Sunday, September 05, 2004

Why I Hate FAMILY GUY

Someone suggested to me that if I took the time to explain why I think Family Guy is a bad show, I might stand a chance of getting some angry replies from some of that show's many online fans. Since the main reason to do a blog is the hope of getting angry replies and/or denunciations on other blogs, I've decided to give it a shot.

Here are ten reasons why I think Family Guy is a bad show:

10. Stewie, the most popular character, is a double ripoff. His world-domination ambitions and dictatorial rhetoric are ripped off from the Brain of Pinky and the Brain. And his design and personality are ripped off from Jimmy Corrigan, a comic-strip character created by Chris Ware. A Jimmy Corrigan strip from 1996 can be found here.

9. It constantly recycles its own meagre store of gags. It's got about three basic gags -- a cutaway to something that references a work of '70s or '80s pop culture; one of those "stretching out something so long that it's funny" routines (they do this one about five times an episode), and sexual-innuendo jokes that are sort of The Golden Girls for frat-boys. I don't mind that they sometimes use jokes from other shows -- recycling jokes is inevitable in comedy -- but they managed to get through 50 episodes without coming up with a new kind of joke, and that wears thin.

8. The characters are so boring, such a dull collection of sitcom stereotypes from the creator's youthful TV-watching binges, that there is virtually no humor to be gotten from the characters. Good comedy writing gets laughs from the characters; the writers on this show write around the characters. By the last few episodes, Stewie was so tapped-out as a character that he was written out of character in almost every episode (that is, almost every gag featured him taking on a personality other than his own), a sign that the character had nothing to him in the first place except the stuff that was taken from superior characters (like the Brain). About the only actual character on the show is Brian the dog, and even he doesn't have that much to his character.

7. It uses references as a substitute for humor. Talk to the average young Family Guy fan and you'll usually hear that what they like best about the show is that it refers to things they saw when they were growing up, and they're just tickled to find that someone else remembers it -- like the "kid in me/adult in me" commercial. Well, I remember that stuff too, but that's lazy comedy writing: there's no perspective on the stuff Family Guy is referencing, no actual joke beyond the reference itself. A golden rule of bad comedy is that if people recognize the reference, they'll laugh even if the joke's not funny. Family Guy goes beyond that; it doesn't even try to have a joke half the time -- it just assumes that making a pop culture reference is inherently funny. Another Family Guy hater makes a similar point here.

6. Seth MacFarlane's voice acting is quite poor: uninflected, monotonous, recycling the same few vocal tricks over and over the way the show recycles a few gag concepts. Mike Judge, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and others have developed into good vocal actors, but Seth MacFarlane is the best argument against creators voicing their own creations.

5. It's one of those things that presents itself as "cutting-edge" but is actually gutless. Its "offensive" jokes are neatly calculated to make sure they don't actually risk offending their fanbase; instead they make jokes that would be offensive to the kinds of people who don't watch the show -- sexual prudes, for example. Any genuinely cutting-edge comedy will risk offending people who watch it; but how is a penis joke supposed to offend the average college student? The answer is, it's not supposed to offend anybody who watches the show; it's supposed to give college kids a smug sense of superiority in believing that someone else might theoretically be offended by that penis joke. (An animated sitcom that actually dared to be tasteless and offensive was Duckman, which took on actual social and political issues; another animated sitcom that actually dares to challenge its audience is South Park, which takes the things that its youngish viewers have been told on other TV shows -- say, saving the rainforest is good -- and tells them the opposite.)

4. The style of the show, which its fans consider such an innovation, was pretty much familiar to anyone who had been following the Saturday morning and weekday cartoons of the early to mid '90s. Sitcom-style stories that went off into weird directions; a look and feel that parodied sitcoms of the '50s to the '80s; constant jokes about '80s pop culture: this was all characteristic of the funny kids' cartoons of the '90s. Essentially, if you watched enough episodes of the early Johnny Bravo (which Seth MacFarlane worked on) or some episodes of Tiny Toons or various other kids' shows of that era, then Family Guy looks like what it is: a kids' show, with all the things that characterized the kids' shows of the '90s: attempts to be hip, suspicion of big heartfelt moments, and lots of references to the shows the kids watched when they were very little. In other words, Family Guy isn't a sophisticated take on the sitcom; it's a kiddie show with some PG-13 references for older kids.

