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jbwarner86 — Just Like That Time When...
Published: 2009-01-31 18:04:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 73855; Favourites: 1134; Downloads: 432
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As of January 31, 2009, it's been ten years since "Family Guy" made its debut on FOX. And oh boy, what a difference a decade makes.I won't try to pretend that I'm still entertained by this show, because I'm not. I won't even try to paint a picture of the first three seasons as the perfect example of what the show could be, because that's not true either (even the so-called "glory years" tended to be mediocre at best). But at least in the spirit of Seth MacFarlane's trademark cutaways to things that are only tangentially related to what's going on, I can remember the time, way back in 1999, when these characters showed promise.
What'll the next ten years bring? I'm not sure I want to think about that...
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Comments: 441
So true. XD
I watch it from time to time, but only when I catch it by accident. I don't wait for it to be on anymore.
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I have to admit I thought the first 3 seasons were pretty good, but I definitely agree that the new seasons are terrible. Fox just milked the original premise for all it was worth, and then some.
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Brian ftw--the only reason I ever watched that show. LOL
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I have noticed that though the show itself has gotten funnier, it's really because it relies on the random jokes it pulls out of it's ass, along with flash back cutscenes, obnoxious characters, and the occasional slapstick humor that is occasionally taken too far.
The show could be better if it focused on character development some more, or maybe focused on some other subject, but what're ya gonna do?
I won't lie and say I don't like family guy 'cuz I do, but I will be honest, I agree with what you're trying to point out. But unfortunately as far as the media goes, that's what the viewers want to see.
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Oh YES, I couldn't agree more! I could never get into "Family Guy" (I remember watching the premiere on FOX and a few episodes after that and could kind of see why everyone was so obsessed with it, but somehow it just rubbed me the wrong way). The jokes ARE too predictable and all of Seth's shows seem exactly the same. If you've seen the quality of his "Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy" on YouTube that basically shows just how low his cartoons have gotten.
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Y'know, when Family Guy first aired, I praised the novelty of it's comedy style, which reminded me of Monty Python's wackiness...
...It's been downhill since then. Now I wish the show was dead. ...And moreso it's offspring American Dad.
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What will the next ten years bring? Hopefully cancelation.
Funny 'cos it's true!
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The creators of South park were right... Family Guy does sound like its written by manatees!
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You're such a prick.
Honestly, you're never satisfied with anything. Whether it's the fact Futurama is TRYING to still be attenable to us, or the fact that programming is going downhill.
While I agree with you on this topic (I can't say this to my friends because then they'd hate me forever.), HONESTLY! Old TV is never coming back, and we have move on.
SO SHUT THE HELL UP!
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Wow, that was rather harsh... 
But, name calling is so not the way to go... It makes you look very disrespectful and people are more likely to base you on your attitude than what your opinion is, wither it's good or not.
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Speaking as someone who used to be a big fan of this show but gradually lost interest, I think this show is like a lot of shows on [adult swim]: if you're a fan, you have a really hard time explaining why you like it to someone who's not a fan.
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Gotta agree with Brian there. Family Guy used to be good, like my all time favorite is the Y2K one one that was on in the older seasons. Although my fav on the ones is the one with Bill Clinton but still.
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I am proud to say that I have been watching Family Guy from day one. The first few years were the best by far. I can remember setting my VCR to record every new episode. Now if I miss a new one I don't even care.
Pretty much everything you said in this work is true. It's seems that after Family Guy got it's Adult Swim resurection, they just started making episodes to make episodes. Less filling with less taste if you will. Some are decent, but most are just thrown together for the sake of making more new episodes. It's pretty much sex and poop jokes, and that's about it. I see the show running for only a few more seasons before FOX drops it again.... for good.
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I disagree. Sure the show changed over the years, but if it didn't, it would have been like Pokemon: predictable. And if you can't stand watching a cartoon, then don't watch it. Look at South Park. They make fun of everyone and their granny, get sued by groups (Scientology, Muslims, etc), and they keep going.
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Being tasteless and offending everyone in the world doesn't make something good. That's precisely the point of this picture.
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The problem is, "Family Guy" has become predictable - not necessarily in what to expect, but in what not to expect. And unfortunately, what one can't expect to see on the show is a decent plot, strong characters, and humor that isn't simple and unoriginal. I don't care for that sort of thing, and therefore, I don't watch it.
I have no doubt that there could be a happy medium on the show if the writers sought to find it. Crazy happenings, pop culture jokes, and risque humor can find a place amid a good story and likeable characters. But if they're content to go at the pace they're currently on, then I'm content to find my entertainment elsewhere. I don't have a problem with not watching "Family Guy" - after all, there are hundreds of shows out there that don't entertain me. But given how popular it is and how crass and lowbrow its sense of humor tends to be, I do like to think about how it could improve.
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Yeah, I agree. It has it's good moments, but, in general, the show sucks.
Nice picture, perfect joke
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HA-HAA! Brilliant!
I sure hope this gets a daily feature, more people need to see this!
I love how you pointed out everyones flaws to the last detail, kudos on Meg's as well!
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Family Guy had some good moments, but overall it was just a bunch of random cut scenes mashed together in a feeble attempt to get some laughs.
I love Brian though, and that's exactly the kinda thing he'd say.
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Are you sure you're not confusing Family Guy with the Simpsons?
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I think "Family Guy" actually has it worse than "The Simpsons". The latter show was a haven of brilliant animated humor for eight years (give or take) even in spite of its current state of mediocrity, but the former has never lived up to its full potential. MacFarlane created these characters that have the possibility of being a great group of perfectly matched personalities if they're written right, and what does he do with 'em? ...Well, you know what he does with 'em.
