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Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages| Family Guy | |
|---|---|
 The Griffin Family: | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Format | Animation |
| Created by | Seth MacFarlane |
| Developed by | Seth MacFarlane David Zuckerman |
| Voices of | Seth MacFarlane Alex Borstein Seth Green Mila Kunis Mike Henry |
| Theme music composer | Walter Murphy |
| Composer(s) | Walter Murphy Ron Jones |
| Country of origin |  United States
|
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 108 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lolee Aries David A. Goodman Seth MacFarlane Daniel Palladino David Pritchard David Zuckerman |
| Running time | 20–23 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Fox |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original airing | January 31 1999–February 14 2002 & May 1 2005–present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Family Guy is an American animated television series about a dysfunctional family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. It was created by Seth MacFarlane for Fox Broadcasting Company in 1999. The show uses frequent "cutaway gags", jokes in the form of tangential vignettes that do not advance the story.Dehnart, Andy (2007-11-05). ‘Family Guy’ is no cheap ‘Simpsons’ knockoff. msnbc Entertainment. MSNBC Interactive. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. “..."Family Guy" really stands apart because of its flashbacks, cutaways and throwaway references.... Its signature devices tend to lack anything more than a tangential connection to the central narrative...”
Family Guy was cancelled once in 2000, and again in 2002, but strong DVD sales and the large viewership of reruns on Cartoon Network\'s Adult Swim convinced Fox to resume the show in 2005. It is the first canceled show to be resurrected based on DVD sales.USAToday. USAToday.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
Contents |
Family Guy\'s first and second seasons were made starting in 1999 after the Larry shorts (its predecessor) caught the attention of the Fox Broadcasting Company during the 1999 Super Bowl commercial. Its cancellation was announced, but then a shift in power at Fox and outcry from the fans led to a reversal of that decision and the making of a third season, after which it was cancelled again. Reruns on Adult Swim drove interest in the show up, and the DVD releases did quite well, selling over 2.2 million copies in one year which renewed network interest.McKinley, Jesse. "Canceled and Resurrected, on the Air and Onstage", The New York Times, May 2, 2005. Accessed December 3, 2007. "First off, there was the countdown to the season premiere of "Family Guy," the animated Fox sitcom, which had been canceled in 2002, only to be revived after the show\'s DVD sales and its syndicated ratings caught the network\'s attention." Family Guy returned to production in 2004, making two more seasons (for a total of five) and a straight to DVD movie, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. The sixth season began airing in Autumn 2007, with a seventh season scheduled to air in the Autumn of 2008. In addition, Family Guy went into syndication in Autumn, 2007.
The show revolves around the adventures of Peter Griffin, a bumbling but well-intentioned blue-collar worker. Peter is an Irish American Catholic with a thick Rhode Island / Eastern Massachusetts accent. His wife Lois, who has a similar accent, is generally a stay-at-home mother and piano teacher, and is a member of the Pewterschmidt family of wealthy socialites. Peter and Lois have three children: teenage daughter Meg, who is frequently the butt of jokes for her homeliness and lack of popularity; teenage son Chris, who is overweight, unintelligent and, in many respects, a younger version of his father; and infant son Stewie, a diabolical child with adult mannerisms who speaks fluently with an upper-class English accent and stereotypical arch-villain phrases. Living with the family is Brian, the family dog, who is highly anthropomorphized, walks on two legs, drinks Martinis, and engages in human conversation, though he is still considered a pet in many respects.
There are many recurring characters on the show who appear alongside the Griffin family on a regular basis. These include the family\'s colorful neighbors: sex-crazed airline-pilot bachelor Glenn Quagmire; mild-mannered deli owner Cleveland Brown and his wife (ex-wife as of the fourth-season episode "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire") Loretta Brown with their hyperactive son, Cleveland Jr.; paraplegic police officer Joe Swanson and his perpetually pregnant wife Bonnie; and creepy old gay pedophile Herbert. TV news anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons also make regular appearances (along with Asian Reporter Tricia Takanawa and Blaccu-Weather meteorologist Ollie Williams), as well as mentally disturbed celebrity Mayor Adam West (voiced by and named after the real Adam West).
