At Least It Doesn't Suck As Much As The Cleveland Show: FAMILY GUY!

[Reply #120 on:]

I sort of agree with you. I mean... I would have quite liked the episode if they hadn't retconned everything at the end, so I think we're on moreorless the same wavelength even though I didn't like it.

[Reply #121 on:]

I sort of agree with you. I mean... I would have quite liked the episode if they hadn't retconned everything at the end, so I think we're on moreorless the same wavelength even though I didn't like it.

If I'm honest I didn't think much of it either.  Except for Meg ripping Lois to shreds (which was made even more awesome because Lois only got it after she kept winding up an already angry and unhappy Meg, and then she got what was coming to her), I felt pretty cheated.

On the other hand as shitty as the ending was, it did say a lot about Meg, and it is quite nice to see how she evolved from a whiny, neurotic brat into the one who is literally willing to absorb all her family's nastiness and cruelty so they can be happy.   The reason was incredibly stupid and contrived, but it just added another layer to Meg's personality (apart from Brian, Meg seems to be the only decent person in her fucked up family now). 

On the other hand, not only does this reset button slam ANY chance of Meg ever being treated decently, it also means she can't ever defend herself from their cruelty ever again.  Meg's ways of getting back at her family were becoming more frequent and were pretty cool (from her roaring rampage in Dial Meg for Murder, to wiping the smirk off Lois's face by preparing a gourmet meal and cleaning the house in a fraction of the time Lois cleans it), but now that she won't even have those anymore.  Not only have they reset status quo, but it's even further then before, since Meg now has to shut up and absorb all her family's crap, and now has lost any means of defending herself.  They've taken her teeth out.  It's just annoying that Meg was shaping up to be an interesting character, and for some reason they want to use her as a device for firing off jokes that have gotten old.

Lazy writing is lazy.

[Reply #122 on:]

I totally agree, I liked this episode for Meg finally getting back at the family for all the crap she's put up with.  I also loved that episode where she goes to jail, then comes back and beat the shit out of Peter.  However, I feel cheated at the end where everything goes back to normal and it's like this never happened.  Brian on mushrooms was pointless and stupid, so know he does mushrooms?  I thought he only smoke pot.

I'm really starting to hate the characters, except for Meg and Quagmire.  I'm bored with the subplots of Stewie and Brian, except for the Road to episodes.  In fact, I totally forget certain episodes now.  When you look back at Season 3 before it first got cancelled, the characters have just become total assholes.  The Simpsons have slowly become that, but the difference is that by the end of the day, you know the Simpsons love each as a family, but Family Guy I don't sense that.  The Griffins like hating on each other, they're too dysfunctional.  I mean the Bundys from Married with children, they were dysfunctional, but not to this extreme where it's not funny just much for shock value.  I totally think Seth MacFarlene doesn't give a shit about the quality because he knows we are going to watch it anyway.  He can have the first 5 minutes of an episode just show a pile of shit and he'll not apologize for that because we'll tune in next week either way.  He now runs three shows, each one pretty much the same in different degrees and he's doing a fourth show now that he's remaking the Flintstones.

TV has gone to hell.  When South Park did that episode where they hit the reset button, at least it was entertaining and showed character growth in Stan.

[Reply #123 on:]

  Brian on mushrooms was pointless and stupid, so k now he does mushrooms?  I thought he only smoked pot.

[Reply #124 on:]

Brian on mushrooms was pointless and stupid, so know he does mushrooms?  I thought he only smoke pot.

It was pointless, but it was completely in character. He's been shown to be a big fan of substance abuse in general - being a borderline alcoholic at times, getting addicted to coke and so forth. It's exactly the sort of thing I'd expect him to dabble in every now and then.

I'm really starting to hate the characters, except for Meg and Quagmire.

I can see where you're coming from, but you're talking about because they're not nice people, right? How then, can you enjoy Quagmire who's a necrophiliac, incestuous rapist and serial womaniser?

I'm bored with the subplots of Stewie and Brian, except for the Road to episodes.

