I've never really understood comedy quality arguments simply because comedy is similar to music in that there are multiple styles that some will like and others will heavily dislike.
The Big Picture: It Seems Today ...
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Yay to the Bob's Burgers shout out. I suspected Bob was a fan after he showed a still in his Lone Ranger review in regards to the antagonist being a cannibal. It really is the best thing on Fox's Sunday night lineup and looks to only be getting better as the show doesn't have to constantly worry about getting cancelled.
I loved Family Guy up until probably about 2011 or so. Current Family Guy, however, just kind of seems like it has run out of ideas and now relies more on trying to get shock laughs. And the reoccurring joke of how gross and freakish transsexuals are is far more offensive than funny to me
As for Adventure Time, I've watched at least a dozen episodes and am still trying to figure out why everyone is obsessed with it.
As for Adventure Time, I've watched at least a dozen episodes and am still trying to figure out why everyone is obsessed with it.
I still love Family Guy. Not the re-reruns of season 1 on TBS, the series as it exists on Fox. I conversely hate Bobs Burgers and its time slot between two shows I actually will watch when football isn't on. I really wish people would stop being trendy and getting all panties in a bunch when someone likes a stupid show like Family Guy. It's not that serious and it was never intended to be.
I must be getting old. I thought everybody on the Internet loved Family Guy and I was in the shunned minority.
That said (rather, implied), I don't think the show is a piece of junk or that its creator has no talent. I think the show is well made by talented people. I just don't like it. It's too cynical and bleak and grimly depressing behind the veneer of humor. That laugh from Peter that the video leads in with pretty much sums up what I feel is going on any time I watch an episode. Same goes for American Dad. Can't speak to The Cleveland Show as I've never watched it.
--Morology!
That said (rather, implied), I don't think the show is a piece of junk or that its creator has no talent. I think the show is well made by talented people. I just don't like it. It's too cynical and bleak and grimly depressing behind the veneer of humor. That laugh from Peter that the video leads in with pretty much sums up what I feel is going on any time I watch an episode. Same goes for American Dad. Can't speak to The Cleveland Show as I've never watched it.
--Morology!
No. I don't claim it isn't funny or clever but it's far too one-dimensional. And if you can't get into that dimension then you can't enjoy it. I also have a hard time believing any non-Americans can possibly enjoy the show, let alone understand half the jokes.Ishal said:
That said, maybe it has some kind of higher meaning. The way all the characters are constantly babbling, every character's world is inside a bubble of entertainment culture and their blindness to anything outside that probably says something about the modern world, the creators or the audience who watches it.
My main problem with Family Guy: It's not funny in its writing. When I watched it, I found myself laughing in spite of myself. I realized it was because the show is visually funny. Yes, there's such a thing. Walt Disney used to hold test screenings of his cartoons without sound to make sure that they were visually funny. Look at the spastic, jerky style of Family Guy's animation. It's designed to make you laugh just by watching it, and that makes me hate it even more.
And I might be inclined to give the post-cancellation show a chance, except for several things.
1. Bob, you liked The Hangover. Hell, you loved The Hangover. When I saw it, it was definitely a set of the worst 90 minutes of my life and thinking about it still makes me bitter.
2. Your butt-hurting over Star Trek: Into Darkness and ignoring/insulting what made it good made me lose faith in your ability to objectively critique. I'm convinced that your opinions are ruled by your nostalgia.
3. All the traits of the director's works that you listed are unappealing or disgusting to me.
Also, before watching this I was simply uninclined to watch Bob's Burgers. Now I'm going to try not to.
And I might be inclined to give the post-cancellation show a chance, except for several things.
1. Bob, you liked The Hangover. Hell, you loved The Hangover. When I saw it, it was definitely a set of the worst 90 minutes of my life and thinking about it still makes me bitter.
2. Your butt-hurting over Star Trek: Into Darkness and ignoring/insulting what made it good made me lose faith in your ability to objectively critique. I'm convinced that your opinions are ruled by your nostalgia.
3. All the traits of the director's works that you listed are unappealing or disgusting to me.
Also, before watching this I was simply uninclined to watch Bob's Burgers. Now I'm going to try not to.
Family Guy can definitely be funny, just like that clip you put at the beginning, but I get really tired of Seth just soap boxing. Especially when he makes the issues so simple as to insult both sides debating them.
No problems here. I like Family Guy just fine and I agree with the idea that the show got a lot better after it was cancelled.
Much like The Simpsons, Robot Chicken and King of the Hill the early seasons have become virtually unwatchable as the show settled into it's groove and cut a lot of the fat that was dragging it down. At this point if I happen to be watching TV when it comes on and the theme song reveals it to be from the "peanut head meg" era of the show (Meg's portrait in the background becomes more defined as the show progresses.)
I'll usually just flip on the PS3 and watch Netflix instead...usually Bob's Burgers if I'm being perfectly honest.
As was said in the video, there are better shows out there, but family guy is fun and I rarely regret watching the new episodes as they come out.
Much like The Simpsons, Robot Chicken and King of the Hill the early seasons have become virtually unwatchable as the show settled into it's groove and cut a lot of the fat that was dragging it down. At this point if I happen to be watching TV when it comes on and the theme song reveals it to be from the "peanut head meg" era of the show (Meg's portrait in the background becomes more defined as the show progresses.)
