Humor Wins
Television shows get cancelled all the time, but is it possible for a television show to get cancelled and come back to life even better than it was the first time? "No way!" you may think, but it happened with the hit T.V. series Family Guy. Family Guy is a great T.V. show because its use of comedy is one of a kind. Not everybody is going to like the show, but if you are a fan you will find its political incorrectness very funny.
Fox, who is known for its early T.V. show cancellations, cut Family Guy in 2002 after three seasons. There ended up being such a high demand for the DVD series that Fox decided to put Family Guy back on the air, returning to television in May 2005 with its fourth season. There is no question that the fourth season is as funny if not funnier than the seasons before it.
The show is set in the fake town of Quahog, Rhode Island and is centered around the very dysfunctional Griffin Family. Peter, the father figure, is the head of the household. Sometimes driven wild by her own crazy family, Lois, the mother, is the peace maker. Chris, the son, is not only slow physically but also mentally. Meg is the mistreated daughter who doesn't have many friends. Stewie, the baby of the family, can talk but I don't believe anyone in the family can actually hear him. Occasionally consuming alcoholic beverages, Brian the family's talking dog, rounds out the cast. Even more unique than the characters themselves is the style in which Family Guy is written. It's comprised of a sort of sarcastic fast paced dry humor that requires the viewer to not only be aware of what's happening on the show, but also what's happening in the real world. Although the overall story may not always be funny, the jokes and situations are witty, clever, and undoubtedly entertaining. It's amazing how the writers can come up with crazy ideas and implement them into this irregular family's life. There are many pop culture references in Family Guy, and a lot of "That was like the time
" flashback moments. You can never tell what is going to happen next. If you think you have a hunch, most of the time you will end up undoubtedly wrong. In one episode Lois and Brian have to go find Peter out in the woods. Brian says "Don't worry Lois I was the one who found George Bush after Hurricane Katrina." The next scene has Brian walking up to a tree house and yelling "Mr. President, are you up there?" Next it shows George Bush poking his head out of the tree house, and he says "Go away" Brian then says "Sir there is a disaster in New Orleans that you have to deal with." Finally George Bush says "Don't make me do stuff." This is a perfect example of the shows political incorrectness, and it's off the wall comedy. Obviously the writers of Family Guy are not in favor of the President and disagreed with the way he handled Hurricane Katrina. By using scenes from earlier episodes during flashbacks, viewers tend to watch the show more regularly so as not to miss out or be overcome with confusion. One of the recurring gags in Family Guy is when they take a quick joke and overdo it almost to the point of being awkward, but in doing so it actually makes it even funnier. In the episode Patriot Games, Peter gets invited to play with the New England Patriots. After he scores a touchdown, he celebrates by singing a song called "Shipoopi". As he is singing and dancing to this song the entire crowd sings along. While the cheerleaders, referees, and Peter's teammates are the back up dancers. This goes on for a long time, and finally at the end of the celebration Peter says to himself, "I made a touchdown". That would never happen in a real professional football game, but in Family Guy, anything goes.
Overall I think this is a great show for young and old adults. There is something in Family Guy for everybody. Its hilarious and unpredictable humor makes it an enjoyable show to watch. When the fourth season came out on DVD, Star Magazine said the show was "As rude and funny as it ever was!" I simply can't agree more with their blurb. As for myself, I think Family Guy is one of the funniest and most entertaining shows ever made.
