Cross Your Fingers on This One

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-07-14 09:03pm

From the June 14th issue of Newsweek

For 10 years, the late-night TV battle has raged between Jay Leno and David Letterman, but at the moment, both of them are getting whipped by a toy-factory worker from Rhode Island named Peter Griffin. (You didn't think we meant Jimmy Kimmel, did you?)

GRIFFIN IS THE star of The Family Guy, an animated series that lasted just 49 episodes on Fox but has been reborn as a cult hit on Cartoon Network. The show "a bitingly funny send up of family sitcoms featuring a moronic patriarch, a talking dog and a diabolical, British-accented infant boy" is drawing 1 million viewers per episode; topping Leno and Letterman among 18- to 34-year-old men. "I'm not surprised," says Cartoon Network senior vice president Mike Lazzo. "This was one of the few programming no-brainers I've ever had."

It wasn't so clear cut for Fox, which kept switching The Family Guy's time slot before finally canceling it last year. By then, the show had amassed a small army of loyalists who'd come to adore creator Seth MacFarlane's taste for obscure pop-culture references, like the Crest Cavity Creeps and the Kool-Aid Man. (You remember? the giant glass pitcher that jumps through walls and yells, "Oh, yeah!" Ah, good times.) The show is now the linchpin of the Cartoon Network's daily Adult Swim TV block, and fans have rewarded the move by making it the highest- rated show in the channel's history.

Here's more good news for Family Guy fans. During the show's tenure on Fox, MacFarlane's team actually made 50 episodes; one never aired because it was deemed "too controversial" for advertisers. Cartoon Network hopes to air it during the next rerun cycle, which begins on Monday. The taboo subject: religion. Chances are, it's the last new episode we'll get. Lazzo is still trying to relaunch the show, but creator MacFarlane is currently tied up producing a new series. Somewhere the Kool-Aid Man is weeping.

-Devin Gordon

The bold face at the bottom is mine. We can have hope can't we?

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-07-14 09:12pm

Cable where all good series eventually go.

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-07-14 09:22pm

Ahhh Family Guy. If that gets relaunched, it'll make my summer complete. Even one new episode would be good for a while. Family Guy has tackled religion before though in the episode where Peter's extremely religious dad visits--they end up meeting the Pope and other such hilarity ensues; I don't see how anything could be much more controversial than that.

"I positively adore this God, he's so delisciously evil." - Stewie

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2003-07-14 09:32pm

The best episodes were:

1. I am Peter, hear me roar
2. Death's a bitch

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-07-14 09:35pm

YT300000 wrote:2. Death's a bitch

Is that the one where Norm MacDonald voices Death?

Luke Starkiller · Post by **Luke Starkiller** » 2003-07-14 09:39pm

The unaired episode is called When You Wish Upon a Weinstein; it features a song 'I Need a Jew', because Peter wants an accountant.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-07-14 09:43pm

Luke Starkiller wrote:The unaired episode is called When You Wish Upon a Weinstein; it features a song 'I Need a Jew', because Peter wants an accountant.

Is it on the DVD set?

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-07-14 09:49pm

Montcalm wrote:Is it on the DVD set?

You can almost certainly find it on one of the various p2p networks. It's really a good episode. I especially enjoyed the evil nuns with rulers gag.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-07-14 09:59pm

I'd much, much rather see Futurama revived. It was a far better series than Family Guy.

I don't much care for Family Guy. It had too many pointless interludes, unfunny jokes, and the humor veered far to much towards mean spirited for my tastes. Not to mention it wanted so badly to be the Simpsons but missed it completelt. It had it moments but never very good.

justifier · Post by **justifier** » 2003-07-14 10:12pm

Anybody know what the episode where Stewie went through Europe was called? That bit with him in Germany was great

"Excuse me, why isn't there any information on 1939 through 1945"
"Nothing happened"
"No, no you invaded Poland in 1939"
"WE INVANDED NOTHING, WE WERE INVITED, PUNCH WAS SERVED,*random German* HEIL HILTER"

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-07-14 10:17pm

I was shocked at how much of a Simpsons rip-off it was. Until about 5 minutes into the pilot episode!

Consider my fingers crossed.

Demiurge · Post by **Demiurge** » 2003-07-14 10:19pm

Eh. I'd like to see it relaunched. It's not my favorite show, but it's still better than most.

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2003-07-15 12:48pm

Darth Garden Gnome wrote:
YT300000 wrote:2. Death's a bitch
Is that the one where Norm MacDonald voices Death?

Yeah.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-07-15 12:50pm

That show was fucking brilliant from the first episode onwards. Fox are morons.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2003-07-15 12:58pm

I like how the Simpsons rips into Fox at every opportunity.

The family goes to a cybercafe:
Lisa: What are you doing dad?
Homer: I'm buying stock from this corporation called 'NewsCorp.'
Lisa: Dad, that's FOX!
Homer: AHHH, SELL SELL SELL!!!

It's an ok show, but I just hate how stupid and awful Peter is, I mean, I just want his family to leave him.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-07-15 01:14pm

There was one Simpsons episode where for five minutes at the end, they showed a Fox fundraising telethon (like a PBS telethon--it was the episode, in fact, where Homer pretended to donate $10,000 to PBS). Betty White was doing the talking, and was going through the usual PBS schtick, and when she got to, "If you don't want to see all this great Fox programming disappear--" she shut off a TV that was displaying the Family Guy title card. Then one of the phone rings, Rupert Murdoch picks up and exclaims, "$10,000! You saved my network!" Cut to Bart on the living room couch holding the phone and saying, "Wouldn't be the first time."

The Simpsons's producers attitude towards Fox seems to be, "La la la, we've got you by the balls, la la la."

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-07-15 01:22pm

I fucking hate Malcolm in the middle for destroying Futurama

see, Futurama used to be on right after Simpsons on Sundays

8 PM was Simpsons
8:30 was Futurama
9 PM was XFiles

then Fox moved Futurama out to try out this new stupid show,
which naturally got high ratings since it was after simpsons and
before X Files

Futurama moved to 7PM and ALWAYS, ALWAYS was pre-empted
by fucking NFL football - so no wonder the ratings dropped

same thing with family guy - once it got comfortable in a time slot,
it got moved

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-07-15 02:39pm

"I claim this mouth in the name of Incisor! Ah Bicuspid, my old nemesis, we meet again!"

I hope they bring it back. it was delightfully over the top. One thing i noticed is that Seth McFarlane and company did their homework and thew in so fucking many local inside jokes.

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2003-07-15 02:56pm

Stewie was fucking awesome. Everyone else sucked.