3. The animation was probably the worst of any animated sitcom ever, maybe neck-and-neck with the animated sitcom version of Dilbert. One veteran artist, who described Family Guy as the worst show he'd ever worked on -- and he'd worked for Hanna-Barbera in the '70s, so he wasn't saying that lightly -- summed it up this way:

When I'd suggest some sort of minor gag... [the director] just looked at me and, deadpan, asked "why"? The designs of the characters were murder to draw, so bland and expressionless, but I was somehow expected to get more "acting" out of them. Believe me, Peter's model sheet poses for "happy" and "depressed" looked practically identical! I was told not to add eyebrows, not to distort eye-shapes, not to draw "cartoony" poses...but still, somehow, creating "acting". Yeah, right.


The animation on "The Simpsons" or "King of the Hill" may not be classic-level, but every character acts with his or her face and body to a certain extent; they have, let's say, at least two expressions. "Family Guy" has the most inexpressive characters I've ever seen, and the only distinctive movement on the whole show is a gag that the supervising director (Peter Shin) invented to make characters fall down really fast... a gag that was then repeated to death for the rest of the series.

2. The scripts are bad. I mean apart from the shoddy recycled gags and characters, most of the scripts are just frankly terrible in terms of story construction, coherent satire, etc. The satire is, again, gutless and timid (taking on such never-before-seen satirical targets as tobacco companies and feminists); the dialogue is sub-According to Jim; the stories tend to feature one plot point per act surrounded by many minutes of filler. I guess you can say that what I call "filler" is really the point of the show. Even if the gags were funny (which they are not), I wouldn't buy this. The show is in the form of a sitcom and it should have good story construction and all the other stuff one expects of a sitcom. Otherwise all you're left with is a big overlong comedy sketch with the same characters every week, not unlike a really bad year of Saturday Night Live.

1. Plenty of other animated shows that went off the air didn't get anywhere near the same kind of following, and certainly didn't get revived. Futurama, of course, was far better; but so was Pinky and the Brain when it was in primetime; so was Duckman, which was the offensive, shocking show that Family Guy never had the guts to be (and Duckman's "Road To" episode was a million times better than Family Guy's). Even The Critic, which had some of the same problems as FG (bad animation, unmemorable characters, over-reliance on pop-culture references as opposed to genuine satire or parody), displayed a higher level of craftsmanship. Essentially Family Guy is a story of poor craftsmanship rewarded. I can't help but resent that.

Now, what do I think of the fact that this show has become so popular among younger viewers, popular enough to make it a huge DVD hit and guarantee a sizeable 18-35 demographic for the new episodes? First of all, I think that the Family Guy cult will look really embarrassing a few decades from now, because the '80s references will no longer be comprehensible, and so the episodes will consist largely of dead spots (since there are no jokes, just the references, which are supposed to be funny just because you "get" them). Second, I think it proves that people of my generation don't have better taste in TV than people of my parents' generation; in other words, how can I make fun of some elderly relative for enjoying some badly-written, badly-made CBS show, when I have younger relatives who enjoy the worse-written, worse-made Family Guy? In other words, I think "geezer TV" has been replaced by a new category... call it "whippersnapper TV": bad TV that succeeds because it appeals to the sensibilities of a particular age-based segment of the audience. All of which is a long way of saying that lots of bad shows become hits. This is another one of them.

Now, to add some fairness and balance: I actually did think that the last season of Family Guy showed some improvement, in the sense that there was some attempt to write coherent stories and give the characters something resembling a personality. It wasn't good, but it was better, and I suppose it's theoretically possible that the new episodes could be better still. There was one episode from the last season that I thought was just plain good: "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows," where Brian the dog meets a reclusive old lady who used to be an opera singer. That episode featured an original song that was quite a good attempt at a pastiche Broadway song, certainly better than anything Joss Whedon came up for for his Buffy musical, so I've got to give Seth MacFarlane credit for that, as well as for proving to college kids that musicals aren't for dorks. (I read that the upcoming Family Guy CD includes a song from Take Me Along by Bob Merrill, so he gets more points for that.)

