INTRODUCTION
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This is the first season of the hilariously funny family guy. The show was untimely axed after this first season but after mass complaints from the American public they had no choice but to create more. Anyone that has seen an episode of family guy will know the show is based around an "ordinary" family who live in a small town of Quahog. The show is full of literal humour and parallel story lines. The comedy is so different from anything else and has to be seen to be understood. Watch a single episode and more than likely you will be hooked. The show is targeted at the young adult market and is not suitable for children.

CHARACTERS
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This is a review on the DVD and not the show so the main of my review will be on the episodes, however, here's a quick run down on the family members:

Peter - The loveable fat man who never knows when to keep his mouth shut. He would do anything for his favourite TV shows, as long as his family don't get in the way. Or something like that anyway :S

Louis - The mother of the family who seems to get the brunt of everything Peter does wrong. She gave up the chance of inheriting millions to marry her true love and no matter how much trouble Peter gets her into, she never really regrets it. She seems perceptive, however, has yet to spot any of the several murder attempts set about by her baby Stewie.

Meg - A typical teenage girl, demanding acceptance but the more she craves it the more she sticks out. Any chance Meg has of popularity is surely hopeless, after all she is the daughter of the most embarrassing man in Quahog.

Chris - An overgrown teenager with an unhealthy (but normal) obsession with boobs. He is an excellent artist but his dad never sees this and thinks he is wasting his life. Peter wanted a sportsman not and artist, but a sportsman is definitely something Chris isn't.

Stewie - A baby that can talk full sentences and create weapons of mass destruction from a baby toy. If it wasn't for his total dependence on family life (despite denying it) and his deep down love for all things baby (like his teddy Rupert) he would surely have fulfilled his two aims in life. World domination and the death of Louis.

Brian - The talking dog with a sense of humour as dry as an AA meeting. Brian is a scholar and probably the sanest member of the Griffin family. It always amazes me how no one questions his ability to talk.

There are many more characters but my review will be too long for you to read as it is. For more information on the characters try reading a review on family guy the show.

DISC ONE
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Often the first episode of a show is weak and they get better as the series progresses, this is definitely not true in Family Guy. The whole family are hilarious right from the off and as soon as you start the first episode you will know that you made the right decision. In each episode you learn more about the characters as their personalities start to develop and each storyline creates a more in depth understanding of this hilarious family.

Episode 1 - Death Has A Shadow

A strange first episode as it is one that offers no formal introduction to the program, however does offer a subtle development to each character as the episode progresses. The comedy is top notch from the beginning and this episode is sure to get you hooked. In this episode Peter gets drunk at a bachelor party against the will of Louis. After waking up on the kitchen table he goes into work hung-over and is sacked for falling asleep on the job. In order to get some money for the family he applies for welfare and accidentally gets a cheque for $150,000 instead of the $150 he was entitled to. The rest of the episode is the story of what the average man would do in this situation against what his wife thinks he should do. This results in a hilarious outcome that has to be seen to be believed.

quote of the episode - "Now, kids, daddy only drank so the statue of liberty would take her clothes off" - Peter

Episode 2 - I Never Met The Dead Man

Another cheery title. In this episode Peter is teaching Meg to drive, and surprisingly he doesn't turn out to be the greatest teacher. When Peter is driving Meg home from her first test he gets distracted by a TV in a house he is passing and turns off the road, crashing into the town's main cable transmitter and turning off the whole towns cable. After much persuasion Louis persuades Peter he should spend more time with his family but it turns out the family can't cope with living life to the max.

quote of the episode - "Oh. I thought you wanted us to murder the children and harvest their organs for beer money" - Peter

Episode 3 - Mind Over Murder

Once again Peter gets himself in trouble earlier in the episode, this time he punches someone at the football match who surprisingly turns out to be a woman. In punishment he is put on house arrest and gets more and more bored as each day goes. In order to relieve his boredom Peter decides to open a bar in his basement, this means his friends come to him but Louis is really not happy when it results in more work for her. However, Louis decides she is going to practice her singing to the bar and when Louis steals the show Peter isn't happy at all.

