Seth MacFarlane’s Secret

Jerry Beck

on Thursday November 12, 2009 11:24 am

Comments

(Thanks, Matthew Hunter)

Rufus

Haha Thanks for posting this Jerry! :D It’s so true. The guy just has no imagination.
Kevin Martinez

I like Family Guy. However, I’m really beginning to resent the fact that Seth Macfarlane’s animated sitcom factory has by now squeezed every non-Simpsons show out of the fox lineup.

The equivalent would be if Nickelodeon were to cancel all of their shows except for Spongebob and one other, and then only accept and greenlight pitches from Stephen Hillenburg. I’m glad that doesn’t happen.
Dave G

As Sammy Davis, Jr. said about Billy Crystal’s impression of him : “It’s all too accurate, man.”
Ricardo

Other then missing the random and unfunny violence, yeah this is the Seth McFarlane formula.
Nightmare Is Near

This sure as hell will launch Seth Macfarlane’s pompous ego to even greater heights than I could ever imagine. I mean look at these, which I think are also good examples of something like this:

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/9475/1253959011544.png

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3008/1253959044037.png

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/1039/1253959074233.png

Can’t they find anybody else? I mean I would really like to see another animated show done by J.R. Dilworth, Craig McCraken, C.H. Greenblat, Maxwell Atoms, or anyone young and talented with great ideas for stories and great animation can’t they? Or why don’t they go to the U.K. and give these two characters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaaxtxkJqKg their own show? No Fox Executives are living in MacFarlaneLAND!
http://www.candlelightstories.com Alessandro Cima

I hate to be the exception, but someone sometimes has to do it. Family Guy may be the greatest animated show in the history of television. It is simply one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I don’t laugh at TV shows… ever. But I do laugh at Family Guy. In fact, I scream my laughter out so obnoxiously that people around me think I’m a little nuts.

It is just shockingly funny. Come on, admit it. When that baby shows up the world just ends, man. Killer.

But the main thing to recognize about Family Guy I think, is that its genius lies in its vocal work. The images are almost beside the point. The vocal performances are simply the best I’ve ever heard on any animated show anywhere.
http://chippyandloopus.com/ John S

Did you hear that? That was the sound of Seth McFarlane running for a pad and paper. “Whoa!!! This is good stuff! Gotta write that down!”
squirrel

CollegeHumor didn’t even have to STRETCH their imagination with this!
Christine

OMG, I laughed so hard I had a real live spit take. Sometimes the truth is funnier than anything you can imagine.

When American Dad came out, I thought “He’s milking the formula, it won’t be very popular”. THen the Cleveland Show proved that a large proportion of American TV viewers have no taste. They probably all went to see Zemecis’ Christmas Carol, too. Ack. Even monkeys can tell bad animation when they see it.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/uncanny-monkey/
Andy

Seth MacFarlane must be crying all the way to the bank over this.
Giovanni Jones

You mean that was a spoof?
http://drgrantz.deviantart.com/ revned

Pretty much spot-on, in particular the giant falling text Fox uses to promote their animated sitcoms. That may have been funnier than the swipes at MacFarlane.

Meanwhile, Alessandro Cima wrote:

Family Guy may be the greatest animated show in the history of television. It is simply one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Then you just haven’t seen much of anything.

I can sum up the banality of Family Guy‘s humor in four words: animated Helen Keller joke.

Though to be honest, it is funnier in Spanish.
King Nope

“Family Guy may be the greatest animated show in the history of television.”
I think that might be a bit of a stretch. There are more things that go into a good show other than rehashed jokes, cutaway gags, pop culture references, random violence and dialogue tricks.
Matt Sullivan

As someone who works on the Cleveland show, this amuses me. I actually made the effort to talk to writers, suggesting they cut out the cutaway gags, and to make it more of its own show.

Still, I don’t get the Seth hate. He’s a really nice guy. Not at all pompous or untalented, as many of his detractors claim. Shit, we should all aspire to achieve that kind of success. Whether its from a limited-animation show or a feature film.

