My high-school days. A time when the Sega Dreamcast was dying, Manchester United dominated the Premier League, and Channel 4 showed some show about homeless animals as part of their early evening line-up. I know this because once a week (a Wednesday I believe it was) I would come home and sit through 25 minutes of fluffy kittens and bright-eyed pups just to ensure that, come six-o-clock, no-one could change the channel. That night was my night. A night to indulge in something that none of my friends, at the time, seemed to know or care about. It was mine. My own. My precious, if you will. It was time for Family Guy, season 1.

So, season four then. Family Guy, after being cancelled a SECOND time by Fox (who apparently don't know a great comedy when they see it!) and then picked-up yet again had a lot to live up to. The first three seasons were pure genius, as DVD sales have proven (Family Guy: the best selling television show on DVD format EVER.) Filled with utterly memorable moments, the writers had a lot to live up to. Personally, I was nervous that given the time away (which was a lot longer than the first break) they might lose their way a little bit. That, somehow, it wouldn't be... right. Thankfully, Family Guy season four not only matches it's predecessors, it surpasses them in almost every way!

The jokes, as ever, sometimes border on the edge of offensive. The 15 rating is certainly deserved, with jokes about mental-retardation and drug use being the order of the day this season. Fortunately, these are never over-used and never used in spite. It's not a case of taking the mickey out of anyone, it's just a comedic view on things that are, in some cases, taboo. There's one scene, for example, where a patient is informed that he has AIDS by a barber-shop quartet who sing a hilarious yet wholly inappropriate song to the bewildered patient. If you feel that this sort of thing is not your cup of tea, and that it's just too offensive for your tastes then fair enough, but keeping it in the context of comedy it's brilliantly written and perfectly delivered. It's not all about edgy humour though, with some great spoofs of popular TV shows and films. There's one scene, for example, at the end of an episode where Peter recieves a medal for a heroic deed, done in the same style and including the same music and characters from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope! Seth Macfarlane revealed that Family Guy even worked very closely with Lucas Arts to make sure that every character used (including C3-PO and R2-D2) were drawn accurately, and that the song and end-credits were tied in just right! There are, however, some gags from American shows that we just don't see. If you get the joke it's great, and 90% of the time you will, it's just that sometimes there are some very "American" jokes that we from another country may not get. But with this being the show's only real downfall, we can forgive it since the rest of the show is funny enough for everyone.