Also, despite the life-ain't-fair tone of # 1, I'd say that in general, most animated sitcoms have gotten a fair shake; King of the Hill is still on, as is South Park; Futurama and Duckman got 70 episodes apiece; the animated sitcoms that outright bombed are mostly the ones that deserved to. So Family Guy's success doesn't actually take anything away from more deserving shows. It's just another mediocre-to-poor show on the air. The TV universe will survive that.




439 comments:

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Anonymous said...

I have watched a total of 2 family guy episodes:

1 was mediocre and one was utterly terrible. While this is hardly a statistically significant sample, as far as I can tell it is representative of the series as a whole, and this blog post sums up the problems very well.

However, I don't feel that the poor animation is a particular problem in and of itself. The real problem is that the show has zero entertaining plot. It is primarily a mixture of unfunny references, irritating musical interludes and mini-sketches, all loosely tied together with unoriginal stereotypical/ridiculous characters.

If I really wanted to watch something like this I could just go on youtube and watch random videos from the 'most popular' list, and it would probably be considerably more enjoyable.

It's even worse when you compare it to some of the things on the internet that AREN'T youtube. It may be 'apples and oranges', but I feel my point still stands when I say that practically every webcomic on the internet involves more artistic talent, wit and character development than Family Guy. Even lolcats often provide a higher 'humour density' than FG. Seriously, if you're making a cartoon, the only purpose of which is to be entertaining, it ISN'T THAT HARD!

I guess it just appeals to a certain sense of humour. (or lack thereof)

Unknown said...

Interesting take.

George said...

The Brain! Of course, I knew Stewie reminded me of an old character. Sometimes the jokes on Family Guy flat out make fun of themselves and how lazy they are pointing out the things they rip off.. like when they make the mickey mouse joke on copy writing... or when Brian turns into snoopy.

Anonymous said...

Yeah i agree the family guy is a terrible show. When the family guy came out i knew instantly it was going to be yet another show i can't stand. After seeing some of the samples on youtube, sure maybe a few of them were kind of funny, but overall it really is just another dumb american show. Too bad adults watch these foolish cartoons, it just goes to show that stupidness breeds stupidness, i mean look at how dumbed down they've become. Its a shame really.. glad i didn't get sucked in to watch that.. rather be called a loser or weirdo or any other name, than be a fan of the family guy.

Slick_trev said...

Why I hate you, Jaime J. Weinman (Hater)

First I would like to relate the relevance of your BLOG, (an avid writer like yourself can probably appreciate the alliteration) but I find myself curious? If you’re such a good journalist, why are you writing on a blog that in not peer-edited, not sponsored, and not published officially in any way? I would have thought that with such quick and witty puns, you would be a hit! Maybe it’s because you’re writing is about harassing a show that has been around longer than your gonorrhea, and has more fans than the Pope. That’s right; you know what I’m talking about, the famous Family Guy. An American animated television series about a dysfunctional family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. (Yes its fictional, I looked that shit up) Enough about the show, I want to talk more about you Jaime. You think your knowledgeable history about the writers of the show, more less, the characters, makes you an expert? For the record, I get wikipedia on my computer too, and no one is impressed.

