Family Guy
Plot
Created by 25-year-old wunderkind Seth MacFarlane, the weekly, half-hour cartoon series Family Guy shamelessly -- and hilariously -- exploited the nothing sacred, anything goes TV animation field fostered by such earlier trailblazers as The Simpsons and South Park. Set in Quahog, a suburb of Providence, RI, the series' main characters were the Griffin family: dad Peter, an impulsive fathead who worked at a local toy factory and who turned "dysfunctional parenting" into an art form; mom Lois, a frustrated social climber who bore the humiliation heaped upon her by her family in quiet desperation; 16-year old daughter Meg, as high-strung and neurotic as they came; 13-year-old son Chris, whose oafish slothfulness gave other slackers a bad name; and little Stewie, a sinister-looking one-year-old infant with an erudite vocabulary, the mind of a serial killer, and the ambitions of Genghis Khan. By contrast, the family's talking, martini-imbibing dog, Brian, was a monument to well-adjusted normalcy. The Griffins' neighbors included whiny, self-loathing Cleveland, paraplegic police officer Joe Swanson, and sex-obsessed Glen Quagmire.The tone of the series was established by its debut episode, "Death Has a Shadow," originally telecast just after Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999, in which most of the running time was devoted to the gimlet-eyed Stewie's elaborate efforts to murder his mother! Making its formal debut over the Fox network on April 6 of that same year, the series followed the Simpsons pattern of irreverent, iconoclastic plotlines, cutting-edge, borderline obscene dialogue, and wildly non sequitur pop-cultural references. However, Family Guy went far beyond Simpsons or any other prime time cartoon of its era in its pursuit of the bizarre and the grotesque, and also heaped on more culture-shock gags, in jokes, and obscure movie and literature references than any other series in living memory. It was not an unusual sight to see Peter and Lois don S&M gear before going to bed, or for a pimple on Chris' cheek to suddenly develop a diabolical mind of its own, or for Stewie and Brian to embark upon European vacations at the drop of a hat, or for Meg to watch her slumber party morph into a ribald MTV-esque reality series. Finally, name another series of the era in which the head of the family would kidnap Pope John Paul I in broad daylight just to prove a point to his father, or a mob boss would demand that the family take a petulant "wiseguy" to the movies, or Mr. Death (skull, scythe, and all) would break his bony leg in the family living room and be forced into a Man Who Came to Dinner extended stay-over, or a disgruntled paterfamilias would try to figure a way out when actor James Woods insisted upon being his best friend forever! (Woods was one of several celebrities who provided voices for their "surprise" appearances. Others included Adam West, Victoria Principal, Gene Simmons, Erik Estrada, and Randy "Macho Man" Savage).
If ever a cartoon series was creator-driven, Family Guy was it. Not only did Seth MacFarlane produce, direct, and write the series, but he also provided most of the character voices. The series also eminently qualified as a "cult favorite," in that it attracted a huge following of fiercely loyal fans but never did particularly well in the ratings. This was largely due to the cavalier attitude of the Fox network, whose programmers repeatedly shuttled the series from one "sudden death" timeslot to another and pre-empted it at the slightest opportunity. It was not until Fox canceled the show and it was picked up for rerun play on cable's Cartoon Network that Family Guy truly built an audience -- an audience so large that the show regularly out-rated such late night network attractions as Jay Leno and David Letterman in several major markets. Even more successful was the show's first DVD release in 2003. So many units were sold in so short a time that, beginning in the spring of 2005, Fox restored Family Guy to its prime time schedule with brand new episodes -- the first instance in which a series made a network comeback solely on the basis of its home-video popularity. Seth MacFarlane immediately responded to this move by brazenly biting the hand that fed him, poking cruel fun at the hidebound "standards and practices" people at Fox and having Peter Griffin rattle off a list of all the failed Fox series in the past two decades.
