Family Guy
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Family Guy
A logo of the words Family Guy. The words are blue, and the dot above the 'I' is replaced with a television.
A group picture of a cartoon family, with a father, mother, son, daughter, baby and dog.
The Griffin family. From left to right: Brian, Lois, Peter, Stewie, Chris and Meg
Genre Situation comedy
Format Animation
Created by Seth MacFarlane[1]
Developed by Seth MacFarlane
David Zuckerman
Written by Seth MacFarlane
David Zuckerman
Mark Hentemann
Steve Callaghan
Directed by Peter Shin
Pete Michels
Roy Allen Smith
Dan Povenmire
Voices of Seth MacFarlane
Alex Borstein
Seth Green
Mila Kunis
Mike Henry
Theme music composer Walter Murphy
Composer(s) Walter Murphy
Ron Jones
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 136 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Lolee Aries
David A. Goodman
Seth MacFarlane
Daniel Palladino
David Zuckerman
Producer(s) Kara Vallow
Editor(s) John Walts
Rick Mackenzie
Mike Elias
Running time 20–23 minutes
Production company(s) Fuzzy Door Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Distributor 20th Century Fox
Broadcast
Original channel Fox
Picture format 480i (SDTV)(1999–2010)
720p (HDTV) (2010)
Original run January 31, 1999 (1999-01-31) – February 14, 2002 (2002-02-14)
May 1, 2005 (2005-05-01) – present
Chronology
Preceded by Larry and Steve
Followed by The Cleveland Show
Related shows American Dad!
External links
Official website
Family Guy is an American animated television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their pet dog Brian. The show uses frequent cutaway gags, often in the form of tangential vignettes which parody American culture.
MacFarlane conceived Family Guy after developing two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. MacFarlane redesigned the films' protagonist Larry and his dog Steve, and renamed them Peter and Brian. Shortly after the third season of Family Guy aired in 2001, Fox canceled the series. However, favorable DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns convinced the network to renew the show in 2004. The series takes place in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island, based on MacFarlane's upbringing and education.
Family Guy has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards and eleven Annie Awards, and has won three of each. It has garnered three Golden Reel Award nominations, winning once. In 2009, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961. Family Guy has also received negative criticism, including three lawsuits, and unfavorable comparisons for its similarities to the animated series The Simpsons.
Many tie-in media have been released, including Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, a straight-to-DVD special released in 2005; Family Guy: Live in Vegas, a soundtrack-DVD combo released in 2005, featuring music from the show as well as original music created by MacFarlane and Walter Murphy; a video game and pinball machine, released in 2006 and 2007, respectively; and, since 2005, six books published by HarperCollins based on the Family Guy universe. In 2008, MacFarlane confirmed that the cast was interested in producing a feature film and that he was working on a story for film adaptation. A spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, premiered on September 27, 2009 as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox. The eighth season of Family Guy premiered on September 27, 2009.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
* 2 Production
o 2.1 Staff
o 2.2 Voice cast
o 2.3 Setting
* 3 Production issues
o 3.1 Cancellation and renewal
o 3.2 Lawsuits
* 4 Characters
* 5 Hallmarks
o 5.1 Cutaway
o 5.2 Music
o 5.3 Road to episodes
* 6 Cultural influences
* 7 Reception and achievements
o 7.1 Success
o 7.2 Criticism and controversy
o 7.3 Awards
* 8 Other media
o 8.1 Live performances
o 8.2 Video game
o 8.3 Spin-off
o 8.4 Film
* 9 Merchandise
* 10 References
* 11 External links
History
A group picture of a cartoon family, with a father, mother, son, daughter, baby and dog on a yard in front of a house.
The Griffin family as they appeared in the pilot for Family Guy.
