Family Guy - General Discussion

[Ambrosefolly]

Another good one was although Peter himself is a horrible father, he was genuinely disgusted by learning from Homer that he strangles Bart.

 

I wonder if Homer would be equally disgusted with how Peter treats Meg, aside from the verbal abuse he witnessed. He might not regularly strangle Meg, but does plenty of other random violent crap to her. I not trying to getting very deep, but I think Bart's destructive tendencies and Meg's inclination for self harm are reflections of Homer/Marge and Peter/Lois treatment of their oldest kids. I really liked how Lisa reached out to Meg  as well as the little character moment we had of Lisa when she felt threatened by Meg's talent and she later rectified it. 

 

Believe or not, I even liked they mixed up a little bit with Brian being partnered with Chris instead of Stewie and think Family Guy should do more with that again.

 

I think they should have tried to do more with Lois and Marge instead of Peter/Homer hour we got. 

[Spartan Girl]

Yeah, they had some real potential with Lois and Marge.  Marge could have chewed out Lois for being a shitty mother, and Lois could call out Marge on being a passive-aggressive ninny.

 

Had to laugh with Marge pointing out that next time Lois should wear a bra.  Ha!

[Ubiquitous]

I thought the episode was better than the average recent Simpsons or Family Guy episode.  And the voice actors seemed to bring their A game.  But I kind of wished the first half would have been a Family Guy episode and the second half a Simpsons episode (kind of like how Law & Order / Homicide Life on the Street crossovers worked so long ago).

I thought that's what it was going to be, actually.

[theatremouse]

It was a lot less bad than I was anticipating.

[opus]

The ep will be rerun this Tuesday due to FOX pulling the Tuesday airing of Utopia.

[darkestboy]

She should have whacked Peter upside the head with it.  I really hope there's another episode in the works with Meg punching Peter because that guy cannot get enough comeuppance for me.

I really hope when Fox finally put this show out of it's misery that the last ever episode involves Meg beating the shit out of Peter before killing him off in the most gruesome of ways for good measure. Loathe the character.

[MadyGirl1987]

Speaking of actors, Harry Shearer was the only Simpsons VO to not be involved here. That's why we never really saw say, Skinner, Dr. Hibbert, Smithers, Mr. Burns, or even Otto say or word or do much of anything.

But Lenny, voiced by HS spoke, right? To Quagmire in the courthouse. Did someone else voice him then?

[Danielg342]

I thought the first half hour was pretty good, and the story seemed to move along nicely up until Fred Flinstone ruled in favour of Duff. Then I really think the episode went downhill- way downhill. There was a wasted opportunity for some serious self-reflection where Homer could have realized the gravity of what he did and maybe have gone to Quahog himself to stop the factory from shutting down, with a reference to "The Day The Violence Died". Instead, we got that long fight between him and Peter that went on way too long and added nothing to the story, and the end was contrived to. Am I supposed to believe that Peter was just going to forgive Homer on the spot after Homer had just taken away his livelihood? I get that the Family Guy writers probably didn't want to end on a sour note with the Griffins hating the Simpsons, but, come on, you can do better than that.

 

Of course, maybe I set my standards a bit too high...expecting any kind of resonance and emotional consideration is well beyond Family Guy's capabilities it seems...I'm pretty sure Seth McFarlane wrote the book on comedic sociopathy.

 

Other examples dotted the episode, like when Peter threw out Meg's new saxophone and reminding her of her own worthlessness after Lisa bonded with Meg and tried to boost her self-confidence, with Lisa burying her own ego just to make Meg feel better. Talk about the show stabbing Meg in the back and twisting the knife. Then there was the bit with Bart rejecting Stewie, with Stewie crying at the end. I actually felt bad for him, and then I realized the show actually wanted me to laugh at his misfortune. Sorry, that's just not something I can do.

 

(I think it might have been funnier if Stewie plotted revenge against Bart and was seen designing a plan to kill Bart or something...Stewie is at his best when he's maniacal, and at least we see him have some kind of mental fortitude, instead of being a pathetic husk)

 

Also, while it's not "comedic sociopathy", I did find Marge's comment to Lois about not wearing a bra to be pretty crass. That I find more offensive than the "rape joke", as the latter was purely meant as an example of how Stewie is just "too maniacal for Bart" while the former is asking me to find it funny that Lois "isn't ladylike enough". Perhaps someone should tell McFarlane it's 2014 and there's no such a thing as being "ladylike enough" anymore, and the joke was in poor taste when, earlier in the show, Peter got called out for his misogynistic views.

 

I also have to echo what others said about Marge and Lois...neither did anything, really, in the episode, so much so that they could have been written out and no one would have noticed. Again, it's another missed opportunity- the show's promotional material promised they'd bond over their idiotic husbands but they didn't even talk about anything other than the movie they saw, and talking about Peter and Homer could have been a great moment of the show being self-reflective. Of course, that's poignancy and I don't believe McFarlane has ever looked it up in the dictionary.

