"Fox Reuniting Itself with 'Family Guy'" (1 Viewer)

[GuruAskew]

What percentage of the "Family Guy" fanbase would you say routinely preferred "Friends" on Thursday nights? If anything, it was a blessing. Everyone else was afraid to put anything up against "Friends" for a long time if "Family Guy" was as popular as it's supporters claim, it should have regularly earned a respectable and healthy 2nd place on Thursdays. Between the Super Bowl premiere and a rather generous timeslot, Fox couldn't have treated "Family Guy" better, yet it still failed several times. Like I said before, I believe the popularity of "Family Guy" can sustain a run on Cartoon Network, but I don't see it lasting very long on Fox.

 

[TheLongshot]

Well, Futurama is actually funny.

Actually, I'm not that big of a Futurama fan, but I find it more watchable than Family Guy.

I also agree that it seemed that Family Guy more chances than it really deserved back in the day. I watched the first episode after the Super Bowl, and didn't find it very funny at all.

That being said, it did earn its way back this time, tho I still don't like the show.

Jason

 

[Dave Gorman]

This year? That was "American Dad", and I didn't find it funny either.

 

[MarkHastings]

To clear up the confusion:

Family Guy - Premiered after the '99 Super Bowl
American Dad - Premiered after the '05 Super Bowl So because you didn't like it, that means the show should have been pulled from the air? I don't get it.

 

[Greg_C_T]

I, for one, am glad Family Guy is coming back to FOX. I never watched an episode of it until the DVDs came out, and am now hooked. It's easily the show that causes me to laugh out loud more than any other on TV.

*shrugs*

 

[Matt Stone]

That's exactly how I feel. Hearing stuff like "it's a bad show succeeding undeservedly..." is frustrating, because that's only reletive to one's personal opinion. In the grand scheme of things ($$), it's perfectly deserving of success. People were willing to make the DVD investment in droves, as well as follow it on Cartoon Network. I know that doesn't translate to success on Fox, but the money was good enough for Fox to invest in new episodes.

 

[Scott-S]

I loved family guy and am glad it is coming back. I am, however, very worried about how much it will have to be "toned down" due to the new puritan attitude that came about because of "breastgate". Networks are so afraid of being fined they probably would not be able to show some of the episodes on the DVD anymore.

One of the things I really loved about FG (and southpark) are the way the tested the limits. Now that the limits have been reduced, I wonder if they can still make it as funny.

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

A few months ago FOX was showing FG reruns with stuff cut out. (Nudity blurred, Religious references removed, etc.)

 

[Jason Adams]

Well, you know if Fox had finally settled down and found a permanent spot for FG...I think the fan base would have grown considerably. But, at that time, it wasnt as popular then as it is now, because it was relatively new show with an odd sense of humor. The hell you expect that to be SECOND PLACE to the Friends zombies? Since the discovery of FG by the mainstream on Cartoon Network and DVD, its popular.

And I agree with Matt Stone. We are not upset by the mere fact that you hate FG, its just the utter smugness and the insistence that we all must never be reminded that this is not a good show, in your eyes. Very frustrating, that.

 

[Scott-S]

I wonder what affect this has had, or will have on the new shows? Will the writers "tone" it down for fear of being censored?

Heaven forbid I see a cartoon butt!

If they are edited/censored I hope we at least get to see the original stuff when the new shows make it to DVD.

 

[NickSo]

You most definitely will see a cartoon butt on sunday.. and cartoon nudity (but its peter, so you dont see anything below the belt). unless they cut that out...

 

[Ryan L. Bisasky]

also, from what i have heard, the writers still pushed the limits for the first episode (its even got a "parental descresion advised" statement.

 

[TravisR]

I bet every new episode of The Family Guy and American Dad gets a parental advisory. They do the same thing for 24 and (I think) the last few episodes of Arrested Development had it as well. 24 doesn't even need to be violent and they still put up one

I think Fox treats the warning like a pre-emptive strike. "Uh-oh, an old lady might be offended by this. Better put up a warning just in case."

