Criticism of Family Guy

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Cover of the October 2005 issue of Mad Magazine.

Although an Emmy nominated animated series with a dedicated following, Family Guy is the target of criticism from many for several different reasons.

1 Moral criticism and controversy
2 Family Guy vs. The Simpsons
- 2.1 Family Guy on The Simpsons
- 2.2 The Simpsons on Family Guy
3 Family Guy vs. South Park
4 Family Guy vs. Jimmy Corrigan
5 Family Guy vs. Clerks
6 John Kricfalusi
7 Entertainment Weekly
8 Mad Magazine
9 Censorship
10 Notes and References

[edit] Moral criticism and controversy

There are those who feel that some of Family Guy's more adult oriented humour has been a common inviter of controversy for its brusque approach to comedy, which deals with politically sensitive topics without much concern for the boundaries of good taste—often considered one of the primary reasons for its initial cancellation. Several episodes were trimmed for controversial content, and one episode, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", was initially refused airtime on FOX because its plotline—where Peter attempts to convert Chris to Judaism in hopes of making his son financially successful—was deemed inappropriate under accusations of anti-Semitism, despite the episode being viewed and approved by rabbis, having featured the voice of Ben Stein, and having been written by a Jewish writer. An edited version eventually aired on FOX, with some content, such as a reference to Deicide (crucifixion), removed. Other subjects that have been called to attention are the series' controversial jokes about the disabled, racism, homophobia, AIDS^[1], abortion, neo-Nazism, conservative bias, liberal bias, child abuse, alcoholism, terrorism, and numerous types of sexual deviancy including necrophilia, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, and sexual harassment and people like Walt Disney saying jokes like that (in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story). Family Guy held second place on the Parents Television Council 2000^[2] and 2005^[3] lists of "worst prime-time shows for family viewing." The show dropped to third place for the 2006 season^[4].

When reruns of Family Guy episodes began to air, controversial episodes were often restricted to broadcast times after 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time, in order to avoid more family-friendly prime time slots; FOX executives feared that viewer complaints to the Federal Communications Commission could have prompted an investigation and a "Notice of Apparent Liability." All new episodes on FOX are preceded by a title card stating that "viewer discretion is advised," while the show currently rates a "TV-14" by TV Parental Guidelines (recent exception: "Peter's Got Woods" was rated TV-PG DL, and "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" airs on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" with a TV-MA rating).

Other stations that have aired the series have also dealt with concerns of controversy. While repeats on "Adult Swim" block are generally unaffected because of its late time slot (from 10:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Eastern/Pacific Monday through Thursday, 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Eastern/Pacific on Saturday, and 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Eastern/Pacific on Sunday), TBS removed afternoon airings of the series, and created a new block of adult-oriented programming, titled "Too Funny to Sleep", for late-night time slots.

[edit] Family Guy vs. The Simpsons

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Numerous writers associated with The Simpsons, such as Matt Groening, Al Jean, David X. Cohen, Matt Selman, Tim Long, and Joel H. Cohen have attacked Family Guy during public appearances, in interviews and on DVD commentaries. When a long-lost book of jokes is mentioned on a Simpsons DVD commentary, Al Jean joked that it was stolen by Family Guy writers.^{[citation needed]} Given the sheer number of The Simpsons episodes, and the fact that they are both 30-minute animated television shows that air on the same network, comparisons between The Simpsons and Family Guy, as well as other FOX animated series, are sometimes unavoidable - as well as the fact that dysfunctional and/or blue-collar families are far from an original sitcom idea, even in animated series, and have been around since well before the debut of either The Simpsons or Family Guy (ie Wait Till Your Father Gets Home).

