The Big Picture: It Seems Today ...

[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.

 

[Jumplion]

I'm sort of half and half on Family Guy. I fell out of watching it a while ago, it was decent enough for me early on but it just got way too juvenile and violent for me. Not to say I can't handle my fair share of violence and fart jokes, it's just that it got a bit much for me and just made me roll my eyes at how predictable and crass it was.

I dunno, I think I dislike it for the same reasons you like it. Over and over again, Stewie is "lol, gay", Meg transcends being a doormat to being a literal punching bag, Lois is "lol, cray cray", Peter is "lol, retard", and Chris is Chris. It's extremely repetitive and boring, and after a while it just grinds on me. Basically, [img=http://static.fjcdn.com/large/pictures/fe/0d/fe0dc9_799124.jpg]this image[/img] sums up to an extent my feelings on Family Guy.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Wait, people compare this to Jersey Shore? Seriously? I mean, Family Guy is nothing special and I lost interest in it years ago, but Jersey Shore?
Come on, at least Family Guy has real writers working for it. Nothing with real writers could possibly be as bad as Jersey Shore.

 

[Shjade]

[I do, unless he says stay tuned after the show for a special announcement (like he did a few weeks ago on Escape to the movies) and it turns ou to be the same fucking promo I'd been seeing for the past to weeks here.

Yeah, that caught me the first time. After that, though, I realized if it were REALLY a "special announcement" of the sort that he knows his audience really wants to hear, that's usually the kind of thing he puts before the show rather than after.

 

[MaxwellMouse]

I do not like Family Guy but think Brain is a well done character although he feels out of place with the rest of the show.

 

[Link Satonaka]

I recently just watched all of family guy in reverse order. It started out as, I couldn't be bothered to figure out which episodes I had seen tireless reruns of so I just started at the latest... then I had nothing better to do and went down to episode one.

The show was definitely worse at the beginning- I love the newer episodes- hilarious and entertaining. At some point around season 3 I only kept watching for the sake completion. I will say that I dislike Brian's new persona to the extent that I might think his bland "father knows best" persona of season one was preferable, however I can't deny that the best episodes tend to be the ones centered around he and stewie. So I guess I just dislike episodes *about* brian (finding love, going to college, etc), but think he makes a fantastic team with stewie.

Regarding Futurama, it definitely isn't a holy grail of any kind. Let it be known that I really love the show- it's intelligent, funny, and very subtle. Its appeal isn't something that would be immediately perceptible. At least that was true of the earlier seasons- I don't catalog in which season I think each show starts to decline, but I can tell you that the decline is largely related to the huge change in Bender's character. I can't really describe what he used to be, but now he's just a generic jerk with predictable, unfunny commentary, only occasionally remembering that he has some half assed emotional development when it's built into the ep's plot.

Last season definitely had *something* wrong with it even if I can't articulate what it was. The inconsistency of Fry and Leela's relationship is particularly annoying though- it's as if the writers are trying to have their cake and eat it too. While they're technically "together", one of two things happens in each episode: 1) Leela is on the verge of breaking up with Fry and treating him like she treated him when they weren't an item. 2) The episode plays out with no reference to their relationship at all, as if they weren't dating. At least two of my friends think that "futurama isn't as good now that Fry and Leela are together, like what happened with The Office". Except for all intents and purposes, they aren't even together. Seems like the writers are trying to please two different crowds and failing at both.

This final season isn't *bad* so far, but it feels like tribute after tribute to all the memes the show has generated (self aware in a bad way), and I wouldn't recommend any of the episodes to someone just getting into the show. A good time to end I think.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

But Bob's Burgers? Does it somehow magically turn into not shit after the first season? I just don't see the appeal there. The only source of humour seems to be people talking loudly at the same time.

Pretty much yeah. There is an episode where he drives a cab in the first season and the style of humour seems to click. If you can track down that episode and watch it. It will give a good idea of why people like it. I mean there is still people shouting but it has gotten far less obnoxious. If I was showing it to anyone for the first time. I would just skip right to that episode.

 

[Kingjackl]

This is appropriate, since I've actually just gotten back into Family Guy recently. A lot of it's really dumb comedy, but that's still funny and perfect for when you don't really have any head in you to watch something smart and just want to relax and kill some time. My favourite episodes are the Brian and Stewie high concept episodes like the 'Road to...' specials or things like 'Yug Ylimaf' and 'Back to the Pilot'.

Also, apart from a few select turds like 'Not All Dogs Go to Heaven', it's not that bad as far as left-wing soapboxing goes. These days Brian is portrayed just as pathetically as the rest of the families, only with an extra dosage of arrogant pretentiousness.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

You still like Family Guy? Hey, it's your opinion and I respect that. (I still think Peter Griffin is a complete and utter asshole, though...)

As you might have guessed, I have a bit of a... complex relationship with Family Guy. I liked the pre-cancellation episodes and some of the post-cancellation episodes... but then they started using gross-out humor and mean-spirited jokes that turned me sour on the whole thing.

I do confess I love the Star Wars parodies, and some of the "Road to..." episodes (the best of which is without a doubt "Road to the Pilot", which is a funny sendoff of the very first episode - plus I love their take on the whole cutaway gag thing - plus a surprisingly ( though possibly unintentional) dilemma.

...Not sure how the Simpsons/Family Guy crossover is going to work out, though...

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

MovieBob takes us into one of his favorite television shows.

Just wanted to give you a little support on this one, Bob.

The Simpsons wore on me. So did South Park (even though I enjoy watching new episodes of South Park, and I love the Coon episodes).

Family Guy... doesn't. I enjoy it's snark and parody - particularly the self reflection and self parody that it gets into.

And I quite agree that seeing the characters go off the rails is one of its best aspects. Dial M for Meg putting her into a place of power is absolutely wonderful and hilarious.

I haven't given much look at the spin-offs. American Dad just... didn't click for me. However, after your comments this episode, I believe I'd like to dive into the Cleveland Show and see what that cast has to offer.

Thanks!

 

[scw55]

I enjoy family guy. I don't go out of my way to watch it... but if a friend is watching it on a device near me, or it's on TV when I am watching TV; I watch it.