Family Guy - General Discussion

[DoctorAtomic]

I can't remember what VHS stands for. 

I thought Doug and Stewie were basically friends now. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[Tachi Rocinante]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I thought Doug and Stewie were basically friends now. 

Yeah, I think this one was shown out of order, especially after it was revealed his Dad is a gaping asshole.

[DoctorAtomic]

That makes more sense. 

I would have liked them to hit the problematic 80s plots some more. I was a little behind in age for the John Hughes movies, so when I was able to see them, I even was like, 'yeesh'. 

[Gharlane]

Quote

"80's Guy".

Impelled by nostalgia, Peter recreates movie scenes from his favorite decade; Stewie and Doug compete to retrieve a Frisbee stuck at the top of the jungle gym.

This one was hit and miss, but I couldn't help feel there was something very "meta" about the main story of this episode. Really, 80's references are huge part of this show! 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Gharlane

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought they could have been way more scathing with the commentary on the 80s. 

[Galileo908]

I wish we saw Lois humiliating herself to keep Carter paying for Stewie's preschool.

It was pretty dumb, but I could appreciate a good Freaky Friday plot with Peter and Quagmire. Seth MacFarlane is an underappreciated voice actor and can nail his characters imitating his other characters. 

Wow, Doug. Stewie wanted Lois's stuffed monkey out of his life, while Doug wanted Stewie to kill an actual cat. Then eventually killed her to frame Stewie. That's cold. 

[cdnalor]

Okay, it's just a cartoon, but wow, there's quite a size disparity between Peter's and Glen's underwear.  Glen's tightey- whities must stretch like the Hulk's purple pants.

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought the cat actually just died, not that Doug did her in. 

 

 

[Gharlane]

Quote

"Brief Encounter". When Peter and Quagmire accidentally switch underwear, they begin to mimic the other's behavior. Meanwhile, Stewie and Doug agree to commit each other's murders.

The impossibility of them wearing each other's underwear kept me from enjoying it, plus, the cat killing was a bit disturbing.

[Lone Wolf]

The Stewie and Doug plotline was an "homage" to Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers On A Train".  Right down to the "Crisscross!"

So, between that and the Freaky Friday "homage", not a lot of originality going on.  Although the writers did add their own twists, and I chuckled a few times (the chicken and "Bird Is The Word" references), fundamentally it was kind of lazy.

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Lone Wolf

[Lone Wolf]

On 10/25/2021 at 7:28 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

I thought the cat actually just died, not that Doug did her in. 

 

 

I did, too.  Plus, who keeps their cat's bed in the garage?  I get that it was easier than having Stewie break into the house, but it seemed unrealistic, even for a cartoon.

[Machiabelly]

On 10/25/2021 at 12:39 AM, cdnalor said:

Okay, it's just a cartoon, but wow, there's quite a size disparity between Peter's and Glen's underwear.  Glen's tightey- whities must stretch like the Hulk's purple pants.

We called it, The Brotherhood Of The Travelling Underpants. 

[DoctorAtomic]

The garage had a fridge, etc., in there too, so it's not just where the cars are parked. Who ever lived in my house before had a cat door in the basement where the litter box was kept, so that's kind of similar. 

[Galileo908]

"Think, Brent." I liked Brian's birthday party.

I liked the plot of Stewie testing positive for cooties. The cutaway with him meeting Gritty was funny, but short.

"Peter cheating on Lois's food with Bonnie's" seems like a plot the Simpsons should've done years ago, but didn't!

Edited November 8, 2021 by Galileo908

[DoctorAtomic]

From eating the play doh to boot. 

 

[Gharlane]

Quote

"Cootie & The Blowhard". Stewie takes drastic measures when he thinks he is diagnosed with terminal "cooties." Meanwhile, Peter becomes infatuated with Bonnie's cooking.

I kept getting a sense of deja vu while watching, for some reason. It's always fun to see Stewie and Brian acting like a baby and a dog, respectively.

[Galileo908]

The suits everyone in the audience wore on America's Funniest Home Videos being weird and boxy was a strange but oddly specific observation.

Leave it to Peter to turn Carter's house into a hotel, and then Stewie and Brian to turn THAT into The Love Boat.