The creators have spoken out on the nature of their relationship:

“	You know, it's funny. Matt Groening and I actually have a great relationship. We've talked several times in the past few weeks and joked about this. One day out of nowhere this rumor pops up in papers and magazines. Actually, it was probably one comment that was taken out of context in Blender. Matt's just a cool guy, and fortunately neither of us was ruffled by any of that stuff. We just laughed it off.	”
—Seth MacFarlane, ^[5]

“	The rivalry is very affectionate. Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, is a good guy and he does great work, and I certainly have no problem with the perceived competition. If anything, we have the same kind of competition that Pugsley Addams and Eddie Munster had in the old days. They duked it out a few times, and so did Seth and I, but that's probably before your time. I think Family Guy and American Dad have definitely staked out their own style and territory, and now the accusations are coming that The Simpsons is taking jokes from Family Guy. And I can tell you, that ain't the case.	”
—Matt Groening, ^[6]

“	Apparently they hate our guts. I'm not sure why. I've said this before, but that show, at its best, is up there with the best episodes of All In The Family, Mary Tyler Moore, and Dick Van Dyke, I think. I was reading a quote from one of the writers, from a lecture that he gave, that said "The Simpsons staff hates Family Guy." Who knows why? I'm not losing any sleep over it. ...We got that criticism early on, and I think any animated show that comes along is inevitably going to be compared to The Simpsons. King of the Hill was compared to The Simpsons, and is clearly its own show in its own right. It's not even close.	”
—Seth MacFarlane, ^[7]

Matt Groening said at the Comic-Con 2006 he was glad that Family Guy got back on air after Fox rejected it.

[edit] Family Guy on The Simpsons

Family Guy (and Seth MacFarlane) have been frequent targets on The Simpsons. The Simpsons has included many joking references to Family Guy and its alleged plagiarism.

In "Missionary: Impossible", a pledge drive is held by the Fox Network to raise money. As she stands in front of a TV displaying the Family Guy logo, celebrity telethon participant Betty White says: "So, if you don't want to see crude, low-brow programming disappear from the airwaves, please, call now."

In "Treehouse of Horror XIII", Homer creates an army of clones of himself that are each progressively dumber than the real Homer. One of the clones is shown to be Peter Griffin.

In "Treehouse of Horror XVI", Executive Producer Al Jean was credited as Al "Family Guy" Jean in the tradition of giving the staff horrific, scary and/or unpleasant name variations.

In "The Italian Bob", Peter Griffin is shown in a book of criminals with the charge of "Plagiarismo" (Plagiarism) and Stan Smith, of American Dad!, is shown with the charge of "Plagiarismo Di Plagiarismo" (Plagiarism of Plagiarism).

In "The Wandering Juvie", Gina Vendetti calls Bart "momma's boy" and "family guy" after he calls her "such a psycho" and "future skank."

Homer vs Peter'.

[edit] The Simpsons on Family Guy

In the four minutes of opening of "PTV", Stewie (in a reference to the opening of The Naked Gun) rides his tricycle through Quahog until he pulls into his driveway. The scene then parallels the opening of The Simpsons; only instead of Homer running into the house, he hits the door and is knocked out. Peter then opens the door, looks at Homer, and says "Hey Stewie. Who the hell was that?". Some fans of The Simpsons compare this gag to the episode "Treehouse of Horror IX," which aired in 1998 and featured a Halloween-themed revision of the opening in which Marge's car not only chases Homer, but winds up killing him as well. According to the PTV commentary on the volume 4 DVD set, this joke was originally intended to feature Peter in the same animation of Homer in The Simpsons intro sequence, rather than Homer Simpson himself.

In the online game Stewie Live^[8], Stewie responds to any command typed to him with a remark or action. When most references related to The Simpsons are typed to Stewie, for example, "The Simpsons", "Homer" or "Bart", Stewie will respond by turning around and urinating.

The episode "Mother Tucker" features a cutaway gag in which Stewie claims he "sold out" when he starred in a series of Butterfinger commercials, as The Simpsons did in the early 1990s. Stewie says Bart's catchphrase from the commercials, "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger," before adding a forced "D'oh!"

[edit] Family Guy vs. South Park

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have expressed their discontent at being put at the same comedic level as Family Guy. When questioned about the meanest thing anyone ever said to them, Stone replied "When people say to me, 'God, you guys have one of the best shows on television. You and Family Guy.' That fucking hurts so bad", to which Parker agreed: "Very well said. It's such a kick in the balls."^[9]

The Griffin family as portrayed in the South Park episode "Cartoon Wars Part I".