You can’t please everyone. Obviously.
Brad Constantine

Hey! I’m impressed…six animated shows and not one pirate voice…
Well done, and spot on…but
I gotta give props to Seth for working so damn hard, and making the rest of us look lazy. He may not be the funniest guy, or the best drawrer, but he has literally worked his way to the very top of the world, and has given every animator the opportunity to top him. I read he is the highest paid writer in Hollywood. I’m not a big fan of “cross the taste line over and over” cartoon shows, but obviously success sells over and over again, and he is a very big part of keeping animation in the forefront as a viable entertainment medium in primetime. For that alone he deserves respect.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ariville Sketchees

Hilarious!!!

I don’t care what this was, a spoof or a promo. The dude knows comedy.

I’ll agree with Alessandro on one thing, there’s not much “funny” in tv today, but Family Guy’s still got it!
http://www.frankpanucci.com FP

Re:
–“Family Guy may be the greatest animated show in the history of television.–

Nah, that’s VENTURE BROS.

FAMILY GUY is the funniest show, though – except maybe for SOUTH PARK and ROBOT CHICKEN.
Chris Sobieniak

This is why I don’t watch TV. Thanks for giving me another good reason!
Cody Covell

I really blame the audience… Sorry, I’d like to know why the show is really on the air, and I’m pretty sure it’s because of the ungodly ratings it gets. Thus why Seth has so much power, hell, don’t forget his ego got so overblown that they let him have his own live variety show and now he’s using the cartoons to promote his own political and social beliefs.

That’s Hollywood for ya.
http://mattienotes.blogspot.com/ Mattieshoe

Alessandro Cima:

See, to me, saying that is like saying being in a Persistent vegetative state is the best thing that can happen to a person.

I mean, ignorance is bliss, right?
http://www.onanimation.com Daniel Caylor

Yeah…that pretty much nails it.
Mike Russo

Everyone bitches about MacFarlane, but I bet if every single one of you had the opportunity to be as rich, famous and powerful as MacFarlane by putting out the exact same type of material, most of you would probably do it.

He must be doing something right. And besides, the only thing the Seth shows pushed off the Sunday night line-up was King of the Hill, which was practically hanging by a thread anyway and had an impressive run regardless.

People just need to lighten up.
http://mattienotes.blogspot.com/ Mattieshoe

“He must be doing something right.”

That depends what you mean by “right”

He’s used writing tricks and hate to take advantage of the ignorance and delusions of an entire generation, He’s found a way to get laughs without offering any sort of insight or truth, and he’s gotten rich doing it.

So I guess, whether he knows of it or not, he’s done what it takes in today’s society to become successful and influential, and that is the greatest travesty of all.
King Nope

I don’t care about money, I don’t care about Seth.
I do, however care about the stagnation of entertainment.
http://www.zazzle.com/kingzilch King Zilch

“He’s found a way to get laughs without offering any sort of insight or truth”

That’s perfectly fine. When I want insight or truth with my laughs, I watch the Simpsons, South Park, King Of The Hill, or a dozen other shows. Sometimes, laughs are enough, and Family Guy has plenty.

That said, this was surprisingly funny, for CollegeHumor.
Matt Sullivan

Honestly, I think it caters to that “jock” demographic that loves cruel & crass humor. Many animators ( not myself of course ) were socially awkward and many i know HATE that style of humor. Sour grapes perhaps? Snobbery?

All I know is that these three shows employ an awful lot of people, myself included.
Greg Colton

Matt, I don’t think you’re awful!
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/mjf7583 Michael F.

I have totally got to check out that talking blender vampire show!
Ricardo

“rich, famous and powerful as MacFarlane by putting out the exact same type of material,”

What power exactly ?

“Honestly, I think it caters to that “jock” demographic that loves cruel & crass humor. Many animators ( not myself of course ) were socially awkward and many i know HATE that style of humor. Sour grapes perhaps? Snobbery? ”

Ah yes, that’s it ! That’s why I hate Family Guy because I resent what happened in High School. Thanks Matt for showing me the light.
Rob T.

Personally, I thought the funniest part of this was “four straight days of American Idol.”
http://yeldarb86.deviantart.com Mr. Semaj

This comes right after the Sunday night line-up where Seth MacFarlane REALLY took over the entire line-up. Homer might want to watch his back and check his food for a while, because all it would take is for FOX to lose interest in the only non-Macfarlanian show before it became official.

Slightly off-topic, King of the Hill NEEDED to go. That show hardly did anything fun anymore.
http://elblogderg.blogspot.com Roberto

>>Everyone bitches about MacFarlane, but I bet if every single one of you had the opportunity to be as rich, famous and powerful as MacFarlane by putting out the exact same type of material, most of you would probably do it.>>

So what does this mean? That nobody in the world has principles any more? Or just the people who write comments in this blog? And how the lack of principles of some people justify Seth’s style of comedy?

