Family Guy - Series 3 - Complete (Box Set) > Reviews > Lucky There's a Show to...

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Not applicable

Advantages:	fast - paced, clever humour and brilliantly drawn characters
Disadvantages:	no DVD extras

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I've been a long time Family Guy fan, and as wonderful as Seasons 1 and 2 were, the massive change in writing staff in preperation for Season 3 really pays off.
Family Guy has often been unfairly tagged as an "adult Simpsons", but that doesn't begin to do it justice. Family Guy's originality is in its thick and fast pop culture references, which range from accessible references to movies and TV shows with which we are all familiar, to the obscure, and all the more rewarding for those who 'get' it. These references are generally not integral to the plot, but are presented as hilarious non sequiturs, which was infamously parodied by South Park who claimed that the show is entirely built around completely interchangeable jokes. But even without these, the plots are brilliantly composed with sharp dialogue and well drawn characters (and I'm not talking in terms of animation). Also worth noting is the fantastic music score - from the wonderfully crafted big musical numbers, to the otherwise incidental music, composed by Walter Murphy and Ron Jones, without a synthesiser in sight, and a large orchestra aplenty.
The Season 3 DVD box-set is a brilliant collection of 21 episodes. Be aware though, there are no extras in sight, not that it's much of a problem. The three discs of Family Guy's golden age is more than entertaining enough :)
You should also check out the first 2, and the following 2 seasons that have been released so far. Although personally I found this season to have that slightly stronger edge, Family Guy has always been consistently fantastic, and whilst 'mature' isn't quite the right word ;) - adult, intelligent and very, very, funny are. Although the constraints of American network television have meant that sometimes the show hasn't been able to get quite as tasteless as the creators would clearly like to, over the course of the series (and particularly in the newer seasons) there have been additional gags only seen on the DVD versions, following the incredible DVD sales (that was a huge influence on Fox re-commissioning the show after previously cancelling it), giving something back to the fanbase that helped save perhaps the best show on television.