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

[Inspector Hammer!]

Oh man, please, don't take offense to this as I don't intend any, but spare me/us that little nugget of wisdom as it is your opinion alone.

Also, what makes South Park so much better or worse that Family Guy? I have seen things on South Park that would offend Charles Manson, and it's pretty much the same brand of humor as well, so I don't get it.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Well, I distinguish South Park (which I love) from Family Guy in the following ways:

- South Park really does have some interesting, unique characters. Cartman, Butters, Mr. Garrison, to name three. Parker and Stone can therefore get laughs from their characters' personalities, not just random jokes, whereas I can't think of a single Family Guy character with an interesting personality except possibly Brian (Stewie's personality might be considered interesting except it's stolen from a more interesting character, The Brain).

- South Park's humor really is outrageous and offensive, and makes me laugh for that reason. FG strikes me as a show that is pretending to be outrageous and offensive but is actually pandering to its audience's smug tastes. There was an article the other day in The New Republic like this, where the author praised Family Guy for being offensive to prudes and religious right types. He, the author, wasn't offended by the show, he was just smugly happy to think that other people might be offended. That's the way I feel about FG; I've never seen a joke on it that offended me, just jokes that think they're offensive when they aren't. South Park takes more chances with its humor.

- South Park has more interesting stories, better jokes, and doesn't derail its stories with pointless unfunny non sequiturs (I wouldn't mind the FG non sequiturs if I found them funny, but again, I think they're totally unfunny).

 

[MarkHastings]

Why do you keep mentioning brilliant and smart when it comes to comedy? As I said before, it doesn't have to be smart to be funny. I laugh at both kinds of comedy. The Simpsons (at least the first few seasons) had jokes that only MIT students could relate to. The jokes were highly educated jokes and I laughed at every one. On the other hand, Family Guy has stupid humor that comes out of left-hand. My sense of humor has ALWAYS been this way. Doing stupid things to get a laugh is what I am all about, so I LOVE the jokes on Family Guy.

Also, isn't 'smart' a personal opinion? I think the comic timing with Family Guy is smart, but since you hate the show, obviously my views are wrong. :frowning:

p.s. I'm going to have to stop now, because we seem to keep going in circles. I still don't know why it's so wrong of me to love Family Guy. I really don't see it as the end of civilization, to laugh at some dumb jokes at the end of a stressful day.

 

[Scott-S]

People, If you don't like a show, you do not have to watch it.

I happen to think Family Guy is very funny, and I'll watch it regardless of what others are saying. It shouldnt make people angry that I want to watch it.

And now that I see it does, I will still watch it and I will probably enjoy it more

 

[Malcolm R]

South Park is also on late-night cable. Family Guy is on prime-time network television.

I'm sure if they had the same shielding from the FCC as SP, FG would press the envelope much further and "take more chances."

I still can't figure out why the FG haters are in this thread. Whenever Star Wars haters go into the SW thread, they're spanked and banished immediately.

 

[Matt Stone]

And you certainly don't have to post about it. I honestly don't know why anyone would waste time posting the same thing over and over about a show they actively hate. Talking about a specific aspect of a show and critiqing it or comparing it against another show (like the FG vs. Simpsons vs. Sout Park discussion) is one thing...but coming in every 10 posts and saying "I hate the show itself. It represents everything that's wrong with comedy today..." is absolutely pointless and annoying to those of us attempting a civil conversation.

 

[BrianW]

One thing worth noting with regard to Futurama vs. FG is that Fox doesn't collect royalties for Futurama syndication. It is for ths reason that Fox didn't care to keep Futurama going, not because they didn't like it or because they thought it was a bad show.

 

[MarkHastings]

Exactly! For once I'd like to talk to other Family Guy fans without having hatred spread throughout the thread to the point of pointless derailment.

Every Family Guy thread I subscribe to, I end up leaving because of these people. I seriously think they are deliberately trying to suck any joy out of these threads.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Has absolutely nothing to do with the FCC or broadcast vs. cable standards. South Park's risk-taking humor isn't about language (which is pretty mild anyway since Comedy Central usually bleeps stuff), nor about "adult content," but about the social and political jokes as well as their willingness to pull the trigger and make characters do really bad things that shock the audience (like Cartman having a kid's parents killed and fed to him -- doesn't violate any FCC guidelines, since it was not done explicitly, but man, is it shocking to the audience). There are broadcast network shows that have taken as many risks in that respect as SP, certainly more than FG. (All in the Family and Married With Children come to mind.)

 

[David Galindo]

I kinda like Family Guy, and will definitely tune in tonight. Should be great!

 

[Gregg Shiu]

It's just something to kill the time I suppose. I'm sure I'll be seeing you all later in the next Michael Bay or Eminem thread!

 

[Kevin Hewell]

When did this turn into a FG appreciation thread?

Fans of Enterprise got so fed up with all the bashers of that show so an ENT appreciation thread was created and the Berman and Braga bashers still continually post in that thread. I don't see how it's that big of a deal if someone doesn't like the show and wants to post their feelings.

I like FG okay. Some eps more than others and some characters more than others (love Stewie and Brian, hate Peter). I will watch tonight to see how it turns out.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I just realized something, Family Guy will be on up against Desperate Housewives! Is FOX losing it's freaking mind!? Family Guy is going to get it's ass kicked in the ratings! :frowning:

I mean I know each show has it's own audience, but still, that is an insane timeslot!

 

[TravisR]

Don't sweat it, you nailed the reason why The Family Guy will do alright- it has its own audience. Personally, I'll be watching Deadwood but I have a feeling that Fox will be using 'new' Family Guy reruns to fill in any holes in their schedule so I will probably catch up on them all fairly quickly. Either that or my friend's tapes

Anyone know how many episodes they are doing this season?

 

[MarkHastings]

While this isn't an appreciation thread, no thread should ever turn into a bash against those who are fans.

 

[GuruAskew]

...and tell me I'm bashing the fans of the show.

 

[MarkHastings]

Since comedy (i.e. what one find funny) is a personal preference, your comments are directed at the fans preference as to what we find funny.So how is this different than me going into a Star Trek thread and saying Star Trek is what's wrong with America? or going into any fan-based thread and putting out a statement that the thing they love the most, is utter crap?

How can any of those statements NOT be a bash against the fans? You're totally ridiculing everything that they love!

You say that you don't hate the fans (and that's fine), but you do realize (or maybe not) that spreading hatred towards something fans love, is going to be taken personally and seen as a "bash".

 

[GuruAskew]

I'm don't care if someone loves a cartoon so much that they take it personally when I bash the show itself. If that's the case with some people, I'm the least of their worries. You don't hear me whining when people in this thread say that "Family Guy" is better than recent "Simpsons", even though I think that's crazy. I just state my opinion. "Family Guy" is an abomination.

 

[Scott-S]

Bill;

Read the Announcement Message in the forum that describes allowed behavior. Specifically, read #5 in the Guidlines for Posting section.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ouncementid=48

Pretty much states what we are saying.

 

[Julian Lalor]

Over and over and over again, it seems. We get it; you don't like Family Guy. Now, can you leave the rest of us in peace to enjoy discussing the show.