If MacFarlane seemed unhibited during Family Guy's original run, he absolutely ran wild in the "new" version, merrily tossing in random running gags and inside jokes that only the series' most encyclopedic of fans could fully appreciate. (On one episode, for example, the plot stopped dead in its tracks for an extended fist-fight sequence that had been carried over from the previous week!) While many non-fans were turned off by the excesses of the renewed Family Guy, there were millions of other viewers who swallowed those excesses whole and demanded even more. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Credit
David Zuckerman - Executive Producer, Seth MacFarlane - Show CreatorEpisodes
Family Guy: Season 01 (1999)Originally given a special telecast just after Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999, the debut episode of the iconoclastic animated series Family Guy immediately staked out its territory with a warm, life-affirming plotline in which one-year-old Stewie Griffin constructs a roomful of death traps to murder his mother, Lois, while his dad, Peter, accidentally "bombs" a football stadium with the world's largest (and least deserved) welfare check. Nor did the series revert to traditionalism when season one proper began its six-episode run four months later. In episode two, "I Never Met the Dead Man," Peter is driven to the edge of madness when denied television, Stewie builds a weather-controlling device, and a caricatured Erik Estrada reprises his Ponch character from CHiPs. But series creator Seth MacFarlane is only getting warmed up. Subsequent episodes include "Chitty Chitty Death Bang," wherein Peter and Lois' teenage daughter, Meg, joins a Moonielike cult and Waylon Jennings pops up out of nowhere; "Mind Over Murder," in which Peter, placed under house arrest for accidentally punching out a woman, establishes a neighborhood bar in his restaurant; "A Hero Sits Next Door," an irreverent showcase for the Griffins' neighbor, paraplegic police officer Joe; and "The Son Also Draws," which finds the family making a wrong turn into an Indian casino and digging up their Native American roots. Wrapping up season one is "Brian: Portrait of a Dog," in which the Griffin's talking, booze-guzzling pet hound, Brian, strikes a blow for canine civil rights, only to end up a "dead dog walking" at the local pound. (And how does Dick Van Patten figure into all of this?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Family Guy: Death has a Shadow
- Family Guy: I Never Met the Dead Man
- Family Guy: Chitty Chitty Death Bang
- Family Guy: Mind Over Murder
- Family Guy: A Hero Sits Next Door
- Family Guy: The Son Also Draws
- Family Guy: Brian: Portrait of a Dog
Although the first season of the doggedly irreverent animated half-hour Family Guy didn't exactly set the ratings on fire, the series' devoted fan following was sufficient for Fox to order 21 new episodes for a second season. The opener finds the dysfunctional Griffin family developing even worse financial sense than normal when they inherit a mansion. Later on, Peter Griffin is forced to kidnap Pope John Paul II to prove something to his hyper-judgmental dad (voiced by Charles Durning); New Years Day of 2000 proves to be an apocalyptic experience as the Griffins rummage through the ruins of a bombed-out Quahog, RI -- and end up crossing paths with Randy Newman and the cast of Dallas; a quickie European vacation awakens the carnal lust in Brian the dog; and Norm MacDonald provides the voice of Mr. Death, who proves to be a crabby house guest when he breaks his skeletal leg in the Griffin living room (this is the one where Peter develops a "fatty corpuscle"). Also: Lois Griffin directs a community production of The King and I which devolves into a garish "leg show" and an obscene example of egos run amok; Murphy Brown's Candice Bergen and Faith Ford provide voices for an episode in which Peter gets in touch with his feminine side; daughter Meg's slumber party morphs into the new 24-hour TV reality series "The Real Griffins" (even though the "real Griffins" are replaced by celebrity actors); Brian and malevolent infant Stewie Griffin go into Hope-Crosby mode on "Road to Rhode Island"; Peter poses as a high school student, basking in the popularity he'd never enjoyed during his actual teen years; the Mob makes the family an offer they can't refuse (or make sense of) in an episode featuring the voice of The Shield's Michael Chiklis; son Chris needs liposuction, but it's Peter who gets the treatment, much to the jealous Lois' dismay; and Luke Perry sues Peter for defamation of character and bad writing. Topping off the season, father-and-son day for Peter and Chris turns sour when Peter chooses someone else's son! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Family Guy: Peter Peter, Caviar Eater
