The Big Picture: It Seems Today ...

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I don't like Bob's Burgers...its the same joke. Things are awkward! Oh no! The best episode was when Archer was there, and did Archer related things. That was funny.
As for Family Guy...I agree. I never understood the hate. Its not that great of a show, but I always give a chuckle or two during an episode.

 

[Yuuki]

Family Guy has a ton of genuinely hilarious moments in it, although I personally have a problem with 2 things in the show:

1) I have no clue who 80% of the people/celebrities are in their references. I get they're meant to take the piss out of said person/celebrity and I can usually get what aspect they're taking the piss out of (usually a physical feature or the way they talk/move). Call me someone who lives in a cave, but yeah, I just don't know most of those people : /

2) The song'n'dance moments, primarily between Brian and Stewie. They strike me as really strange because they don't fit into the show for me, almost nothing funny ever happens in them. I like one or two (like the Dumpster Baby song), but overall I just can't stand jigs/musicals . Most Family Guy songs are really boring and feel rather out-of-place.

 

[Two Angels]

Family Guy is good background TV but Archer is better than all the named shows in this video.

 

[cyvaris]

Bob left off the real "best cancelled to soon animated show" Tron:Uprising.

 

[ColdinT]

I loved Family Guy back during it's initial run. I even liked it a bit when it returned.

But the jokes became too crude, or too mean, or just too stupid. I mean, they were making episodes that were simply not enjoyable to watch at all (which was maybe the point). Either way, I just didn't find it much funny anymore, and not worth my time watching. I personally didn't really like how some of the characters changed. Really, all of them became simply unlikeable, and going from your example of Brian, it's hard to see any redeeming qualities. Nor does he get any real character growth past the changes that revealed all these flaws.

Anyway, I don't really care if someone likes Family Guy or not. I just personally no longer find it funny or entertaining.

 

[wizzy555]

What I took away from this: People consider family guy bad and futurama good?

I think I've watched pretty much every futurama and never particularly loved it

It's clear to me now, I really don't read enough internet nonsense to be "in touch"

 

[MattValtezzy95]

I just want to respond with the episodes you said were some of the best of later day Family Guy. Though North by North Quahog and Petergeist were good, the rest I find practically unwatchable. Road to Germany was trying to be novel in the whole Stewie/Brian going on a road trip yes but there was a point in the episode where it was a blatant calling out of the McCain campaign (since the episode originally aired in 2008 when we were actually supposed to care about the guy) comparing them to Nazis by having one of the Nazi's Stewie and Brian find having a McCain/Palin button. Though I'm wasn't and not a supporter of him in anyway and I might have found it edgy when I was 13 when the episode aired, looking back now, I find it really culturally irrelevant and dated whatever political view might stand.

Next one, Brian & Stewie was just awful. It was basically the episode that made me stop watching Family Guy regularly. (Considering, with a few exceptions, I hadn't enjoyed it since the 100th episode special) I remember the hype about this one being that it was going to really flesh out the characters and have none of the usual tropes that Family Guy is synonymous with and I was curiously intrigued. But what showed was little more than a really bad take on The Breakfast Club and that's being nice. Sure The Breakfast Club still somewhat holds up to Gen-Xers, mostly for it 80's nostalgia and teens talking about their family issues but Brian & Stewie had none of that. From what I can remember, it was them admitting that they loved each other and Brian cleaning out Stewie diapers and poop before they get really weary and realize that the door was open the entire time. Ignoring that that kind of an ending is an unfathomable cop-out, the entire episode just was a poor excuse to try and add more depth to the characters resulting in making them even more unlikeable than before. Three Kings was passable at best but not memorable in the least say unlike Petergeist or North by North Quahog. To be honest I never have seen ...And Then There Were Fewer so I can't discuss its faults rather than assuming that it has some.

And for Partial Terms of Endearment, just pathetic. Yes you could say that they tried to be edgy dealing with a really hot button topic but they way they did it just seemed that they really were going for shock value and leaving funny out of the episode or trying to bring the Family Guy formula of cut-aways, obscure pop-culture references and college aged stoner/gross-out humor to a topic that it really doesn't mesh or mesh well with. (see politics & Family Guy as well) Also it must be added that the episode never or has never aired on TV where most people watch Family Guy (in rerun form) thus limiting the effect it can have. Yea sure it did ultimately did take a stand on the issue, an stand that I personally agree with, but the way they did it was really vain to say the least. They had the serious Lois monologue at the end which was leaving it ambiguous, which I was surprised with and thought that they were actually going to leave it up to the viewers to come to their own conclusions on the route they took which I thought would have been the best way to handle the ending since people of both sides could fantasize about the option they took as seeing eye to eye with the personal philosophy about the matter at hand. But they did decide to stick firm to their stand which others could see as noble as standing up for what they believe in and not giving into pressure, but the way they said it was unforgivable and cowardly to say the best. Just having Peter blurt out after the monologue saying they aborted it at the very end was probably the worst way they could have dealt with the issue. It showed a sign of cowardice towards the issue since throughout the episode, they didn't take a decisive side and the point was to try and show both sides of the issue but the stand they showed at the very end had no previous backing (say for Family Guy being a usually left/liberal show) from the episode and it seems that they were so scared of saying their stance throughout the episode that they decided to blurt it out at the very end leaving no logical steps in how they came to their conclusion.