Seth MacFarlane drew inspirations from several sitcoms but mostly from The Simpsons and All in the Family.[2] He also used ideas from 1980's Saturday morning cartoons, such as The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang and Rubik, the Amazing Cube.[3]
MacFarlane created a short film in 1995 entitled The Life of Larry, while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design.[4] The short featured a middle-aged slob named Larry Cummings, his cynical talking dog, Steve, supportive wife Lois, and pudgy teenage son Milt.[5] The film begins with a live-action segment where MacFarlane, as himself, briefly describes the show and its characters.[5] After being hired at Hanna-Barbera, MacFarlane was given a chance in 1996 to direct a sequel entitled Larry and Steve,[4] a seven-minute short[6] broadcast as part of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons.[4] The film stars MacFarlane, who reprises his role as Larry Cummings and his talking dog Steve, among various background characters, and Lori Alan, who provided additional character voices.[6]
MacFarlane conceived the idea for the Family Guy in 1999, developing it out of his two short films. MacFarlane's shorts caught the attention of Fox, who gave him $50,000 to make a pilot. McFarlane completed the 11 minute pilot after six months of hand animation. Pleased with the pilot, Fox gave the green light to the Family Guy series.[7] Although Fox initially announced Family Guy's cancellation following the second season, Fox decided to make a third season,[8][9] after which they canceled the series in early 2002. However, reruns on Adult Swim drove up interest in the show, and its DVD releases did quite well, selling over 2.2 million copies in one year, which renewed network interest.[10] Family Guy returned to production in 2004, marking the first revival of a television show based on DVD sales.[11][12] Fox president Gail Berman said that it was one of her most difficult decisions to cancel the show, and was therefore happy it would return.[13] The show celebrated its official 100th episode during its sixth season in November 2007, resulting in the show's syndication.[14] The show is contracted to continue producing episodes until 2012.[15]
Production
Staff
Further information: List of writers of Family Guy and List of directors of Family Guy
Family Guy has had many executive producers in its history, including creator Seth MacFarlane, Daniel Palladino, Lolee Aries, and David Zuckerman. David A. Goodman joined the show as a co-executive producer in season three, and eventually became an executive producer.[16] Alex Borstein, the voice of Lois, has also worked as both an executive and supervising producer, for the fourth and fifth seasons.[17] The show has also had showrunners such as Mark Hentemann and Steve Callaghan.[18]
The Family Guy writing staff collaborates on which ideas and characters to use for each episode. If a majority of the writers agree on an episode idea, it is then approved by MacFarlane , who must receive an endorsement from Fox before beginning production. For the first months of production, the writers shared one office lent to them by the King of the Hill production crew.[19] In interviews and on the DVD commentary of season one, MacFarlane explained that he is a fan of 1930s and 1940s radio programs, particularly the radio thriller anthology "Suspense", which led him to give early episodes ominous titles pertaining to death and murder like "Death Has a Shadow" and "Mind Over Murder". MacFarlane later explained that the team dropped the naming convention after individual episodes became hard to identify and the novelty wore off.[20][21] Since the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy, the writers have been required to tone down the show's crude humor for television broadcasts.[22] In 2009, Fox refused to air an episode dealing with abortion.[23]
During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, official production of the show halted for most of December 2007 and various periods afterward. Fox continued producing episodes without creator Seth MacFarlane's final approval, which he termed "a colossal dick move" in an interview with Variety. Though MacFarlane refused to work on the show, his contract under Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it would subsequently produce.[24] Production officially resumed after the end of the strike, with regularly-airing episodes recommencing on February 17, 2008.[25]
The show has had various directors, such as Dan Povenmire, Pete Michels and Peter Shin.[26] Povenmire started with the season two episode, "Road to Rhode Island".[27] Creator MacFarlane granted Povenmire substantial creative freedom. Povenmire recalled that MacFarlane would tell him "We've got two minutes to fill. Give me some visual gags. Do whatever you want. I trust you." Povenmire praised MacFarlane's management style for letting him "have [...] fun."[28] He left the show to make the show Phineas and Ferb.[29]
Voice cast
Further information: List of Family Guy voice actors, List of Family Guy guest stars, and Non-English versions of Family Guy
