The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Family Guy
The show stars the Griffins, a blue collar family from a small town of Quahog, Rhode Island, the family is unique in the fact that both the dog and the very young toddler are able to talk fluent english. The father is Peter, a rather dim-witted man, who loves television, beer, and his friends, as well as his beautiful wife Lois. Lois is the balance to Peter, who has more intelligence and usually is the one who has set Peter in the right direction.
There three children are Meg, Chris, and Stewie. Meg is a teenager and is not very popular. She usually ends up being the butt of every joke. Chris is essentially a younger version of Peter, a dim-witted boy who usually doesn’t catch on facts at first. The youngest is Stewie, an evil genius toddler is trying every episode to find a way to kill his mother. They also have a dog named Brian, who is a recovering alcoholic, and is also part of the balance that keeps Peter out of trouble, most of the time.
Much of the criticism about the show is mainly due to the fact that is resembles the other hit cartoon show, The Simpsons. The family is structured the same way, with two parents, two young children, and a toddler. The episode structure seems to run the same as well, as most of the episode usually don’t arc, like most shows tend to do. There are differences though. Family Guy is more known for its random references to something that has nothing to do with the current episode.
Most of these are in the form of “This is worst than the time when Peter did so-and-so,” which then cuts to when that certain event happened, which usually results in many laughs for the next few minutes. Also, as mentioned, the toddler and pets in Family Guy are able to speak. Brian, the dog, is fluent in English, which everyone can understand perfectly. Stewie, on the other hand, is an unknown entity in the show. While the viewer is able to understand what Stewie is saying, most of the time it seems that Brian is clearly the only one able to understand what Stewie is saying.
When the show first aired, it was embraced by those in the young age groups, between 18-35. Most of the jokes are aimed at that demographic as well, usually containing dark humor, sick humor, and, of course, potty humor. The supporting cast is even one big stirring pot of humor itself, with the sex crazed Glen Quagmire, the token black character in Cleveland, and the rugged ex-cop turned paralyzed Joe.
Even though the show was liked from the start, Fox ended up moving it around the time slots, with no explanation why, or any indication they did. The ratings started to take a hit (which isn’t a surprise), with Fox cutting the show during its second season, to the dismay of those who still were able to find the show and watch it. They sent petitions to Fox, asking they put the show back on. It worked at the beginning, but once again the ratings took a dive, and during the shows third season, the show was “cancelled” for good.
However, in the modern age of syndication, Cartoon Network bought the rights to the show and starting airing them on their world famous Adult Swim. Fox also released the episodes that did air on DVD. What happened next sent shockwaves all across the networks. According to Cartoon Network, the reruns of Family Guy (which were airing late night) were beating out the current late night shows of Jay Leno and David Letterman.
Fox also noticed that the DVD’s were selling remarkably well for a show they called dead in the water from the beginning. After much discussion on how to keep their egos in check, Fox announced that Family Guy would be coming back for a third time and possibly wouldn’t be cancelled again due to its recent success.
Now, Family Guy airs on Sundays on Fox, as well as on Adult Swim. A straight to DVD movie was released, the newest season is also going to be released, and all is well in the Family Guy universe. For a show that has been dead more times that normal human being, it still pushes the envelope of where a joke can go. Its success, however, is proof that, even in times of extreme political correctness, you can still get people to laugh with a poop joke anyday.