Yeah, the video is spot on, but again it wasn’t so difficult. Like Revned says the parody of Fox giant titles is even funnier than the jabs at Seth.
http://yeldarb86.deviantart.com Mr. Semaj

To Matt Sullivan:

The cutaways work only for Family Guy in the context of which I’m too tired to explain at the moment.

The Cleveland Show is suffering from the same handicap as American Dad where it’s not allowed to become its own show. Either Seth or FOX is making sure to KEEP American Dad in FG’s shadow, given how little we even hear about the show. I hope the Cleveland writers can at least put Rallo on a leash and not screw him up like FG did to Stewie. (We get that the kid is gay without their constant reminders preventing them from using other characters they never use anymore.)
Matt Sullivan

Roberto, I wasn’t insulting you by name. Please calm down.
BitterCat

>> That nobody in the world has principles any more?

Don’t know about that, but you know what would be nice? If someone could just say “I don’t like show X” instead of “I hate show X, and everyone who doesn’t partake in my hate is a defective troglodyte not fit to lick the undersides of my boots.” The Seth hate on this blog moved beyond tiresome into something creepy and sad long ago, and I’m pretty much indifferent about FG.
Ricardo

“Slightly off-topic, King of the Hill NEEDED to go. That show hardly did anything fun anymore.”

I think The Simpsons needed to go first and foremost, it hasn’t been funny 12 years.

In general, this entire so called Foc animation block needs to be demolished. They should just cancel the shows one by one. I know someone on Cartoon Network or Nick must have an adult show they would love to pitch.
Mike Russo

It’s so funny how serious so many people are about animation that Family Guy is constantly damned straight to hell around here for not being insightful and well-animated enough. Or that it the show is beneath people for being too crass or not smart enough. Give me a break.

And I’ll add that I did find the video funny. It WAS spot on. Doesn’t change the fact that I enjoy Seth MacFarlane’s shows, however. A laugh is a laugh. Sometimes that’s all I want. I practically fall out of my chair laughing when people curse Family Guy for dumbing down America.

Seriously, give me a break with that pretentious crap.
Grayson

I actually used to be a Family Guy fan believe it or not but my thoughts have changed after I’ve seen more good cartoons. Family Guy has weak animation, no creativity, no artistry, has writing only used to connect dorm-room jokes, and is very offensive to the people it makes fun of. The Simpsons is still by far the best TV animated show and even that is nowhere near as good as several other cartoons that are really works of art.
TheGunheart

Oh, I’d keep churning out what keeps the fans happy and racks in money…while using some of those funds to produce my own experimental works.
ted

You know, I really enjoyed Family Guy when it first came out. It was filled with funny scenarios, off the wall writing, and great vocal performances, especially from Seth MacFarlane.There was a reason it was brought back from the dead and given a second chance: people were laughing!
But I think even the most ardent FG supporter would be hard pressed to argue the fact that they have become a parody of themselves. The awkward pauses, weird conversational digressions and extended sequences of pop culture “homage” (or rather straight up ripping off of plots from 80′s movies) have become very tired. What started as fresh and original, now seems to be an exercise in filling time.
I certainly don’t begrudge anyone associated with the show their success, or even their job, but a little more variety in Fox’s animation department would be a good thing for all of us. Hell, more variety from any animation studio would be good! Fox ain’t the only one not taking risks.It’s pretty damn stale all over.
http://cheekyentertainment.blogspot.com Craig Clark

Funniest clip all week!
Mike Johnson

“What started as fresh and original, now seems to be an exercise in filling time”

Kind of like most marriages, eh?

But seriously, I fall into the group of folks who thoroughly enjoy FG. It doesn’t matter to me that it’s so formulaic and repetitive. If it ain’t broke…

All I want to do is laugh. When I listen to the news, and see all of the horrible, crazy crap that’s going on in this country (and this world) I definitely NEED a laugh, and FG delivers each and every time for me. I’ll admit that I am not part of the industry, so perhaps I’m not as well-qualified to comment as so many of you are, but I don’t see a reason to hate on Seth or his shows. I just know what works for me, and, with the exception of American Dad, which I find only mildly amusing for the most part, I love what he’s doing. The Cleveland Show is great so far, and it seems to have more of a heart and soul than FG, so I wish it all kinds of luck.