Family Guy has not used an especially large cast of recurring minor characters (though this has changed to an extent in Season 4, with many one-shot characters from prior episodes reappearing in new episodes), and most of the episode plotlines center on the exploits of the Griffin family.
The show has coined several words and phrases for humorous effect. Some words have only been used in one episode (such as "hic-a-doo-lah" in "Fore Father" and "festisio" in "The Thin White Line"), while a few have been used in several episodes.
Quagmire\'s exclamation has been used in many episodes. A single "giggity" followed by "awwwright..." was the number 3 ring tone for the week ending February 7, 2007.Alex Woodson. "Net Effect: Voice Tones are a Family Affair." The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
The main cast and their main parts are as follows: Seth MacFarlane, who voices Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, and Tom Tucker; Alex Borstein as Lois Griffin, Loretta Brown (until the character was retired in season four), and Trisha Takanawa; Seth Green as Chris Griffin; and Mila Kunis as Meg Griffin. The main cast do voices for several recurring characters other than those listed, as well as impersonate celebrities and pop-culture icons.
Recurring cast members include: Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson; Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown; Adam West as the mayor Adam West; Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson; John G. Brennan as Mort Goldman; Nicole Sullivan as Muriel Goldman; Carlos Alazraqui as Jonathan Weed (until the character was killed off in season three); Adam Carolla as Death (excluding his first appearance, during which the character was voiced by Norm MacDonald); Lori Alan as Diane Simmons.
Lacey Chabert voiced Meg Griffin for the first production season (15 episodes); however, because of a contractual agreement, she was never credited.Daniel Robert Epstein. Interview with Seth MacFarlane, creator of The Family Guy. UGO.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-23. She was eventually credited at the end of The Family Guy 100th Episode Special, which featured clips of her work.
| Common rating | |
|---|---|
| Australia | M |
| Canada | 14+ |
| New Zealand | PGR |
| Philippines | Parental Guidance |
| Poland | 16 |
| Singapore | R18+ |
| United Kingdom | 15 |
| United States | TV-14 |
For the first half of the first season, the writers tried to work the words "murder" or "death" into the title of every episode to make the titles resemble those of old-fashioned radio mystery shows. On the DVD commentary for "Death Has a Shadow", creator Seth MacFarlane says that the writers stopped doing this when they realized they were beginning to get the titles confused. Beginning with "A Hero Sits Next Door", the episodes feature titles descriptive of their plots.
Some episodes are not aired in full in their initial broadcast because of profanity or cultural references. Scenes are either re-edited or removed entirely from the episode. Some cut material is restored for later broadcast on other venues, such as Adult Swim. DVD releases also contain the uncensored material.
The show has periodically featured the inclusion of certain elements from American Dad!, another animated comedy series created and produced by Seth MacFarlane. These cameos seem to imply that the two shows share the same fictitious universe. Appearances include:
Originally released as a direct-to-DVD movie, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story comprises three episode length segments with a wraparound story. Different edits, both adding and deleting material, were eventually televised as the three-part season four finale ("Stewie B. Goode", "Bango Was His Name Oh!" and "Stu and Stewie\'s Excellent Adventure")
The show often incorporates music numbers in Broadway style as part of its episode technique, either as tangential flashbacks or to advance the plotline. On April 26 2005 Family Guy: Live in Vegas was released and was a collaboration between composer Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane. It features a show tune theme. Only one song is related to the show, the theme song. Also included was the music video "Sexy Party".