Seth MacFarlane voices three of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, and Stewie Griffin.[30] MacFarlane chose to voice these characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it.[3] MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.[31] Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison,[32] especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady.[33] MacFarlane uses his regular speaking voice when playing Brian.[3] MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time only characters, most prominently those of the Griffins' neighbor Glenn Quagmire, news anchor Tom Tucker and Lois's father Carter Pewterschmidt.[34]
Alex Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown and Lois' mother Barbara Pewterschmidt.[35] Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork and said it was "really sight unseen".[36] At the time, Borstein performed in a stage show in Los Angeles, in which she played a redheaded mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins.[35][36] The voice was originally slower, but when MacFarlane heard it, he replied "Make it a little less [...] annoying...and speed it up, or every episode will last four hours".[35]
Seth Green primarily plays Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman.[34][37] Green stated that he did an impression of the "Buffalo Bill" character from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition.[38] His main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how "Buffalo Bill" would sound if he were speaking through a public address system at a McDonald's.[39]
Mila Kunis and Lacey Chabert have both played the voices of Meg Griffin.[34] Chabert voiced Meg Griffin for the first production season (15 episodes). However, because of a contractual agreement, she was never credited.[40] Chabert left the series because of time conflicts with her role on Party of Five and schoolwork. Kunis won the role after auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show.[41] MacFarlane called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.[41] Kunis described her character as "the scapegoat." She further explained, "Meg gets picked on a lot. But it's funny. It's like the middle child. She is constantly in the state of being an awkward 14-year-old, when you're kind of going through puberty and what-not. She's just in perpetual mode of humiliation. And it's fun."[42]
Mike Henry voices both Cleveland Brown and Herbert, as well as some minor recurring characters like Bruce the performance artist and The Greased up Deaf Guy.[43] Henry met MacFarlane at the Rhode Island School of Design and kept in touch with him after they graduated.[44] A few years later, MacFarlane contacted him about being part of the show; he agreed and came on as both a writer and voice actor.[44] Henry created Cleveland's voice after being influenced by one of his basketball partners in Virginia, who had a very distinct regional accent.[45] During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five's "Prick Up Your Ears" he has been credited as a main cast member.[44]
Main cast members
A man with black hair and a black shirt, leaning forward, smiling into a microphone. A woman with black hair, tied back, smiling, and sitting behind a microphone. A man with red hair, smiling slightly and sitting behind a microphone. A woman with long brown hair, smiling into a microphone. A man with closely shaven hair, and slight stubble, looking to the side slightly with his eyes, behind a microphone.
Seth MacFarlane Alex Borstein Seth Green Mila Kunis Mike Henry
Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, Tom Tucker, Carter Pewterschmidt, others Lois Griffin, Loretta Brown, Barbara Pewterschmidt, Tricia Takanawa, others Chris Griffin, Neil Goldman, others Meg Griffin Cleveland Brown, Herbert, others
Other recurring cast members include: Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson;[46] Adam West playing himself as the eponymous Mayor Adam West;[47] Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson;[48] John G. Brennan as Mort Goldman; Carlos Alazraqui as Jonathan Weed;[49][50] Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald as Death;[51] Lori Alan as Diane Simmons;[52] Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams.[53] Fellow cartonist Butch Hartman has guest in many episodes as various characters.[54] Also writer Danny Smith voices various recurring characters as Ernie the Giant Chicken.[55]
Episodes will quite often feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, bands, musicians and scientists. Many guest voices started as themselves. Leslie Uggams was the first one to appear as herself in the fourth episode of the second season episode "Mind Over Murder".[56] The episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" guest starred Star Trek: The Next Generation's Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby, and Marina Sirtis, playing themselves, this is the episode with more guest stars of the seventh season.[57][58]
Setting
Three buildings, two of the same stature, and one smaller than the others.
A cartoon version of the image above.
The skyline of Providence, as viewed from the northwest looking southeast, and its animated Family Guy counterpart.