quote of the episode "You shall rue this day! Well, go on. Start ruing!" Stewie

Episode 4 - Chitty Chitty Death Bang

Meg never seems to fit in but for once she makes a new group of friends, to help her fit in Peter allows her to go to a party instead of going to Stewie's first birthday party. Louis is not happy at all and to make up for it Peter turns up to Meg's party and brings her home. It turns out he she's actually attending a cult meeting and he has turned up just in time to save her life. The cult leader follows Meg home but is attacked by Stewie, who thinks he is the professional hired to return him to the womb.

quote of the episode "They have this game where you put in a dollar and you win four quarters. I win every time!" Chris

Episode 5 - A Hero Sits Next Door

A new family moves in next door and straight away Peter expresses his hate for the new family. However, after finding out the husband was a great baseball player in college he is forced into inviting him to play for his company baseball team in order to save his job. On the day of the game Peter is shocked to find out that Joe is in a wheelchair and thinks his job is gone for sure, but Joe turns out to be the hero and wins the match for the team. Peter hates not being the centre of attention and tries to become a hero himself but as usual things aren't that simple.

quote of the episode "holy crip, he's a crapple" Peter

Episode 6 - The Son Also Draws

Chris just wants to draw, but Peter insists he should be a youth scout. So when Chris is thrown out of the youth scouts Peter drags the family to New York to the Youth Scout Headquarters. On the way Peter Makes a toilet stop at a Native American Casino where Louis becomes a gambling addict and loses all their money and even manages to bet the car in no time at all. To reclaim the car Peter must prove the he is a Native American against the beliefs of the Casino owners.

quote of the episode "What would you say if I told you I didn't want to be in the scouts" Chris
"I'd say "Come Again?" and then I'd laugh cos I said "Come."" Peter

Episode 7 - Brian: Portrait Of A Dog

The Griffin family are struggling financially and persuade Brian to go against his beliefs and compete in a dog show. Everything is going well until Peter makes Brian beg for a treat, Brian is outraged by this and walks off in disgust. Peter and Brian fall out, so Brian leaves the house and decides to find someone who will treat him like a real person. Brian can't cope with life on the streets and after going crazy ends up on doggy death row. It's only when he is about to be put down that Brian realises what a great family he has.

quote of the episode "Oh, lordy lordy. I'll never roam again" Brian

DISC TWO
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Disc two is again funny throughout, there is not a single bad episode on either disc. Again Peter manages to get himself into more crazy situations and Stewie is still trying to take over the world. Some things never change!

Episode 8 - Peter Peter Caviar Eater

For once it looks like something is going right for the Griffins when Louis' aunt leaves the family a mansion in her will. Peter decides they should leave Quahog and sells the house without telling Louis. Peter tries so hard to fit in that he starts to believe he is a millionaire and bids $100,000,000 for a vase in a charity auction. They look to sell the house to raise the money but discover that although the house is huge it used to be a whorehouse and has no real market value. Peter must find a way to save the family from debt and save enough money to move back to Quahog.

quote of the episode "If I ever go back to Quahog, it'll be just so I can poke poor people with a stick" Chris

Episode 9 - Running Mates

Louis is running for school board presidency and after the withdrawal of her main rival she is running unopposed until Peter decides he wants to be President. Peter runs in order to save his old school teacher Mr. Fargas and uses every dirty trick he knows to get himself into power. Everything is going great for the new President until porno mags are found in school and local TV discover that Peter is the supplier. After riots erupt Peter must beg for forgiveness, both from the people of Quahog, and more importantly from Louis.

quote of the episode "I can be just as noncompetitive as anybody. Matter of fact, I'm the most noncompetitive, so I win!" Peter

Episode 10 - Holy Crap

After 60 long years in the mill Peter's dad is forced into retirement. Far from being the relief everyone expects, the lack of work is driving him mad. They invite him to move in with the family, but as soon as he does he becomes a total control freak, telling the Griffin's how to run their house, raise their kids and everything else he can have an opinion on. Peter decides to get him out of the house so gets him a job with him at the toy factory, this plan again backfires when he becomes foreman and works the employees towards mental breakdowns. Peter is desperate to win the admiration of his father and to prove he is not a failure. He believes the only way to do this is to kidnap the pope, a strong catholic like his father could never disobey the pope.

