Family Guy, for the last ten years, has been a staple on my DVR. But today is the day where I put my foot down and stop watching the show.
Part of this started after watching the 2-episode series South Park aired called "Cartoon Wars." It was basically the writers letting off steam about how they're tired of people comparing South Park to Family Guy. Not only that, South Park also proceeded to point out obvious flaws in the Family Guy writing. If you haven't seen these two episodes, find them and watch them. You will never respect Family Guy again.
I have a few issues with Family Guy. The first was addressed in the above S.P. episodes. Their jokes (the constant flashbacks) never have anything to do with the plot/storyline. It's like they just have a list of things they think are funny, and when it comes time for a flashback, they just throw it in. Some of them would be funny if you didn't mind lazy writing that has no relevance to the show. I enjoyed them for the first few episodes, but after a while it gets to be a headache of stupidity.
Another issue I have with the show is the lack of their ability to reference anything current. 90% of the jokes/references in Family Guy are from the 80s. There is no explanation for this. It would be more acceptable if they maybe made light of Peter Griffin loving the 80s or something like that, but no, there is no reason for it at all. In my opinion, this is just a product of the writer being a loser kid all his life and doing nothing but sitting in front of the tv for 18 hours a day. So all he knows is 80s references. A TON of their jokes would be funnier if they applied it to something current. It would also be recognizable to people who didn't grow up in the 80s. For the love of God, Seth, learn how to make a joke that derives from something less than 20 years old in pop culture.
Long story short, Family Guy has its moments, and some really good ones for that matter. But their shotty writing, outdated jokes, and lazy flashbacks outweigh those few moments that are actually funny. My only hope is that the Seth Macfarlane either figures out he's not half as funny as he thinks, or that he gets hit by a car and his arms/mouth are paralyzed so no one has any way to get his cancerous ideas out of him.
How the hell is this show still on while Reno 911 is off the air?
