For many a year the Simpsons were the funniest family on TV, and don’t get me wrong those years were hilarious in there time. However of late the Simpsons have lost their appeal to the world and so we enter another animated comedy based on a dysfunctional (and therefore quite normal) American family, Family Guy. The only difference is Family Guy is much funnier than the Simpsons, with jokes aimed at higher age groups. Brimming with sexual innuendo, gay jokes, racist jokes and some offensive material Family Guy is the greatest animated comedy ever made (along with Futurama).

Seth MacFarlane’s pride and joy follows the crazy adventures of the Griffin family. The main character is the father, Peter, who is the focus point of most gags. Then there is Lois the hardworking and deeply unappreciated wife who adores her husband despite his drunken and ludicrous behavior. The oldest son, Chris, is an overweight underachiever that plays a minor role in the series. Then there is the only daughter Meg who is a social outcast trying desperately to ‘fit in’. The final sibling is the baby Stewie, who is perhaps the funniest character of the show. Stewie is a sophisticated, stuck up mastermind with horrendous plans for world domination but first he must rid himself of Lois. The family is rounded off with the third of the top three characters (the first two being Stewie and Peter) Brian the talking dog. Brian is the most sophisticated member of the whole family drinking martinis, reading complicated literature and basically showing Peter up in everything he does. Although this may sound very much like the Simpsons each character in Family Guy is completely unique and hilarious in their own right.

The basis of Family Guy’s humor is flashbacks and they are used thick and fast. Never have I seen this brand of comedy used in such an effective way, some flashes are only seconds but they leave you laughing for hours to come. There is also some very intelligent humor used mostly by Stewie or Brian. Some other notable characters include the news reporters, the Griffin’s neighbours including a paraplegic show-off, a perverted bachelor and a responsible black couple, all of which are pure genius. The situations confronted by the cast are also spectacular and provide great platforms for the comedic events that ensue.   

Watching this show reminds me of the pain of no longer having cable TV. I never appreciated this show back then, but now that I’ve got its first season on DVD I truly have seen the light. This is animated comedy at its peak!

Family Guy examines the very strange, surreal and plain hilarious lives of each member of the Griffin Family, in particular the father, Peter. Peter is corpulent, indolent, candid (but not the sort of candid you or I might aspire to) and, as the Prince Regent might say, “as thick as a whale omelette”. Peter works at a toy factory and enjoys nothing more than sitting and watching TV. Lois, his wife, is hard-working and of wealthy background, but she’s far more comfortable in Quahog than Newport. Chris and Meg are their adolescent son and daughter. Then there is Stewie, an infant hell-bent on what else but world domination? It was a good age, wasn’t it?

Everything about this show is positively hilarious, and each and every episode is brimming with pieces of humour, some less overt than others, some references to popular culture and others that are just plain bizarre or that may require further ‘research’. But undoubtedly my favourite parts are the cutaways; they are, the tangents many of the quips take in the course of an episode. (Example: Peter reflects on his first time……, or Peter reflects on his tendency to……) I don’t want to give any specific ones away.

I love this show for the comedic genius it supports. I love its absurdity, its exaggeration, its candour and its generally fresh approach to the world of animated comedy. The animation itself is quite original and clean, making the show essentially ageless.

If I was going to a deserted island and was given any three comedies to take with me, they would be Red Dwarf, Frasier and Family Guy.

Steven’s Pick: “Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater”

As I was growing up, The Simpsons were my life. Every time they were on T.V I would drop everything I was doing and sit down to another wonderful episode of The Simpsons, but when I got introduced to Family Guy earlier this year, my thoughts about The Simpsons changed like that. Family Guy would have to be one of the funniest animated series that I have ever seen.

Family Guy centers on the Griffin Family. Peter (V: Seth MacFarlane) is the head of the house, married to Lois, he would have to be one of the stupidest, most funniest character in the show. There's Lois, the wife of Peter, without Lois the whole family would fall apart, she has the task of keeping Stewie from killing her. Then there is Chris (V: Seth Green), the eldest son of the Griffin family. Chris likes watching television and painting. Meg (V:Lacey Chabert) is the oldest child, she is very moody and thinks all her family is an embarrassment to her. Stewie (V: Seth MacFarlane) is the baby of the family, his plan for total world domination leads him on many adventures throughout the first season. The last member of the Griffin family is Brian (V: Seth MacFarlane), the lovable, talking dog, who of course is Peters best friend (what dog wouldn't love their owner).

Family Guy brings up many controversial issues that many other shows dare to go, things like sexual hints, homosexuality, racism and other offensive bits and pieces.

The character that raises most of these issues is Quagmire. Quagmire is the next door neighbor of the Griffin family and a bachelor, who tries to chat up women and sleep with them in his love shack (if that’s what you want to call it). Quagmire has secret feelings for Lois. His famous saying throughout the season is “All right” I would have to say is his trademark. Other characters that play a smaller role in Family guy are Cleveland and Joe – both neighbours and friends of the Griffin family. Cleveland is a laid back sensitive guy who tries to make sure everything is right. Joe is a handicapped police officer.

The humor in Family Guy is absolutely brilliant. Stewie, Peter and Brian are what makes up this great comedy. Stewie with all his attempts at taking out Lois, Brian with his genius mind and Peter, well Peter just being Peter is how he makes this show so funny.

I would have to say that my favourite episode of season one is “Death is a Bitch”. It starts out as Lois finds a lump in Peter’s breast, which puts him in hospital, but he is fine until the bill arrives. He avoids payment by faking death, but then death arrives which makes Stewie very excited. Death has an injury and makes Peter take over his duty’s.  That’s just the quick explanation of that episode, but if you want to know what happens and how funny this episode is you should have to watch it yourself.

In conclusion Family guy is the greatest animated series of all time…don’t get me wrong, The Simpsons still is up there with the greatest series off all time, but recently the episodes have been quite slow and quite boring. Family Guy is the opposite, its funny the whole way through and you will never been bored with it. Because it is an animated series, don’t get fooled in thinking that it is only for children because there are many jokes are said that I had to watch again to understand. If you liked this you will like Season 2 because it just gets better.