Freakin' Sweet Forum 11.12.07: Freakin' Sweet Community Edition - 100 Episodes of Freakin' Sweet Comedy
Posted by Cory Lynn Schibler on 11.12.2007
My lack of time brings you a very special look at the first 100 episodes of Family Guy, from all your favorite (or not so favorite) writers at 411.
So, I have decided that rather and try and rush out a review of the 100th episode of one of my favorite television series of all time, I am going to hold off a week and cover the 100th, the 2nd part of the episode, and the 100th episode special that aired last week all in one super sized Freakin' Sweet Forum. To satiate your appetite for all things Family Guy, this week we will have the opinions of some of the other 411 staff on what they thought of the episode. Then next week, you will get the best Freakin' Sweet Forum ever, Guaranteed!
Jerome Cusson:
If you has asked me eight years ago whether this
show would see 100 episodes, I likely would have said no because of
how terrible I thought it was when it came on right after Super Bowl
XXXIII. After five years, I bought volume one on DVD and discovered
just how funny Family Guy could be. It is nowhere near as smart
as South Park or has the heart of The Simpsons. It has
carved its' own niche with great pop culture references and random
humor.
The 100th episode was a callback to the first episode with Stewie
wanting to kill Lois and the show ending up in the courtroom once
again. I can't imagine how they're going to conclude or even how they
will explain Lois being able to survive being shot. A big
congratulations to Seth and the gang for being able to make it to 100
episodes. This show has been saved from death many many times. Hell, Family Guy was gone for 2 1/2 years and had no business being on
the air at one point. Thanks to the loyal fans, the Cartoon Network
and this wonderful invention called the DVD, Family Guy survived.
Here's to 100 more episodes and maybe one more chicken fight.
Mike Gorman:
I was actually quite amazed this week by the 100th episode and the clip special that ran before it. First, Seth Mcfarlane was hilarious interviewing all the people that hated Family Guy during the clip show. Whether the people were actors or not, there are many folks out there that just take Family Guy at a surface level and miss the fact that many times their "objectionable moments" really are mocking how offensive reality is. And he had me rolling when he went off on Cold Case and how he hates Medium. The clips brought back many great memories of a show that never fails to get me crying with laughter.
As for the 100th episode, I was expecting a non-stop laugh fest and that was not what I got. Instead I found I was actually wrapped up in the plot and wondered just where they were taking it. I have gotten so used to expecting left turns from this show that I had no clue what would really happen. Would they leave Lois dead? Maybe! Could I see them jailing Peter for a few episodes? Sure! When Lois finally appears in the courtroom, was I mad that I hadn't yet shed a tear of laughter during this weeks 30 minutes? No! I was on the edge of my seat wanting to see how the heck Stewie will get out of this jam. Bring on part two!!
"the Doctor" Ben Moser:
I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but:
It took 100 episodes, but the show has finally come full circle and, instead of throwing up a caricature of popular culture, is now just a caricature of itself. No longer ironically self-referential, just self-referential. No longer tongue-in-cheek offensive, just offensive because they're supposed to be. It's been slowly moving in this direction since it was resurrected from its cancellation, but with the 100th episode, it took a final dive.
Nor the Great:
I have thoroughly enjoyed the first 100 episodes of Family Guy. When the show comes on, I can sit back, turn the old brain off and revel in pop culture references that even I had forgotten. I especially enjoy the running gags that come at you, no reference or apologies to those who may not understand the reference.
The revival of Family Guy has been nothing short of amazing. I can think of no other show that was ever canceled twice then revived to national acclaim. Great job for a good show.
That being said, I fear McFarlane and company may be dangerously close to "jumping the shark." Whereas South Park and The Simpsons have continued to grow and tread new ground, Family Guy is stuck in a loop and it's going to take a lot more than fart jokes and obscure pop references to pull them out.
Ryan Byers:
Frankly, I don't know what to say about Family Guy at 100 episodes. On one hand, I absolutely loved the initial run of the series and can still practically recite a couple of early shows from memory. Because of that, I want to enjoy it as much as I did several years ago. I really do. However, the program's recent direction has made that quite difficult.
Don't get me wrong, the program hasn't completely turned me off. I'm still tuning in, and I'm still getting a few chuckles out of every episode that I watch. Unfortunately, the writing crew for the most part has moved away from the type of character-based humor that I enjoy and has, instead, shifted towards a series of gags based on pop culture non sequiturs and bodily function gags. I'm not saying that those things are never funny. They've just never appealed to me as much quite as the sharper wit that Family Guy displayed early on in its run.
Fortunately, Episode 100 did have much more of a coherent plot than anything from last season, and that might help turn things around if the producers stick with that format. Even Seinfeld had a couple of seasons that were a bit off, so I'm hoping that McFarlane and company can pull out a similar recovery.
So there you have it, comments on Family Guy century 1 from some of the people you read every day. What wonders await next week? Will I have a rebuttal for the negative people next week? How did Lois survive point-blank machine gun fire? Is Cleveland dead now? Find out everything in the super-sized giant clam edition of the Freakin' Sweet Forum next week!