During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, official production of the show was halted for most of December of 2007 and various periods afterwards. Fox continued producing episodes without creator Seth MacFarlane\'s final approval which he termed as "a colossal dick move," in an interview with Variety. Though MacFarlane refused to work on the show, his contract under Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it would subsequently produce.Adalian, Josef. "Fox to air new \'Guy\' Sunday; MacFarlane hopes network changes plans", Variety, 2007-11-13. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. Production officially resumed after the end of the strike, with episodes airing regularly from February 17, 2008, onward.Fox Press Release [1]
In the United States, 28 episode podcasts were released on iTunes, and are also made available on the official site. These are audio-only promos where cast members talk about upcoming episodes and joke amongst themselves.FOXCAST. FOX.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-14.
The normal title sequence in Family Guy parodies TV programs like All in the Family with its nostalgic longing for values of days past. The sequence has had only small changes since the first episode in 1999:
Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, and Mila Kunis at Family Guy Live in Los Angeles
Some title sequences are completely unique to select episodes. They are as follows:
Family Guy and its cast have been nominated for 8 Emmy awards, with three wins:
The show has also been nominated for nine Annies, and won twice, both in 2006. The show has also been nominated for a Golden Reel Award three times, winning once.Awards for "Family Guy". The Internet Movie Database. Internet Movie Database Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.2004-2005 Emmy Nominations.
Family Guy has been panned by certain television critics, most notably from Entertainment Weekly,Tucker, Ken (2005). The 5 Worst. EW.com (Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc.). Retrieved on 2006-07-14. which was in turn attacked by MacFarlane during a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.
The show is criticized for using story premises and humor similar to those used in episodes of The Simpsons, another animated series on the Fox network.Family Guy\'s Stewie Has an Untold Story. TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2006-10-25. “You know, it\'s funny. Matt Groening and I actually have a great relationship. We\'ve talked several times in the past few weeks and joked about this. One day out of nowhere this rumor pops up in papers and magazines. Actually, it was probably one comment that was taken out of context in Blender. Matt\'s just a cool guy, and fortunately neither of us was ruffled by any of that stuff. We just laughed it off.” The Simpsons depicts Peter Griffin as a "clone" of Homer Simpson in a Halloween special,"Treehouse of Horror XIII". The Simpsons. Fox. 2002-11-03. No. 292, season 14. Story: "Send in the Clones" and as a fugitive accused of "Plagiarismo" (faux-Italian for plagiarism) in the episode "The Italian Bob".
Family Guy is also mocked in a two-part episode of South Park,"Cartoon Wars Part I". Created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. South Park. Comedy Central. Continued in Cartoon Wars Part II in which characters call the show\'s jokes interchangeable and unrelated to storylines; the writers of Family Guy are portrayed as manatees who write by pushing rubber "idea balls" inscribed with random topics into a bin. Seth MacFarlane responded to the criticism on the Volume 4 box set DVD commentary, saying it was completely founded and true, even giving reference to many skits and jokes that were meant for previously scripted episodes and later cut and recycled in future episodes.
Other cartoonists who have publicly criticized Family Guy include John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren and Stimpy: "If you\'re a kid wanting to be a cartoonist today, and you\'re looking at Family Guy, you don\'t have to aim very high. You can draw Family Guy when you\'re ten years old. You don\'t have to get any better than that to become a professional cartoonist. The standards are extremely low."John Kricfalusi; "AMID" (31 August 2004). The John Kricfalusi Interview, Part 2. Cartoon Brew. Retrieved on 2006-07-14.
The show\'s penchant for irreverent humor led to a controversy over a sequence in which Peter Griffin dances, in classic musical fashion, around the bed of a man with end-stage AIDS, delivering the patient\'s diagnosis in song.2005-08-22). "Family Guy" has fun with AIDS. Advocate.com. PlanetOut Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. “... showcases a comic musical number called “You Have AIDS.” Overburdened AIDS service organizations are not amused.”
