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

[Reply #200 on:]

Does American Dad have its own thread yet?

Anyway.  American Dad was good, but kinda... meh.  I enjoyed it, but I would say its the worst of the new season which has had some pretty fantastic episodes.  Both ideas were pretty solid (though I think the former was close to an idea for an episode I had a while ago) but not enough was made of them, Roger's B Plot especially, which was pretty predictable.  Even though Roger was brutally murdering five kids for skimping out on 20 dollars when he had stolen a limo himself (I also thought Roger's hypocrisy would have been funny if it had been pointed out, like Klaus saying, "These kids stole twenty bucks.  YOU STOLE A LIMO"), it felt pretty restrained and Roger wasn't really the live wire he normally is (there weren't any really funny quips, it felt like the writers were just putting him through the motions.  Because you know, Roger is a murderous sociopath who has ruined lives/killed people over petty and unimportant things, or for behaviour he exhibits himself.  Roger has put more drama into buying cigarettes then he did when he was killing five young men.)  The only part that made me laugh was Roger coldly murdering the innocent stewerdess, but even then it was pretty obvious what was going to happen.  The b plot felt more like watching an episode pitch/animated first draft of a script then a finished story.

As for the Family Guy... that was pretty intense.  It wasn't anywhere as preachy as normal Family Guy Preachathons get, and actually did show both sides of the spectrum very well (as said by Ida).   I also thought there were some pretty great lines in this episode such as Lois coldly stating to Ida "You may use the yard." (Lois's most memorable lines this episode was when we started to see the bitch in sheep's clothing she really is.  My other favorite line was her telling her mother "No Mom that's the stuffing.  Put your glasses on before you run over another black guy." Pretty good episode, but I'm going to need some time to digest it.

On a side note, I thought the shot of Meg playing with Susie was really cute.  Also, can they do something with Bonnie?  Like something interesting?  What's the point in having Jennifer Tilly play such a bit part?
 

[Reply #201 on:]

"A human centipede? How ghastly!" killed me and I can't really justify it because it was just bizarre and stupid, but I found it very funny.

And as for 'American Dad!', I think it was one of the best of this new season after 'Hurricane!'. It wasn't great - its concept was but the execution was somewhat lacking and it felt like something of a retread of some past episodes, but I've been quite underwhelmed with much of the new season in all honesty. It was a decent episode, I enjoyed it, but for my money Family Guy is doing much better than American Dad this season.

[Reply #202 on:]

I kind of agree with you... American Dad has had some truly brilliant episodes this season, like Hot Tub, Hurricane, and The Worst Stan, but I have to admit Family Guy has been really stepping up its game this season.  (I also enjoyed Francine going "Get away from him YOU BITCH!" Normally that would feel pretty gratituous, but Francine is such a badass that she earned it, and the episode went very easy on obvious rip offs of Avatar and Alien, so it worked.)

This was a pretty good episode.  I liked having a certain someone back, and I felt he deserved a better ending then he got in the original run. Face it, there are a lot more boring characters then him, such as Joyce Kinney (a poor, poor replacement for Dianne, who was hilarious, and Tom Tucker just isn't very funny without having her to bicker with), and that annoying fat clerk guy whose always going on about movies no one cares about.    No one likes that kind of person in real life or wants a conversation with them, so why  is he funny just because he's a cartoon?

Seriously, why did they even bother adding Joyce?  They already had Asian Reporter Tricia Takanawa (who deserves more screentime but actually gets less then ever despite being in the opening.  It's kind of funny how how on the male side of the dancers we all have important secondary characters, but on the female side we get bit players and unfunny spouses.  Way to go Seth, you killed off one of your only female characters who was actually funny and replaced her with someone whose about as interesting as a teaspoon even when she gets her own episode.)

[Reply #203 on:]

I thought the episode was good, but my main problem was I didn't give a shit about Joe's son.  He was always bland and hell even Seth MacFarlene said he didn't like the character, hence killing him off.  Also, Joe's son's logic is BS.  Joe went against his duty to help that family, while his son went against his duty for himself.  AWOL is never good.  I did enjoy the whole debate about it, but I was sort of agreeing with what Ida said. 