If you really don’t like the shows, or Seth, or your in-laws or whatever – fine. We can’t all agree on everything, and no amount of arguing and counter-arguing is going to change anyone’s mind. The only thing that matters is that any show is successful for only one reason…people like it. With FG, more people like it than don’t, and those that don’t get all pissed off at those that do and start throwing around insults and stereotypes about the American viewing public and their lack of taste or class or intelligence or something else that’s supposed to matter. I have taste, culture and am intelligent even though I like FG. I am not a bad man, make a decent living at a good job and am loved by many people, even some who don’t enjoy FG. I am not a dumb college jock (another stereotype) and I love children and animals.

I agree with many of you who say that animation needs to reach beyond the current crop of hip, satirical, pop-culture saturated shows and do something more, and there is certainly a need for that kind of show. I hope someone somewhere will give it to us. I’d welcome it. But I also hope that shows like FG will continue to pop up here and there. We need a little tasteless humor every now and then, even if it IS a bit repetative.

If it makes people laugh and forget for a half of an hour that the world is going to Hell or that their paycheck isn’t as big as it needs to be or that they can’t afford their next mortgage payment, then what’s so bad about that?

Then again, maybe I’m just a fool for thinking so.
http://chrisallison.blogspot.com Chris Allison

mike johnson, that was a wonderful post. it’s great to hear perspectives directly from the AUDIENCE. not through a producer through a focus group selected through market demographics blah blah. just directly from the horses mouth. no offence meant to you, dear mike. i’m sure you’re a beautiful horse.

but really, it’s good to hear. the bottom line for the audience is: is it entertaining. i guess for a lot of people, seth delivers. just goes to show that some of the things that the animaiton community makes a big deal within our circles (informed design aesthetics, etc.) might not be so important after all. the bottom line is entertainment.
http://goldenagecartoons.com Matthew Hunter

I sent Jerry that video because it IS so accurate, and makes the same points Jerry has made about Family Guy in the past. In my opinion, Family Guy is crude, offensive, and hardly a work of art…but it IS funny. The more I think about it, comparing it to the classic Disney, Warner Bros. or even more modern high-caliber animation is like apples to oranges. Many of my friends I’ve asked agree…two different animals. It’s a comedy that just happens to be animated.

And I really can’t fault MacFarlane for doing it. I DO fault him for “American Dad” and “Cleveland Show” though. NOT funny!
Zues

Everytime someone fiercely defends Family Guy my faith in humanity fades a little more
ninjaclown

@Zues
You’re not alone.
Matt Sullivan

I really enjoy working on The Cleveland Show. We have a great crew. Lots of talent. It’s probably the best job environment I’ve ever had.

The only thing I wish our writers would do is make Cleveland less of a jerk. I suppose they “jerked him up” to put him on equal footing with Peter griffin, but to me, it makes him come off as an asshole. But I don’t write the show, I just draw what they ask me to.
Mike Russo

“Everytime someone fiercely defends Family Guy my faith in humanity fades a little more”

Again, give me a break with that.

I support everything Mike Johnson just said and again I insist that people just need to lighten up. If one simple show is causing you to lose faith in humanity then maybe it’s YOU who has the problem. Think about how silly that sounds.
The Flea

Family Guy isn’t as funny as it once was and the generic formula video is completely true.

However, I can say with 100% honesty that anyone who feverishly BASHES the show is simply jealous. Why else would anyone insult a person they don’t even know — calling him arrogant, greedy, etc.

I agree with Matt Sullivan’s commentary. Shows have flaws, people have flaws…but come on, get over it! Let’s quit bitching and make some goddamn cartoons!
Jason

To The Flea:

How ’bout you make some goddamn GOOD cartoons?

And not more like Family Guy?

