I am a very recent convert to Family Guy, and after managing to watch seasons 1, 3 and 4 in the space of a week, I found myself wondering, 'how did I not know about this before!?' I think the answer to the question is the fact that Family Guy never really took off in the UK, due to competition from other popular shows, and never getting the right kind of publicity. I must admit, before I watched the DVD of season 4, I thought Family Guy was a cheap, rude and non-funny cartoon. I was so wrong! It's similar to the Simpsons, but so much better! Season 4 is probably my favourite season, because you really get to see the series at its best. The humour is better than the earlier series' and you can see how the producers have developed season 4 and put in all the extras to make it that bit better, such as the musical numbers! You will have to watch and find out more…
The humour of Family Guy is spot on, with humorous characters, perfectly timed jokes, and some of the most random and totally unexpected moments that make you either groan, giggle your arse off, or look around with a bewildered smile on your face. It's a 15 certificate, which I think is fair, because there is some occasional swearing (but it's done so well, it heightens the humour), and references to sex and drugs. But again, these aspects only add to the humour because it's done in a clever way; it's not a case of making the cartoon a bit crude and tasteless, which I originally thought.
This triple DVD box set of the entire season 4 can be purchased from Tesco for £16.97, which is a saving of £8.02, as the original retail price was £24.99, so you can get this for a good bargain! The front of the set is easily recognisable which a bright scene of all the characters in show outfits. The DVD's come in their own individual slim line boxes and on the back of each box is a summary if the 4 or 5 episodes you can choose
to view! Just to recap the main characters: Peter Griffin- He's the 'family guy' and he's the insane and somewhat crazy head of the family who gives the series some of the most hilarious moments. Lois- The poor nasal stay-at-home Mum who puts up with an insane household but secretly yearns for a bit of excitement in her life. Chris- Voiced by Seth Green from Austin Powers, his voice alone makes me want to chuckle. Tormented by the evil monkey in his closet, Chris is somewhat slow, but means well! Meg- the black sheep of the family, the rest of her family doesn't like her very much and she has all the typical teenage girl issues in her life, plus a few more! Stewie- this one-year-old British-accent speaking evil genius baby has got to be my favourite character! He is intent on world-domination and destroying Lois, but he never seems to have any success! Brian- the family's voice of reason (literally, because he can talk and is nothing like the dim and slow Peter and Chris) who helps them out through thick and thin; he considers himself a highly sophisticated dog- well he must be, drinking all those martinis!
I'm not going to go through all 13 episodes because that might get a bit boring! Basically all the episodes are about the mischief and mayhem the family get up to in and around their home town of Quahog in Rhode Island. All the episodes help to make series 4 as good as it is, and there are lots of tributes and homage paid to other films/ characters/ musicals/ TV shows and goodness knows what else! The series also features the most guest stars, which is a result of the show's increasing popularity. Guest starts included Drew Barrymore, Gene Simmons and James Woods (he's more well known in America!). Sometimes the guests appear as themselves, or in guises, such as Drew Barrymore in 'Fast Times At Buddy Cianci Jr. High' as Chris's sexy new teacher who wants him to kill her husband… The season also features numerous references to other shows and programmes, such as in the episode 'Don't Make Me Over' where the family sing on Saturday Night Live!
The humour in the episodes is just perfectly done, with the right element of shock, which makes you laugh instead of getting offended. An example would be in the episode 'Petarded' where Peter learns he's mentally retarded and uses it as an excuse to do whatever he wants, such as kicking open the doors of all the ladies rooms and answers every outraged scream with a 'sorry-retarded-don't know any better!' Though one of the best jokes in the episodes, which just personifies Peter and shows just how dumb he is… In the Episode 'The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire', the whole gang are on a yacht playing Charades and their friend Joe who's in a wheelchair due to being paralysed-falls overboard. He obviously starts drowning and Peter shouts 'Joe! Kick with your legs!' Lois reminds him 'Peter he's a paraplegic!' to which he replies 'doesn't mean he can't hear!' You have to watch it in the context to really appreciate it, but I think that shows the genius writing of the producers and writers in that they know where and how to insert a joke so that you're not expecting it, but will still make you laugh!
The extras that come with the DVDs are great. First there're commentaries on selected episodes with the creator of Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane (who also does the voices of Peter, Stewie, Brian, and many others!), other cast members and the producers, directors and writers. It's always good to listen to the commentaries because it gives you an insight to the ideas and inspirations in everybody's minds that help to create the episodes. Next is a 'featurette' called 'World Domination: The Family Guy Phenomenon'. Family Guy was actually cancelled after 2 seasons because it was having limited success, and was brought back due to popular demand and lots of petitions! This proves how Family Guy actually improved upon its come back, because new writers had to be hired. Also, because the show had more publicity, the writers were able to get more cameos! Up next are all the deleted scenes which are quite fun to watch, and it's interesting seeing what the producers cut out of each episode! Next is my favourite extra feature, called 'Score! Music of Family Guy'. This is especially interesting for all of you who are interested in music, because it's got interviews with the composers, and behind the scenes footage of the musicians doing their recordings. Next is one of the most fascinating to watch features called the Multi-Angle Table Read, which is all the cast members sitting round a table and reading through their scripts. It's great to see the people who do the voices, even more great to see people like Seth MacFarlane doing multiple voices! It's really good also to see the cast members enjoying the humour and having to stop the reading because they're all laughing to hard. Finally is the Storyboard/Animatic Comparisons which shows a snippet of an episode alongside the pencil drawings which were the original ideas.
The menu on the DVD is really easy to use and understand and has been well decorated with different characters on different pages. The only downside to Family Guy is that sometimes, you won't always get all the jokes and references to other films etc. In the episode North By North Quahog, Peter and Lois are in a cornfield and a plane appears and chases Peter along the field trying to shoot him. Now I know this is in reference to a film, but I've never seen or heard of it, so I couldn't tell you which one! You have to have seen a lot of films to get all the jokes! And there will always be some jokes that will offend, and might shock too much; it just depends who you are!
If you have an open-mind and are up for a chuckle, then Family Guy is for you. I've watched the all the episodes in series 4 back to back which took me 'approx 270 minutes' and I didn't get bored once, I was perfectly happy to sit there and soak up every minute! And being a music lover, the sound track is great- very few cartoons use live music, and so Family Guy is to be praised for that.
Thanks for reading :o)
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this is a good series, you should have given an episode list.
BadCompany2007 03.05.2007 23:39
Tis a good series xx
petebrolly 01.02.2007 16:28
Great review! I've seen all the other series' but not this one, must pick it up. You've hit the nail on the head with your description of the humour of family guy! Just a pity not everyone "gets" it, they should watch more tv :-)
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