[Reply #204 on:]

Yeah, it's stupid how they "killed" the character in a throwaway joke, and never mentioned it again until this episode

[Reply #205 on:]

He's probably going to get

I thought the episode was good, but my main problem was I didn't give a shit about Joe's son.  He was always bland and hell even Seth MacFarlene said he didn't like the character, hence killing him off.  Also, Joe's son's logic is BS.  Joe went against his duty to help that family, while his son went against his duty for himself.  AWOL is never good.  I did enjoy the whole debate about it, but I was sort of agreeing with what Ida said.  

Sorta yes, sorta no.  He went against it because he just couldn't agree with the slaughter of Iraqi civilians, so it wasn't for himself.  I was surprised that no one called him out on the shitty thing he did to his family by pretending he was dead for five years.  I thought Ida's thoughts made a lot of sense, and it was kind of funny seeing Brian do a U Turn and say something pretty bigoted showing he's not all that enlightened.

I'm also kind of annoyed that they didn't put Meg and Kevin back together.  I swear his only point was to be a romantic interest for her.  The five years thing also was pretty odd, since none of the other characters have aged.   Susie should be at least four by now, and Stewie... okay.  I probably shouldn't start pulling threads on this one.  i agree with tyraniak, and I wouldn't be surprised if Kevin gets killed off again next week.

Still I would have preferred it if they went with the coma thing, since it did become a dumping ground for political views.  On the other hand, for once, they weren't very one sided, since what Ida said was a very good rebuttal and I think more needs to be said that for once the political debate in FG wasn't one sided.  

[Reply #206 on:]

I'm also kind of annoyed that they didn't put Meg and Kevin back together.  I swear his only point was to be a romantic interest for her.

Meg tried it on with him, he just rejected her advances.

The five years thing also was pretty odd, since none of the other characters have aged.   Susie should be at least four by now, and Stewie... okay.  I probably shouldn't start pulling threads on this one.

Last week, Stewie and Brian went 12 years back in time and were still the exact same ages. I think Family Guy's established itself as having a cartoon-logic sliding time-frame pretty well by now and whilst it sort of irks me, I don't really care. It's not a show that really relies on any sort of logic to work.

i agree with tyraniak, and I wouldn't be surprised if Kevin gets killed off again next week.

I'd be surprised if we even see him again as soon as next week.

[Reply #207 on:]

Exactly.   When I say "they" I mean the writers.  I did think Meg shrugging and going "worth a shot" was funny, though the only reason I liked Kevin was as Meg's love interest, so he's even more pointless then ever.  

Yeah I think they have established that, as well as Bonnie being pregnant for more then half a decade.  I don't think we'll be seeing Kevin again, hell we see his sister and Bonnie pretty infrequently anyway.   Though if they do kill him off, its a pretty pointless resurrection of a character.  It would have been much better if they brought back a character whose actually funny, like Dianne or Mr Weed.  Hell, even Muriel Goldman is more memorable then Kevin.

[Reply #208 on:]

Seems like it's been ages since Peter has sliced up a serial killer. Anybody remember when that used to be the whole premise of the show; that he's a serial killer who kills other serial killers? Now it seems like they go through almost a whole season without him killing anybody, and instead have him all bogged-down in nonsensical sitcom-esque affairs. Family Guy has really strayed far from the Jeff Lindsay novels that inspired it. It's no longer dark and morally ambiguous - it's turned into something cartoonishly slapstick.

[Reply #209 on:]

your derangement is impressive, sir

[Reply #210 on:]

Thank you.

[Reply #211 on:]

That episode sucked Lady Gaga's hairy balls.

[Reply #212 on:]

Just like nearly every Family Guy episode these days.

[Reply #213 on:]

This one was especially sucky.  Pube gargling sucky.

[Reply #214 on:]

Peter singing Highway to Hell was amusing enough for me.

[Reply #215 on:]

Everyone seems to have hated this one. But I didn't.

It wasn't anything special, but I found it solid. Enough of the jokes worked for me and the storyline didn't do anything to particularly upset me. So yeah, I liked it and frankly, I'm really enjoying this season.


