It was probably inevitable. South Park, following in the footsteps of The Simpsons, has broadsided The Family Guy. Let me give you an idea of this controversy’s scale: This episode also involves cartoon images of the Prophet Muhammad. So you’d think THAT would be the flashpoint. But no. It’s Family Guy everyone’s talking about (at least, in this hemisphere).
The debate over Family Guy (is it, in fact funny?) rages on, rocking the hallowed halls of Slackerdom and Insomniopolis. Are its discursive, irrelevant cutaways and chockablock pop-culture references a post-Simpsonian breakthrough or, as Cartman alleges, a lazy cop-out? Is Stewie, the evil baby, hilarious or just awful? Are those those testicles on patriarch Peter’s chin?
If South Park is to be believed (it’s not, of course), even Ayman Al-Zawahiri is weighing in. (The ep seems to have been yanked from Youtube, but you can still watch it here.)
Personally, I go back and forth on Family Guy — mostly back. I’d never make time to watch it, yet when I catch it on Adult Swim, I cannot look away. I do think the cutaways are lazy. I think Peter’s oafishness has never coalesced into anything approaching a coherent character. Yet there is abundant wit, though it’s more like gag-writing than storytelling. I do like Brian, the talking dog, and the unfinished novel Stewie keeps ribbing him about.
But on the whole, I’ve got to agree with Cartman: The show traffics in irrelevance, and will never hesitate to sell out its story and characters for a gag, however weak or cheap.
So tonight, the saga concludes: Cartman’s headed to L.A. to scuttle the Family Guy episode featuring the Prophet Muhammad. He’s not concerned about political sensitivity; he just wants the show off the air. Kyle, a Family Guy fan and free-speech advocate, is trying to stop him. A tense nation is on the edge of its couch as paper cutouts and crude doodles war for supremacy. Samuel Huntington, I hope you’re taking notes: An epic Clash of Animations is in the offing.
Comments (1-30) of 50 Add your comment
I agree, Scott – the best thing about Family Guy is the recurring joke about Brian’s unfinished novel. If I watch, it’s really just because I’m hoping for another riff from Stewie.
South Park is funny for the political,ethnic, and racial wisecracks. Family Guy is only funny to people who grew up in the late 70’s and 80’s. For example, on one of the episodes of F.G., a bunch of suits say “what do we do?” then they open a door and see Cobra Commander from the G.I. Joe cartoons. however, I think that Cartman is mean enough to take on Brian.
South Park thrives on the fact that it’s easy to make, which has kept it topical over its run. (Remember the fourth season ep they made in four days after the Elian debacle?) As a result, they’ve managed to always keep their jokes in the frame of social commentary. Even people crapping out of their mouths had a purpose within what they were trying to say. Family Guy is based around throwaway pop cultural references. It’s the cartoon equivalent of “Best Week Ever” and it’s alternately hilarious and annoying. It’s easy to see why Trey and Matt would chafe at comparisons. MacFarlane is comparatively very lazy. Both are still light years beyond Drawn Together.
But what really amazes me about this whole thing is that Right Wing pundits have embraced the episode for the Islam thing, when in fact the episode uses the situation to parallel South Park’s own recent problems with episodes being pulled from re-airing (or airing at all in some countries) due to Scientology and the Catholic Church. Even ending the preview for this week’s episode with the “Or will Comedy Central puss out?” question.
Forget Brian. Cartman needs to take on Stewie. Think about it:
Two evil characters
Big egos
They get the best lines
They hate everyone
Let’s get ready to rumbbbbllllee.
As a fan of both South Park and Family Guy, I can agree with Stephanie about the types of humor that each show offers (I personally think they’re equally hilarious). It’s understandable that you would certainly have to know your pop culture to get at least a third of the jokes on an average Family Guy episode, but what I can’t understand was how it took people this long to figure out that Family Guy mainly thrives on random humor almost to the point to where they feel it isn’t credible. That type of humor is pretty much what got the show back on the air, and one really needs to have an open sense of humor to appreciate the show. It’s like a Monty Python-type-of-thing. Not everybody gets that type of humor but the people that do get it are what kept that troupe the comic herald that it is today. Family Guy could just be another Andy Kaufman-like example in which most people won’t truly appreciate its comedy til it stands a test of time.
I have never EVER been able to tolerate a single episode of South Park nor have I ever liked the Simpsons. However, I love Family Guy. Sure, its hardly a work of constant genius but it’s funny. And I do love the old 80s references (after all, I was born in 1979) as well as the fact that in season 4 (I think) they had constant tributes to the Indiana Jones movies with the original score for those scenes in particular. Who cares if it’s right on top of current matters? It’s entertaining.
