Brought on by the Seth Macfarlane thread, I decided to do a little searching for the 6-minute pilot apparently going around. Thankfully, it didn't take too long, though I was briefly stymied by my rediculous newsgroup server that wouldn't connect. I did manage to find a direct link for it, but I don't know if I should post it or if it would be fair to whoever is hosting it. The file's only 20 megs, though.
Personally, I liked it. Its not really as much like Family Guy as you'd expect. Pop/obscure culture references are a lot more minimal, but there are still character quirks here and there that endear the characters in the same manner as those from Family Guy. However, I'd say I can see how some people may not like the show, at least not as much as FG. Then again, its only a 6 minute pilot and you can't really delve too much into how the actual show will be, especially when you're trying to introduce all the characters (which, if it were dead even, would mean each character has approximately ONE minute to display their personality
). So, to those who don't like it, obviously I'd say give it some time.
Characters:
Stan Smith - Headstrong CIA agent. The opposite of Peter, vigilant, buff, and staunchly conservative. He's sort of daft like Peter, but not in the same way. He's not incompetent or rude, he's just a stereotype of the far right-wing ignorant type.
His Wife - Don't remember her name at the moment. Not sure where they're going with her at all. She's basically in the same tradition as other cartoon wives, not really there to be funny or anything and considering that Stan isn't Peter, I don't think she'll be as confrontative as Lois.
Hayley - The daughter. I hate to keep drawing comparisons to Family Guy, but this show does use roughly the same character structure. She's like the counter-cultural version of Meg, I guess. Not really funny on her own, but for certain her hippy, far left liberal attitude should set up some nice jokes situations between her and her father.
Steve - The son. A lot smarter than Chris, that's for sure. He's pretty nerdy and probably knows how to outsmart his dad. Not much else to say at this point.
Roger - The alien. Sort of a Charles Nelson Reilly, past-his-prime sort of character. He's a complete bum, drinks alcohol, smokes cigarettes, watches TV all day. A bit like Brian I suppose, but without the pretense of really having any class. Someone who might have had dignity at some point, but no longer cares.
Klaus - My favorite character so far. Top-secret government experiment, basically a goldfish with the brain of a German man. I'm glad they changed him to German, because he was originally supposed to be French. The accent just totally sells his character and he has a sexual fetish for Stan's wife (unlike Brian who always wanted to romance Lois, Klaus just wants some dirty sex).
I would say I still need to watch more to make a final judgement, but it does have potential. I got some laughs out of the pilot. Some of the political jokes were funny, there were a couple non-sequitors involving Roger (Pecan Sandies!) and only one real pop-culture reference where Stan comments upon Memento not being as good the second time around.
Personally, I liked it. Its not really as much like Family Guy as you'd expect. Pop/obscure culture references are a lot more minimal, but there are still character quirks here and there that endear the characters in the same manner as those from Family Guy. However, I'd say I can see how some people may not like the show, at least not as much as FG. Then again, its only a 6 minute pilot and you can't really delve too much into how the actual show will be, especially when you're trying to introduce all the characters (which, if it were dead even, would mean each character has approximately ONE minute to display their personality
). So, to those who don't like it, obviously I'd say give it some time.Characters:
Stan Smith - Headstrong CIA agent. The opposite of Peter, vigilant, buff, and staunchly conservative. He's sort of daft like Peter, but not in the same way. He's not incompetent or rude, he's just a stereotype of the far right-wing ignorant type.
His Wife - Don't remember her name at the moment. Not sure where they're going with her at all. She's basically in the same tradition as other cartoon wives, not really there to be funny or anything and considering that Stan isn't Peter, I don't think she'll be as confrontative as Lois.
Hayley - The daughter. I hate to keep drawing comparisons to Family Guy, but this show does use roughly the same character structure. She's like the counter-cultural version of Meg, I guess. Not really funny on her own, but for certain her hippy, far left liberal attitude should set up some nice jokes situations between her and her father.
Steve - The son. A lot smarter than Chris, that's for sure. He's pretty nerdy and probably knows how to outsmart his dad. Not much else to say at this point.
Roger - The alien. Sort of a Charles Nelson Reilly, past-his-prime sort of character. He's a complete bum, drinks alcohol, smokes cigarettes, watches TV all day. A bit like Brian I suppose, but without the pretense of really having any class. Someone who might have had dignity at some point, but no longer cares.
Klaus - My favorite character so far. Top-secret government experiment, basically a goldfish with the brain of a German man. I'm glad they changed him to German, because he was originally supposed to be French. The accent just totally sells his character and he has a sexual fetish for Stan's wife (unlike Brian who always wanted to romance Lois, Klaus just wants some dirty sex).
I would say I still need to watch more to make a final judgement, but it does have potential. I got some laughs out of the pilot. Some of the political jokes were funny, there were a couple non-sequitors involving Roger (Pecan Sandies!) and only one real pop-culture reference where Stan comments upon Memento not being as good the second time around.