American Dad's effort this week was one of their better efforts so far this season, too.

[Reply #216 on:]

It was a pretty good one I have to admit.  I love how Francine has been such a badass in the last two episodes, the only thing I didn't like about Worst Stan, as hilarious as it was, was Francine passively letting some guy stab her.  We're talking about a woman who has murdered her college roommate, has graphically described prison stabbings that she's witnessed first hand, and knows how to kill you with a brand of shoe that the government declared was impossible to use as a weapon.   Franny's normally very easy going, but one of her most consistent character traits is that it's extremely unwise to really piss her off.  

[Reply #217 on:]

...Don't you think someone should actually make the American Dad thread?

EDIT:Found It.

[Reply #218 on:]

Nobody posts in it though.

Its a shame, AD doesn't get anywhere near as much attention as it deserves.  Middle sister syndrome for sure.

Anyway, I thought this episode was very bad.  It felt like a rough draft, the plot would be the most cliche'd in a long time (well, after Brenda Q, which was essentially a Made for TV drama... but... ANIMATED!!!), and the jokes were pretty unfunny. Still it was nice to see Meg getting treated like a human being.

[Reply #219 on:]

Nobody posts in it because everyone just seems to post about American Dad in the Family Guy thread for some reason.

I haven't seen the newest Family Guy episode so I have no way to make this post on-topic.

[Reply #220 on:]

I am starting to think there should just be one collective Seth MacFarland thread, I mean each show airs on the same night and everyone talks about them at the same time, we should just put it all in one thread.

[Reply #221 on:]

From yesterday's episode:





dafuq?

[Reply #222 on:]

Aww its so cute that Ned and Edna are sitting next to eachother.

Hooray for Nedna!

[Reply #223 on:]

The animators just aren't even trying anymore...

[Reply #224 on:]

Wait so... now people are posting about American Dad AND The Simpsons in the Family Guy thread?

And as for Family Guy this week... I thought it was pretty similar in quality to last week's. I enjoyed it but I imagine lots of people didn't.

[Reply #225 on:]

No, the Simpsons were in the Family Guy episode.

[Reply #226 on:]

Man I need to stop watching these episodes first thing when I wake up in the morning and I'm still half asleep.

[Reply #227 on:]

aside from the Simpsons gag, they only had a few good jokes (Mcdaniels, villains being terrible shots) but the episode itself was pretty boring

[Reply #228 on:]

Agreed.  It was just all over the place.

The Burger Queen thing was great though.  "They know what we're talking about!  They don't own french fries!"

[Reply #229 on:]

I thought it was rather low-key. I can't say I love this season but the episodes haven't been too bad.

[Reply #230 on:]

Its better then the last season, which was truly awful.  I think this season is a sign that maybe the show is climbing out of its rapid decline in the last few seasons.

[Reply #231 on:]

Yeah, honestly, I've been really impressed with this season. It's not incredible, but it's put the show back into the category of what I'd consider to be good TV after a handful of really quite awful seasons.

[Reply #232 on:]

Actually I'm going through the episode list on Wikipedia, and come to think of it I did like Season 9 for the most part. I love the murder-mystery first episode, and while none of the rest of the episodes I 100% enjoyed most of them (there were a few duds) that I can rewatch because there is something there worth watching again: In "Brian Writes a Bestseller", watching the Bill Maher segment alone makes that episode rewatchable. It was Seasons 7 and 8 that were absolute crap and had lots of episodes where I really got the feeling that no one behind the scenes gave a crap about the quality of the show. Come to think of it I think I still do like last season more, because while none of the episodes this season have been Season 7/8 bad they are in fact dull as a doorknob. I don't consider many of these new ones to be watchable again because they just were boring. I don't want to say they're playing it safe now but there just isn't any punch to the stories they're writing and no payoff (although Meg has been getting treated better since she blew up at all of them). So yeah...that was longer than I thought it would be.

[Reply #233 on:]

Meg does seem to be getting treated a little better. It was nice in the Amish episode how quick Peter and Lois were to leap to her defence, Peter even launching a full-scale war on her behalf.