And I’m not an animator. I’m a member of the AUDIENCE. And I’m weary of the Seth formula. It’s painful for me to remember that recent wonderful Disneyesque sequence that was fouled by Seth’s trademark “humor”. I thought this FG parody was much funnier than anything that’s been on the show lately. And that’s what makes it the perfect putdown.
http://zeteos.blogspot.com/ mick

this spoof isn’t hate. The internet blows everything out of proportion. Family guy is funny, it’s spin offs are crap and this spoof pointing that fact out is funny too … that’s it. No hate just a laugh.
http://daryl-rhystaylor.blogspot.com DarylT

That was hilarious.
Brendan Spillane

As someone who just doesn’t feel the love for Sunday night’s “Seth MacFarlane’s Trilogy of Terror”, this hit my funnybone in a way those ACTUAL shows never could! That’s top-drawer satire for you.
http://www.frankpanucci.com FP

People who hate FAMILY GUY should go complain about it on the internet.
Mike Joffe

I like that people who are obsessively defending Family Guy and getting FURIOUS that someone would insult their comedic tastes are telling other people to lighten up.

I have nothing against Seth MacFarlane and would buy him a drink if the opportunity arose. That doesn’t mean I think his work is any good or that his shows are anything other than lowest common denominator drek. He is at least above the joke-stealing of a Mencia and the race-baiting of a Dunham. Sadly, if you are a nice guy or an ego-maniac has no bearing on the quality of your work.

There is nothing wrong with being pretentious. There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve your tastes or expand your horizons. That’s how we get art, invention, philosophy, the things that elevate us above beasts. People who feel that they must wrap their entire internet identity around defending a single tv show, whether its terrible or not, could probably do with a bit more culture. If you ask me, we as a society could all benefit from being a bit more pretentious.
Mike Russo

“People who feel that they must wrap their entire internet identity around defending a single tv show, whether its terrible or not, could probably do with a bit more culture.”

And this is where Family Guy criticism becomes asinine. Who wraps their entire internet identity around Family Guy? And who says one can’t be cultured and still enjoy laughing at something stupid every so often. I consider myself a pretty smart, cultured guy, but I enjoy a cheap laugh every Sunday at 9. I love the Looney Tunes. I love classic Disney. I love Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett and all the other things that apparently cartoon fans with “taste” should like. Yet I also like Family Guy. Go figure.

Again, the sweeping insinuation that those who love Family Guy lack culture is just mind-blowing. Maybe the incessant defense of this show makes some people out there shake their heads. But the argument that anyone who likes it in the first place could stand to be cultured a bit more is just insulting.

I dislike pretentiousness and to be honest the more time I spend on the internet the more I see it from blowhards who think their tastes are superior to others. We needs less pretentiousness in this society, not more.
http://www.candlelightstories.com Alessandro Cima

I love being called stupid for saying that Family Guy is the greatest animated show in the history of television. One guy above said that I haven’t seen anything at all if I can believe such a thing.

Nope. Sorry. Bleep. Buzz. Dude, I’ve seen it all.

And I will remind you that Family Guy is the greatest animated show in the history of television. It’s great for two reasons. One: it makes people laugh until they get thrown out of the rooom. Two: it makes people very angry.

You know what the Flintstones does for me? It begins and finishes nap time. And, I will admit this with total honesty: There is not a single film from the Walt Disney company that has not put me to sleep within 45 minutes.

The reason so many animators hate his shows is that Mr. MacFarlane enjoys sticking his thumb directly into their eye.

And the secret is really in the audio. Not the animation. It’s the words. The words.
klpz

Kind of ironic that the guys who made this also made College University.
The Flea

Mike Russo’s commentary sums up exactly how I feel. :)

To Alessandro: Tell em’ who’s boss! You like what you like, and anyone who has a problem with it can do something to themselves that can’t be rightfully said on this website. While I don’t agree it’s the greatest show ever, you have every right to believe what you believe!
vzk

“http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/9475/1253959011544.png”

Yeah, Fox loved Family Guy so much they gave it a crappy schedule and cancelled it TWICE before it became the megahit it has been since it’s first DVD release.

That aside, I don’t think American Dad or The Cleveland Show needed to be family sitcoms; maybe not even FG itself (the concept was originally more an odd-couple take on Wallace and Gromit). Even though Seth may not be very creative when it comes to pitches, one thing for sure is that he’s a very talented voice actor and singer.
BT

“The reason so many animators hate his shows is that Mr. MacFarlane enjoys sticking his thumb directly into their eye.”

I’m not an animator, but that IS the reason I hate his shows – I can’t stand to look at them. I’m sure the artists working on the show (including those above) are talented artists, but they are stuck with those horrible designs that look like a more polished version of what those of us who grew up in the late ’70s, early ’80s drew like when we were just getting interested in cartoons and all we knew to copy was Garfield comic strips.

