Casual Cogitations

Family Guy debuted on Fox in 1999 and folks were promptly confused. The series was lewd, annoying, politically incorrect, and just plain weird. There was a talking dog and a baby who wanted to take over the world. The guy next door was a pervert, and was that Jesus making a date with a hot babe? When it comes to this (very) adult cartoon, people either love it or hate it, and in 2002, the hate-its got their wish when Fox canceled the series for poor ratings (or possibly its offensive behavior). But fear not—Family Guy did what very few series have ever done—it came back in 2005, and it came back as strong as ever. Witness the splendor (and the insanity) of Family Guy.

Oh my, how to explain Family Guy. There are no words, for it truly must be experienced to be understood. But here are the basics. The Griffins are a typical middle-class family with 2.5 children and dog, living a typically suburban neighborhood in the town of Quahog. Peter is the breadwinner, the kooky dad who might as easily be caught in a fight with a six-foot chicken as barbequing in the backyard. Lois is his wife, a modern woman who loves (and still makes love to) her husband, and relates intellectually to the family dog, Brian, who is smarter than everyone else. Meg (voiced by Mila Kunis of That '70s Show) is the oldest child, an average-looking girl who is often picked on by everyone in the show. Chris (voiced by Seth Green of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is the overly plump and somewhat psychotic middle child. Stewie, the baby, is an evil genius who still needs to be changed and rocked to sleep.

Though episodes may seem to have a clear and present plot when they begin, it's likely that they'll be run off track before the halfway point. You see, Family Guy is known for its cutaways—quick (and nauseatingly not so quick) sidesteps needed to make a humorous point. But what the series is really famous for is its incredibly long list of pop culture references. So long, in fact, there is a fan website devoted to nothing but notes about these references. TV shows and movies are favored fodder, but cultural icons, political figures, and current news stories all end up lampooned at one point or another.

All the evidence you need of Family Guy's brilliance can be found in the opening teaser of "North by North Quahog"—the show's return to the airwaves after a near four-year break. Peter stands in front of his family and announces that their show has been canceled. Why? So Fox can make room for better shows such as…and the list begins. Twenty-nine shows in all, from Freaky Links to Greg the Bunny. "Is there any chance of saving Family Guy", Lois asks? "A slim chance", says Peter. "If all of those shows get canceled, then maybe." Of course, all twenty-nine of those shows have been canceled, some after only a few airings.

Biting the hand that feeds it is one of the things Family Guy does best.

My only complaint about the series itself—or more accurately, the change in the series when this season begins. Any longtime fan will notice that this season has a bad habit of staying on a joke too long. Way too long. This likely came from a few episodes from the earlier seasons where a one-note joke was sustained to the point of funny. Unfortunately, in this new season, the show holds on past funny and runs quickly into annoying. You will also notice an increase in cutaways in any given episode, despite MacFarlane's claim that they didn't make any changes to the series when they re-upped in '05.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Family Guy can be summed with a quote from the episode "Petarded."

Peter: (Grabs the microphone at a fast food restaurant) "Attention restaurant customers: Testicles. That is all."

Yep. Testicles. Family Guy says what you were going to say. Family Guy says what you were never going to say. And Family Guy says what you were thinking, but wouldn't ever say out loud in a million years, even though you know it would be hysterically funny if your mamma hadn't raised you to be a socially responsible adult.

Personally, I think being a socially responsible adult takes all the fun out of life. This bus is going straight to hell and there's still plenty of room on board, so check out Family Guy and it'll keep the motor running for you.

Call me sick, call me twisted, but I'm delighted about the resurrection of Fox's nasty but extremely funny Family Guy.