With the enormous popularity of The Simpsons in prime time, many, many years after The Flintstones had been so popular as a prime time cartoon, it obviously made the heads at various studios sit up and wonder ‘Why not us?’
And so we have shows like The Family Guy taking a fairly well worn formula and bringing it to animated life. However, The Family Guy never won the popularity that The Simpsons (or for that matter The Flintstones) enjoyed for so long.
There are possibly many reasons for this, with the major hurdle probably being in that the shows are so similar. Oftentimes themes will cross with the cast of TFG invariably finding themselves in situations that have already been dealt with by those yellow, four-fingered throne-holders. However, TFG takes the issues a little further and promotes a deeper, darker, more subversive brand of humour that would make those overbitten Springfield dwellers gasp in horror. (Well… maybe).
Here is where the show finds its humour. Mired amidst the turbulence of the late 20th and early 21st centuries and poking fun at both previous generations and our current one with over-flowing pop-culture references and slightly offensive vulgarities that still somehow manage to be gotten-away-with. Our morbidly obese patriarch of Peter Griffin, slow-witted father figure to the family and titular hero. Long-suffering wife Lois and the hyper-intellectual baby Stewie giving malicious voice to the toddler generation. Chubby and dimwitted teenager Chris and noble yet resolute Meg, the teenaged daughter living with an embarrassing family. Even here at the base level of the show the similarities abound to that fabulous money-making yellow-skinned family.
This is Season Two and the show has begun to find its feet a little after the slightly more timid opening of Season One. Comfortable in its role (and little knowing its next season would be its last), the show branches off a little into what some may consider dangerous waters at times, but it does drag us along for the laughs and we can’t help but equally cringe and laugh at times. This is an edgier Simpsons and one that seems to know it can’t wrest power from that overlord of TV animation, and so seems content to sit back and make the most of its anonymity. And this does work for the show, merging wholly politically incorrect interpretations of beloved TV memories and the in-your-face attitude of the third millenium. While not having the greater depth of The Simpsons, TFG still has a place in animation and has a lot of fun touching the gags no one else is interested in or are too timid to approach. And that’s where the soul of the show sits and does its best work.
Here we have all 15 episodes of Season Two stretched out across two discs, with my highlights appearing in bold:
Disc One:
- Da Boom
- Brian in Love
- I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar
- A Picture is Worth a 1000 Bucks
- Fifteen Minutes of Shame
- Road to Rhode Island
- Let’s Go to the Hop
- Dammit Janet!
Disc Two
- There’s Something About Paulie
- He’s Too Sexy For His Fat
- E. Peterbus Unum
- The Story On Page One
- Wasted Talent
- Fore Father
- When You Wish Upon a Weinstein
Well, being a cartoon series committed to air in the 21st century, naturally everything looks spotless. About the only gripe I can detail is in the 4:3 aspect ratio, but that’s still entirely common with TV animation anyhow (it’s less work to draw and colour than a widescreen affair). There are also a couple of frequent instances of aliasing which aren’t very pleasant and some of the ‘computer generated effects’ (things like program-aided pans for example) are a little flimsy and cheap looking. Still, these are minor issues. We’re watching for the humour, not necessarily for the animation prowess.
A standard Dolby Digital stereo offering brings us every vulgar entendre or sub-level swearword. The subwoofer doesn’t get a lot to do and sleeps through most of the series, while the sound effects are well synched and naturally comical. Music is scored by any of two musicians in Walter Murphy or Ron Jones and this does well to help aid the visuals in reminding us what a particular flashback reference may be referring to. Overall it’s an entirely adequate audio experience.
The Family Guy is one of those series' you can either get into or will hate from the outset. Darker in humour and subversive content than The Simpsons, this plays as sort of an American Gothic take on The Simpsons. Much of the regular voice cast come from other Fox productions including The Simpsons, Futurama and the well-pilfered Mad TV and use the lines cleverly to get the most from each gag.
For fans of adult animation (no, not the animé sort) this one is pretty good, though a poorer cousin to that family whose name eludes me for the moment but whose name appears so many times in this review.