As a fan of both shows, I find that both satisfy different parts of my humor. I understand that Family Guy will never win a Peabody Award, but I find its inanity appealing when I need a good, easy laugh.
If I want some sort of social commentary that puts things into perspective in a humorous way, I turn to South Park.
I don’t pick one over the other as far as entertainment goes. If the question was which one was more relevant, then sure, South Park would win hands down.
cmonnnn, family guy is hilarious. Why are you guys taking the “debate” so seriously? Who cares if there is a story or not? It’s side-splitting.
I have been a South Park fan since I first watched Santa & Jesus fight on my roommate’s computer. Years later, my husband introduced me to Family Guy through his incessant watching of DVDs. And I think it is, for the most part, funny. Stewie’s I-Pod commercial cracked me up. That being said, all of Family Guy combined is not half as funny as the first 5 minutes of Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. And I agree that Seth is lazy–listen to the commentary track sometime and find yourself lulled into a coma. Matt and Trey would never do that.
I like both shows, but for different reasons: South Park for its obvious efforts not only to push the envelope, but to rip it, burn it and urinate on the ashes; Family Guy for the sheer stupidity of its “jokes”. The episode of Family Guy that had the Griffins in witness protection cracked me up every time that raccoon attacked Peter from some ridiculous place. I believe that my IQ diminishes a few tenths of a point every time I watch a show like that, but, so be it. By the way, Stewie absolutely rocks!
In keeping with the steel cage theme:
I’ve got the Simpson’s running in, climbing over the cage with a steel chair and taking out “Family Guy” for, not only the very valid points that Mr. Brown brought up regarding how damn lazy it is, but also for being a blatant Simpsons ripoff.
Dopey father, sensible wife, three kids (neglected daughter, not-so-bright son, and a baby…where have I seen that before.) I realize Stewie’s not a copy of Maggie…he’s weird combination of Mr. Burns and The Brain (of “Pinky and the Brain).
That being said, it DOES make me laugh. Brian’s cool. Still doesn’t stop it from being damn lazy and not having ANYTHING original to say.
If I just wanted to watch carefully-strung-together pop culture references/parodies, I’ll just pop in “Shrek 2″.
South Park pushes the envelope constantly, is an equal opportunity offender, and wins this matchup easily.
Why does everyone forget that Muhammad was already on South Park in the “Super-Friends” episode.
It’s not like they are doing something crazy. They already did it.
That being said I think South Park is brilliant this season and can’t wait for tonight’s episode
This is definitely off topic, but if you like Destiny’s Child listen to their never released singles called “Got’s My Own” and “Two Step”. You have got to check them out!!
I am so glad that all these people are realizing what a no-plot, random-moment show ‘Family Guy’ has become. All great scripted programming starts with attention to storytelling. Viva Homer!
Maybe I’m just not very selective, but I love The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park. Family Guy may be derivative and lazy, but it makes me laugh. The Simpsons is very comfortable humor by now, since we know the characters so well, and South Park still manages to shock me once in a while. The bottom line is they’re all funny.
Family Guy’s best attributes — its wit, quickness, and sometimes, utter ridiculousness — make it an easy target for haters. When Cartman says something like, “I’m sick of people coming up to me and saying ‘Hey, I bet you like Family Guy. Your type of humor is just like Family Guy’s,’” it’s easy for him to go on and make it sound like South Park is the superior show.
But it’s not. People still puke poop out of their mouths on South Park. Those elitist pricks behind South Park better recognize that both shows are crass and childish. It just so happens that, right now, Family Guy is enjoying more success than South Park. Probably soon, that will change, and then it will change again. Who cares? Neither is better. They are different.
(Although, I do believe Family Guy — the less topical and “socioculturally significant” of the two shows — is way more entertaining and enjoyable.)
I watch and enjoy both shows, because they are both entertaining. That’s it. I don’t understand why Matt & Trey are attacking it like this, it’s a different kind of show from theirs (aside from the toilet humor.) And South Park has the luxury of being able to stay topical due to the manner of it’s production, whereas Family Guy can’t. Does that automatically make it a worse show? I think not. Try as they might to convince me otherwise, their show is not superior to Family Guy. Neither one is better or worse than the other, they just are.