I disagree about this. I still love the Stewie and Brian dynamic. 'The Big Bang Theory' was a pretty good episode and made good use of it.

I mean the Bundys from Married with children, they were dysfunctional, but not to this extreme where it's not funny

You're right, they were just not funny to begin with.

[Reply #125 on:]

I believe where FryFanSpyOrama is going with the Quagmire thing is that while yes he is the horrible person they really developed his character that sharply contrast with the kind of person that we know him for. He takes care of his niece, his sister who is beaten by her boyfriend, he's smart and can be really articulate when he wants to be. I like him and Joe, I think they've become really well rounded characters as the show has gone on.

The Brian and Stewie relationship is ok. I loved it when they hated each other, this friendship they have kind of disappoints me because I much preferred it when it was Peter and Brian. But I do think that they're the best characters on the show. I'm just sad to see how Peter and Brian's friendship has pretty much disappeared.

[Reply #126 on:]

These things you call "developed character" I would call jokes which derive their humor from the incongruity of it coming from a character who has demonstrated himself repeatedly to be both a rapist and a pedophile.

[Reply #127 on:]

Yeah well Quagmire gained my sympathy when Peter maliciously murdered his cat. I'm not saying he's a good person or anything I just think he can be an interesting character at times.

[Reply #128 on:]

There is much incongruity in many personalities in the real world, too.  I'm sure we could all think of some very striking examples throughout history.  Hell, we don't even have to leave PEEL!

[Reply #129 on:]

It is kind of funny that Quagmire is the only character in the entire street/town/country/planet/universe/multiverse who consistently treats Meg like a human being.  Even Brian is pretty nasty to Meg when he feels like it.  (Sure she became pretty annoying on the religious episode, but you really can't blame her for turning to religion, considering how awfully she is treated most of the time by her family.  Hell there wasn't a single universe in the whole multiverse where she is happy.  Even drop dead gorgeous Mila Kunis with Glasses Meg in the utopian universe is considered ugly.  Brian still tore apart and smashed the only thing she had left to hold on to.)

So I quite like how Quagmire is actually pretty nice to Meg.  Quagmire is a horrible person, but there is something rather touching that he is actually nice to her when he talks to her.  Lois is still treated like the "down to earth loving mother" when her psychological and mental torture of Meg is far more disturbing then Peter's physical abuse.    Peter is too retarded to really know any better and treats everyone equally shittily, while Lois's abuse is carefully planned and calculated for maximum devastation.    She comes off as a complete Mary Sue sometimes in that no one calls her out for her horrible behaviour since she's often just as bad as Peter if not worse.

Character wise, I really dislike Peter.  I normally enjoy Brian and Stewie episodes, since they are the best characters, so it makes sense that most plots would involve them.  I also think Meg has a LOT of potential (and it's rather interesting that she's actually become possibly the most caring and compassionate member of the family, somewhat like Leela's lonely childhood made her into the woman she is today.)   Peter I never liked to begin with.  I always thought of him as a fatter, more disgusting Homer Simpson minus any of Homer's charm, and whatever likability he had has been gone years and years ago.  I would actually like the show much better without him.  He's like an animated Chris Chan, minus the unintentional hilarity.

[Reply #130 on:]

Truth

[Reply #131 on:]

I'd love for the show to end if it meant a movie every few years. It'd also mean that 'American Dad!' will probably last longer because Fox will have one less franchise to milk so they'll cling to what they've got.

[Reply #132 on:]

American Dad is the show he should be focusing on anyway. It is weird to think about Family Guy being off the air though. Like The Simpsons, I'm just used to watching new episodes and being disappointed.

[Reply #133 on:]

Spacedal11- That's one of the reasons why I like Quagmire as well.  He may have sex with a whole bunch of women, but he's a decent guy.  Though Quagmire admits that marriage is a bond that he's not ready for.  Brian is messed up.  When he dated that old chick and he wanted to marry her, he screws some young chick on the side and tries to rationalize it by saying he needed to prove he wanted the old lady.  I think Quagmire summed up my feelings for Brian when he told him why he hates him.  Grant Quagmire also hit on Lois, at least he didn't do it when he had to live at the Griffins.  Brian lives with Peter and free loads and him hitting on Lois is insult to injury.

