Rob Speicher]

Brian's voice is basically just Seth talking.

 

[Brenton]

I never got into this show during its original run. But during the summer when I was home from school during the day, TBS started showing reruns of it every weekday at 11am. I fell in love with this show. It's seriously some of the finest comedy I've ever been treated to. I've never touched the DVDs, but I certainly would if I had the money.

I'm thrilled to hear the news.

 

[StephenA]

I'm glad to hear about this. Family Guy rules.

Estevan: I know exactly which episode you're talking about, and couldn't help but laugh at that bug.

 

[JamesHl]

I didn't watch family guy on TV cuz I never knew what damn day it was on!

That's Fox for you. They nearly killed the Simpsons early on with this crap as well, and let's not forget Futurama.

Oh, and the title's misleading. It didn't say they would resume production for sure.