- Family Guy: Holy Crap
- Family Guy: Da Boom
- Family Guy: Running Mates
- Family Guy: A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Bucks
- Family Guy: Fifteen Minutes of Shame
- Family Guy: Road to Rhode Island
- Family Guy: Let's Go to the Hop
- Family Guy: Dammit, Janet
- Family Guy: There's Something About Paulie
- Family Guy: He's Too Sexy For His Fat
- Family Guy: E Peterbus Unum
- Family Guy: The Story on Page 1
- Family Guy: Wasted Talent
- Family Guy: Fore Father
- Family Guy: Brian in Love
- Family Guy: Love Thy Trophy
- Family Guy: Death Is a Bitch
- Family Guy: The King Is Dead
- Family Guy: I am Peter, Hear Me Roar
- Family Guy: If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'
Twenty-one new, non sequitur-laden episodes are dished up by series creator Seth MacFarlane for the third and final Fox network season of the cartoon weekly Family Guy. Things start off with the series' first two-parter, in which the Griffins' pet dog, Brian, runs away from home and ends up in Hollywood directing porn movies. Later, a hurricane in Quahog brings a new British Invasion in its wake; Mr. Death, who'd been a special guest star the previous season, makes a return appearance with his mother in tow (not to mention Peter Frampton); and Meg gets a TV job forcing her to work with über-nerd Neil, but at least gets to rub caricatured shoulders with Hugh Downs and Abe Vigoda. In another story development, Peter loses his job when his boss dies in a freak accident (choking to death on a dinner roll), allowing our hero to pursue his life's ambition as a knight in a Renaissance fair -- and when that fails to pan out, he comes up with a new life's ambition and goes fishing. Elsewhere, malevolent infant Stewie tries to cook up yet another foolproof murder scheme when Peter and Lois decide to have another baby; a case of mistaken identity thrusts the Griffins into both the Witness Protection Program and a Civil War reenactment; a session with a local baseball team transforms Peter into a rara avis -- a black white man; paraplegic policeman Joe gets some unexpected assistance when he enters the Special Olympics; Stewie throws a tantrum and ends up winning a theater audition, just as sister Meg begins dating a nudist; and as another of the family's impulsive trips to Europe is sidetracked to Saudi Arabia, mom Lois reveals a long-ago liaison with KISS lead singer Gene Simmons. In the series finale, the Griffins respond to viewer mail by staging their own iconoclastic versions of The Little Rascals and a certain mutant-superhero movie blockbuster (An additional episode, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," was never telecast on Fox due to its "controversial" nature, and remained unseen until it was shown on cable's Cartoon Network two years after it was filmed). Despite the anguished moans of the series' millions of fans, Fox decided to pull the plug on Family Guy at the end of season three. However, the series was due for a spectacular rebirth that would put a phoenix to shame. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Family Guy: The Thin White Line
- Family Guy: Fish Out of Water
- Family Guy: Emission Impossible
- Family Guy: To Live and Die in Dixie
- Family Guy: Screwed the Pooch
- Family Guy: Peter Griffin: Husband, Father...Brother?
- Family Guy: Ready, Willing, and Disabled
- Family Guy: A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas
- Family Guy: Brian Does Hollywood
- Family Guy: Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington
- Family Guy: One if By Clam, Two if By Sea
- Family Guy: And the Wiener Is...
