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[G0523]

So I've been watching this past season of Family Guy and I really don't think the writers care anymore. The episodes just aren't interesting to watch. This doesn't even have to do with whether the show is still funny or not.

Spoiler

Obviously it's not.

But the stories just don't go anywhere. It doesn't matter if Quagmire confesses his love for Lois and moves away or if Peter has a sister for one episode that is never heard from again. These things never get brought up again and were not interesting in the first place. Plus, the conclusions are usually crappy too with them just "going back to normal" which I get that sitcoms have to do but it just feels like there's nothing worth investing anymore. I wouldn't even mind if they went back to shock humor but they're not even doing that.

And if the people who work on the show don't care then why should I? It's not entertaining, almost every joke falls flat, and going back to a status quo makes me wonder why I put in time in the first place watching it. I get that the show has been on for 14 seasons and is way beyond its prime at this point but has it already reached mediocrity? The show isn't good or even bad anymore. It's just boring.

 

[Blackstarhat]

Its been boring for a couple of seasons now. Even when it was no longer funny i still got entertainment out of the episodes.

 

[bodyboarder]

So I've been watching this past season of Family Guy and I really don't think the writers care anymore. The episodes just aren't interesting to watch. This doesn't even have to do with whether the show is still funny or not.

Spoiler

Obviously it's not.

But the stories just don't go anywhere. It doesn't matter if Quagmire confesses his love for Lois and moves away or if Peter has a sister for one episode that is never heard from again. These things never get brought up again and were not interesting in the first place. Plus, the conclusions are usually crappy too with them just "going back to normal" which I get that sitcoms have to do but it just feels like there's nothing worth investing anymore. I wouldn't even mind if they went back to shock humor but they're not even doing that.

And if the people who work on the show don't care then why should I? It's not entertaining, almost every joke falls flat, and going back to a status quo makes me wonder why I put in time in the first place watching it. I get that the show has been on for 14 seasons and is way beyond its prime at this point but has it already reached mediocrity? The show isn't good or even bad anymore. It's just boring.

Comic book guy
Member
Today, 03:28 PM, Post #1

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

Now?

 

[psynergylover]

bob's burgers is your friend

sucks that it gets the 7:30 sunday slot ever since LMoE came on to the seen, and rarely gets shown, sometimes it'll get the 9:00 slot if family guy doesn't have a new ep

 

[Femmeworth]

I forgot the show was still in production.

 

[adamy]

watch bob's burgers

 

[Green Mamba]

The show never really should have been uncancelled. I like the first three seasons but the seasons after it was brought back seemed to miss why the first three were good to begin with and then it just felt like the creators hated making it after a while.

 

[FTF]

bob's burgers is your friend

sucks that it gets the 7:30 sunday slot ever since LMoE came on to the seen, and rarely gets shown, sometimes it'll get the 9:00 slot if family guy doesn't have a new ep

Yeah Bob's Burgers is great.

 

[Elitist1945]

I agree. Ironically I used to think American Dad was shit, but now its one of my favorite shows.

 

[Jarmel]

That reminds me I need to catch on American Dad.

 

[Boston]

I can't watch any family guy post 2010. Maybe a select few episodes, but something happened after 2009. The show just wasn't the same.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Family Guy has been shit but I've never felt more insulted as an audience member as that god awful spouse abuse episode.

Not only was it horrible in the topic and handling, but any attempt at comedy was miserable and it felt like they really didn't know what to do with it and just threw shit together.

That reminds me I need to catch on American Dad.

Luckily American Dad exists with its amazing humor.

 

[danm999]

It stopped being entertaining to me years ago; right around the time a lot of its people went to American Dad.

 

[BIGWORM]

Bob's Burgers is the Bee's Knees. My fiance and I binged watched it over a couple weeks.

 

[OricWindstar]

It always bothers me so much when they try and get you to take the characters seriously. Like any of the characters have ever been consistent enough for you to give a shit about.

 

[Future]

The show never really should have been uncancelled. I like the first three seasons but the seasons after it was brought back seemed to miss why the first three were good to begin with and then it just felt like the creators hated making it after a while.

There have been good episodes since it came back. Obviously there have been or this would have gone the way of Cleveland show.

It's hit its peak faster than Simpsons did though. Now it's still around mainly cuz the core characters can still be fun to watch, like Simpsons. Stories are terrible though

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

The real crime is American Dad going to TBS...the episodes just feel off compared to past seasons. Wonder if one of the writers/creators didn't tag along.

 

[freenudemacusers]

It's always been boring. Go rewatch the first seasons. Shit was a one dimensional novelty.