Now there are some good post 100th episode episodes I like (such as Tales of A Third Grade Nothing, Episode 420 in some respects, and Road to the Multiverse along with their take on the original Star Wars Trilogy) and I think that the previously stated Family Guy formula (cut-aways, pop culture references, & raunchy/crass humor) works best for parodying movies and character development in their original molds [see the first 3 seasons] and the formula can work when they do try to go for controversial topics [see You May Now Kiss The Guy Who ...Uh Receives, Hell Comes to Quahog, Prick Up Your Ears, Boys Do Cry, and Episode 420 in some respects again]. But I do think that the first 5 seasons were the best and do now wish they would have gracefully ended the show with the 100th episode rather than seeing it morph into what it's become now, say for the few previously mentioned exceptions, and I don't say that as a guy who experienced the first 3 seasons as a 18 year old frat boy but as an 11 year old when I first watched it. Even when I was watching the 6th-8th seasons live going through puberty, I couldn't help but notice that much of the original Family Guy formula was thrown out and the parts that remained were ramped up extensively to make it more bloated without realizing that the parts of the original formula the writers threw out where what made it work in the first place and the ramped up remains couldn't tread water without a serious overhaul that lost what Family Guy originally was.

I also see the characters changes as negative. Peter being deemed mentally retarded, which they tried to downplay for the 4th and 5th season until they remembered they said that when they were scripting most of season 6 and onward to this very day. Lois as the subtly violent housewife to the raunchy housewife who, if she were really as smart as she comes off in later seasons, would leave Peter in a heartbeat. Chris as relatively unchanged. (which is for the best) Meg as a somewhat smart uglyish looking individual that can be relateable to just a punching bag. Stewie from a smart, calculated little genius (yes the matricide did eventually get old and they put that to rest in the 100th episode) to a constant gay joke, losing much of his original genius. And Brian who started out as the smartest of the dumb bunch but has morphed into a left/liberal douchebag (not to say that liberals are douchebags but Brian's specific characteristics/mannerisms fueled by his latent rampant left ego) who could be seen as a rallying point to liberals and a parody and joke/accusation to right/conservatives. But the overarching character development of the show is time for another rant and I'm just about out of fuel now. Thank you anyone who read this entire thing and if you want, respond. I'm always game for discussing Family Guy. Cheers.

 

[McMarbles]

Bobs' Burgers is the only funny thing left on Sunday nights, with the Simpsons' deterioration, American Dad's descent into vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity, Cleveland's mediocrity, and Family Guy's being... Family Guy. So while My respect has dipped, it's not gone.

*j/k. I'm not that guy.

 

[Baresark]

What a world we live in. A world where people have to justify their like of a show like Family Guy. I'll say what I always say in this situation: If you don't like it, it's clearly not meant to appeal to you. It's that easy. I like things that I subjectively should not like. We all have something like that. I also feel that there was this large pushback for the popularity when "bro culture" got a firm grasp on this show and touted it's funny and smart writing.

 

[Shjade]

The promos for your book piss me off way more then you being a fan of Family Guy.

The promos for his book which he doesn't mention until after the entire episode and the credits have finished?

Why don't you just stop the video when you're done watching it instead of letting the video keep going so you can act pissed about the ad you know will be at the end of it? You know, like a sensible person.

On topic: Family Guy's okay. The first couple of seasons are pretty terrible, but once the show hits its stride it has semi-consistently funny moments. I haven't watched it in ages because I just got tired of it, but then, I don't really watch shows like this (Futurama, South Park, etc.) in general these days. Just kinda not something that holds my interest.

 

[Clunks]

Personally I find most episodes of Family Guy will make me laugh a couple of times, but rarely stay with me. In all fairness, though, this might be because the structure of the show and its reliance on cutaway gags and oddball flights of fancy gives it more the feel of a sketch show than a sitcom. I've seen episodes that completely ignore said structure, though, so perhaps it's time I got back into the habit of watching it regularly.

Glad to see Bob's Burgers getting some love. Of all the recent animated comedy contenders, I feel like it's the one that most deserves to be celebrated. It was always hilarious, and that last season in particular felt like they'd struck the perfect balance of strange but relatable, tangential but focused, weird but coherent and yes, still hilarious. I'd rank it up there with any sitcom you care to name.

