Similarities in Futurama and Family Guy

[on:]

I have noticed a lot of things the same in Futurama and Family Guy.

The Breakfast Club is in both (Luck of the Fryish and Let's Go To The Hop) and 'Don't You Forget About Me' is used at the end of both these episodes.

Both shows have a Willy Wonka parody (Fry and the Slurm Factory and Wasted Talent).

Also in Wasted Talent it has a bit where one of Peter's brain cells is all alone inside Peter's brain and he is going to read all the books there but then his glasses break, just like the Scary Door in Futurama.

As both these shows came out around the same time and lasted not long, it seems odd that there can be so many things the same. There are others I just can't remember them too... I'll post them when I do.

[Reply #1 on:]

Some of those are just standard sitcom cliches, or parodies of other fictional works. "The Breakfast Club" is big in this 80s nostalgia wave we're on, and "Don't You Forget About Me" was the big song from that movie. Willy Wonka and The Twilight Zone have been parodied before Futurama or Family Guy.

It's just laziness on Family Guy's part (because I like to blame them.  )

[Reply #2 on:]

Stewie goes inside Peter's body in one ep... Kinda like Parasites lost... a bit

[Reply #3 on:]

comparing futurama and family guy makes baby jesus on a rollercoaster cry

[Reply #4 on:]

they are both digitally colored. Main character in both is stupid.

[Reply #5 on:]

The episodes Peter Peter Caviar Eater and A Fishful of Dollars are sort of similar in the facts that the main character becomes rich and there is an auction with Peter vs. Someone like Fry vs. Mum and they keep bidding higher and higher until they get to crazy amounts.

[Reply #6 on:]

I've noticed some similarities beween Futurama and Family Guy, too.  They're both animated and both are cancelled.  Why doesn't King of the Hill have this similarity?

[Reply #7 on:]

 

Originally posted by Squeezit:
comparing futurama and family guy makes baby jesus on a rollercoaster cry

I in fact think Family Guy is funnier than Futurama, but Futurama is a better all round show.

[Reply #8 on:]

Ditto
And IMHO The (old/good) Simpsons was funnier than that... and i think they are all just about tied as an all-around show. Each have great properties that make them good in thier own way.

Edit: Great properties that make them great...   

[Reply #9 on:]

Bankrupt, hows this for spooky, both animated, both cancelled, and both had names begining with "F"

cue spooky music

[Reply #10 on:]

[stop it with the crap]

[Reply #11 on:]

 

Originally posted by Squeezit:
comparing futurama and family guy makes baby jesus on a rollercoaster cry

Me too

[Reply #12 on:]

   

Originally posted by darkcrawlspace:
[crap]

I need an adult, I need an adult!

I just thinks it looks like spam, Idon't know, mabye it isn't

[edit: it is, thanks for alerting, but don't quote the spam  ]

[Reply #13 on:]

mhhh interesting, i have seen Family guy a few times and didnt notice these similaritys cool though 

[Reply #14 on:]

Family Guy is a ripoff of Futurama if ever I've seen one. It also rips off The Simpsons a bit more than Futurama. Who originally owned it... FOX??

[Reply #15 on:]

I think family guy is more of a ripoff of simpsons. It's about a family with a stupid dad OOHH the dog and the baby can talk that's a twist! Most of the jokes are blatant rip offs of simpsons jokes, and they don't do it as clever. Eg: On the simpsons homer is trying to eat chips but puppies keep jumping and grabbing the chip before he can eat it and he says "D'oh!" every time. On family guy the dad trys to eat chips and some birds in his beard eat the chip and he makes a sad sound every time. There are more than that but I don't feel like racking my brain right now... It's sad when there are such blatant rip offs in the world and nobody does anything about it, maybe Matt Groening should run down Seth McFarlane in his car... eh he is probably rolling around in his money pit from all the merchandising he has done anyway... who cares.

[Reply #16 on:]

It has flashbacks though... which are the funniest parts of all. And is so stupid that's its funny.

