I definitely agree with this assessment...I still find the very first episode where Peter commits welfare fraud to be hilarious...because that was our first exposure to Stewie and his global-domination machinations...``Ahhhhhhh.....damn you all!!!''
I like the earlier episodes better. I think in a sense, the show has fallen victim to it's own hype, while early on it was a cult show without every "I'm so hip" college student wearing Stewie shirts. Stick with the original 50 and you'll be satisfied.
I agree with the previous posters. Your best bet is going with Volumes 1 and 2. The overall episode quality is a little better in Volume 2, but Volume 1 has some classics.
The post-return episodes have suffered from too much inside humor and repetition, IMO. I'll still catch a new episode if I happen to find it, but I can always go back to and laugh at the initial run.
Yep, I'll watch new ones when they're on, but you're right...the show had become a bit ``full of itself''...tho I happen to admit that the ``Poltergeist'' take-off a year or so ago was abso-frickin'-lutely hilarious!