MacFarlane resided in Providence during his time as a student at Rhode Island School of Design, and the show, as a consequence, contains distinct Rhode Island landmarks similar to real-world locations.[40][59] MacFarlane often borrows the names of Rhode Island locations and icons such as Pawtucket and Buddy Cianci for use in the show. MacFarlane, in an interview with local WNAC Fox 64 News, stated that the town is modeled after Cranston, Rhode Island.[60]
Several times every episode, the actual Providence skyline can be seen in the distance.[40] The three buildings that are depicted are, from left to right and furthest to closest, One Financial Center, 50 Kennedy Plaza, and the Bank of America Tower. This ordering of buildings and the angle at which they are viewed indicates that Quahog is primarily west of downtown Providence if it is to have a real-world counterpart. However, in a few episodes Quahog is shown to have a coastline, which only Cranston and Providence possess. This is supported by the fact that the real-world "31 Spooner Street" is located in Providence, immediately west of Roger Williams Park.[61]
Production issues
Cancellation and renewal
After only two episodes of the second season, Fox removed Family Guy from the network's permanent schedule, and began airing episodes irregularly. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the remaining 21 episodes of season two. The third season comprised another 21 episodes and began airing from July 11, 2001 to February 14, 2002. During its second and third-season runs, Fox frequently moved the show around different days and time slots with little or no notice and, consequently, the show's ratings suffered. When Family Guy aired in the United Kingdom, the subsequent DVD release there on (November 12, 2001) lumped the first seven episodes of the second season with the first season, leaving both seasons with 14 episodes each. Thus, later UK DVD releases did not share consistent labeling with the original American seasons (e.g. the Family Guy: Season 6 DVD features Season 5 episodes).[62]
Fox publicly announced that the show had been canceled in 2000, at the end of the second season.[63] In spite of the announced cancellation, in 2001 Fox decided to produce a third season.[64] Family Guy was assigned to a tough time slot, Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET. This slot brought it into competition with Survivor and Friends. The situation was later referenced in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.[65][66] During the third season, Fox announced that the show had been officially cancelled.[67][68] The series was renewed in 2005 for its fourth season due to strong DVD sales and syndication on basic-cable networks.[69][70]
"North by North Quahog" was the first episode to be broadcast after the show's cancellation. It was written by MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin.[71] MacFarlane believed the show's three year hiatus was beneficial because animated shows do not normally have hiatuses, and towards the end of their seasons "... you see a lot more sex jokes and (bodily function) jokes and signs of a fatigued staff that their brains are just fried".[72] With "North by North Quahog", the writing staff tried to keep the show "... exactly as it was" before its cancellation, and did not "... have the desire to make it any slicker" than it already was.[72] Walter Murphy, who had composed music for the show before its cancellation, returned to compose the music for "North by North Quahog". Murphy and the orchestra recorded an arrangement of Bernard Herrmann's score from North by Northwest, a film referenced multiple times in the episode.[73]
Lawsuits
In March 2007, comedian Carol Burnett filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that it was a trademark infringement for her Charwoman cleaning character to be portrayed on the show without her permission. Besides that, Burnett stated that Fox violated her publicity rights. She asked for $6 million in damages.[74][75][76] On June 4, 2007, United States District Judge Dean Pregerson rejected the lawsuit, stating that the parody was protected under the First Amendment, citing Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as a precedent.[77]
On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", through a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, MacFarlane, and Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution and unspecified damages.[78] Because "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star", without commenting on that song, Bourne argued that it was not a First Amendment–protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc..[79][80] On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.[81]
In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement when actor Art Metrano filing a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature "magic" act involving absurd, faux magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy".[82] Metrano's suit claims this performance is protected under terms of the United States' Copyright Act of 1976.[83] 20th Century Fox, MacFarlane, Callaghan and Borstein were all named in the suit, which is still ongoing.[84]
Characters
Main article: List of characters in Family Guy
The show revolves around the adventures of the family of Peter Griffin, a bumbling, but well-intentioned, blue-collar worker. Peter is an Irish American Catholic with a prominent Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts accent.[85] His wife Lois is a stay-at-home mother and piano teacher, and has a distinct New England accent from being a member of the Pewterschmidt family of wealthy socialites.[86] Peter and Lois have three children: Meg, their teenage daughter, who is frequently the butt of Peter's jokes due to her homeliness and lack of popularity; Chris, their teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent and, in many respects, a younger version of his father; and Stewie, their diabolical infant son of ambiguous sexual orientation who has adult mannerisms and speaks fluently with stereotypical archvillain phrases and an accent based on old British movie stars such as Rex Harrison.[87] Living with the family is Brian, the family dog, who is highly anthropomorphized, drinks martinis, smokes cigarettes, drives a car, and engages in human conversation, though he is still considered a pet in many respects.[88]
Many recurring characters appear alongside the Griffin family. These include the family's neighbors: sex-crazed airline-pilot bachelor Glenn Quagmire; mild-mannered deli owner Cleveland Brown and his wife (ex-wife as of the fourth-season episode "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire")[89] Loretta Brown with their hyperactive son, Cleveland Jr.; paraplegic police officer Joe Swanson, his wife Bonnie and their baby daughter Susie. (It should be noted that Bonnie is pregnant with Susie from the show's beginning until the 7th episode of the 7th season); paranoid Jewish pharmacist Mort Goldman, his wife Muriel and their geeky and annoying son Neil; and elderly homosexual ephebophile Herbert. TV news anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons, reporter Tricia Takanawa and Blaccu-Weather meteorologist Ollie Williams also make frequent appearances. Quahog mayor, Mayor Adam West is in various episodes.