quote of the episode "God's watching me do number two? Oh, man! I'm a sinner and God's a pervert." Chris

Episode 11 - If I'm Lying I'm Dying

Peter's favourite TV show Gumbel 2 Gumbel has been cancelled and he decides he will do anything to get it back on. After watching the news he comes up with the idea of applying to the Grant-A-Dream foundation and tells them Chris is dying of "Tumour-syphilis-itis-osis". The problem is the foundation come to check on Chris and Peter panics and tells them Chris is better and he is a healer with divine powers. Peter thinks its over, but he becomes worshipped like god by local people. He enjoys this worship until he becomes attacked by the same plagues that hit Egypt. Peter has to go against his wish and tell the truth or it will cost him Chris' life.

quote of the episode "Chris, everything I say is a lie. Except that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that.....And that." Peter

Episode 12 - Love Thy Trophy

Spooner street work together and create an excellent float which easily wins the Quahog Harvest-Day Parade. The street all want the trophy so decide it should sit out in the street for them all to share, but on the first night it's stolen. While this is happening Meg gets a job to earn money for a bag and in an attempt to get more tips she claims to be a single Mum with Stewie as her crack addicted baby. Social services turn up to check on Stewie after the stories they have heard and see the war zone Spooner street has become because of the trophy, they have no choice but to take him away. Now with Stewie is in a foster home the street must forgive each other and work together or the Griffin's may never see Stewie again.

quote of the episode "Well, that was then and this is now. And this is a chair. And that's a lamp. And you have boobies. And I'm gonna find that trophy!" Peter

Episode 13 - Death Is A Bitch

Lois finds a breast lump in bed but it turns out its Peters breast that has the lump. Peter is worried about going but receives good news from the doctor when he is told the lump is just fatty tissue, the only bad news he receives is the bill. Peter tries to get out of the bill by claiming to be dead but the plan doesn't seem too clever when death turns up to take Peter away. Peter pleads with death and in the end tries to run, death slips and twists his ankle making him unable to catch Peter. Lois takes death in hoping if they look after him he will spare Peters life, but after Peter shows the whole world that the laws of death no longer apply he must become death and carry out his duties, he is told to kill the cast of Dawson's Creek of death will kill him.

quote of the episode "All I gotta do is write "deceased" right here where it says "name". And when it says "sex", I'll write "No thanks. I'm Dead"" Peter

Episode 14 - The King Is Dead

After the death of Robert Kimble, Lois is appointed the new artistic director of the Quahog Players Theatre group. The whole family want to be involved in her first play, which she has decided will be the King and I. Peter is the most desperate but is awful on stage so Lois decides to give him the role of producer. This puts Peter on a power trip and takes over the project, gets rid of Lois and to her disgust turns the play more Hollywood than Rogers and Hammerstein. Everyone loved the play but Lois, and that's the most important person to Peter.

quote of the episode "Hey, can somebody give me a hand with all this talent" Peter

SPECIAL FEATURES
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Basically if offers none. You can choose to watch the film, choose a chapter to watch or turn subtitles on of off. They are your only decisions. This is slightly disappointing but if you're like me you buy a DVD for the show/film not the extras that come with it.

PRICE
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The cheapest I can find online is £9.99 including deliver from www.play.com. This works out at around £4.99 a disc and as little as 71p per episode. This is definitely a bargain and works out great value for money. If you love the show as much as I do it such a little price to pay for so much enjoyment.

VITAL INFORMATION
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Total Running Time: 5 hours 12 minutes
Languages: English (Dolby Stereo)
Subtitles: English
Certificate: 15

CONCLUSION
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The show will be loved by some and loathed by others, but I guarantee if you love one episode you will love them all. The DVD is great value for money and means you can watch whichever episode you want whenever you want. I advise you find an episode on sky and watch it, if you find yourself in fits of laughter run to the shops and buy it now, if not then thanks for reading but it's not for you.

Sorry the review is so long I just can't stop talking about Family Guy once I get started. Thanks for reading and I hope you found this useful.

Andrew