The South Park episode "Cartoon Wars Part I" aired on April 5, 2006. The episode partly focuses on the reaction to Danish cartoons negatively depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad, but also references Stone and Parker's negative feelings toward Family Guy.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the episode, a fake Family Guy clip is shown, depicting the fast-paced, often nonsensical cutaway jokes. Three flashbacks occur and references are made to David Hasselhoff, Knight Rider, Mr. T, Captain Kirk, and Captain and Tennille in less than a minute. Between these clips, the Griffin family is shown making comments about the same subject (Peter inviting his old sweetheart over for dinner, to Lois's disapproval), as if to point out that Family Guy needs to remind its audience what the actual plot is, given that the cutaway jokes are often in no way related to the story.

Later in the episode, Cartman justifies his hatred for Family Guy (Going parallel with what Trey Parker and Matt Stone said about being compared with Family Guy.)

Don't you ever, EVER compare me to Family Guy, you hear me Kyle? Compare me to Family Guy again and so help me, I will kill you where you stand! Do you have any idea what it's like? Everywhere I go: "Hey Cartman you must like Family Guy, right?" "Hey, your sense of humor reminds me of Family Guy, Cartman!" I am nothing like Family Guy! When I make jokes they are inherent to a story! Deep situational and emotional jokes based on what is relevant and has a point, not just one random interchangeable joke after another!

"Cartoon Wars Part II" aired April 12, 2006. In the conclusion, the show's writers were pictured as manatees who take "idea balls" and send them down a shaft; a jumbled collection of ideas then become a Family Guy joke (for example, balls about "Mexico", "Gary Coleman" and "date" become a joke about Peter going on a date with Coleman in Mexico). A version of Bart Simpson also appears, a reference to the ongoing rivalry between Family Guy and The Simpsons.

Spoilers end here.

Though Parker and Stone's dislike of Family Guy is still clear, they do defend the show's fans while satirizing themselves. Throughout the episodes, Kyle admits to being a fan of the show, describing it as "funny" numerous times, and fighting against Cartman in his plot to have Family Guy cancelled. The characters of Stan and Kenny are also implied to enjoy the show. After a stranger gives Kyle a lift, he urges him to keep Family Guy from getting taken off the air by saying, "I know it's just joke after joke, but I like that. At least it doesn't get all preachy and up its own ass with messages, you know", referring to a charge that is often levelled at South Park. An excerpt of an interview on IGN:

Q: Have you heard any reaction back from Seth McFarlane or anyone from Family Guy over the jokes you made about them on "Cartoon Wars"? And is it safe to say your feelings on Family Guy are the same as Cartman's?
Matt Stone: We haven't heard anything. I think they're just swimming around in their [tank].
Trey Parker: I think he's a Scientologist, actually.
Matt Stone: What I know about Family Guy, I'm sure they have a sense of humor, so...
Trey Parker: What I can tell you that was pretty interesting, was the day after that episode aired, we got flowers from The Simpsons. We got calls from King of the Hill, saying we were doing God's work. It's not just our opinion.^[10]

At the 2006 Comic-Con in San Diego, writers and producers of Family Guy and American Dad admitted during a panel that they enjoyed the South Park episode, and that now when they have to cut a segment for time, they refer to the throwaway jokes as "Manatee Gags," as in, "Let's cut a manatee gag!" Commentaries on the Family Guy DVDs often address the controversy. "You think that's bad", a made-up catchphrase for Peter created for the South Park episode and repeated before every cutaway gag, has become a catchphrase also.

At a recent talk at Stanford University, MacFarlane indicated that to cry foul over this episode would be "hypocritical".^[11]

During his speech at the Harvard class day 2006, in character as Stewie Griffin, MacFarlane stated:

You're wondering to yourselves: what can I expect from the outside world? Will I find my niche? What should I know about the vast territory that lies beyond the confines of my little subcultural textbooks, ramen noodles, coin-operated laundry and TV shows that seem to think they can skate by with random jokes about giant chickens that have absolutely nothing to do with the overall narrative? The boys at South Park are absolutely correct: Those cutaways and flashbacks have nothing to do with the story! They're just there to be ... funny. And that is a shallow indulgence that South Park is quite above, and for that I salute them.