Hallmarks
Cutaway
In the majority of episodes, the plot is interrupted by at least one cutaway segment. The segment usually has little to do with the actual story of the episode and contains a pop culture reference. Many of the cutaways feature guest stars, at times using live-action footage, including Conway Twitty in three separate episodes, Will Ferrell in the episode "Jungle Love", and occasionally a mixture of live-action and animation, as in a tap dance duet between Stewie and Gene Kelly in "Road to Rupert". Such cutaways have been criticized heavily by both critics and other cartoonists, who claim the show relies too much on "cutaway gags as opposed to plot-driven humour".[90][91][92]
Music
Family Guy uses music in many of its episodes, mostly in the form of musical numbers. These musical numbers are used as both part of the plot, like in the episodes "Brian Sings and Swings" and "From Method to Madness", as well as for comedic effect or satire, such as in "FCC Song" from "PTV" and "Vasectomy" from "Sibling Rivalry". During the opening sequence of the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, Stewie and Brian performed a duet titled "You can Find It On TV", which poked fun at television shows in 2007. Two Family Guy songs have been nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics; "My Drunken Irish Dad" from "Peter's Two Dads" was nominated in 2007,[93] as was "You've Got a Lot to See" from "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows" in 2002.[94] Many of the musical numbers are included in Family Guy: Live in Vegas along with several original songs.[95]
Road to episodes
The "Road to" episodes have been considered somewhat a hallmark of the show.[96] "Road to Rhode Island", which originally aired in 2000, was the first of the series. This series of episodes was MacFarlane's idea of a parody of the seven Road to comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour.[2] MacFarlane used the films as inspiration due to his love of them[2] and some of the episodes musical numbers, such as "Road to Rhode Island", are directly related to the movies.[2] MacFarlane has also expressed interest in doing a special or a direct to video movie of a "Road to" episode.[2] These episodes normally include Brian and Stewie going somewhere out of Quahog.[97] Most of the episodes were directed by Dan Povenmire until the third "Road to" episode "Road to Rupert".[29]
Cultural influences
Family Guy was the first show to return to television due to DVD sales.[98] After returning from cancellation, it began to influence on other shows produced by MacFarlane like American Dad which MacFarlane commented was a mix of Family Guy with All in the Family.[99] Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show has been influenced by the show. Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show exist in kind of the same fictional world.[99] Family Guy has also influenced a live-action show The Winner which is also produced by MacFarlane. The Winner had the same kind of jokes that Family Guy has (bit offensive), but the difference is it was not taken very positively by critics.[100]
Reception and achievements
Success
Family Guy has received many positive reviews from critics. Catherine Seipp of the National Review Online called it a "nasty but extremely funny" cartoon.[101] Caryn James of The New York Times, called it a show with an "outrageously satirical family" and "includes plenty of comic possibilities and parodies."[102] The Sydney Morning Herald named Family Guy the "Show of the Week" on April 21, 2009, calling it a "pop culture-heavy masterpiece".[103] Frazier Moore from the Seattle Times called it an "endless craving for humor about bodily emissions". He also called it "breathtakingly smart" and said a "blend of the ingenious with the raw helps account for its much broader appeal". He finished up by calling it "rude, crude and deliciously wrong".[104] The series has also attracted many celebrities, including Emily Blunt, who has stated that Family Guy is her favorite series and has expressed strong interest in becoming a guest star on the show.[105] George Lucas, revealed in his conversation with MacFarlane that he has TiVoed every single episode of Family Guy without having to buy the DVDs and, in addition to Jackass, it's the only show he watches. MacFarlane said Lucasfilm was extremely helpful when the Family Guy crew wanted to parody their works.[106] The New Yorker's Nancy Franklin said that Family Guy is becoming one of the best animated shows there is, commenting on its ribaldry and popularity, even saying that it was better than The Simpsons, in terms of quality.[107] The show has also become a hit on hulu becoming the second highest viewed show after Saturday Night Live.[108]
Cover of a magazine. The caption along the bottom in bold blue reads "We Salute Family Guy, TV's Most Original TV Series" in all caps. Centered is the Griffin family slightly altered to resemble characters of the Simpsons family from the animated series The Simpsons. Along the top is Mad Magazines’ logo: the word "MAD" in red caps.