 

That said, there was a lot I did like about the episode...the car wash scene might have been crass too, but I though it was executed pretty well, with the clear contrast of seeing the decidedly un-sexy Homer and Peter in sexy attire and trying their best to dance sexily. I thought it was the highlight of the hour, especially when you saw Springfield's crooks like Fat Tony and Snake driving in (although I'd like to think Fat Tony would be smart enough to know not to attend a stolen car wash because then he'd get caught, but I digress).

 

I also quite enjoyed Lisa bonding with Meg, giving the impression that maybe, just maybe, Meg could develop some self-confidence. I also liked Lisa burying her ego and letting Meg have her saxophone, since Lisa realized that Meg's confidence was more important than her own selfish desires. It was probably the only moment of the show where one could say it had a touching moment, but it all got undone when the saxophone got thrown away. I get that perhaps the show feared "ruining the status quo", but I think after so long, Meg should at least be given some hope.

 

Overall, though, I really think it failed to meet its potential. As seems too often the case, instead of a carefully crafted story that understand the greater implications of what it's doing, we get an over-reliance on cheap jokes and other forms of juvenile humour that turned the characters into nothing but caricatures which ruined what could have been a nice crossover. There was a chance, there, with the Duff storyline to really pound home the idea that "actions have consequences" but it got missed, since McFarlane seems to think I wanted to watch what was really a poorly disguised hour of sketches. Well, Seth, if I wanted to watch a sketch comedy, I'd watch a sketch comedy- not a sketchy sitcom that tries too hard to be relevant.

[Galileo908]

Peter helps Joe with his dream of becoming a published author, but tensions rise as Peter begins to take total control of the project; Brian starts to workout excessively.

 

 

[Galileo908]

Brian seriously tried to pull off a meet cute. And actually pulled it of. Sigh. I did like his vision of a runner's high, though. The moon is Korean. And a pervert.

 

I think a better reveal of Stephen King's ghostwriter would've been if it was Dean Koontz.

 

Didn't need to see Gene Shalit make out with his wife who looks exactly like him, mustache and all. Nor Brian all "ripped," then snapping his leg and getting trampled. Ick.

 

Seriously, the only thing I liked was the cutaway with Cee-Lo. "Yeah I need something a cartoon apple would wear."

[Ubiquitous]

Did anyone see where Tom Tucker buys his clothes?

 

ETA: Spelling.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Ubiquitous

[Ubiquitous]

Again, it's another missed opportunity- the show's promotional material promised they'd bond over their idiotic husbands but they didn't even talk about anything other than the movie they saw, and talking about Peter and Homer could have been a great moment of the show being self-reflective. Of course, that's poignancy and I don't believe McFarlane has ever looked it up in the dictionary.

That would explain why the ep with Stewie and Brian locked in a bank vault was so bad.

[Racj82]

Joe - Friends

Peter - Frasier

 

made me laugh out loud.

[ganesh]

I thought the moon was a good gag, and I did laugh at the Shalits because the noises were so obnoxious. 

 

I thought the episode was ok. It's interesting that Peter can read in an entertaining way to kids. It would be funny if he got some v/o work or something on the side. 

[Kel Varnsen]

Watched it last night. It was fun but didn't blow my mind or anything. Would have worked better as a half hour though. That said, I thought the animation looked amazing. Close to what they had for the simpsons movie.

[Ubiquitous]

I think a better reveal of Stephen King's ghostwriter would've been if it was Dean Koontz.

Who was Steven King's ghostwriter?

[TVSpectator]

Watched it last night. It was fun but didn't blow my mind or anything. Would have worked better as a half hour though. That said, I thought the animation looked amazing. Close to what they had for the simpsons movie.

 

 Yeah, the animation was good but the only pet peeve I have about, the actual animation on Family Guy in general,  is that everytime someone on Family Guy tries to have a serious conservation (or a pivotal moment) they tend to do the over the shoulder technique with the person being spoken too, face, expose, while the person talking has only his/her own shoulder exposed and it is shadowed out (and that is the best way I can describe what I see during Family Guy). 

 

As with the animation, yeah its usually pretty good (and the Simpsons' animation is also well done, btw). I think that the animators are now using a computer (which is what many shows are doing, these days) so the animation always looks top notch (but I do miss the old fashion hand drawn animation from back in the day). 

 

Edit:

 

Here is a picture of the example that I was describing (and I looked up the name of the angle and it's called over the shoulder shot):

 

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111102215918/familyguy/images/f/f5/9acx02_309_0040.jpg

Edited October 9, 2014 by TVSpectator

[Galileo908]

Who was Steven King's ghostwriter?

A gay stereotype at a typewriter.

[OnceSane]

Your Meg topic!

[OnceSane]

Your Peter topic!

[OnceSane]

Your Lois topic!

[ElderPrice]

Thanks a lot, TVspectator. Now I'm never going to be able to not notice the over-the-shoulder camera thing. But on the bright side we can make a game out of it!

[TVSpectator]

Thanks a lot, TVspectator. Now I'm never going to be able to not notice the over-the-shoulder camera thing. But on the bright side we can make a game out of it!

 

So, what kind of game do you want to make out of it?

Edited October 13, 2014 by TVSpectator

[OnceSane]

Lois & Peter open a cookie store, but things take a bad turn when he devises an interesting way to scare up customers.

