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

[Reply #400 on:]

Don't fool yourselves. This episode is going to suck harder than A Mexican working at a bakery.

[One shitty cutaway gag later]

[Reply #401 on:]

Mexian: (Sees Bread) Oh look  a condom, Esa. I'm going to use it.
5 Hours Later:
Mexian: Aww it didn't work, I now have another kid, hombre.  That makes 252.
Angelina Jolie: Can I adopt your asian kid?

Great, huh?

[Reply #402 on:]

We will have to see.  I'm thinking that this episode will be great.

[Reply #403 on:]

It's more likely to be a good episode than not, seeing as this is no doubt one of the few episodes that they'll have really put some episode into, this year.

They always go out of their way to put lots of effort into a handful of episodes each year, and most of them tend to still be very good.

"The Simpsons Guy" is another one that'll obviously have more effort put into it than usual.

Plus, the show is well overdue for a half-decent episode, so I'm going in with higher hopes than usual.

[Reply #404 on:]

Yup. They killed Brian. Knew it.

And he's actually dead. For now, anyways.

The episode was nothing special. A better effort than what we usually get, perhaps. But it definitely was not a classic.

[Reply #405 on:]

They killed my favorite character?  That's it: I'm not watching it any more!  Actually, I haven't watched it in months, but it's the thought that counts, right?

[Reply #406 on:]

Yup. They killed Brian. Knew it.

Really??? Fuck, I knew this show had gotten bad since I stopped watching it, but I didn't think it would stoop to THAT level of shittiness. What possible reason could they have for killing off a signature character (and effectively the only "straight man" in the cast) this far in? Jeez.

[Reply #407 on:]

Yup. They killed Brian. Knew it.

They "Jumped the Dog" with this one, that's for sure!

[Reply #408 on:]

Well, I watched that one and it was kind of good set-up for the death. The new dog seems like just a joke ().

Now I can get back to not watching this (not totally effective) shit.

[Reply #409 on:]

Pfft, two of the upcoming episodes scheduled to air are called "Brian's a Bad Father" and "Brian the Closer." No way is his death permanent.

[Reply #410 on:]

Pfft, two of the upcoming episodes scheduled to air are called "Brian's a Bad Father" and "Brian the Closer." No way is his death permanent.

I was thinking Brian's name in episodes could be a red-herring to stop spoiling the death and his replacement, but surely the Family Guy writers aren't that smart to do that?

[Reply #411 on:]

2 Possibilities of how it will play out:

A - Brian will stay dead for good. The "Brian Is A Bad Father" episode will be about Brian's ghost wanting to make amends with his son before he's 'at peace'. And "Brian The Closer" will be nothing more than a clipshow inwhich the family reminisces about Brian.

B - There will be a Christmas episode where Stewie from the past meets Stewie from the present (if you remember Stewie said that he travelled forward in time to Christmas). This is how Stewie (present) gets his time-machine back and thus brings Brian back to life.

I bet you all it will be one of these 2 options.

[Reply #412 on:]

I think I'm the only one who can see why Brian was killed off instead of Chris.
Brian had a bigger impact on the show, it would be useless to kill off Chris.

I hope Family Guy can do better sans Brian, which will seem like the dream of a madman to think a show can do better replacing a great character and a below-average character.

But it's the first episode we will see Vinnie (probably one of few, if the writers got any tricks left up their sleeves).

{EDIT}

I have found some hope.
The released name for the season finale is "Brian the Closer".

[Reply #413 on:]

Brian Is a Bad Father could easily be about Brian's son showing up and wanting something after he's dead or an illegitimate son coming looking for him only to find out that he's dead or something to do with his son inheriting his possessions.

Brian the Closer could work similarly, without actually including Brian.

That said, I'd be surprised if they don't bring him back.



Also, I liked the episode. For my money, it was the best thing they've done since "Back to the Pilot".

[Reply #414 on:]

I saw the episode. WHAT THE FUCK!

[Reply #415 on:]

I liked how Quagmire was watching the Red Sox at Brian's funeral.

[Reply #416 on:]

Here's the description for the episode "Christmas Guy" that airs in three weeks:

Show spoiler

When Carter Pewterschmidt cancels the annual Quahog Christmas carnival, because he hates the holiday, Peter must transform his father-in-law from a Scrooge into a hometown hero in order to salvage the event. Meanwhile, Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas.