Cover of issue 458 of Mad Magazine, showing the Family Guy characters crossed over with characters from The Simpsons.
Criticism and controversy
See also: Criticism of Family Guy
Family Guy has also received its share of negative treatment. For example, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly has frequently panned the show, grading it with a "D",[109] and naming it the worst show of the 1999–2000 television season.[110] The Parents Television Council, a watchdog group founded by L. Brent Bozell III has published outspoken critical views of Family Guy. Family Guy made the PTC's 2000,[111] 2005[112] and 2006[113] lists of "worst prime-time shows for family viewing", having been chosen and several Family Guy episodes were chosen as "Worst TV Shows of the Week" for reasons of profanity, animated nudity and violence. The Council has frequently noted that the series was among the most popular shows among children aged 2 to 12, cautioning parents that children will be attracted by the show because of its animated format while asserting that the series is suitable only for adults.[114]
The series has frequently been criticized for using story premises and humor similar to those used in episodes of The Simpsons. The Simpsons depicted Peter Griffin as a "clone" of Homer Simpson in a Halloween special,[115] and as a fugitive accused of "Plagiarismo" in the episode "The Italian Bob". Family Guy is also mocked in a two-part episode ("Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II") of South Park,[116] in which characters call the show's jokes interchangeable and unrelated to storylines; the writers of Family Guy are portrayed as manatees who write by pushing rubber "idea balls" inscribed with random topics into a bin. MacFarlane responded to the criticism, saying it was completely founded and true, even giving reference to many skits and jokes that were meant for previously scripted episodes and later cut and recycled in future episodes.[117]
Also the creators of South Park Trey Parker and Matt Stone revealed that they dislike having their show compared to Family Guy.[118] They also commented that the shows Family Guy and American Dad are inadequate for children and are full of sex-themed jokes and foul language.[118] They received support and gratitude from the staffs of The Simpsons and King of the Hill for "ripping on Family Guy" after the airing of the South park episodes Cartoon Wars.[118] Cartman's intense dislike of the show is also referred to in the 2008 episode "Canada on Strike".[119]
Awards
Family Guy and its cast have been nominated for eleven Emmy Awards, with three wins. MacFarlane won the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance award for his performance as Stewie, Murphy and MacFarlane won the Outstanding Music and Lyrics award for the song "You Got a Lot to See" from the episode "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows", and Steven Fonti won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his story-board work in the episode "No Chris Left Behind".[120]
The show has also been nominated for eleven Annies, and won three times, twice in 2006 and once in 2008. The show has also been nominated for a Golden Reel Award four times, winning once.[120] In 2009, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. This was a significant accomplishment considering that the last animated program to be nominated was The Flintstones in 1961 and that The Simpsons has never been nominated in this category.[121]
In the 1000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Brian Griffin was selected as the dog for "The Perfect TV Family."[122] Wizard Magazine rated Stewie the 95th greatest villain of all time.[123] British newspaper The Times rated Family Guy as the forty-fifth best American show in 2009.[124] Family Guy was named the seventh of the top one-hundred animated series by IGN.[125]
Other media
Live performances
As promotion for the show, and to, as Newman described, "expand interest in the show beyond its die hard fans",[126] Fox organized four Family Guy Live! performances, which featured cast members reading old episodes aloud. In addition, the cast performed musical numbers from the Family Guy Live in Vegas comedy album.[126] The stage shows were an extension of a performance by the cast during the 2004 Montreal Comedy Festival.[126] The Family Guy Live! performances, which took place in Los Angeles and New York, sold out and were attended by around 1,200 people each.[127]
Video game