In hospital.
Chris: Is that where babies come from?
Doctor: Yes.
Chris: (To Loius) You told me I came from your vagina!

[Reply #17 on:]

don't forget this one:

Jesus: Now for my next miricle I'll turn this water, into funk!
(Jesus zaps the jug of water and the room turns into a disco) 

[Reply #18 on:]

well ghost call it whatever you like but i think im starting to like it more than the simpsons, people make such a big deal about the simpsons, they are not THAT good.

[Reply #19 on:]

Hey, Squeezit's back 

[Reply #20 on:]

While some Simpsons writers have made allegations about it being a rip off, Matt Groening actually doesn't agree as far as I know.  He listed it as a show he really likes a few times.

Anyways, all three are very different shows.  You can find coincidences here and there, but most of them are probably things that lots of shows have also done.  Family Guy is my least favorite of the bunch but it was still a very funny show.

[Reply #21 on:]

 

Originally posted by Killerfox:
well ghost call it whatever you like but i think im starting to like it more than the simpsons, people make such a big deal about the simpsons, they are not THAT good.

You mean not THAT good recently.
And Family Guy is more like The Simpsons, not Futurama. Pfft!
I noticed that on the very first episode (Death Has a Shadow), Peter goes out and gets drunk at a stag party, Lois gets mad at him.
If that doesn't remind you of "War of The Simpsons" (7F20), then I dunno what would.

And I think Family Guy has just as many levels of humour as The Simpsons.

[Reply #22 on:]

*does an I hate family guy it makes me wanna throw feces at the TV dance* but I guess I'm the only one on earth who feels that way 

[Reply #23 on:]

And don't forget the Quagmire. This has nothing to do with the subject but I just wanted to throw out the name.
"All right" 

[Reply #24 on:]

They are both made from solid fills and bezier curves. Futurama and Family Guy are both equally great. It's just that Futurama's humor is more cynical and Family Guy's is more raunchy.

Both cartoons' main characters also form an organized social group. The Griffin family, and the PE crew. They are also very satirical.

[Reply #25 on:]

 

Originally posted by Squeezit:
*does an I hate family guy it makes me wanna throw feces at the TV dance* but I guess I'm the only one on earth who feels that way   

You aren't the only one.  It's a show that tries to mix the premise of Simpsons and the weird out-of-no-where spoofs of the Critic but fails miserably by mixing them into such an uneven brew. It's also got raunchiness for no reason at all - just for cheap jokes - plus absurd voice-acting.  Sounds like a winner to me. 

[Reply #26 on:]

 

Originally posted by Squeezit:
*does an I hate family guy it makes me wanna throw feces at the TV dance* but I guess I'm the only one on earth who feels that way   

Throws feces at Squeezit.

[Reply #27 on:]

 

Originally posted by MetaFox:
 You aren't the only one.  It's a show that tries to mix the premise of Simpsons and the weird out-of-no-where spoofs of the Critic but fails miserably by mixing them into such an uneven brew. It's also got raunchiness for no reason at all - just for cheap jokes - plus absurd voice-acting.  Sounds like a winner to me.   

I agree, the show is incredibly stupid. Its like there's non stop movie and sitcom references. The cut scenes drive me nuts, one of them lasted 2 minutes! Its hard to follow any sort of story with them cutting all the time. I know alot of people who love the show. But then again, I know alot of idiots.

[Reply #28 on:]

The cut scenes are often great...

Use the force Luke 

[Reply #29 on:]

I love the flashback to when Peter gets the box... which was about 1 minute before 

[Reply #30 on:]

I enjoy both shows but I agree that Futurama is the better all-around show.  Family Guy has some great random comedy but I find it is not quite as funny when watching it again as Futurama episodes are.  Family Guy probably has better pure jokes episodes than Futurama does (but not by much) but Futurama blows Family Guy away in the continuity and the serious episodes.

