Family Guy 

In a wacky Rhode Island town, a dysfunctional family strive to cope with everyday life as they are thrown from one crazy scenario to another.

Creators:

Seth MacFarlane, David Zuckerman

Stars:

Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green

Won 8 Primetime Emmys. Another 27 wins & 90 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Seth MacFarlane	...	Peter Griffin / ... 327 episodes, 1999-2019
Alex Borstein	...	Lois Griffin / ... 327 episodes, 1999-2019
Seth Green	...	Chris Griffin / ... 326 episodes, 1999-2019
Mila Kunis	...	Meg Griffin / ... 317 episodes, 1999-2019
Mike Henry	...	Cleveland Brown / ... 310 episodes, 1999-2019
John Viener	...	TV Announcer / ... 251 episodes, 2005-2019
Danny Smith	...	Jim Kaplan / ... 240 episodes, 1999-2019
Patrick Warburton	...	Joe Swanson / ... 233 episodes, 1999-2019
Ralph Garman	...	Various / ... 197 episodes, 2001-2019
Alec Sulkin	...	Jesus Christ / ... 190 episodes, 2005-2019

Storyline

Sick, twisted and politically incorrect, the animated series features the adventures of the Griffin family. Endearingly ignorant Peter and his stay-at-home wife Lois reside in Quahog, R.I., and have three kids. Meg, the eldest child, is a social outcast, and teenage Chris is awkward and clueless when it comes to the opposite sex. The youngest, Stewie, is a genius baby bent on killing his mother and destroying the world. The talking dog, Brian, keeps Stewie in check while sipping martinis and sorting through his own life issues.

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Plot Keywords:

sexual reference | sexual innuendo | animal as human | pedophile | derivative | 

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Taglines:

UnCut, Un-PC & Unsuitable for Kids

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Fox.com Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

31 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Family Guy

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Fuzzy Door Productions, Fox Television Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the early seasons, in the opening credits, the pictures on the wall of Chris, Meg, and Stewie, in the background, have blurred faces. Later on, however, their faces appear normally.

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Goofs

Peter lives in a Cape Cod house. They have one full floor and an upstairs which has slanted walls. When there are screen shots of Peter's room, Chris's room, Stewie or Meg's room, they have straight walls.

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Quotes

Stewie Griffin: [Peter is upset, Stewie is trying to cheer him up] Hey...
[pats Peter's knee]
Stewie Griffin: Hey, big guy... how you doin? Holdin up all right? Want a soda? Oh, screw it. I tried!

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Crazy Credits

In the new HD seasons intro, the generic dancers on the stairs are replaced by actual characters from the show.

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Alternate Versions

Some episodes air in a somewhat-edited version in their original FOX airings and syndicated airings, but air in a racier, "uncut" version on Adult Swim, with some extra scenes or alternate versions of scenes. However, Adult Swim still bleeps the most profane of language.

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Connections

Referenced in CNN Newsroom: Episode dated 18 June 2013 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Lucky There's A Family Guy
Music by Walter Murphy
Lyrics by David Zuckerman and Seth MacFarlane
Performed by Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green and Mila Kunis

User Reviews

MacFarlane's brilliant sitcom parody was once one of the funniest things on TV, but now it may suffer the same creative fate as the Simpsons

Network: Fox; Genre: Animated Comedy, Satire, Parody; Content Rating: TV-14 (pervasive sexual content, scatological humor, strong language, violence, animated nudity); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1-5);

Season Reviewed: 5 seasons

After 5 seasons, two cancellations and a now militant army of fans the show has amassed, I don't quite know what to say about "Family Guy" anymore.

When "Family Guy" debuted in 1999 it was a shotgun blast of comic brilliance that came out of nowhere and went unheard by an audience still enraptured by the antics of "Friends". At first it all appears relatively routine, even - as many have accused - a ripe-off of "The Simpsons". Fat, child-like, head of household Peter Griffin (voiced by creator Seth MacFarlane) screws things up while dotting wife Lois (Alex Borstein), put-upon daughter Meg (Mila Kunis) and genetic copy Chris (Seth Green) look on. Also in the mix is genius, homicidal infant Stewie (MacFarlene) - one of the most deserving break-out characters in TV history - and Brian, the family's talking dog.