From the episodes I’ve watched the formulaic humor and emphasis on references rather than actual jokes bother me also, but it doesn’t really matter. Even if it had more than one or two funny jokes per episode it wouldn’t be worth it to watch for me because I just really hate looking at those ugly characters. The only show I know of that is as painful to look at is that one on Nickelodeon with the little kids who are spies and wear sunglasses.

But my little nephew thinks the show is funny (along with Garfield comic strips) so that’s cool. I just wish they didn’t advertise it so much so I woudn’t have to see those blobby sausage people and their nutsack chins every time I turn on the TV.
Chris Sobieniak

It is a facepalming moment when you stop and think of it, BT! That’s what TV has done to me already.
http://www.sexymecha.com Hal

OK, that was brutal BUT IN DEFENSE OF Seth McFarlane – love or hate his shows, HE DID WHAT MOST ANIMATORS IN HOLLYWOOD DON’T – MADE HIMSELF A NAME. He started his Thesis film by introducing himself up front in live action and has maintained his persona since. Animation doesn’t have enough star creative forces. We need the Tarantinos, Lynchs, Del Toros, Diablo Codys and hell even Michael Bays of animation – “star” directors and creators whose name alone sells wide audiences as something new and interesting. I hoped that Shane Acker would break out, but even he was riding on Tim Burton’s coat tails.

We all know the hard work and talent of our work force, but so what? We’re an industry where the creative forces aren’t faces; like it or not that’s how Hollywood courts talent and gives them money for their visions (especially if they can rake it in off them). I love Brad Bird, Judge, Matt and Trey but the rest of Television’s animation “visionaries” are only somebodies to the animation community, but not the world at large. Remember – to my Grandmother most 3d animated movies are either “Pixar” or “Shrek”.
T

These are all teabagger shows.
Tommy

“There is not a single film from the Walt Disney company that has not put me to sleep within 45 minutes.”

Pulp Fiction put you to sleep?
Dave G

It was ever thus re animators toiling in obscurity. Walt Disney was our Cecil B. DeMille but animation never really had a John Ford, Fellini or Scorcese.
Anthony D.

If there’s 2 Fox things I can’t stand is that people saying The Simpsons isn’t funny anymore and criticizing Seth MacFarlane’s shows. The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and American Dad are the best (and only) great animated series on Fox. I am a fan of all 4 shows and I hate when people mock them. I’m sorry, but that’s my opinion.
vzk

“It was ever thus re animators toiling in obscurity. Walt Disney was our Cecil B. DeMille but animation never really had a John Ford, Fellini or Scorcese.”

Would Miyazaki be the Kurosawa of animation? Who would Groening and Lassetter be then?
Kevin Martinez

I’ll say it again. I like Family Guy, I own all of the DVD’s, have seen every episode thus far a minimum of three times, and have no major beefs with Seth MacFarlane as either an artist or a person. I even like American Dad and Cleveland, to an extent.

However, I resent the notion that no one can say anything remotely critical about Family Guy without a Seth MacFarlane Thought Police coming along to rebuke others with dissenting opinions. What, people aren’t ALLOWED to dislike Family Guy?

Shoving diatribes down peoples’ throats (which most of the Anti-FG people haven’t done, btw) isn’t going to change anyone’s opinion about the show. It might even breed further resentment and alienate people who do like the show but don’t feel the need to harass people who go online and say they don’t.
Mike Johnson

Thanks Chris Allison and Mike Russo for your kind comments. I thought I was going to be savaged for my opinion, so I was relieved to read that you understood where I was coming from. I can understand why the people who dislike Seth and/or his shows feel the way they do, as I can see how I might too if I were a part of the industry and wanted to see it move forward in a very positive and creative light. Their opinions are correct from that particular viewpoint.

As I mentioned in my original post, I am not a member of the industry. I am simply someone who LOVES animation, and always has. I am an enthusiast. I share my love for it with everyone I know, and with anyone I can whenever the subject is breached. I have many books on the subject, own way too many many DVD and VHS copies of animated works and appreciate what other countries and cultures are doing with it.