There's no real reason to hate either show.  Although when Family Guy is inevitably revived over Futurama by Cartoon Network because it is easier to make a low budget version of it I think there will be a lot of anti-Family Guy backlash.  Or at least that's how I see it.

[Reply #31 on:]

When you watch Family Guy, you got to realize you're not watching if for plot. Yeah, there is a plot and a lot of them are good, but what really makes the show watchable are the flashbacks, cut scenes, and unecessary jokes. I see enough shows with heavy plot, that sometimes I just feel like letting my brain have a break. You don't have to be in some sort of intelligence range to like Family Guy like you do with some shows. Some shows are intended for really stupid people, some shows are intended for highly-intelligent people, but Family Guy doesn't do this. I'm an above-average intelligent person and I love Family guy.

Getting back on topic, I like "Classic Homer" better, but Peter is much better than "New Homer".
EDIT: Whoops wrong thread.

NOTE: A lot of my opinions on Family Guy are biased, as Danny Smith (Merton from Big Wolf on Campus) and Seth Green are on the show. Danny Smith reminds me of a young, pale, funny, and neurotic Johnny Depp, while I like Seth Green just for his role as Scott Evil in the Austin Powers Series.

[Reply #32 on:]

I still say Seth Green's best role is as the little kid in Action Family.

Family Guy is annoying if I sit down and watch more than an episode per month. But watching occassional five-minute snippets on Cartoon Network, I have to admit that it has some funny gags. One gag that sticks in my memory is when Peter was talking about a sitcom idea he had, where he plays a retired umpire who opens a bar in the earth's core.

Peter: We don't get many rock monsters around here.

Rock Monster: With these prices, no wonder!

Peter: Oh that's it. You are outta here!

*audience applauds*

That's some good, strange humor. But the characters mostly suck(especially Seth Green...sorry OC_James), and that sort of random humor doesn't work for entire episodes. Maybe they should make Tracy Ullman-like shorts that can air during full new episodes of Futurama.

[Reply #33 on:]

 

Originally posted by Rage Dump:
Stewie goes inside Peter's body in one ep... Kinda like Parasites lost... a bit

That's because both episodes were parodying the same thing.

[Reply #34 on:]

Yep, Innerspace with Martin Short wasn't it?

Who's the voice actor who does Death again?
He was in Dr. Dolittle with Eddie Murphy which was on last night.

[Reply #35 on:]

The things I don't like about Family Guy are:

1) The fact that the plot is only there so it's not a sketch show.

2) The repetitive brand of humour. After a while, it becomes painfully obvious that the entire show is made up of flashbacks, or what ifs, that, while slightly funny the first time round, don't hold up on repeated viewings. It's a similar syndrome as that found in Blackadder, except in that series you've only got 6 episodes per season so it doesn't become as annoying.

Of course, this is my own opinion, and the show still has highlights, but I just don't enjoy it like I enjoy Futurama and earlier day Simpsons.

In short, Family Guy's style is similar to that of modern Simpsons, but done much better. But it still pales in comparison to early day Simpsons and any Futurama ep.

Oh, and Faze, I don't know if you're being ironic, but I believe the parody is of "Fantastic Voyage" (although Innerspace is another good example).

[Reply #36 on:]

 

Originally posted by ~FazeShift~:
Yep, Innerspace with Martin Short wasn't it?

Who's the voice actor who does Death again?
He was in Dr. Dolittle with Eddie Murphy which was on last night.

Norm Macdonald did it for 114 "Death Is A Bitch" but that guy from the man show (not Jimmy Kimmel) did it the rest of the time.

[Reply #37 on:]

Thanks, and CK, I've never seen Fantastic Voyage, but I do remember Martin Shorts whacky adventures!!

[Reply #38 on:]

I in fact think Family Guy is funnier than Futurama, but Futurama is a better all round show.

[/QUOTE]

second, what with the characters and storylines etc.
Family guy ripping off Futurama. Er no. thats like saying king of the hill is a rip off of Eastenders...

[Reply #39 on:]

Isnt it Swan?