In fact Family Guy shows that maybe Lois would be happier with Quagmire.  Peter treats her like crap and remember when she was married with Brian, she didn't even want to have sex with him.  When Peter screwed up history and Quagmire was married to Lois, she seemed more happier since they had Chris, Meg and Stewie.

Quagmire despite his flaws is perhaps the most decent character other then Meg on the show, I just hope Seth doesn't decide one day to mess that up.

[Reply #134 on:]

You're sort of ignoring how he's a rapist.

[Reply #135 on:]

Family Guy was best in the original run, and their last good episode in my opinion was the bank vault and murder mystery one. To be fair, the only two characters I like now are Brian and Stewie, and not surprisingly, the best episodes of the new run have them as the protagonists (Road To The North Pole and Road To The Multiverse). The one with the Quagmire rant was pretty epic too. Family Guy still can pull off the occassional good episode in small bursts though, unlike The Cleveland Show.

[Reply #136 on:]

The Bank Vault episode was awful.

[Reply #137 on:]

I liked it ...

[Reply #138 on:]

I respect it for trying something new, it just didn't work.

At all.

[Reply #139 on:]

You're sort of ignoring how he's a rapist.

I have this to ask, has everyone ever seen Quagmire actually rape a woman?  I mean sure he's talked about doing it, but has he actual done it on the show?  I seen his rape machines, but the joke was either Peter or Brian falling victim to them. 

I recently saw an old episode where Peter mentors Cleveland Jr, at golf and Quagmire decides to mentor Chris out of the goodness of his heart.

loved last night's episode, where Quagmire protects his sister.

[Reply #140 on:]

There was that episode where he took part in The Bachelor as was about to date-rape a girl before realising that a camera was on him.

And yeah, last night's episode was great. Best episode of the show in a long while.

[Reply #141 on:]

Hehe... "Now I feel like killing someone else! ...Oooh, Mort!"

[Reply #142 on:]

I find it funny that they've made Quagmire a man who seems to intellectually respect women and yet at the same time is ok with rape and possibly having sex with his own daughter...

[Reply #143 on:]

I think he articulated his position quite well in that episode where Brian tries to find out why Quagmire hates him.

[Reply #144 on:]

His mind is just a slave to his overactive, hormone-soaked limbic system.

[Reply #145 on:]

I thought it was an allright episode...

But it just felt too After School Special.  American Dad already did a Domestic Violence episode and played with all the cliches in hallmark tv movies, but this episode just played them all straight but didn't have any humor in them, unlike Hurricane! in American Dad which did a fantastic job of mixing humor and genuine drama.

It was basically Made for Tv Movie = but Animated!

I can see your point FryFan, but Quagmire is a complete hypocrite.  He really can't talk about Brian trying to seduce Lois, when Quagmire is a hundred times more creepy and aggressive about trying to steal his best friend's wife.  He Plus Brian has a point: he genuinely loves Lois, and it must be pretty frustrating to see Peter treat her like dirt all the time.  Unlike Quagmire who in the past has stalked her and spied on her in the john, and has stolen her hair to make a sex doll.  The speech was apt, but it comes wrong from Quagmire who is no better then Brian in every criticism (how's that daughter you didn't even try to raise?).  It would have been MUCH better coming from someone like Cleveland (before he started becoming an asshole in his show.  I liked him so much better when he was sweet, easy going Cleveland.)  You are right though, aside from the fact that he's a rapist, he actually has moments of kindness towards Meg.  Which is more then her sociopath mother has ever done.    Lois is still treated like the down to earth saint she was in the early episodes, when nowadays she's more or less a sociopath (I would say splitting your baby son's head open and trying to blame a neighbour, or telling your daughter to kill herself means she won't be winning Mother of the Year anytime soon.)  