Still haven't watched any Adventure Time, though, so maybe it's time I did just that.

 

[Stabby Joe]

I actually haven't caught wind of this greater sense of hatred for the show that Bob mentions, but then again I tend to not dwell on the opinions of others or go out of my way to know everyone's online.

I think Family Guy now is fine, there are greater episodes, but for the most part is fine. I actually enjoy American Dad much more and have enjoyed the newer episodes than it's brethren. As for other animated TV, South Park is also still great but the Simpsons I made peace with and said good bye long time ago.

 

[TotalerKrieger]

Family Guy regularly outshines all other animated comedies mentioned in this video. The Simpsons will always be a classic, but the writing in recent seasons has been really subpar. South Park seems to wax and wane in quality, being outrageously hilarious some episodes while being overly cynical or bitchy other episodes. The Cleveland Show was just dull and boring far too often...it deserved to be canceled. American Dad could potentially be better than Family Guy, but too many storylines and jokes fall flat. However, American Dad's characters are usually a bit more interesting than the cast of Family Guy. I've always found Futurama just good but rarely great. I've not seen enough of Bob's Burgers to comment, this may change in the near future as so many people seem to love it.

I'm a little disappointed that Archer was not even mentioned. I would consider it the best animated comedy on television. Any show that features radical Nova Scotian separatists (voiced by the Trailer Park Boys no less) who have blown up a Tim Hortons is pretty fucking awesome. Seriously though, the characters, the jokes, the storylines, the animation itself, have been consistently top-notch for four seasons.

 

[person427]

The internet says that McFarlane is satan? What? He's bringing back Cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson, how is he not considered a hero for that alone?

 

[Vinge]

Mention of Bob's burgers, which is a great show, but no mention of Archer? Man I adore Archer. I can't get enough of it.

Family guy is funny, but I feel like too many people feel like it's humor speaks to the common denominator, and thus they want to claim to be above it. Family guy can be hit or miss, but it isn't worth feeling guilty over enjoying it just because the internet says so.

 

[l0lwut]

First, the cutaway humor that McFarlane uses IS ALL ABOUT PACE! (...) It was a god damn joke from a god damned joke show, and even the creators of the show said so. Do I think either Matt or Trey seriously meant that Family Guy was very random? Yes, because it is. Random DOES NOT MEAN BAD!!!

There's no need to go all militant here. Many people who don't like the show, myself included, have perfectly fine reasons going for them, not just because South Park said so. Rambling about matinee-jokes doesn't help your point any.

I do want to point out that the "random" style of comedy people seem to like (and not just talking about FG here, there are way worse offenders on the air) is just slapping references and semi-jokes on a next-to-nonexistent plot. It seems to amount to nothing more than trying to get a chuckle out of people familiar with the source material, and I could do without. To me the cutaways like used in FG are breaking the flow of the story and seem to only be there to insert interchangable gags, about as entertaining as the average commercial break.

 

[danimal1384]

Alright Bob... I won't come at you, but I will simply throw my two cents into the pot. Personally, I am not a fan of Family Guy. I used to be, but not anymore. I'm also not a fan of American Dad or Cleveland Show either. The reason why is rather simple. I am not a fan of Seth's personal brand of humor.

To be fair, I hadn't really thought about the characters as actual characters until watching this Big Picture; and I must admit that after hearing what you have to say, I'll own the fact that I might have been a bit too critical of the show. That being said, I'm still not a fan. I was never a fan of Beavis and Butthead either, which I know sounds like blasphemy. But that is a whole other topic.

What I don't like about Seth McFarlene's creations is the delivery of his humor. I HATE jokes that go on for far too long (i.e. the skinned knee bit). I understand that the point of that kind of a joke is that it's supposed to be funny BECAUSE it goes on for far too long. But I just don't find it funny. I also don't like jokes or pop culture references just being there for the sake of the joke. To me, there are too many non-sequitur moments, and they usually go on for too long for my taste. I feel like all too often, the "plot" of the episode is just a vehicle for these prolonged moments, rather than being an amusing by-product or happenstance of said plot. And I personally just don't go for that kind of setup.

This is all just my personal opinion of course. I don't care if other people like or love Family Guy, it's just not for me, and I don't enjoy watching it.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Eh. I'm not gonna come at you, bro, but I can say that the early episodes of Family Guy have cast a less appealing shadow over the rest of it. American Dad is already better in most ways than Family Guy, but it's the way McFarlane handles some of his topics that gives me pause. I don't mind it as a comedy piece, but any time it's trying to say something, I feel like I'm both being preached at and chastised, even if I'm of the same opinion of the "good" result in the show. But it's not bad, just...abrasive. And it did certainly get better, as almost every show has as the actors and writers found their footing.