The Hollywood Reporter recently announced that there are plans to produce a spin-off of Family Guy to be focused on Cleveland Brown. The project is tentatively named "Cleveland" and will be created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry (the voice of Cleveland), and American Dad! showrunner Rich Appel.The Hollywood Reporter. hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
In March of 2007, famed comedian Carol Burnett filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that it was a copyright infringement for her Charwoman cleaning character to be portrayed on the show without her permission. Besides that, Burnett stated that Fox violated her publicity rights. She was asking for $6 million in damages. On June 4, 2007, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson tossed out the lawsuit, stating that the parody was protected under the First Amendment, using Hustler v. Falwell as a precedent.Carol Burnett v. "Family Guy". The Smoking Gun. Courtroom Television Network (2007-03-16). Retrieved on 2007-12-09.The Associated Press (2007-03-16). Carol Burnett Sues Over Use of Charwoman. washingtonpost.com. The Associated Press. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of copyright infringement upon the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" by a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew", from the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole U.S. copyright owner of the song, alleges the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit are Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, Seth MacFarlane, and composer Walter Murphy; the suit seeks to stop the program\'s distribution, and unspecified damages.It\'s \'Wish Upon a Star\' vs. \'Family Guy\'. CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.Neumeister, Larry (2007-10-04). Classic song\'s owner sues over spoof. Yahoo! News. The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.Bourne Co., vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Broadcasting Company, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainement, Inc., Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc., The Cartoon Network, Inc., Seth MacFarlane, Walter Murphy, [2] (United States District Court, Southern District of New York 2007-10-03). "Defendants\' infringing activities have cause and will continue to cause Bourne great and irreparable harm. By associating Bourne\'s song with such offensive lyrics and other content in the episode, Defendants are harming the value of the song."
Since "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody without commenting on that song, it may not be a First Amendment protected parody per the Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. ruling.Hilden, Julie (2007-10-31). "The Family Guy" Once Again Tests Parody\'s Limits: The Copyright Suit Challenging the Show\'s Use of "When You Wish Upon a Star". FindLaw\'s Writ. FindLaw. Retrieved on 2007-12-09. “...the case for "fair use" protection on a parody theory in this "Family Guy" case is somewhat weak.... If the use of "When You Wish Upon a Star" was a commentary on the original, it was a commentary only in the very loosest possibly sense.”
In December of 2007, actor/comedian Art Metrano filed a lawsuit accusing the show of copyright infringement over a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story in which Jesus performs Metrano\'s signature "magic" act which involved absurd faux magical hand gestures (such as making a finger "jump" from one hand to the other) while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy". Metrano\'s suit claims this performance is protected under terms of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. Named in the suit are 20th Century Fox, show creator Seth MacFarlane, and collaborators Steve Callaghan and Alex Borstein. Metrano performed this well-known routine on programs such as The Tonight Show, where he made several appearances.Surette, Tim (2007-12-07). Family Guy sued...again. TV.com. TV.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.Arthur Metrano, vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Seth MacFarlane, Steve Callaghan and Alex Borstein, [3] (United States District Court, Central District of California 2007-12-05).
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\'Family Guy\' returns to US television, loses in ratings to \'Housewives\'
| Preceded by 3rd Rock from the Sun 1998 | Super Bowl lead-out program 1999 | Succeeded by The Practice 2000 |
| Family Guy | |
|---|---|
| Characters · Criticism · Episode list · History · Quotes · Places · Quahog · Voice actors · Guest Stars | |
| Griffin family | Peter · Lois · Meg · Chris · Stewie · Brian |
| Recurring characters | Cleveland Brown · Joe Swanson · Glenn Quagmire · Mort Goldman · Tom Tucker · Mayor Adam West · Neil Goldman · Herbert · Pewterschmidt family |
| Cast | Seth MacFarlane · Alex Borstein · Seth Green · Mila Kunis · Mike Henry · others |
| DVDs and CDs | DVDs · Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story · Family Guy: Live in Vegas · Video Game |
| Books | Stewie\'s Guide to World Domination · Brian\'s Guide to Booze, Broads, and the Lost Art of Being a Man |
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