One thing I will say: Seth McFarlane has one of the most genuinely sexy voices ever.   It's like a buttery molasses baritone.  Yum

[Reply #146 on:]

There was that episode where he took part in The Bachelor as was about to date-rape a girl before realising that a camera was on him.

And yeah, last night's episode was great. Best episode of the show in a long while.

Yet he was unsuccessful, I'm talking him actually successfully raping a woman, without an implied joke.  Also that woman turned out to be a b!@#$ for basically fooling with Brian's emotion when the reality show was over.

I thought it was an allright episode...

But it just felt too After School Special.  American Dad already did a Domestic Violence episode and played with all the cliches in hallmark tv movies, but this episode just played them all straight but didn't have any humor in them, unlike Hurricane! in American Dad which did a fantastic job of mixing humor and genuine drama.

It was basically Made for Tv Movie = but Animated!

I can see your point FryFan, but Quagmire is a complete hypocrite.  He really can't talk about Brian trying to seduce Lois, when Quagmire is a hundred times more creepy and aggressive about trying to steal his best friend's wife.  He Plus Brian has a point: he genuinely loves Lois, and it must be pretty frustrating to see Peter treat her like dirt all the time.  Unlike Quagmire who in the past has stalked her and spied on her in the john, and has stolen her hair to make a sex doll.  The speech was apt, but it comes wrong from Quagmire who is no better then Brian in every criticism (how's that daughter you didn't even try to raise?).  It would have been MUCH better coming from someone like Cleveland (before he started becoming an asshole in his show.  I liked him so much better when he was sweet, easy going Cleveland.)  You are right though, aside from the fact that he's a rapist, he actually has moments of kindness towards Meg.  Which is more then her sociopath mother has ever done.    Lois is still treated like the down to earth saint she was in the early episodes, when nowadays she's more or less a sociopath (I would say splitting your baby son's head open and trying to blame a neighbour, or telling your daughter to kill herself means she won't be winning Mother of the Year anytime soon.) 

One thing I will say: Seth McFarlane has one of the most genuinely sexy voices ever.   It's like a buttery molasses baritone.  Yum

Granted Quagmire's no saint, and he has hit on Lois, but the difference is because Brian lives with the Griffins and is a freeloader, and it's adding insult when Brian hits on Lois as what Quagmire states as one of the reasons why he hates Brian.  Also, it seems Peter has no problem when Quagmire does that, like when Quagmire tried to see Lois pee--that is just wrong--stating clearly Quagmire finds lois attractive, but Peter throws a fit when Brian hits on Lois when they went to Mass.  Also Quagmire hasn't done that in a long while, probably because when he slept with Cleveland's first wife that ruined his marriage and I guess Quag wouldn't want to do it again.  He did slept with Bonnie, but she's slept with other guys since Joe is paralyzed from the waist down.  Quag did give his daughter to loving parents, while Brian just sort of forgot after his son left to help his mom.

[Reply #147 on:]

Quagmire also said that he would be up to sleeping with his daughter when she turns 18.

[Reply #148 on:]

There was that episode where he took part in The Bachelor as was about to date-rape a girl before realising that a camera was on him.

And yeah, last night's episode was great. Best episode of the show in a long while.

Yet he was unsuccessful, I'm talking him actually successfully raping a woman, without an implied joke.  Also that woman turned out to be a b!@#$ for basically fooling with Brian's emotion when the reality show was over.

He clearly would have done if he hadn't been caught in the act and the implication was that he's done it in the past, too.

And what are you trying to say? That if a woman behaves like a bitch she deserves to be raped?

[Reply #149 on:]

There was that episode where he took part in The Bachelor as was about to date-rape a girl before realising that a camera was on him.

And yeah, last night's episode was great. Best episode of the show in a long while.

Yet he was unsuccessful, I'm talking him actually successfully raping a woman, without an implied joke.  Also that woman turned out to be a b!@#$ for basically fooling with Brian's emotion when the reality show was over.