 

[Mike Miskulin]

The new ep is certainly not "toned down" in any way. It is without a doubt the same Family Guy people loved (or hated) back in the day. Lotsa flashbacks and infinitesimally un-"pc". Plus if you like to see Peter naked, the first episode has you covered!

Absolutely loved the season premiere. It was everything I had hoped for.

mike.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

My friends and I are so looking foreward to this! Hi Kim and Julie.

About the cancellation, it's not OUR fault that FOX kept moving it around so we couldn't even find it, so how exactly were we supposed to watch it to keep the ratings up!? They hid it on us because they were deathly afraid of it. McFarlane and co. even state that very thing during the commentary's on the dvd's, about how they constantly had to keep twisting the arm's at FOX to get on the air what they wanted. It's silly if you ask me.

The whole reason I got into Family Guy was because it was a hysterical counterpoint to The Simpsons very steril (and tired IMO) sensibilities, that's fine for fans of that show, but I was looking for something with balls and I found it in Family Guy.

Besides, does anyone under the age of twenty five even know who the Kool-Aid mascot is!? I do, and that's what made this show different.

Bring it on!

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I'm definitely looking forward to the return of Family Guy. I've been a fan since the I first saw it after the Super Bowl in '99.

And sure, it's full of "undemanding, content-free frat-boy humor," but I've always felt it mixed that pretty well with some fairly spot-on social satire. There have been episodes that reminded me of the heyday of the Simpsons (although I still think vintage Simpsons is quite a bit better).

And I know this is a FG thread, but I've got to speak up for Futurama, which had quite a bit more going on than the aforementioned "undemanding, content-free frat-boy humor." I'd go so far as to say that not only is Futurama one of the funniest and most intelligent satires in recent TV history, it's also one of the best sci-fi shows in recent TV history. Just my opinion, of course.

But I digress; I'm a Family Guy fan, too, so I can't wait until Sunday.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I don't know if I would even go that far and say that it is "undemanding, content-free frat-boy humor". Quite the contrary, does anyone know of any other show that contains and demands more knowledge of the most obscure pop culture referrances spanning 30+ years!?

The Electric Company, Seseme Street, Kool-Aid, The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross countless films and other media have been spoofed on Family Guy and it takes a mind filled with decades of dormant and utterly useless knowledge to pick up on them all.

Not exactly what I would call "content-free", in fact it's quite the cerebral work-out!

As for "frat-boy humor", it's just plain funny! Sure it's crude and down right rude at times, but I don't assosiate that with frat-boys, I assosiate that with being able to appreciate a really good fart joke once in a while.

 

[TravisR]

That's one of the things that I like about The Family Guy. It seems like the pop culture jokes (like Kool Aid Man or the Electric Co.) were done by the writers to make themselves laugh. They knew some people would get the joke too but they were looking to make themselves have a chuckle first

 

[Darren Conroy]

I never watched Family Guy when it was running. Well, that's not true. My friend got the Seasons 1 & 2 DVD and showed me some episodes, and I was hooked. I watched it on TV one night, which wound up being the last new episode to be aired (until now).

I'm looking forward to Sunday with great zeal, but struggling to keep my expectations at a reasonable level.

I can understand what you mean by frat-boy humor, but I think that's saying a little too little about the show. Really, it's not that it's a low-intelligence show, it just doesn't take much effort to get into it, (as opposed to Arrested Development, which requires some brainpower to adapt to, albeit not much.) It definitely has a simplistic balls-out style, though, and I think that's a blessing for those of us who just want to tune in to laugh.

 

[Gregg Shiu]

Peter: "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop it... stop it..."
BillGrandPre: "Okay."
Peter: "Okay?"
BillGrandPre: "Okay."
Peter: "All right."