 

[tearsintherain]

Final straw for me was a season or two ago where they went to a giant island mansion or something and it was some weird murder mystery (did Brian die? I don't remember), zero laughs for the entire 22 minutes. That was just the cap to a series of mind numbingly bad episodes, I stopped watching after that and sounds like I made the right call.

I just don't get how you can work on something that is so rare, getting a show on primetime TV, and put out such junk. How many millions of people are out there that wouldn't pour their heart and soul into that kind of opportunity? I really thought maybe McFarlane & co were pissed off at Fox or something and wanted to see how far he could push them before they fired him, but I guess you just have to chalk it up to utter incompetence.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

Bob's Burgers is next level unwatchable.

 

[Chezzymann]

I'm surprised to see all the love for american dad here. I hate all the characters on that show, they're all so annoying. Especially the alien.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

I just use it as background noise to fall asleep to along with American dad and the Simpsons. I can chuckle while falling asleep

 

[Not]

Sounds about right. Looking back, it was only truly good--at times-- pre-cancellation.

 

[Lee Chaolan]

Was a huge Family Guy fan its first 6 to 7 seasons. Really went down after that, switched to American Dad which later episodes were better. Any new episodes of Family Guy I catch, I laugh once, maybe twice the entire episode.

Recently exposed to Bob's Burgers and that show is just hilarious. Hope they can keep it up.

 

[Not]

Bob's Burgers is next level unwatchable.

It's not, but I think the entry barrier is pretty high.

 

[Chanser]

Watch Rick & Morty instead.

 

[Stuggernaut]

I American Dad still doing new episodes?

Family Guy is still one of my all time faves, but I agree it has gone down hill in recent years.

The Stewie/Brian episodes are best, and those are few and far between.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

Bob's Burgers is next level unwatchable.

This is disturbing.

 

[Dicer]

Bob's Burgers is next level unwatchable.

Naw, BB is legit...

 

[Astral Dog]

Family Guy has been shit but I've never felt more insulted as an audience member as that god awful spouse abuse episode.

Not only was it horrible in the topic and handling, but any attempt at comedy was miserable and it felt like they really didn't know what to do with it and just threw shit together.



Luckily American Dad exists with its amazing humor.

You mean Quagmire sister? That episode was not suppised to be "funny"

 

[FTF]

Bob's Burgers is next level unwatchable.

 

[Not]

You mean Quagmire sister? That episode was not suppised to be "funny"

You can take on a sensitive topic and still be funny. You just have to be competent. Look at South Park.

 

[Aaron Strife]

I thought FG was funny in the earlier seasons when they were trying to lampoon wholesome family sitcoms of the time with the characters filling archetypical roles (Peter and Lois being the fat, bumbling dad/hot sensible housewife combo, Quagmire as the wacky neighbor) with the more surreal elements like Stewie and Brian (who also got to play Peter's straight man) giving the show its own identity. Its brand of humor was also unique at the time for being less situational and more referential, both to pop culture and itself.

A few of the episodes post-revival were good but it quickly tapered off. For one, as the characters developed more they became insufferable douchebags, namely Peter, Lois, Quagmire and Brian. There are series (Seinfeld and It's Always Sunny being good examples) that get away with this but Family Guy still expects you to have some pathos for the characters so when they try to do heavier episodes like Brian's death or the one about Quagmire's sister it fails miserably. If they're horrible people they can still be used as vehicles for jokes, but you can't expect any real sympathy from the audience.

Also I think the success of the show in reruns and DVD sales went to the writers' heads. Family Guy was refreshing for the first three seasons because it was more fringe, but they knew they hit mainstream success and ran with it. Hey, remember Herbert the pervert? The chicken fight? The evil monkey in Chris' closet? One-off gag characters who sold their jokes and then were retired? Good, they're back in like every episode now. It'd be like if Simpsons did a full season of episodes about Disco Stu (which they might have by now, I don't know). The only risk the show takes now is through cheap shock value, which they know they can get away with because the Fox producers know that's what sells. I actually think shows like this are forced to be cleverer when they're put on a leash, but whatever.

Anyway it's sucked for a while now, American Dad stepped up the same way Futurama did when Simpsons started getting worse. I also like Cleveland Show quite a bit, once it found its footing it was pretty solid.

 

[Octavia]

It was a humorous dumb show for the first leg of its life. Then it started getting overly political as they hit agenda points. Then when that started failing they just said fuck it and went all gorey/gross shocker humor, specifically the first one I can think of is brian killing the other dog with his car. I liked the partial message they were trying for but comeon, a dumb comedy show isn't the place for that.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

I watch the episodes when they come on Hulu for background noise. Anytime I've actually tuned in I wouldn't even get a chuckle from it. It feels like they phone it in the entire year, with the exception of the season finales and/or Brian & Stewie centric episodes.

