Family Guy Review -- Media Moths

Family Guy - February 24, 2011

Seth MacFarlane (creator of

Family Guy) has often been

criticized for his hit TV series

Family Guy because it is seemingly an unoriginal The Simpsons clone. But, could this criticism simply be a sense of jealousy from some of the press? You'll simply have to find out by reading on!

The original Family Guy series ran from January 31, 1999 to February 14, 2002, but was later revived back in May 1, 2005 and is currently on the air and has taken television by storm. Despite its criticisms as listed above, millions have adored this TV series for quite some time now since its revival.

At first glance, the Griffins look like your everyday normal family. But, once you actually start watching the show you will find out the family is anything, but normal. The family consists of Peter Griffin (the reckless 'family guy' himself, he'll do all sorts of things with his pals), Lois Griffin (the mother of the family who has an interesting past as a former porn star, but partners as the sweet but sexy motherly figure as well), Chris Griffin (your average teenage boy with a monotone voice. He is probably the most dull of the family), Meg Griffin (the outcast of the group, a sort of geeky-like teenage girl who is often used as the character to make fun of by the family among others), Brian (a white dog who is more of Peter's friend than their pet because he walks on hind legs and speaks perfectly with seemingly a good amount of intelligence), and my favorite of all, Stewie Griffin (their 1-year-old baby who is incredibly intelligent, even more so than most adult humans). I've always stood by my belief that the talented voice work of Seth MacFarlane himself for a lot these characters often times makes the show, from Stewie's spot on intellectual evil voice to Bruce's hilarious voice (though MacFarlane did not voice Bruce, that honor goes to Mike Henry - Also the voice of Cleveland Brown).

Family Guy is your everyday animated Sitcom series and I must say that the criticisms are somewhat correct. While it does not ruin the entertainment-value too much, Family Guy really isn't all that different from the other animated Sitcoms nowadays (i.e. The Simpsons), although it definitely expands on them. It uses many comedic styles in its hilarity (which the show's success heavily relies on) such as 'Black comedy', 'Blue comedy', and the 'Cutaway gag' format. If you are unfamiliar with these styles. feel free to look them up even on Wikipedia, but let's just say that these styles are some that may offend quite a few people and may be a big turn-away for them, so keep that in mind.

Family Guy also has some of the greatest custom songs sung by its characters I've ever seen in a TV series and I always enjoy every one of them. They really flow with the show as well, though they may not have the best messages in some of them.

Family Guy also hosts a spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, based on Peter Griffin's African American friend we all know and love, Cleveland Brown. Another animated Sitcom, American Dad!, is closely related to Family Guy, considering Seth MacFarlane is the creator of that show as well, and they have even done several crossovers between the two shows.

The Good:

Great variety in characters, all great.

Fantastic voice acting to go along with them.

Animated Sitcom hilarity at its best.

Well produced songs sung by your favorite characters.

The Bad:

Can often times have some really bad messages for people of any age.

Not very unique from other animated Sitcoms.

Choice in comedic styles may possibly offend people.

Family Guy has survived 9 seasons for a total of 158 episodes as of February 24, 2011 and for good reason. It is among the highest quality of animated Sitcom series currently, and I personally actually prefer it over The Simpsons. While its slight unoriginality and offensive comedic remarks may turn some away, it is definitely worth a watch for the characters and voices alone. Do yourselves a favor...

8.5/10

Family Guy can be found on both FOX and Adult Swim.