I have followed Cartoon Brew practically from it’s inception, and have found it and it’s members to be thoroughly informative, educational and thought-provoking. I truly feel privileged to be able to contribute my own opinions, even though I feel a little like a mouse among men, as you who are a part of the industry and are attempting to make it better, more popular and more prosperous, are the brave ones marching off to war while I stay behind to tend the home fires and reap the benefits of your hard-won victories.

That being said, it is encouraging to see the debate rage on. It means that you are all in the right place, doing the right thing with your lives, and that even though we may disagree on things here and there, we are ALL in agreement that this industry is worth fighting for, to make it better for everyone, whether a creator or a consumer, so that in the end we can ALL benefit, and that makes me happy, whether or not you like Family Guy…
Gobo

I genuinely do not enjoy Family Guy. Not because of its reputation, out of spite, out of jealousy, or to pile on a bandwagon. No, I dislike it because I don’t find it remotely funny. I’ve tried, I genuinely have, but nothing about it strikes me as enjoyable, funny, or even remotely amusing. Annoying, irritating, and grating, yes. If Family Guy was a person at a party, it’d be the guy who keeps repeating his favorite pop-culture catchphrases and laughing at them while wearing a lampshade.

Alessandro, if you like FG, great. Have a party. Lots of folks enjoy it, yes. But please realize that admitting that you also have never been able to sit through any Disney movie without falling asleep says that your taste is entirely different than most people; you’re the sort of person who FG is truly made for. For YOU, it’s the best cartoon ever made, yes. But not for everyone.
http://yeldarb86.deviantart.com Mr. Semaj

To Matt Sullivan:

“The only thing I wish our writers would do is make Cleveland less of a jerk. I suppose they “jerked him up” to put him on equal footing with Peter griffin, but to me, it makes him come off as an asshole. But I don’t write the show, I just draw what they ask me to.”

Suggestion: Do what too many artists are afraid to do and become a writer. It’s obvious particularly from Family Guy that some of these writers aren’t writing real stories anymore.
Charles

Family Guy’s made me laugh on occasion but I can’t stand the misogynistic jokes. I’m ok with pushing boundaries but the show gets really mean spirited and cruel sometimes which to me is anti-funny.

I remember being really disappointed and surprised when I first saw that American Dad was just a clone of Family Guy. I don’t understand why all of MacFarlane’s show have to look exactly the same and be basically the same setup. And they go out of their way to make his stuff all the same. I know that it’s his style but his pilot for Cartoon Network looked totally different and the way Family Guy looks is boring and unappealing. Futurama was really close to the Simpsons in style but at least it had a different feel to it. Mike Judge’s and Craig McCracken’s various shows had some differences from one another, too. Other networks have also have or have had a ton of permutations of the same thing (CSI comes to mind) but doesn’t MacFarlane get bored of doing so much of the same thing?
Matt Sullivan

I AM a writer :}
http://zeteos.blogspot.com/ mick

I think the statement claiming family guy is the greatest animated show in the history of television followed by saying it has nothing to do with the animation is at best, confused and at worst purposely obtuse.

It’s just a show, it makes people laugh… this spoof is just a spoof, it makes people laugh.
Adam

I enjoy watching family guy, but I personally feel the recent seasons are weak. Of course there are some great episodes but a lot of them were not really funny and just full of filler, like the one episode where they play an entire Connway Twitty song. I prefer the earlier seaons, where the jokes weren’t milked dry, the animation was halfway decent and the characters weren’t so one dimensional, Peter has become a complete jerk, Stewie is no longer evil and Brian has dropped his classy way of living and is now skeptical about everything. It does amaze me how MacFarlane has 3/4 of the Sunday night line up and how the Cleveland show was green lit for a second season before it even aired. I personally think King of the Hill should not have been cancelled.

@Nightmare is Near
George the Volcano and Tyranasaurus Alan from the Volvic Mineral ads have become somewhat popular in the U.S. as they have become famous in the internet meme and video remix world.
troy joseph reyes

i hate family guy. and i really get tired of people defending it when i say i dont like it. i had a similiar experience with madonna in the eighties.everyone loved her i hated her. its seems that if something is successful it must be right..right? no! you can cater to the masses by simply matching their low uninformed expectations. shakespeare once wondered out loud during a low point in his career that if he simply put in a lot more fart jokes in his plays would he be more popular? the answer is yes.
Mike Russo

I LOVE King of the Hill, but I think 12 years is an amazing run for any show. I’m glad it ended before it turned into The Simpsons.
Marbles

Me, I’m in the “I laught my ass off at Family Guy, but I’m probably going to hell for it” category.
It’s not an either/or thing with me. I watch it, and its two spinoffs, consistently. I’m able to laugh hysterically at that kind of humor, while at the same time lamenting that it’s so popular. I hate that our culture is becoming so crass, so crude, so MEAN-SPIRITED. It really, really, gets me down, if you wanna know the truth. It bugs me a lot. People just seem so insensitive and coldblooded, so allergic to anything beautiful or gentle. Family Guy’s brand of humor seems to feed right into that.