- Family Guy: Death Lives
- Family Guy: Lethal Weapons
- Family Guy: The Kiss Seen Around the World
- Family Guy: Mr. Saturday Knight
- Family Guy: Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows
- Family Guy: From Method to Madness
- Family Guy: Stuck Together, Torn Apart
- Family Guy: Road to Europe
- Family Guy: Family Guy Viewer Mail #1
- Family Guy: When You Wish Upon a Weinstein
This feature-length story from the cult-hit animated series The Family Guy follows the pint-sized evil genius Stewie as he searches his true family. Along the way, the diaper-clad mental giant encounters a series of adventures and discovers much about his family heritage. Featuring voice performances by Drew Barrymore and Ron Livingston, Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story screened at the 2005 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal before being released straight to DVD. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
Family Guy: Season 04 (2005)
Although poor ratings had compelled the Fox network to cancel its iconoclastic, cutting-edge cartoon series Family Guy at the end of its third season in 2002, the series' astonishing popularity in rerun form on cable's Cartoon Network coupled with the spectacular sales posted by the property's initial DVD release in 2003, prompted Fox to revive the show, with brand new episodes beginning in the spring of 2005. The first of the 14 comeback adventures of the supremely dysfunctional Griffin family is "North By North Quahog," which, in addition to its expected Hitchcockian undertones, manages to find time to skewer Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ. In later episodes, the Griffin's family dog, Brian, ends up as a substitute teacher for high-risk kids; dad Peter Griffin swallows a bunch of nickels, goes blind, and accidentally becomes a hero in a story that somehow also accommodates a guest voice appearance by Judd Hirsch; nebbishy neighbor Cleveland goes into "worm turns" mode when he is told that his wife, Loretta, has been fooling around with the libidinous Glen Quagmire; Peter takes an intelligence test and winds up losing custody of his kids (and his wife); Brian shows up as a contestant on "The Bachelorette," while son Chris Griffin is afflicted with a demonic talking pimple. Later, to pay his pharmacy bill, Peter sells daughter Meg to the druggist's son; mom Lois' kleptomania forces the family to take refuge in "Asian Town"; and Lois earns "real money" as a model in her spare time ("And so can you!"); after spending several months marooned on a desert island, Peter finds that he is even more expendable than Tom Hanks; and actor James Woods becomes Peter's very best friend -- and refuses to leave the house. Taking all this into consideration, the season finale, in which Peter and Lois go the Laverne & Shirley route at their local brewery, is as traditionalist as an episode of The Waltons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Family Guy: North by North Quahog
- Family Guy: Model Misbehavior
- Family Guy: Peter's Got Woods
- Family Guy: The Perfect Castaway
- Family Guy: Jungle Love
- Family Guy: PTV
- Family Guy: Brian Goes Back to College
- Family Guy: The Courtship of Stewie's Father
- Family Guy: Fat Guy Strangler
- Family Guy: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Fonz
- Family Guy: Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High
- Family Guy: Blind Ambition
- Family Guy: Don't Make Me Over
- Family Guy: The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire
- Family Guy: Petarded
- Family Guy: Brian the Bachelor
- Family Guy: 8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter
- Family Guy: Breaking Out Is Hard to Do
- Family Guy: Brian Sings & Swings
- Family Guy: Patriot Games
- Family Guy: I Take Thee Quagmire
- Family Guy: Sibling Rivalry
- Family Guy: Deep Throats