So my theory is:

Show spoiler

At the beginning of this last episode, Stewie tells Brian he went forward in time to Christmas to get a toy. So in this episode, he could wait for himself to show up so that he can either tell himself to save Brian, or use the return pad to do it himself.

[Reply #417 on:]

Here's the description for the episode "Christmas Guy" that airs in three weeks:

Show spoiler

When Carter Pewterschmidt cancels the annual Quahog Christmas carnival, because he hates the holiday, Peter must transform his father-in-law from a Scrooge into a hometown hero in order to salvage the event. Meanwhile, Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas.

So my theory is:

Show spoiler

At the beginning of this last episode, Stewie tells Brian he went forward in time to Christmas to get a toy. So in this episode, he could wait for himself to show up so that he can either tell himself to save Brian, or use the return pad to do it himself.

Pretty much what I said for option B

[Reply #418 on:]

Show spoiler

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last month, one of the writers let slip that there's going to be an upcoming episode where Brian falls for a female jogger played by Maya Rudolph and pretends to be a jogger himself to impress her.

So there you have it. Brian will be back.

[Reply #419 on:]

Here's the description for the episode "Christmas Guy" that airs in three weeks:

Show spoiler

When Carter Pewterschmidt cancels the annual Quahog Christmas carnival, because he hates the holiday, Peter must transform his father-in-law from a Scrooge into a hometown hero in order to salvage the event. Meanwhile, Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas.

So my theory is:

Show spoiler

At the beginning of this last episode, Stewie tells Brian he went forward in time to Christmas to get a toy. So in this episode, he could wait for himself to show up so that he can either tell himself to save Brian, or use the return pad to do it himself.

Pretty much what I said for option B

I totally missed your post. Great minds think alike?

[Reply #420 on:]

Here's the description for the episode "Christmas Guy" that airs in three weeks:

Show spoiler

When Carter Pewterschmidt cancels the annual Quahog Christmas carnival, because he hates the holiday, Peter must transform his father-in-law from a Scrooge into a hometown hero in order to salvage the event. Meanwhile, Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas.

So my theory is:

Show spoiler

At the beginning of this last episode, Stewie tells Brian he went forward in time to Christmas to get a toy. So in this episode, he could wait for himself to show up so that he can either tell himself to save Brian, or use the return pad to do it himself.

Pretty much what I said for option B

I totally missed your post. Great minds think alike?

Indeed

[Reply #421 on:]

I liked how Quagmire was watching the Red Sox at Brian's funeral.

It's even funnier since Quagmire hated Brian.

[Reply #422 on:]

I haven't given a shit about this show since, like, 2002, but I can't believe they killed off Brian. I agree with most people in this thread that he'll probably be brought back, though.

[Reply #423 on:]

Brian is obviously going to return 100%.

In either flashbacks, heaven or maybe even brought back.
You got two episodes coming up that reference Brian's name.
Plus, with the anger from the fans, Seth is likely going to bring Brian back.

Honestly, what were they thinking?
Did they not realize their ratings will plummet?

[Reply #424 on:]

I liked how Quagmire was watching the Red Sox at Brian's funeral.

It's even funnier since Quagmire hated Brian.

It's only funny because Quagmire hated Brian.

[Reply #425 on:]

I'm hearing that there's a bit of a row among Family Guy fans to bring back Brian Griffin. There's like, petitions and everything. Anyway, The A.V. Club made an article about the reactions a few hours ago. Unfortunately, the comments sections on the site are not working for me anymore. Can someone (well, Beamer, since he actually reads the site) provide me with the highlights of the comments section to the post? The snarkier the better.

[Reply #426 on:]

This should be merged with the normal Family Guy thread, in my opinion.

^{Hooray, my opinion mattered!}

[Reply #427 on:]

Show spoiler

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last month, one of the writers let slip that there's going to be an upcoming episode where Brian falls for a female jogger played by Maya Rudolph and pretends to be a jogger himself to impress her.

So there you have it. Brian will be back.

[Reply #428 on:]

Here's a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to Spoiler policy:

Q: When did the episode containing the information and/or scenes air?

A:

The Past             The Present           The Future
<-------------------------|------------------------->
NOT A SPOILER                       A FUCKING SPOILER

[Reply #429 on:]

Brian is obviously going to return 100%.