Yet I laugh anyway. How’s that for a contradiction?

It’s easy, given what I said above, to fall for the idea that Family Guy fans are all “dumb jocks.” I know I’M not a dumb jock, and that Mike Johnson above isn’t, but the idea is hard to shake, given the snarky and brainlessly sarcastic front that everyone is determined to project in the culture these days.
To word what someone above said another way, I think what it comes down to is that Family Guy’s type of humor boils down to “just because.” “Just because”—-no other reason needed. Tearing things down just because they’re there. Bulldozing everything down, but not bothering to build anything else in their place—bulldozing just for the sake of bulldozing. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that—hell, MAD Magazine’s been doing that from day one—but when that’s increasingly ALL there is out there…..
Garry Trudeau was even lamenting as early as 1978 that he didn’t like Saturday Night Live because it didn’t have a point of view. It didn’t have a message. It tore things down just because. Well today, almost EVERYTHING is like that. (Family Guy does have a liberal POV that it pushes, but it’s not a particuarly insightful or interesting one.)

I completely agree, 1000 percent, with the utter dullness of those designs. I’m a cartoonist and I sometimes suffer from blandness, but damn—compared to Family Guy I’m freakin’ Mary Fleener. And with the transition to HD, the sterility has only been magnified with that new super-thin line which has even less character than before. Sterile city. (But not as sterile as the Simpsons’ new intro! Good GOD!)

My favorite Family Guy gag:
“Welcome to Cheesy Charlie’s. HEIL HITLER!”
Mike Russo

Funny enough, Family Guy still hasn’t started airing in HD. It will, eventually. But not just yet.
http://hedgehog-rover.deviantart.com Martin Juneau

I confess, i loved Family Guy when it started to air here in 2003 but what disgust me is their bland Photoshop background i realised later when i start to work with this program. The pilot that Seth McFarlane made in 1995 having a superior art style and the gags and animations worked better than in FG.

Nevermind if peoples like that. I have a few respects for peoples will don’t have the same vision of life than i have.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ariville Sketchees

Zeus….. lighten up!! Pry yourself away from the tv screen and enjoy life! Life is no FG. Have a few laughs and get on with it..
http://drgrantz.deviantart.com/ revned

Alessandro Cima wrote:

I love being called stupid for saying that Family Guy is the greatest animated show in the history of television. One guy above said that I haven’t seen anything at all if I can believe such a thing.

That guy was me, but I did not call you stupid; I said “Then you just haven’t seen much of anything.” And I don’t care what you claim… it’s obvious you haven’t seen much of anything, because you believe that Family Guy “is the greatest animated show in the history of television.” What a silly thing to say. It’s not even the greatest American animated TV show ever, let alone in the entire history of television.

Passing off pop culture references as jokes doesn’t make a show great.
ridgecity

and that’s like saying the characters do the funny stuff, all they do is bring every possible parody of tv, film and music, and make them say something normal, rather than something funny. It’s not even trying to make the pop culture funnier, just make it normal, so people say “Oh my god, I also drink coffee while reading a newspaper in the morning! that’s so funny”

But of course, you can’t really say it’s done for a smart viewership. If you like Family Guy and those types of shows, you probably choose your stuff by popularity since you don’t have the chops to choose different from the mass.
http://mayberabies.blogspot.com Raven M.

I seriously thought this was real at first.
Josh

I’m more or less in the middle ground for FG (don’t care all that much for AD or Cleveland). The one BIG problem I have with Seth’s style is he barely comes up with his own jokes it seems. A lot of his jokes seem to derive straight from the internet where they have died months if not years before hand. Toss those in with the obnoxious simile jokes they have 20 of in each show and the repetitive (downright predictable) cut aways and you have FG. Give me something more! I find

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