Family Guy, Vol. 1 – Seasons 1 & 2
Description
Meet the Griffins: Peter, the big, lovable oaf who always says what’s on his mind. Lois, the doting mother who can’t figure out why her baby son keeps trying to kill her. Their daughter Meg, the teen drama queen who’s constantly embarrassed by her family. Chris, the beefy 13-year-old who wouldn’t hurt a fly, unless it landed on his hot dog. Stewie, the maniacal one-year-old bent on world domination. And Brian, the sarcastic dog with a wit as dry as the martinis he drinks. The animated adventures of his outrageous family will have your whole family laughing out loud.Amazon.com
To the ranks of shows too brilliant and outrageous for prime time (The Ben Stiller Show, Andy Richter Controls the Universe), add Seth McFarlane's Family Guy. This animated series, which debuted after the 1999 Super Bowl, simply sparked too much controversy and offended too many sensibilities to survive (Entertainment Weekly dubbed it "the Awful Show They Just Keep Putting on the Air"). That the Fox network also played hackysack with its schedule, ensuring viewers would not be able to find it, sealed its fate (it was cancelled in 2002). This boxed set containing all 28 episodes from the first two seasons is payback for the show's devoted cult following, who may be moved to echo the words of infant Stewie Griffin, the megalomaniacal 1-year-old bent on matricide and world domination: "Victory is mine!"
The dysfunctional Griffins of Quahog, Rhode Island, invite comparisons to The Simpsons. The testicular-chinned father, Peter Griffin, is a clueless oaf in the Homer mold. "Peter, what did you promise me last night?" asks his long-suffering wife Lois in one episode. "That I wouldn't drink at the stag party," he replies. "And what did you do?" she asks. "Drank at the stag part--oh ho ho, I almost walked into that one," he cackles. Other family members include teenage daughter Meg, a desperate high school social pariah; 13-year-old son Chris, a chip off his father's blockhead; and Brian, the family's sarcastic talking dog. But this series' true inspiration is football-pated Stewie (voiced by McFarlane, who earned an Emmy), who was born to be a Bond villain once he escaped his mother's "ovarian bastille." Family Guy recklessly ventured where The Simpsons feared to tread. In one episode, Meg's one and only friend turns out to be the member of a suicidal cult. In another, Death (voiced by Norm McDonald) becomes an unwanted houseguest. Each episode plays fast and furious with surreal flashes (in one episode, Peter turns his house into a puppet) and pop-culture references and TV, movie, and commercial parodies that invite repeated viewings. Freed from its own family-hour bastille and the whims of dim network executives, Family Guy can be appreciated at last on its own profane, sacrilegious, and irreverent terms. Welcome to the DVD family, Griffins. --Donald Liebenson
March 9th, 2010 - 03:46
The Family Guy has to be one of the most blatant TV shows to come down the line that rips off The Simpson. Aside from the Dog, it almost a character-for-character rip off of that classic series. The “hook” for this series was supposed to be that “The Family Guy” would push buttons that “The Simpsons” could only dream about, and they succeded at it. However, while “The Simpsons’” wit and great writing have prevented the characters (for the most part) from devolving into stereotypes; “The Family Guy” desperately tried to be more shocking with each episode and eventually collapsed under the weight of its own hype. In addition, simply because a show “pushes buttons” doesn’t automatically make it funny. The true redeeming value of the Simpsons (and more recently South Park) is that the shows make you think and have dynamic characters that the viewer actually cares about while either dancing (or sometimes trampling) on “the line” of what’s socially acceptable. “The Family Guy,” while containing some genuinely funny moments, simply could not compete with either the Simpsons or South Park. The deathblow to the show came with Fox’s juggling of the time schedule (which ironically hurt the Simpsons ratings when they put it up against The Cosby Show in the 2nd season). However, the cult that surrounds this show still continues to be resilient online, thus resulting in the DVD’s that have been recently released. My guess is that while “The Simpsons” will continue to age like a fine wine, “The Family Guy” will age like a can of Natural Light that goes flat when you open it and finally be tossed on the ash heap of history with the several other shows that were either good or ok and that were in some way or another Simpsons knock-offs (such as “Duckman” and “Dinosaurs!”).
Rating: 2 / 5
March 9th, 2010 - 05:55
“Family Guy” is an awesome show, particularly in its first and second seasons.
But, like Time Life’s “Fat Albert” offer, 2 episodes on one disc is just a blatent rip off. Especially when there are plenty of TV shows being released on a per-season level for $…(or as low as $…!)
It’s a great show, but I’ll live with taped copies for a while.
A loooooooooooooong while.
Is FOX trying to steal from its fans? This is ridiculous!
Forget ‘em if this is how they’re going to treat we, the consumers.
Rating: 1 / 5
March 9th, 2010 - 07:12
I can’t believe people are saying that this show is so funny. What’s so funny about this show? It’s senseless, stupid, and riduculous! A fat, lazy blockhead who cares about only himself and his family, a teenage girl who is shunned in school and in her family, and a baby that talks but curses and swears at everybody; that is NOT my idea of a family show. This show is pointless. Why do they have to make fun of family lives and famous people? Let me ask you something: How would YOU feel if YOU been made fun of? It’s not really nice, is it? So, why do they make shows where they just make fun of people and the way of life? It’s plain STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Family Guy, Futurama, The Simpsons, or any reality show should never be on the air to begin with. The writers and creators have a total lack of imagination. Do me a favor, buy something that’s REALLY, REALLY CREATIVE, not Family Guy or any of these senseless cartoons or reality shows. IT’S NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 1 / 5
March 9th, 2010 - 07:16
Do not buy this for your child. It is highly inappropriate. My 12 year old received it for a Christmas gift and it is going in the garbage where it belongs.
Rating: 1 / 5
March 9th, 2010 - 09:56
The only good thing about this show is the baby. Other than that, I can’t NOT recommend this series enough. Unless you’re a big fan of toilet humor and characters who desperately WANT to be Homer Simpson, but fall sadly short, that is… Don’t bother with this.
Rating: 1 / 5