In either flashbacks, heaven or maybe even brought back.
You got two episodes coming up that reference Brian's name.
Plus, with the anger from the fans, Seth is likely going to bring Brian back.

Honestly, what were they thinking?
Did they not realize their ratings will plummet?

It might have the opposite affect.  More people might tune in to see if Brian comes back.

[Reply #430 on:]

^That.

However, I doubt the showrunners really give that much of a shit about ratings. They know they're as much of a FOX staple as The Simpsons is at this point (probably even more popular currently among newer generations) and that they can basically get away with whatever. Seth MacFarlane has also said that he hopes the show loses viewers so he can end it, although whether that's part of the reason for this is yet to be seen.

What really bothers me is that people would ask why they would do this or demand that they bring him back before actually seeing how the next few episodes play out. The writers may already have a plan to bring Brian back sooner than later (and if the clues that have been pointed out in this thread are any indication, they definitely do), meaning this isn't a way to change up the show for good but rather a way to create an interesting story arch that lasts a few episodes at least.

But if that is their plan, now when they enact it and Brian comes back, half the show's fanbase will take credit for it and assume that the negative reactions and petitions were responsible, when in reality it was the writer's plan all along and the viewers actually don't have any fucking patience whatsoever.

[Reply #431 on:]

Can someone (well, Beamer, since he actually reads the site) provide me with the highlights of the comments section to the post? The snarkier the better.

Awww gee whiz stum, I know that we're best friends and all, but...

[Reply #432 on:]

I always found the haters for Family Guy to be inexplicable. It's generally a sketch show. There's some plot in there to tie it together, but at its core it's the same kind of random sketch nonsense that everybody loves Monty Python for... and that's the thing they hate about Family Guy. Hypocrisy, thy name is everybody who hates on Family Guy.

Nevertheless, if they don't bring Brian back, I will join the ranks of haters. Not to say I will be any less derisive of them.

[Reply #433 on:]

What if they, I dunno, just don't find it funny?

[Reply #434 on:]

Nope.

Anybody who dislikes the things I like is a fuckhead.

[Reply #435 on:]

That's fair, I hate it, because everyone else does.

Other than that, some stuff in FG is funny, but partly it's crappy humor (in most cases not literally). While you could say it's a sketch show, it's not. It does have a plot, which is broken only by occasional cutaway gag. It can be absurd like Monty Python, but usually it's not as funny. It's not as clever.

[Reply #436 on:]

Exactly. I can accept the fact that the show doesn't give a shit about character or story, but its ONLY job is to be funny and it can't even do that well. Jokes that weren't amusing to begin with are often stretched out beyond the two minute mark, a lot of stuff that starts out funny keeps getting brought back and repeated until the dead horse is no more, and the writers seem to think that simply referencing something (usually from the 80s) constitutes "humour;" likewise for just being offensive without a point to make. It's not remotely clever, it's rarely funny, and any idiot could write it. Thing is, I actually did used to like the show, and still hold the pre-cancellation era in some sort of regard. Episodes like DaBoom - when the show was firing on all cylinders - were full of rapid-fire hilarity but it seems like the writers pretty much stopped trying once the show came back.

Family Guy is the only show that reached a level so terrible I abandoned it. I'm normally a very loyal viewer - I've stuck with everything else, no matter how bad it's gotten (I watched Weeds and the American version of The Office the whole way through... I still watch The Simpsons, for cryin' out loud!), but Family Guy is the only one that reached a level so terrible I had to abandon it. I still remember the episode which was the last straw for me: Patriot Games. It embodied everything terrible about what the show had become, and the show had already been a chore to sit through for well over a season up to that point.

So, there. I think that's more than enough to justify my feelings towards the show. I also don't see how hating one incarnation of a sketch comedy while liking Monty Python makes me a hypocrite. That's like saying hating any single animated series means you must also hate Futurama. A show's format and its quality are two very different things.

[Reply #437 on:]

I pretty much agree with Beamer on the abandoned Family Guy statement. Season 5-ish is where I finally couldn't take it any longer. I mean Season 4 wasn't that bad, it was okay, but the crap really hit the fan around Season 5 or 6. I don't watch anything past that.

[Reply #438 on:]

You guys are crazy. I still laugh my tits off at every episode of Family Guy. Perhaps its humour is just too subtle and sophisticated for your bourgeois sensibilities.

[Reply #439 on:]

^Agreed.