He clearly would have done if he hadn't been caught in the act and the implication was that he's done it in the past, too.

And what are you trying to say? That if a woman behaves like a bitch she deserves to be raped?

Of course not, rape is messed up, but she was a b!@#$ and I wouldn't feel that sorry of her, like I felt sorry for that woman who was raped and Joe blackmailed her to vote for Lois or when that woman was raped in that Aquaman cut away joke.  I'm just saying despite all of Quagmire's flaws, I'd rather be friends with him they with either Peter or Brian, since both their flaws are just right in you face, while Quagmire's flaws, despite being a little messed up--are more subtle and more tolerable.

[Reply #150 on:]

Today's episode... was actually really funny.  

The only way this could get any weirder is if the American Dad I'm about to watch was terrible... or weirder yet the Cleveland Show was actually hysterical.

The main plot was actually rather weak and rather convulated... but the jokes and one liners (and yes even the cut aways) were so funny I could overlook the weak plots.    There were actually so many great one liners that it was hard to keep track of them all (there were more lines that made me laugh in this one episode then there have been in the entire last season).  

I was sorry Consuela got shot in the foot (I think part of her character is that she is invincibile despite pissing everyone around her off and she is unphased by everything) but let's face it, she has been asking for it a long time.  I think the Quincinera could have been its own episode though, there was a lot of potential.    And lots of manservice too, though I can't imagine why anyone would ever be attracted to Peter.  Ever.  I mean, seriously, EVER.

So yeah 8/10.  Could have been a 9 or a 10 if the plot was as strong as the dialogue.

[Reply #151 on:]

I thought it was quite weak, certainly a step down from last week's.

It had a few great moments, but that wasn't enough to make the episode. I also wasn't too impressed with American Dad although it wasn't bad.

Still, I cannot wait for next week's Family Guy episode 'Road to the Pilot' in which Brian and Stewie go back in time to the pilot episode - complete with crude animation and voices. It had potential to be incredible.

[Reply #152 on:]

Really?  I thought last week's was dire.  It was basically an animated Made for Tv movie.   If it was done with real actors on the Hallmark channel no one would be giving it a second look.

I wasn't impressed with American's dad, I would say it's a solid episode but one of the less memorable ones.

[Reply #153 on:]

I think last week's was good but not great. The story was compelling enough to sit through even if it did nothing particularly interesting or new and whilst it had less jokes than usual, I'd say the ones it did had, had a better hit-ratio so the episode was still as funny as your average episode nowadays. Plus I always love it when I see a well-directed Family Guy episode instead of the same 45-degree angled stuff every single shot.

[Reply #154 on:]

The only joke I enjoyed from last week's episode was when Peter says to Joe that they should get dinner some time and Joe says he would like that very much. I don't know why I just thought it was a funny exchange. There was a theme with this week's shows (that being AD, FG, and The Simpsons), the theme being: Wait...what? American Dad was the strangest in my opinion I think I actually liked the Family Guy episode more. But all of these shows were just so freaking random. The Simpsons was boring and I'm sad at the waste of Ryan Reynolds' role, they could have done something a lot more interesting.

[Reply #155 on:]

I heard that Ryan Reynolds was going to become obsessed with Peter.

I was hoping that he'd become absolutely fascinated with him as a character and sort of enjoy him like the audience enjoys the show, if you get me. All very meta. Maybe seeing through him somewhat like Frank Grimes did with Homer Simpson.

Instead he just had gay feelings for him which wasn't as interesting or clever or even funny as the story I'd created in my head, so I was sorely disappointed by it all.

[Reply #156 on:]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S1Gdfg6_pY&feature=feedu
This looks promising.

[Reply #157 on:]

Most of that was just old clips and not revealing very much, however I am intrigued by the episode so I'll watch anyway.

[Reply #158 on:]

I love Stewies line about Megs old voice actress

[Reply #159 on:]

The few new clips in there all looked fantastic. The jokes were funny and the other stuff looked so bizarre that I feel glad to have been as excited for this episode as I was.