If the characters sound like clichés, that's the point. MacFarlane uses them simply as vessels and with the show regurgitates every pop culture childhood memory to create a full-length parody of 70s and 80s sitcoms. Even better than a parody, a satire. Just as Archie Bunker was a product of the 50s being imposed on by a changing 70s culture, "Family Guy" is about the new millennial values juxtaposed on sitcom camp of the last century. In MacFarlane's world there are child molesters on "Lost in Space" and "Eight is Enough" actually refers to disciplinary beatings.

Yes, "The Simpsons" have covered similar ground, with a particular emphasis on random flashbacks and fantasy scenes. But with "The Simpsons" in a creative tailspin for the last decade, MacFarlane and crew swoop in to fill this gaping void. To out-Simpson "The Simpsons" if you will. What MacFarlane brings to the table is pitch-perfect comic timing - an ability to know how quick to cut or how long to drag out a particular bit to get the laugh. As well as utter fearlessness. From bits in which Jesus Christ turns water "into funk" or a TV parody "Gumble 2 Gumble: Beach Justice" staring Greg and Bryant Gumble as bicycle cops, "Guy" isn't just one of the funniest things to grace TV, it was freakin' brilliant. This breaks from are more often like an animated version of "The Far Side", then "The Simpsons".

Then it was canceled only to be renewed at the 11th hour. And then it was canceled again, brought back supposedly by strong DVD sales. But given the networks ownership of the show and how Fox beat to death the equally strong "Futurama", it's hard to buy that. This constant shakeup has got to take a toll on a series' rhythm. When the show returned for a 3rd season it felt lacking of something. As if the network notes to "slow the pace", "tone down the fantasy scenes" and "thicken the story lines" were rigidly being followed when the breaking of these rules was what made the show great in the first place. Still it contained classics like "Emission: Impossible", "The Thin White Line", "Road to Rhode Island" and "Brian Wallows, Peter's Swallows" to keep us satisfied.

Upon the 2nd return, giving us seasons 4, 5 and beyond, the show has completely lost it's footing. After a LONG agonizing wait, the 4th season premiere is a disappointing "North by Northwest"/"Passion of the Christ" parody. The rest of the season follows suit in which only "PTV", the show's satire of the TV ratings system, recaptures it's prior lunacy. MacFarlane makes the crucial mistake here, actually wanting us to care about them. Given that they where envisioned as clichés in the first place, putting the weight of a story on their backs only shows how lacking the show is for character depth. Even Stewie, once a source for huge laughs, is stripped down to a single latent homosexuality joke. The show gets story heavy where it shouldn't. Slows down when it should speed up. Goes broad when it should go cult. Gets political and angry when it should be mindless escapism. "Family Guy" was about velocity, randomness and obscure 1% gags.

I won't go as far as to say that "Family Guy" beyond seasons 4 and 5 is proof that a dead show should probably remain dead. But it is proof that a show can't go through constant cancellations and reshuffling and remain intact. It also suffers from the same fate that has plagued "The Simpsons". It is full of itself. It has become lazy in a belief that it can do no wrong in the eyes of it's fans. "Family Guy", in many ways, has sold out. It isn't the acerbic TV rebel it used to be. It is now part of the system itself

"Guy's" humor has a masterful ability to appeal to "Star Trek" nerds and drunken frat boys alike. And it is hard to deny the TV geek in my doesn't flip out when they do something half of either audience won't get like weave a "Star Wars" joke into a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" reference. But the show's die-hard legions of fans (some damn near sycophantic over the show's brilliance) have allowed it to be lazy and complacent and paved the way for MacFarlane's head to slide right up his own posterior. In some ways he deserves it, the show can still be very, very funny. But the true fans out there know that it can do much, much better.

* * * ½ / 5