[OnceSane]

Homer's ass looked surprisingly fantastic in those Daisy Dukes.

That's all I got.

[OnceSane]

This episode was boring. I preferred the premier.

[darkestboy]

He's an idiot and an asshole combined and not in a way that makes him either interesting or funny.

[Galileo908]

"TV: That thing you used to watch!"

 

"North Dakota: We're not even the best Dakota!"

 

Peter and Lois start another business, while Stewie becomes a drunk. Yeah, I keep wondering why I still watch this.

[darkestboy]

Yeah, she's terrible. Not as much as Peter but not far off either.

[AConspiracy]

I did like the random Cookie Monster running the bank (and motorboating the strippers) but otherwise meh.

[SmithW6079]

I knew once Homer punched Peter we were in for an extended chicken fight. I hate the chicken fights, but I laughed at Homer and Peter's, especially as it grew increasingly surreal. My favorite was as they're crashing in the flying saucer and Peter says, "We're gonna make it!" to which Homer replies, "You'd think so." Also, I knew we were in for mutations as soon as their fight moved to the nuclear plant.

 

I did find Marge's comment to Lois about not wearing a bra to be pretty crass.

 

I didn't. Anything that puts that bitch Lois in her place is OK in my book. She's an awful character.

 

I liked that they didn't change the style of animation for the Griffins, but other than that, there was no need for this episode. The shows have very different styles, and they didn't mesh well. 

[Nellise]

The main plot was meh for me too, but laughed out loud at

 

"Gum: what the hell is going on?"

[Latverian Diplomat]

The mosquito at the blood bank should have spoken with a female voice. I hope someone got fired for that blunder.

 

Also, I'm not sure how you can parody Arthur and be less funny than Arthur, but they pulled it off.

[Ubiquitous]

Oh yeah, they were parodying that movie, weren't they? Perhaps it was the remake with that scuzzy nitwit they were parodying?

[OnceSane]

Brian's cosmetic surgery leads him down a new career path as a real estate agent, which gets him into trouble with Quagmire.

[Kromm]

For me it's Shipoopi (which I submitted already to that King of the Mountain thing and may show up eventually).

 

But here it is (side by side with the Buddy Hackett original, which ALREADY is odd, because it's well... Buddy Hackett).

 

 

 

[Kromm]

I also had missed, until recently, "All I Really Want For Christmas", and kind of love it.  It's foul, lewd and disgusting.  Basically FG at its worst/best.

 

[OnceSane]

I love Shipoopi, the original and Peter's version. Probably because "The Music Man" is my favorite musical. But I also enjoyed "Bag of Weed", & "FCC". My boyfriend says Joe doing "Good Morning" after he got working legs.

[SFoster21]

For me, it was when Stewie danced with Gene Kelly and they got the plane as a result.

[PrincessEnnui]

I have to post this because it makes me laugh. so. hard.

 

 

How he managed to say that without cracking up, I just don't know. The bee is totally cute too. :D

[Spartan Girl]

I loved "Shipoopi" and "A Bag of Weed" but "This House Is Freakin' Sweet" is also a classic.  And definitely "Road to Rhode Island."

 

My guilty pleasure is "You Have Aids."  Like the Christmas song, it's FB at it's worst/best.

[OnceSane]

My bf and I break into "You have AIDS" all the time. It's just so damn catchy!

[Kromm]

I also have to mention "Iraq Lobster", although it's a pretty short piece.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ7PfdKRSNQ

[WhitneyWhit]

One of my favorite scenes is when Joyce reveals on the news that Lois once starred in a porno, Bonnie comes in and goes "Ha! Slut!" and then leaves. Cracks me up everytime.

[Galileo908]

Brian getting his mouth injured was something I wish I didn't see. So glad that he came back to life, you guys. Then again, Brian with his new teeth was pretty weird to look at, too. Apparently all you need to be a good realtor is a weird smile.

 

"My Dinner with Andre The Giant" was probably the only thing that got a laugh out of me tonight.

[Ubiquitous]

Brian's new teeth remined me of that char he met who worked at the New Yorker Magazine, I think, with the enormous overbite.

[OnceSane]

On the night before Thanksgiving, Brian and Peter drunkenly devour the holiday bird, and then must go out to find a replacement. In Peter's absence, Chris attempts to step up and become the man of the house.

[Galileo908]

Up next on Nickelodeon: Uncomfortably Hot 18 Year Old Girls!

 

This was quite a painful episode. Once again I ask myself why I still watch. Oh right, nostalgia from better times plus it's to kill half an hour between Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Bob's Burgers. The only things I laughed at were the above cutaway and Carter saying it's his duty to take an open-mouth nap in the middle of the room since he's the oldest person there.

 

It was, however, good to see the Cleveland Show cast again, even if none of them spoke.

[Writing Wrongs]

I laughed at Snoopy's original happy dance.

[ganesh]

I would have rather they focused on the family and neighbors with Chris trying to be the man of the house than Peter and Brian. Then have them come home disheveled with a turkey and kind of leave most of the story up to the imagination.