[Kleav]

33 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

turn THAT into The Love Boat

Or Hotel, the James Brolin series.

[DoctorAtomic]

madTV funny. Great joke. 

I love the librarian. 

[Gharlane]

Quote

"Peterschmidt Manor". Lois and her father attend the funeral of Lois' childhood nanny. Meanwhile, Peter and the rest of the family turn Pewterschmidt mansion into a hotel.

Once again, I got this weird sense of déjà vu while watching the Lois and her father parts.  in fact, I knew he was going to reveal something at the funeral, but it turned out to be an affair, not something terrible the nanny had done to Lois. Maybe it's a trope I'm remembering, but that was weird. I liked Peter turning the house into a hotel, then Hotel, or at least something in the same format as that and The Loveboat and those other anthology shows with washed-up stars.

16 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I love the librarian. 

Don't let Stewie and Brian hear you! 

[DoctorAtomic]

I think they actually played the theme to Hotel when Stewie was doing the v/o for the guests arriving. Was that a thing on the actual show? All I remember is Connie Sellecca. It's a total out there 80s reference this show likes. 

I can't believe they got the 'in between periods' in there. 

[Gharlane]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I think they actually played the theme to Hotel when Stewie was doing the v/o for the guests arriving. Was that a thing on the actual show? All I remember is Connie Sellecca. It's a total out there 80s reference this show likes. 

I don't recall hearing the theme music, but there were a bunch of shows around that time which involved one-time visitor's stories, like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

[DoctorAtomic]

When they pulled out for a wide shot from above over the manor, the music kicked in. 

[Galileo908]

21 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

madTV funny. Great joke. 

Yeah, that was my favorite joke in the episode (also a hell of a good casting gag with Alex Borstein)

[DoctorAtomic]

It has to be Lois saying it for the joke to land. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

There was a time when MadTV was funnier . . .

Edited November 17, 2021 by Tachi Rocinante

[Galileo908]

Take THAT, Ted 2.

I liked Peter's speakeasy for Birthdays. I guess Bryan Cranston got too busy (or expensive) to play Peter's new boss.

Stewie's detention plot was kinda fun, but petered out at the end.

[DoctorAtomic]

Doug had it coming. 

Was Bortus the new boss? 

Edited November 22, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[Gharlane]

Quote

"The Birthday Bootlegger". A new boss quells Peter's favorite part about work: office birthdays. Stewie's stay in detention changes him.

Just as I wondered to myself why they were singing about June in November, someone on the show verbalized it! When did this new boss show up? I don't remember that mixed couple quitting or being replaced.
 

[Tachi Rocinante]

The Shawshank riff fell flat for me, and I hate it when Seth feels the need to show how much he likes to sing.  We get it already.

[Galileo908]

This was a neat episode, I honestly liked their take on noir. I liked how it was shot. 

Of course the missing person was Meg.

[DoctorAtomic]

The murder mystery is probably my favorite, but this was a lot of fun too. The black and white was sharp. 

The voice changes were fantastic. 

I owed 50 cents on my car. I liked the driving footage. 

I absolutely love Bird is the Word. Anytime they work it in, I die. 

And the Chicken talked!

I like when Peter actually is played straight. 

Edited November 29, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[Gharlane]

Quote

"The Fatman Always Rings Twice". In noir-style, Peter/Mac investigates the disappearance of Meg/Sister Megan.

I don't like the genre, TBH, so that might be why I didn't like it.

[Lone Wolf]

Chris's, er, Carol's (a very acceptable name for that time period) peacoat definitely had anchor buttons, but I don't think the collar was up.

Good on Seth for changing it up - you can only do so many musical episodes.  

Edited December 10, 2021 by Lone Wolf

[immortalfrieza]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Family Guy is best when they're parodying something as an episode premise, like noir in this case. To the point that when it's not I can usually tell the episode is going to be decent at best. It probably requires them to actually put some thought and effort into the episode as a whole in order to use all the characters effectively, which they don't really with the standard episodes.

[DoctorAtomic]

I still think the murder mystery at the manor was the best they've done. 