To compare Stewart Gilligan Griffin, to Brain (from pinky and the brain) is an insult. Just because he plans on ‘taking over the world’ gives them little similarities. I mean these days, who isn’t trying to take over the world? Why don’t you just compare him to Hitler himself? And then to attack Seth MacFarlane’s voice directly. I am going to assume that’s a reason you went into writing, the lack of an attractable voice and you got jealous, or maybe your ugly face. Was that a low blow? I think making a contrast between Family Guy and Johnny Bravo is a low blow. I find it odd how you claim, and I quote, “This animation show was probably the worst of any animated sitcom ever, maybe neck-and-neck with the animated sitcom version of Dilbert” Really? Like, really? Do I have to make a comment? No-one likes Dilbert, Dilbert doesn’t even like Dilbert. To compare these two is like comparing a Christmas tree ornament to Santa’s sleigh (tis the season) the fact of the matter is, Santa isn’t real. You then go on to call Family Guy, a [pussy] and ‘afraid to offend people’ not that I support it, but Family Guy has thoroughly ‘poked fun’ at; blacks, Jews, Christians, feminists, sailors, art, ‘Homos’, pollution, old people, government corruption, perverts, and other various groups of people. But it is done with good humour. I also find it curious how you took the time to write a blog on a show that is rated PG-13. I know you’re a ‘writer’ but I think you can figure out what PG-13 means. Peter Griffon-13? No no no my friend. PG-13 = Parents strongly cautioned some material might be inappropriate for children under 13 years of age. Not to be confused with, ‘40+ single men please watch, and then critiqueon an internet blog,’ a common mistake, none-the-less. I hope that when I’m old and bitter I will have stopped watching cartoons, including Pinky and the Brain and Johnny Bravo. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Before ending I just want to say, after reading your, ‘blog?’ Was it? I noticed 15 different references to 15 different children programs, good for you. As a good friend once said to me ‘grow up’ and I did, and as I pass this valuable information on to you, I just wanted to let you know that I found your writing dull, monotonous, simple and weak. What it comes down to is Family Guy is an innovative creative family oriented, comically random animated television show, used for entertainment purposes only. If you don’t like it, simply change the channel and let us enjoy it. In the words of a great character; ‘I think I might kill you tonight’

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you family guy is a horrible horrible show. I liked so few of their episodes the chicken suit episode was genius. But in all fairness apparently their is an audience for it sadly. And it manages to stay on air. Well I can't agree with you anymore and you didn't even write this article in 2010. I just choose not to watch it.

Anonymous said...

Wow first i want to say, some of the people on here need to go back into school to learn to spell and put together correct sentences. Of course that's probably the type of person Family Guy attracts. Retards. Plain and Simple. South Park kicks family guys ass in every aspect of what a good show really is. If you don't understand that statement, you must like Family Guy. Fuck Seth Mcfarlane. I love seeing that some people actually are grown up and understand Seth Mcfarlane for what he really is. Not funny. Not at all. Family Guy, The Cleveland Show,and American dad should be cancelled, pulled off t.v. and forgotten for the rest of time.

emilyscott said...

There is not doubt that South Park is a better product.A real reason to hate something and attempt to persuade others would be if its proceeds went towards causing harm to the environment for example.

Best Attorney

Thadd said...

I think I love you. Bonus: the state I live in just legalized gay marriage. But seriously, thank you for taking the time to systematically list all the reasons Family Guy sucks. It's easily the best example I have ever found for the triumph of mediocrity. Based on the fans I've known and most of the comments I have to conclude that most fans are twitching, illiterate jerks who probably can't even find the definition of "satire" in the dictionary. Great job, and thank you for no doubt enduring numerous death threats from said illiterate jerks for posting this.

Anonymous said...

I hope this still gets comments six years on, because this show is still god-awful. I liked it early on, as background fodder, but now it's completely unwatchable. It really panders to the frat boy-Dane Cook loving audience.

The Philosopher said...

I hate Family Guy because it's so middle class - Americans who talk about rights and make political jokes. Makes me sick. Peter's look too - the white polo shirt and round glasses. What a knob.

Anonymous said...

Family guy has no meaningful plot. Rather relying on annoying silly flashbacks which make no sense whatsoever!!!

SOUTH PARK RULES!!!

Anonymous said...

Family guy has no meaningful plot. Rather relying on annoying silly flashbacks which make no sense whatsoever!!!

SOUTH PARK RULES!!!

Rawb said...

Family guy isn't funny! Watch futurama, that's quality right there!

And have anyone noticed, quite often in family guy, when NOTHING happens for like 5 minutes? It's like looking on a fucking picture...What the hell is funny about that?
I mean it, what is funny bout it?
I can't understand it..

Monster said...

I watch this piece of crap upon occasion. Still not funny. God, I hate this show.

Anonymous said...

i totally agree with everything you said here. it looks like you got the angry comments you expected, but i would like to say that i do not like family guy. i am 17 and everyone in my age group loves the show, and i did too when i was much younger. now and days i just find the show repetitive and tasteless.