It's all personal preference, of course, and it's why I don't watch the show anymore. I think if "Family Guy" was more character-driven, it could be pretty darn funny even without being a clone of "The Simpsons". They can still do all that wacky surrealistic stuff, but the least they could do is get me interested in the people it's happening to.
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well, you keep saying that The Simpsons still has its moments, even today. Personally, I say the same applies to Family Guy.
Though, I gotta wonder. If the show wasn't canceled in the first place, would its quality have degraded this much? Perhaps they tried appealing to the masses ever since they came back in hopes of ensuring they never get canceled again.
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Actually, I'm quickly losing what little faith I had in "The Simpsons" in its modern incarnation. When I think Simpsons, I think of the first eight seasons, since those are the ones that make me laugh. Nowadays, they seem to be more focused on intentionally doing things that they know will make the fans angry.
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How do you figure? This isn't a criticism, I'm just curious, since I'm in the same boat as Matt in that I still like the show to this day as much as ever.
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It's hard to describe, but you just get the sense from the recent episodes that they know that they're out of ideas, but they don't care. Plots and jokes are the worst they've ever been (Mike Scully's episodes actually look good compared to Al Jean's solo efforts), the ratings are rock-bottom (Season 20 boasted the lowest ratings in the series' history), and most fans are just getting madder and madder, if not abandoning the show altogether. The only reason the show is still going is because it makes FOX millions in syndication dollars.
I think Al Jean is the big problem. He's not as strong without Mike Reiss - his sense of humor seems to be limited to bad puns, broad physical humor, and half-hearted pop culture parodies. And even with an episode length that's a minute and a half shorter than it was 20 years ago, the guy still can't get his episodes to stop coming up short - gags keep going on longer than they need to, killing whatever humor they might have had, and freeze-frame jokes are constantly ruined by camera holds that lengthen the episode but also beat you over the head with the punchline. And yet he's been the showrunner for nine years. Come on.
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Well, I'm not gonna say it's all great, and yeah, they certainly have seen better days--but it isn't all bad, and hopefully things could improve in the show and in the show's workings as time goes on.
On the same subject, how do you feel about this review of Season 20?: [link]
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Well thanks goodness TV has given us Robot Chicken to take away our angst of Bad Simpsons and Family Guy.
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I always described "Robot Chicken" as the kind of show Seth MacFarlane really wanted to make - just an endless string of popular culture parodies with no underlying thread between them. It's right up his alley. (Which probably explains "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy".)
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Well I think the pop culture parodies have their place. Indeed a lot of humor on a lot of cartoons relies on pop culture knowledge, but then again they seem to be able to entertain large audiences. I know there's other types of comedy, but will they make as many people laugh? TV execs will mostly likely go with what they feel works. I haven't seen a lot of the newer Family Guy Episodes, and since it's on like every "F"ing channel, I'm kinda getting over it, but when I do watch it, I do laugh and chuckle. I think if you want to see new shows done with jokes that aren't pop culture, you should either create those ideas yourself, and or support forms that you enjoy.
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i dont think they could make the storylines work aswell without their surreal moments. Possibly because of the fear of being a simpsons clone. If you take away the surreal moments, you get something more like simpsons. Thats what american dad is, and works because of the type of family they are and the dynamic they have with roger too. Peter was always seen as a stupider homer...who is now acting more like a stupid peter. I don't think family guy has the charm of what the simpsons did have to last on storylines alone.
With that being said...south park. Man that show is still great after all this time.
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Robot Chicken makes fun of pop culture successfully. Seth MacFarlane cannot. That's why Seth Green made fun of PaRappa and Seth would rather not.
This is so true about Family Guy. Not American Dad. American Dad was good.
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Family Guy isn't that bad, though it is slowly gettin' stale in the entertainment department.
Then again, the Simpson are already on their twentieth season. Don't get me wrong, the classic Simpsons are awesome. But these newer episodes...Mmmmmeh!
*sigh* I think Seth is just takin' a cue from Matt. Milk the show for all its worth.
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I remember when Futurama was on. And they brought back this?
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i think FOX mad a huuuge mistake when they took off futurama and this is just proof, even the new movies have probably had more viewers than the new family guy episodes
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I remember when the show had decent plot and dialogue and didn't need to kill time with awkward dialogue that you see all the time on Adult Swim. I also remember when the show didn't took it's time to spout political opinions.
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Agreed.
By the way, have you heard that there's going to be a Family Guy Movie that's going to be released in theaters?
I doubt that's going to be entertaining.
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I love Family Guy. Gives me such a good laugh.
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Truer words have never been drawn so well, my friend. Brian's final comment sums it up for me.
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I remember when they treated Meg like a human being, I miss that...
Seriously though it has become significantly less funny since they brought it back and it only decreases with time. I actually wished they hadn't cancelled it originally, now I kind of wish it had stayed cancelled.
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I'm not a Family Guy fan. But I agree I hate when they do those cutaways. When The Simpsons did it, those scenes actually made sense. I still think The Simpsons is better than half of the junk that 's on TV right now. I mean, at least that show is still watchable.
I like Brian's line the best.
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cool fanart. I think Brian looks a bit thin, though.
as for the next ten years, I'm working to a career in animation, so fingers crossed ^^
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Has it been that long? 10 years. I did a little journal about the decline. It's somewhere in my journals.
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I love Peter's quote here, that really made me laugh and that is something he would totally say.
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I watch the show mainly for laughs. I'm sorry if that seems shallow.
American Dad is a better show anyway. How do you feel about that one?
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