[Reply #234 on:]

Mmmm, I would agree that it was nice to see Lois and Peter act like parents for once, though it did bug me a little how Peter didn't really react to that amish guy calling Meg a whore.  Most fathers would go berserk if someone called their daughter a whore, but I'm probably being too nitpicky.  Most fathers wouldn't take delight in making their daughter as miserable as possible after all.

I would like them to do more with Meg.  She's shaping up to be a pretty interesting character, and unlike the others, isn't pretty much a one noter.   Chris seems to have taken her place as the most uninteresting, it seems.

[Reply #235 on:]

I think it'd be out of character to have Peter be upset at someone calling his daughter a whore. If anything, he's the sort of character that would join in with them and laugh.

[Reply #236 on:]

AI kind of imagine Peter getting furious, not because he cares about Meg or her feelings, but because someone just insulted something he made/feels belongs to him.  Sort of a "no one calls my daughter a whore but me!  I earned that right!  Do you live with her?  You don't know what it's like so shut up!"  But seriously though them actually treating Meg like a human being felt OOC at this point, so I don't think being outraged at him calling his daughter a whore would be pushing it.  

On another note, I think Dawn Lewiss was on this week's Cleveland Show.   

[Reply #237 on:]

Talking of 'The Cleveland Show' - it appears that this week's episode is what 'Family Guy' did with 'Star Wars', but with 'Die Hard'. Looks like I'm going to have to watch it again for the first time since the hurricane trilogy - although, I'm expecting it to stink out loud.

Still, this Sunday's Fox animation lineup has me pretty excited. I mean... I'm enjoying 'Family Guy' a lot at the minute, 'American Dad''s Christmas specials tend to rank up along with their absolute best episodes, this episode of 'The Simpsons' was written by J. Stewart Burns and is one of their episodes set in the future and even 'The Cleveland Show' has a reason for me to watch.

[Reply #238 on:]

Dammit I love Die Hard, now I'll have to watch The Cleveland Show too.

EDIT: I watched a Sneak Preview...augh! It looks awful, if they had to do a remake of Die Hard why couldn't American Dad have done it? Listening to Cleveland do his take on Bruce Willis's lines is already grating to the ears. 

[Reply #239 on:]

Cleveland Show is just awful.  Cleveland isn't a main character, and they can lampshade it as much as they want, he just doesn't work as one.  I liked him when he was the sweet, mild mannered quiet guy who acted as the voice of reason amongst Peter's friends.  Now he's just another "asshole" main.  

Oh and last week we found out Donna has yet another similarity with Francine: she fakes her attractiveness.  Now we have a full set amonst Seth's leading ladies:

Lois is considered extremely hot: but actually looks rather plain without her make up.

Francine is considered extremely hot: but only because she goes through a gruelling beauty routine that in real life would have killed her due to multiple organ failure by now: (exercise until she makes herself physically ill, no meals besides laxatives) and hours of waxing and dying.  Simply not doing it for a fortnight is enough to make her look like an obese orc creature with rampant body hair.

And now we find out that Donna wears a wig, draws on her lips and pads her bra (her breasts really are saggy old lady bags), and actually looks twenty years older then she really is.  

I thought the reveals were quite funny (American Dad was the best at it, since Shallow Vows is probably the funniest episode of AD ever, whilst Lois's plainess was a throwaway gag), but seriously, did they really have to do the "hot wife actually fakes her attractiveness" stick three times?

Another thing I will say about the Cleveland Show is... if they can't write for teenage girls for shit (they admitted it) then why did the show have ANOTHER teenage girl as part of the main cast?  Why couldn't they have even tried to shake up the character dynamics by making the obligatory female child be the youngest or the middle one? What was wrong with making Rallo female? Or replacing Roberta with a character who is basically the stereotypical sassy black woman in the body of a baby?   I mean, whats the point in wasting a character space on a character type who is almost always shoved into the background and gradually fades away?  (Hayley actually has a personality, a role in the family and a very unique relationship with her father, as well as a means of the show as being equally harsh on liberal hypocrisy as it is on conservative hypocrisy, but that wasn't enough to save her from being demoted to extra as the series went on.)