-thank you for you opinion

Family Guy Tv Show said...

Family Guy is one of the most popular shows on television right now.
I m also a big fan of Family Guy.

Simo said...

Family Guy is a great show. Way better than Simpsons for example. My 10 reasons why: http://allmylistshere.blogspot.com/2010/10/10-reasons-i-like-family-guy-more-than.html

claire said...

You made a point on the family cuy tv show, but I guess most of the people love it. I'm 50/50 I don't hate it like you do, but I not into so much. There are some videos that some times I watch on my iphone videos

Anonymous said...

You know, I'm not a dumb person, I'm 53 years old and in my youth I've finished several studies at university. I am considered an expert on Slavic and Roman languages. But even I like Family Guy. Actually, the reason for that is because it's so poorly written and acted, and the jokes are so poor, that those are the things that really make it fun to look at. I don't really understand why series should actually have a serious content, or a good storyline, or a nice plot. Isn't it just relaxing to sit down and watch a plain load of nonsense? I'm not being sarcastic, I just like nonsense sometimes, especially after work. Life is serious enough, people should learn how to enjoy utter dumbness.

Anonymous said...

don't watch?

Anonymous said...

instead of doing this blog,make your own cartoon.

Anonymous said...

IM ASKING ALL THE PEOPLE HERE, HAVE U EVER FOUND SOMETHING WITH 100% ACCEPTANCE. TYPE WWW.YOUTUBE.COM AND TAKE A LOOK AT AS MANY VIDEOS U CAN, JUS GO DO IT NOW, GO AHEAD DO IT. DID U SEE WHAT I MEANT? THERE IS ALWAYS A HATER, MAYBE MORE THAN 1 PERSON FOR EVERY SINGLE VIDEO. A PERSON WONT STOP WATCHING FAMILY GUY JUS CUZ OF UR BLOG POST!!

AS LONG AS LOVERS EXIST THERE ARE HATERS!!!LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT.

FINALLY, F uUu CK OFF FOR HATING FG. U sON OF A B*.(BLAST!!!! ALL PERISH)

Anonymous said...

IM ASKING ALL THE PEOPLE HERE, HAVE U EVER FOUND SOMETHING WITH 100% ACCEPTANCE. TYPE WWW.YOUTUBE.COM AND TAKE A LOOK AT AS MANY VIDEOS U CAN, JUS GO DO IT NOW, GO AHEAD DO IT. DID U SEE WHAT I MEANT? THERE IS ALWAYS A HATER, MAYBE MORE THAN 1 PERSON FOR EVERY SINGLE VIDEO. A PERSON WONT STOP WATCHING FAMILY GUY JUS CUZ OF UR BLOG POST!!

AS LONG AS LOVERS EXIST THERE ARE HATERS!!!LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT.
(BLAST!!!! ALL PERISH)

Anonymous said...

wow i found this while trying to find out how old the guys from the band why? are.. And I'm so glad I did.. LAME SHOW.. everything has it's merits but damn.. so re-re-re-hashed.. thank you..

Anonymous said...

Thank you.

fellow Family Guy hater said...

Will you fanboys and fangirls Family Guy just shut the hell up and get the hell of this blog?! It was made by a Family Guy hater. In turn, it's for ALL Family Guy haters.

And those haters have as much right to express their hatred for that show as you lovers have a right to love it. But to shove your opinions down the throats of others is wrong. How would you like it if other people crammed their opinions down your throats?

You Family Guy fanatics only think that fuckin' series is awesome. But me and my fellow haters don't. We think it blows cock and so does anyone who gets all pissy about its haters.

And let me tell you fans of that program something: If you get revenge on every Family Guy hater in this world, they'll retaliate at you. So let the haters be and get on with with your damn lives.

If you can't stand Family Guy haters, then why don't you take stupid obsession for that damn series to another site and cry like the little babies you are? Better yet, shove your fanaticism up your asses and go fuck yourselves.

As I typed earlier, this blog's for Family Guy haters. And its lovers AREN'T allowed.

Anonymous said...