Family Guy Video Game! is a 2006 action game released by 2K Games and developed by High Voltage Software. It appears on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles, and the handheld PlayStation Portable. The game's story reflects the episodic structure of the series with adventure game elements.[128] The game received very mixed reviews, averaging 50% favorable reviews for the PlayStation 2 version,[129] 51% for the PlayStation Portable version,[130] and 53% for the Xbox version,[131] according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game receiving praise for its humor,[132] but was criticized for its short playtime[133] and "uninteresting gameplay".[134]
Spin-off
In 2009, a spin-off series titled The Cleveland Show premiered on Fox. The Hollywood Reporter initially announced that there were plans to produce a spin-off of Family Guy to be focused on Cleveland. MacFarlane, Henry and American Dad! show runner Rich Appel created the series.[135] Cleveland references his spinoff at the end of the episode "Baby Not On Board".[89] The series premiered on September 27, 2009.[136][137] Due to the cancellation of Mike Judge's King of the Hill,[138] the American adaptation of Sit Down, Shut Up being moved to Saturday nights,[139] and the renewal of American Dad!, The Simpsons is now the only cartoon on Fox's "Animation Domination" line-up that was not created by Seth MacFarlane. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes,[140] was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered.[141] Due to strong ratings FOX picked up the back 9 episodes of season two, making a 22 episode season, and bringing the total episode count of the show to 44.[142]
Film
On July 22, 2007, in an interview with "The Hollywood Reporter", MacFarlane announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official."[143] In September 2007, Ricky Blitt gave TV.com an interview confirming that he had already started working on the script.[144] Then in TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released Family Guy feature film sometime "within the next year".[145] He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie." He later went to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music, saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel."[146]
Merchandise
Main article: List of Family Guy DVDs
As of 2009, six books have been released about the Family Guy universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005.[147] The first book based on Family Guy, Family Guy: Stewie's Guide to World Domination (ISBN 9780060773212) by Steve Callahan, was released in April 26, 2005. Written in the style of a graphic novel, the plot follows Stewie's plans on ruling the world, despite his only being a child.[148] Other books include Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One (ISBN 9780752875934), which covers the entire events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One",[149] and Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded (ISBN 9781405163163), a collection of seventeen essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers.[150]
Family Guy has been commercially successful in the home market.[151] The show was the first to be resurrected because of high DVD sales.[98][152] The first volume, covering the show's first two seasons, sold a total 1.67 million units, topping TV DVD sales in 2003, while the second volume sold another million units.[98][153] Both the volume six and seven DVDs debuted fifth in United States DVD sales;[154][155] volume seven was the highest television DVD, selling 171 thousand units by June 21, 2009.[155] Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest, the DVD featuring the Star Wars special "Blue Harvest", was released on January 15, 2008 and premiered at the top of United States DVD sales.[156] The DVD was the first Family Guy DVD to include a digital copy for download on the iPod.[156] MacFarlane recorded exclusive material of Peter's voice and other Family Guy characters for a 2007 pinball machine of the show by Stern Pinball.[157] In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz, each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made.[158] Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released, with various forms of Peter.[159] In 2008, the character Peter appeared in advertisements for Subway Restaurants, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich.[160][161]
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123. ^ "The 100 Greatest Villains of All Time". Wizard (177): 86. July 2006.