I'll usually just flip on the PS3 and watch Netflix instead...usually Bob's Burgers if I'm being perfectly honest.
As was said in the video, there are better shows out there, but family guy is fun and I rarely regret watching the new episodes as they come out.
My reasoning behind my partial contempt for Family Guy is exemplified by the first clip you showed, Bob: a joke or cliche moment that is drawn out past being funny and into being disturbing. I, for one, don't mind you liking the show at all. I think it's alright, though moments like that laughing clip and Peter breaking his knee and moaning for a minute act as cracks in the window for the finely decorated house this show metaphorically is.
I never really got all the you must hate Family Guy if you want to be cool. Yea the show got a bit of a rocky start with it just being a retread of other shows and characters but after it took off on it's own direction they did some really entertaining episodes. I like that show is brave enough to throw out something absurd in the hopes someone will get it instead of always playing it safe.
Can't really say I'll be sad to see the Cleavland Show end. Between the Cleavland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad it felt like they were often having to use the same jokes too often. Cutting down from three shows to just two should make things even better.
Can't really say I'll be sad to see the Cleavland Show end. Between the Cleavland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad it felt like they were often having to use the same jokes too often. Cutting down from three shows to just two should make things even better.
There is something about Family Guy I kinda just don't get. Just *something*. It's ... not funny.
I adore the shit out of American Dad. I think it's infinitely clever (because sometimes it totally isn't) and the outrageousness is just right.
What.
I adore the shit out of American Dad. I think it's infinitely clever (because sometimes it totally isn't) and the outrageousness is just right.
What.
Well... Family Guy simply isn't funny to me most of the time. I haven't watched it in a year or two, but the reason I stopped watching it was that I realized I'm not so much watching as I am staring blankly into the screen. It doesn't engage me at all, and only very few of the jokes make me smile. Then you get those episodes where Peter goes "aaaaaah" after hurting his knee, and it goes on miles further than the point where it stopped being funny at any level. Not to mention those music video by some country singer I don't know who is, that they play in their entirety!
I haven't noticed liking Family Guy is a tabu or anything, but then I'm not the most active around the interwebs =p.
I haven't noticed liking Family Guy is a tabu or anything, but then I'm not the most active around the interwebs =p.
I actually don't like much of it past Season 3, but that's just me. I think Family Guy dropped off about the same time that American Dad started to pick up oddly enough. Though I wonder, what're your thoughts on Venture Bros.? Have you ever had the chance to see it? Despite being a pseudo cult hit, many people (myself included) consider it the current kingpin of western animation.
For me, Family Guy consists of nothing but overly long cutaway gags that are supposed to be funny because of how random they are and pop culture references. Remember Atari? Doesn't that one celebrity look really odd? Neither of which are very funny, especially after seeing it a number of times. and show just how lazy the writers have become. I could care less for whatever political message Seth wants to shove down my throat.
I understand what Family guy was going for but felt the "Lowest Common Denominator" approach to be a bit of a mess. If the show actually had some subtly I could get behind it but since it insists on slamming you over the head with all its jokes and references it just becomes exhausting; Guys it's OK if a joke misses for a little but later makes sense when you think about it. That's smart comedy. Don't drag out the joke or go into detail explaining it.
On the subject of reference humor: Just acknowledging something exists doesn't count as a joke. You need to poke fun at the smaller pieces rather than say "Hey Street Fighter is a thing, let's just redo a Street Fighter fight completely straight but use our characters without any joke other than it being recognizable".
Oh, rant continuing: Repetitive jokes. Hey here's a celebrity. How can we make fun of them? How about we give them a huge body part. There, Done!
On the subject of reference humor: Just acknowledging something exists doesn't count as a joke. You need to poke fun at the smaller pieces rather than say "Hey Street Fighter is a thing, let's just redo a Street Fighter fight completely straight but use our characters without any joke other than it being recognizable".
Oh, rant continuing: Repetitive jokes. Hey here's a celebrity. How can we make fun of them? How about we give them a huge body part. There, Done!
I've always assumed that some people hate Family Guy because it's appealing to some awful, dumb people. Like, in the vid, how he mentioned the first 3 seasons being required frat, dude-bro viewing. My 17-year-old brother likes Family Guy, and that makes me think I'm doing something wrong when I enjoy it.
Anyway, this isn't really a problem because I think the show works on multiple levels. Like, the Meg-is-ugly jokes, for example. I've always thought they were funny because they were riffing on how Tracy Gold's character was treated on Growing Pains, or similar characters. Also, just because they're over the top. I'm guessing that some people think it is funny because making fun of "ugly people" is hilarious. If my main exposure to Family Guy was seeing it while being around those people, then I'd develop a dislike of the show pretty quickly.
Anyway, this isn't really a problem because I think the show works on multiple levels. Like, the Meg-is-ugly jokes, for example. I've always thought they were funny because they were riffing on how Tracy Gold's character was treated on Growing Pains, or similar characters. Also, just because they're over the top. I'm guessing that some people think it is funny because making fun of "ugly people" is hilarious. If my main exposure to Family Guy was seeing it while being around those people, then I'd develop a dislike of the show pretty quickly.