Family Guy is proof that Americans are rapidly getting dumber. Thank you for your review, which should be treated as fact for anybody over age seven.

Unknown said...

I have go through your post but beyond all this I want to say this that Family Guy is one of the best entertaining show. This is rocking show on television. I like it very much.

Anonymous said...

http://www.examiner.com/self-help-in-washington-dc/how-to-pretend-to-friends-and-family-that-you-like-family-guy

Here is my Examiner article on how to hide your hatred of family Guy.

Sim said...

Nice that someone else cand see the problems with Family Guy. It sucks and it is a shame that no one else can see that it is a rip off of the Simpsons fame. I am a DIE HARD SIMPSONS FAN. It paved the way for all animated shows and deserves a lot more respect than it gets. This is not to say that some animated shows were not good, like Futurama and South Park (even). However, when I see people think praising Family Guy and bashing Simpsons, I am saddened by the lack of loyalty and respect. I know it will be around for years, unfortunately. However, I have never watched, never will watch it, and it does not deserve a minute of my time, except to say how sad it is that it is leading to the demise of my beloved Simpsons. I only hope that The Simpsons will find a way to ride this rough patch and return to the top, somehow. 22 years is great, but, I have to admit that I started to be a devoted fan around season 19. So, to me, The Simpsons is only 3 years old. THE SIMPSONS IS THE ONLY SHOW THAT MATTERS TO ME.

Anonymous said...

Great post.
Family Guy is a show for making money. Period. So it appeals to the lowest common denominator of intelligence... the level at which people don't have to think at all and can just enjoy being complete idiots, like Peter.

I actually liked it in the beginning because of the references and the simplicity of how it was drawn, but, it gets old fast because it's just repetitive... nothing is new. But the majority of people watching TV don't want anything new, they want old stuff they feel comfortable with. Peter with his racism, misogyny and prejudices provide for that kind of comfort. After a while watching it I really started to find the racism a bit out of control... is this really a show for today?

The only character I found interesting was Stewie, because the idea of an evil baby is kinda fun, but even that gets old. Thanks for the link to the other cartoon - Stewie is such a copy, embarrassing.

Finally I'd like to add that I think Seth M. is a bit high on himself.

Sex Movies said...

Personally I like family guys. And you know why? Because they are so cute, they always think about their family first and they always do sweet things for their family.

Anyway, is hard to find a family guy this days..

Anonymous said...

Family guy is awesome Stewie is king he says the craziest things he may be diabolical little homo but still crushes on his babysitter

Stewie (to Jeremy, the babysitter's boyfriend):
Ha! I got your hat! Take that, hatless! Now go back to the quad and resume your hackey sac tourney! I'm not gonna lay down for some frat boy bastard with his damn Teva sandals and his Skoal Bandits and his Abercrombie and Fitch long sleeved, open stitched, crew neck Henley smoking his sticky buds out of a soda can while watching his favorite downloaded Simpsons episodes every night! Yes, we all love "Mr. Plow"! Oh, you've got the song memorized, do you? SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE! That is exactly the kind of idiot you see at Taco Bell at 1 in the morning! The guy who just whiffed his way down the bar skank ladder!

Anonymous said...

I know that I'm late here, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU for this post. You gave great reasons.

I HATE Family Guy. Its ruined an entire generation.

Anonymous said...

Family guy's Fanboys can't think rationally, these comments ere the proof.
PD: I couldn't agree more with you

Makerz said...

Haha futurama wont come back the simpsons hasent been any good since the 90s. As for all the the other shows you mentioned, i grew up with them and would never watch them now.
Family Guy is the best show ever made warts and all. You remind me of how Brian acts in the Rush Limbaugh episode its cool to hate popular stuff hey mate?

Anonymous said...

i love family guy so much :P

Anonymous said...

i totally agree with you! the show is a rip off other shows and also someone that doesn't know about the kind of stuff it refers to, you don't find anything funny! and i want to say after saying that i am a simpsons fan that animation is very very bad, i haven't watched a lot episodes to really know their oves but they seem very, how do we say it?, fake, not real when they talk you don't see their lips doing real movements! and something else it might sound stupid but family guy's charasters really have bad profiles!

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