[edit] Family Guy vs. Jimmy Corrigan

Jimmy Corrigan comic strip

The cartoon Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth was created in 1991 by artist Chris Ware, eight years before the premiere of Family Guy. In 1999, Entertainment Weekly wrote this:

"Comic-book fans have been buzzing about a certain familiarity they've noticed recently: namely, that Stewie, the football-shaped-headed child who loathes his mother and invents diabolical weapons on Fox's Family Guy, bears a striking resemblance to a comic-strip character: Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth (right), a football-shaped-headed child who fears his mother and invents things to escape from her. Chris Ware has been drawing Jimmy since 1991, creating a series of comic books called the Acme Novelty Library. A collection of Jimmy's adventures will be published by Pantheon next spring. Says Ware, "I don't want a book of seven years' worth of my stuff to become available and then be accused of being a rip-off of Family Guy."

MacFarlane commented on the similarities in an interview with IGN, saying that he had seen a Jimmy Corrigan strip and "[i]t was so similar. He had like the same shape head, he had like the same hairs on top. I had never seen it before, but it was actually pretty shocking. I can see how [Ware] would reach that conclusion."^[12]

[edit] Family Guy vs. Clerks

Jab on Clerks: The Animated Series.

Kevin Smith and David Mandel (creator and co-producer of Clerks: The Animated Series), have gone on record as Family Guy haters: In the final episode of their cartoon, they included a scene in which a bad comedy writer consults a book entitled "How To Write Cartoons by Seth MacFarlane." Upon consulting the book, he suggests that the writers send the characters to Gilligan's Island and make gay jokes about them, illustrating their opinion that the show alternates between pop-culture references and offensive humor. On the DVD commentary to Clerks: The Animated Series, Smith refers to Seth MacFarlane as a nemesis. When it is pointed out that Family Guy was still on the air and nominated for an Emmy, Mandel referred to it as "Emmy-nominated shit."

[edit] John Kricfalusi

The show's animation has also come under fire by Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, who expressed concern over the fact that the current generation of aspiring animators will be negatively influenced by the animation present in Family Guy:

“

If you're a kid wanting to be a cartoonist today, and you're looking at Family Guy, you don't have to aim very high. You can draw Family Guy when you're ten years old. You don't have to get any better than that to become a professional cartoonist. The standards are extremely low.

”

^[13]

Kricfalusi has also said similar things about The Simpsons and South Park, claiming they are merely "animated sitcoms":

“

When my parents first saw The Simpsons and South Park and other primitive stuff, they said instantly: "This is crap. I can draw better than that." That should be the obvious conclusion. ^[14]

”

“

You have to be raised in an uncreative environment in order to blindly accept how bland and crappy everything is today...

^[15]

”

[edit] Entertainment Weekly

In addition, Family Guy has faced attacks by media critics, including contributors of Entertainment Weekly. EW contributor Ken Tucker is the most vocal critic of the show on the magazine's staff, comparing the show to Arli$$ and describing them both as terrible shows that couldn't be killed. This appeared shortly after Family Guy surfaced in syndication on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and TBS.^[16]

In Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, MacFarlane included a joke where Stewie breaks the neck of a reporter as soon as he learns they are from Entertainment Weekly (the Entertainment Weekly reporter is not interested in Stewie, but wondering if Futurama is going to be put back on the air). However, on the commentary track, MacFarlane did note that Entertainment Weekly had been much nicer to them in general more recently, sometimes even praising them. For example, the show was listed as an essential TV show on DVD at one point, and upon their return to the air, they were given a cover story.

In the episode "There's Something About Paulie", Peter realizes he is out of toilet paper and instead wipes himself with a page of Entertainment Weekly. This is most likely a retaliation to the criticism Family Guy has received from Entertainment Weekly. ^[17]

Entertainment Weekly also put their criticism on Seth's other cartoon American Dad calling it American Bad and giving Vol.1 an F.

[edit] Mad Magazine

The cover of the October 2005 issue of Mad Magazine proclaimed "We Salute Family Guy, TV's Most Original Animated Series". The accompanying illustration featured the Griffins altered to resemble the main characters of The Simpsons, satirizing the show's alleged unoriginality (shown above on this page). There was a comic where Lois Griffin and Marge Simpson appeared on Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy. A three-page spread within the magazine, entitled "Mad's Exclusive Backstage Tour of the Family Guy" is full of allegations of unoriginality, plagiarism and poor writing. It might seem that Family Guy has also hit back at Mad Magazine with one episode where Peter is reading Cracked (a rival of Mad Magazine), but the episode aired before the anti-Family Guy issue came out.