American Dad ended up being more enjoyable for me than Family Guy. Which is strange because when it premiered I expected a cheap cash in. But AD is way better at characterization and long running gags. Family Guy feels like it is just running on merchanding fumes.

 

[Smellycat]

Yeah, Family guy is trash nowadays. American Dad is better now.

RICKY SPANISH

 

[Coffee Dog]

American Dad isnt even good anymore. It's not insulting like family guy is, but it doesn't generate the laughs like it used to. Understandable considering its age. S2-9 are one of my favorite sitcoms ever though.

 

[Nudull]

Family Guy was never really good, to be perfectly honest. The fact that it remains popular will forever be a mystery.

 

[EatinOlives]

It's not, but I think the entry barrier is pretty high.

Not sure I understand. It's not serialized so it's not like new watchers are lost, and it's not particularly full of callback jokes either. Episode format and pacing is fairly standard stuff too.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Its original run is still very funny, if you go back and watch it. The pacing, joke delivery, and characterization were quite different in the first two seasons, as there was still some attempt to have recognizable, sympathetic, consistent characters, rather relegating them to the status of mere "joke conveyors" that they attained in later seasons. The referential jokes weren't there for the sake of having referential jokes because "It's Family Guy", but as a way of creating a heightened reality in which the most fantastical and obscure bits of pop cultural detritus commingled with the mundane.

 

[Frozenprince]

American Dad has always been WAY better. Well it was, haven't watched any episodes since the move in networks.

Shame they moved it to TBS so it would die a slow death.

 

[PsychBat!]

I know a guy who loves the pointless cutaways.


The show was never funny to me imo. Not even pre-cancellation FG was funny to me.

 

[Not]

Not sure I understand. It's not serialized so it's not like new watchers are lost, and it's not particularly full of callback jokes either. Episode format and pacing is fairly standard stuff too.

No, I mean it just looks weird aesthetically and is hard to get into if you don't understand the characters. Character-driven jokes are great, like in Arrested Development, but they often prevent the masses from latching on.

Spoiler

I love Bob's Burgers

I know a guy who loves the pointless cutaways.


The show was never funny to me imo. Not even pre-cancellation FG was funny to me.

Not even pre-cancellation huh? I guess it helps if you were in 8th grade like I was. Seems like the kind of humor that really plays to that crowd.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Yeah, Family guy is trash nowadays. American Dad is better now.

RICKY SPANISH

RICKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY SPANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH

 

[Akahige]

I stopped watching years ago sometime during season 9, shit just was tiring and boring to watch. Earlier this year I did a rewatch of the seasons I had seen and tried doing a watch of the seasons I hadn't, finished season 10 but could go no further, I don't have the patience for it.

The first 2 Seasons are still great, Season 3 is very good. Early Post-Cancellation Family Guy isn't bad at all, I know it gets a bad wrap from being much cruder and Peter being dumber but Season 3 already had the makings of that, I'm sure if it wasn't cancelled it would have fallen down that path anyway.

The real crime is American Dad going to TBS...the episodes just feel off compared to past seasons. Wonder if one of the writers/creators didn't tag along.

Yeah one of the creator's left.

The few seasons before it were starting to hit that fatigue point, but the TBS season had a weird vibe to it, like they changed the entire creative team, I did enjoy that the season wasn't exclusively focused on Stan and Roger.

 

[zsynqx]

Family Guy does occasionally make me laugh, but it has never been a great show. (imo)

 

[Maengun1]

Bob's Burgers is next level unwatchable.

What a weird way to spell "best comedy on tv."

Anyway, I've never really cared for Family Guy. It can be funny, sure, but only in the way a sorta good/sorta forgettable SNL skit can be funny. The show has never cared about plotting or character *at all* which keeps me at a distance even if I'm laughing at this random gag or that one.

 

[AtomskEater]

If I see one more episode where someone realizes Meg is being treated like trash only for it to not matter at all by the end of the episode.

I've stopped watching consistently but it seems like every other time I catch an episode, the plot line is some variation of that.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

If I see one more episode where someone realizes Meg is being treated like trash only for it to not matter at all by the end of the episode.

I've stopped watching consistently but it seems like every other time I catch an episode, the plot line is some variation of that.

Meg has stood up for herself like in two episodes. The main one they use as an excuse as to why she takes the crap anymore was the one that they made the argument that them shitting on Meg is the only thing keeping the family afloat because they need a target for all of their hate and mean jokes or they turn on each other and destroy the family.