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127. ^ "'Family Guy' Returns to FOX". Fox News. April 30, 2005. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155143,00.html. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
128. ^ "Family Guy Video Game!". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/game/family-guy-video-game. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
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External links
Family Guy portal
Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Family Guy
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Family Guy
Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: 'Family Guy' returns to US television, loses in ratings to 'Housewives'
* Official website
* Family Guy at the Internet Movie Database
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* Family Guy at Yahoo! TV
Preceded by
3rd Rock from the Sun
1998 Family Guy
Super Bowl lead-out program
alongside
The Simpsons
1999 Succeeded by
The Practice
2000
[show]
v • d • e
Family Guy
Episodes
Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8
Specials
"Blue Harvest" · "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" · "We Have a Bad Feeling About This" · "100th Episode"
Characters
Griffin family
Peter · Lois · Chris · Meg · Stewie · Brian
Recurring characters
Cleveland Brown · Glenn Quagmire · Joe Swanson · Adam West
Films and music
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story · Live in Vegas
Other media
DVDs
List of DVDs
Books
Stewie's Guide to World Domination · Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One · Peter Griffin's Guide to the Holidays · Brian's Guide to Booze, Broads, and the Lost Art of Being a Man
Games
Video Game! · Pinball
Lists
Places · Cast members · Guest stars · Directors · Writers · Non-English versions
See also
Criticism · Quotes · The Cleveland Show · The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve
[show]
v • d • e
Rough Draft Studios
Feature films
Cool World (1992) • FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) • Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) • Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999) • Titan A.E. (2000) • Recess: School's Out (2001) • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) • Inside the CIA (2005) • Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005) • The Simpsons Movie (2007) • Futurama: Bender's Big Score (2007) • Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008) • Futurama: Bender's Game (2008) • Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009)
Short films
Duck Dodgers - Attack of the Drones • Inside the CIA • Looney Tunes - The Whizzard of Ow • Spy vs. Spy
TV series
Baby Blues • Drawn Together • Futurama • The Maxx • The Mummy: The Animated Series • The Simpsons • Sit Down, Shut Up • The New Woody Woodpecker Show • Star Wars: Clone Wars • American Dad! • Family Guy • The Cleveland Show • SpongeBob SquarePants • Rocko's Modern Life • The Angry Beavers • CatDog
Staff
Gregg Vanzo (President) • Claudia Katz (Sr. Vice President) • Rich Moore (Sr. Vice President of Creative Affairs) • Scott Vanzo (Chief Technology Officer)
Related companies
20th Century Fox Television • Comedy Central • Adult Swim • Gracie Films • Universal Animation Studios • The Curiosity Company • Nickelodeon • Paramount Pictures • Walt Disney Television Animation • Warner Bros. Animation
[show]
v • d • e
Seth MacFarlane
Animated TV series
Family Guy (creator) • American Dad! (co-creator) • The Cleveland Show (co-creator)
Live-action TV series
The Winner (executive producer)
Animated web series
Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy (creator)
Voices
Peter Griffin • Brian Griffin • Stewie Griffin • Glenn Quagmire • Stan Smith • Roger the Alien • Tim the Bear
See also
Fuzzy Door Productions • The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve • Rachael MacFarlane
[show]
v • d • e
Fox Animation
Shows
The Simpsons · The Critic · King of the Hill · Family Guy · Futurama · The PJs · American Dad! · Sit Down, Shut Up · The Cleveland Show
Characters
List of characters in The Simpsons · List of characters in King of the Hill · List of characters in Futurama · List of characters in Family Guy · List of American Dad! characters · List of characters in The Cleveland Show
Production
Fuzzy Door Productions · 20th Century Fox · Gracie Films · Deedle-Dee Productions · ITV Studios
Crew
Seth MacFarlane · David A. Goodman · Matt Weitzman · Mike Barker · Matt Groening · Al Jean · Mike Reiss · Mike Judge · Greg Daniels · Mike Henry · Richard Appel
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Guy"
Categories: 1990s American animated television series
1999 television series debuts
2002 American television series endings
2005 American television series debuts
2000s American animated television series
2010s American animated television series
Animated sitcoms
Family Guy
Fox network shows
Satirical television programmes
Television series by Fox Television Studios
Television shows set in Rhode Island
Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
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Wikipedia protected pages without expiry
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