[Galileo908]

Oh boy, a Brian being terrible episode. Last year it was Lois being terrible at Christmas, this time it was Brian. At least Wild West got more screentime in this one.

Man, that McGruff PSA was a throwback.

"Slim Jim? Don't google what's in it? Slim Jim?" And then Peter kept eating Slim Jims. Funny.

I knew I heard Carlos Alazraqui's voice in this episode! When did he come back to the show?!

[Spartan Girl]

Oh shut up, Brian. Just because something’s commercialized doesn’t make it all bad. We need some holiday cheer right now.

[DoctorAtomic]

I tend to agree with Brian about the commercialism but not in the condescending way he was saying it. I'm not 'xmas is bad', but there's too much with the buying things. 

The whole Life is a Highway was so out there and hilarious. 

[immortalfrieza]

Brian being an asshole. Must be Sunday.

Brian is right, Christmas is about commercialism and honestly all the family stuff is just fluff to make it look better than it actually is, but using that to justify what he did was wrong. He should've simply owned up to what he did immediately.

Family Guy is a comedy so people being dicks is a given, but Brian they just go out of their way to make the biggest dick possible. Peter at least has the excuse of being too stupid to know what he's doing most of the time, but Brian really should know better.

[Galileo908]

Finally, the show takes on Peloton. The Tour de Franz bit was definitely something out of the early seasons, I liked that one. Of course telling Peter that Kermit The Frog rode one convinced him to ride it.

Buff Lois was honestly creepy looking, but I'm not surprised that Stewie fell in love with that. That was also creepy.

Peter of all people should know that the Epic Handshake Meme comes from Predator.

[DoctorAtomic]

The every dog in Quahog group text chat was hilarious. 

Peter's voice was weird, and Stewie's plot was creepy. It was funny, but wow out there. They skewered church. 

[cdnalor]

Does anyone know the name of the tune playing during the montage of abandoned exercise equipment?  It sounds so familiar but I can't place it and it's going to bug me for days.

[DoctorAtomic]

It was a rendition of Tragedy, which Peter sang in the episode at church.

[Gharlane]

Quote

"Mister Act". An accident leaves Peter with a high-pitched voice, and Jesus
coaches him into fending off the other choir boys; meanwhile, Stewie is
attracted to Lois' new masculine physique.

Although I liked the concepts, I don't think either were enough for a complete episode, even when used concurrently. It didn't help that they trotted out the tired old religion jokes so quickly and they took the Stewie plot as far as they did.

[Gharlane]

Quote

"Customer Of The Week". Lois taps into her villainous side to win the title
of Best Customer at her favorite coffee shop after feeling unappreciated by
her family.

I assume they were spoofing/homaging something because I recognized things visually and vaguely remember someone getting kidnapped and the kidnapper getting caught feeding the victim's cat. I was also bemused by Lois killing someone with a peanut allergy by dumping a can of Planter's Peanuts in someone's car. Wow, what a pyscho!

[Galileo908]

This show has gone on so long and Quagmire's had so much character development where he's an honestly good alternative to Peter for Lois to bring to a reunion. I was over her wanting to turn him down for coming on to her so she'd feel some worth in her life. Peter really is terrible.

The show couldn't go wrong with WASP humor, especially the woman with a tight anus for a mouth.

The b plot with the dead pizza guy was dark as hell. Of course they get Meg to scarecrow him around.

Edited February 28, 2022 by Galileo908

[Spartan Girl]

I loved the 80s pizza commercial bit. Oh, those were the days…

Lois just wanted Quagmire to hit on her just to turn him down and feel morally superior? Ugh. Although he has hit on her plenty of times in the past. I hate retcons.

[DoctorAtomic]

Wow, 'I'm not used to wearing rings above the waist.' I'm surprised that got by. 

I liked all the snooty names of Lois' friends. I wish they had a little more at the reunion. 

These were kind of two half plots; they could have a lot more hijinks with each.

 

 

 

[Tachi Rocinante]

17 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Lois just wanted Quagmire to hit on her just to turn him down and feel morally superior? Ugh. Although he has hit on her plenty of times in the past. I hate retcons.

I don't consider it a retcon - she was expecting it, but I think he finally gave up trying.