- Family Guy: Peterotica
- Family Guy: You May Now Kiss the..Uh..Guy Who Receives
- Family Guy: Petergeist
- Family Guy: The Griffin Family History
- Family Guy: Stewie Loves Lois
- Family Guy: Mother Tucker
- Family Guy: Hell Comes to Quahog
- Family Guy: Saving Private Brian
- Family Guy: Whistle While Your Wife Works
- Family Guy: Prick Up Your Ears
- Family Guy: Chick Cancer
- Family Guy: Barely Legal
- Family Guy: Peter's Two Dads
- Family Guy: The Tan Aquatic With Steve Zissou
- Family Guy: Airport '07
- Family Guy: Bill & Peter's Bogus Journey
- Family Guy: No Meals on Wheels
- Family Guy: Boys Do Cry
- Family Guy: No Chris Left Behind
- Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One
- Family Guy: Meet the Quagmires
- Family Guy: Road to Rupert
- Family Guy: Blue Harvest
- Family Guy: Movin' Out (Brian's Song)
- Family Guy: Believe it or Not, Joe's Walking on Air
- Family Guy: Stewie Kills Lois
- Family Guy: Lois Kills Stewie
- Family Guy: Padre de Familia
- Family Guy: Peter's Daughter
- Family Guy: Play it Again, Brian
- Family Guy: The Former Life of Brian
- Family Guy: Long John Peter
- Family Guy: McStroke
- Family Guy: Back to the Woods
The Griffins and other denizens of Quahog continue their no-holds-barred animated satire in the seventh season, which boasts the two-part Star Wars spoof, Blue Harvest. Other highlights: Griffin patriarch Peter (voice of Seth MacFarlane) is accused of murdering wife Lois (Alex Borstein), becomes paralyzed after eating too much fast food, and decides to become a pirate. And not to be outdone, Brian shacks up with Jillian (Drew Barrymore), Joe (Patrick Warburton) has a leg transplant, and Meg (Mila Kunis) gets serious with a cute hospital intern. Notable Season 7 voice cameos include Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Chace Crawford, Amanda Bynes, James Woods, Barry Manilow, Harvey Fierstein, and Ricardo Montalban. ~ Kathy LeSage, Rovi
- Family Guy: Love Blactually
- Family Guy: I Dream of Jesus
- Family Guy: Road to Germany
- Family Guy: Baby Not On Board
- Family Guy: The Man With Two Brains
- Family Guy: Tales of a Third Grade Nothing
- Family Guy: FOX-y Lady
- Family Guy: Not All Dogs Go to Heaven
- Family Guy: 420
- Family Guy: Stew-roids
- Family Guy: We Love You Conrad
- Family Guy: Three Kings
- Family Guy: Peter's Progress
- Family Guy: Ocean's 3.5
- Family Guy: Family Gay
- Family Guy: The Juice Is Loose
- Family Guy: Road to the Multiverse
- Family Guy: Big Man on Hippocampus
- Family Guy: Family Goy
- Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Darkside
- Family Guy: Quagmire's Baby
- Family Guy: Spies Reminiscent of Us
- Family Guy: Brian's Got a Brand New Bag
- Family Guy: Hannah Banana
- Family Guy: Jerome Is the New Black
- Family Guy: Dog Gone
- Family Guy: Business Guy
- Family Guy: Dial Meg for Murder
- Family Guy: Extra-Large Medium
- Family Guy: Go Stewie Go
- Family Guy: Peter-assessment
- Family Guy: Brian Griffin's House of Payne
- Family Guy: April in Quahog
- Family Guy: Brian & Stewie
- Family Guy: Quagmire's Dad
- Family Guy: The Splendid Source
- Family Guy: And Then There Were Fewer, Part 1
- Family Guy: And Then There Were Fewer, Part 2
- Family Guy: Excellence in Broadcasting
- Family Guy: Welcome Back Carter
- Family Guy: Halloween on Spooner Street
- Family Guy: Baby, You Knock Me Out
- Family Guy: Brian Writes a Bestseller
- Family Guy: Road to the North Pole
- Family Guy: And I'm Joyce Kinney
- Family Guy: Friends of Peter G.
- Family Guy: German Guy
- Family Guy: The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair
- Family Guy: Trading Places
- Family Guy: Tiegs for Two
- Family Guy: Brothers & Sisters
- Family Guy: The Big Bang Theory
- Family Guy: Foreign Affairs
- Family Guy: Episode VI: It's a Trap
- Family Guy: New Kidney in Town
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