As much as some people hate Family Guy, I’d rather watch that than the recent Simpsons episodes. You want to talk about little attention to plot? Any avid Simpsons fan can tell you how much some of the later episode’s storylines are very repetitive and horribly executed and easily contradict each other. An example of the former is the episode when Smithers finds out about how his dad died. Not so bad until you realized it started off from Marge getting super absorbant towels and the family going to a magic show. How did it go from a magic show to Smithers finding out about his dad’s death? In a very unbelievable and unfunny way. As for the episode contradiction, one episode theorizes Homer’s stupidity came from the Simpsons’ genetics; another because a crayon’s stuck under his brain…and don’t get me started on the two episodes that takes place in the future after the first mildly enjoyable one).
Sure, the Simpsons at its prime is among some of the best comedy I’ve seen, but for anyone who says the Simpsons’ storytelling is great these days and think Family Guy’s a crock needs to wake up. Sure, Family Guy’s a pop-culture bonanza which is ludicrously random at times, but at least it’s willing to embrace its arbitrary situations where it looks plain bad for the Simpsons. I thought it hit rick bottom with their awful season 13 (no other Treehouse of Horror episode SUCKED nearly as bad as that season’s).
As for South Park, it’s always a good show to watch, but I keep forgetting that it’s on, so I keep missing episodes.
South Park is, and always has been, absolutely brilliant satire. What’s even more impressive is that, every season, it just keeps getting better! Most shows can’t go on for ten seasons and even remain funny, much less improve their craft. As long as people are doing stupid things, South Park will continue to mock them.
I do like Family Guy, but it certainly isn’t on the same level as South Park. It’s just random, and because of that, some jokes are hits and others are misses. It’s that simple.
That said, I wrote a 25-page research paper on morality, values, and social commentary in South Park. I can’t imagine ever doing the same thing with Family Guy. South Park wins by a long shot.
I love South Park, but I’ve never cared for Family Guy, just never found it entertaining for some reason, but I have friends that love it.
I don’t think Matt and Trey are ripping on Family Guy though, Kyle is a fan, and he’s basically the hero of the show, their just poking some fun at political correctness and censorship.
I watched ‘Family Guy’ and enjoyed it until this last week when they dissed Kermit the Frog. I’m sorry, but nobody, and I mean nobody, disses the Muppets! Sorry ‘FG,’ you may think you can mock anything and everything, but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed, and because you crossed it, you lost a viewer.
(and yes, I am serious)
South Park is just attacking Family Guy to get ratings. They are sucking off the popularity of FG to kick up some attention. I really dont think South park has room to talk for bad writing when they write an episode about a talking towel. They also say “Family Guy isnt even that funny” in the controversial episode, but the actual episode isnt even funny. They have one good joke about burying heads in the sand.
If you compare the trinity of animated adult cartoons (South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons) South park has a huge advantage because of the animation process so they can pull things off todays headlines. The other two take time and put care into there animation and use different voice actors.
Also I dont consider the cut-aways lazy, it just helps to fit jokes in where you can’t in any show about an american family. Plus with so many americans having “A.D.D.” it could possibly help go with the wandering minds.
Oh well dont preach hate towards other animated shows, hate reality TV, where there is no writing, actors or possibly a plot.
What the hell happend tonight, comedy central censored that right.
yo south park isnt even that funny and its way too preachy.
The whole Family Guy thing was a cover for their own show. Family Guy is not Fox’s #1 show, but South Park is Comedy Central’s.
After watching the censored prophet, I agree with the South Park fellas that the cartoon should have aired uncensored. But that’s just me.
This whole post and comment thread and not one person mentioned “King of the Hill”?
It’s not for everyone, but when Cartman talks about his (and in a not-so-veiled way, south park’s) jokes being emotionally based and relevant to the characters…”King of the Hill” is the true champion of that kind of humor. And their messages are far more subtely given than the weekly ‘I learned something today’ speech from Kyle.
Not bashing any fans of the other shows (although I must say I’m a huge SP fan and feel the same way Cartman does about FG), just wanted to throw KotH in the ‘holy trinity’ of Cartoons.
Tonight’s South Park was genius. I really like how they fooled the audience into thinking they did the April Fools Terrence & Phillip thing again, but went back into what they knew the people wanted. I laughed my head off. I thought the best part of the show was when Muhammad was shown to the viewers in South Park, yet not to the ACTUAL viewers watching Comedy Central from 10:00 to 10:30 tonight due to “their obligations” (I’m surprised CERTAIN people on this blog didn’t get that joke). It’s amazing that after years of being on the air, South Park still doesn’t cease to impress me. Well done, Trey & Matt.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta tune my TV to Adult Swim. Family Guy’s comin on.
The way South Park poked fun at itself by saying that Family Guy was generally funny and “not all preachy with messages left and right” was pretty awesome as well.
Long live south park.
Long live Family Guy.
And Long live Aqua Teen Hunger Force!!!!!!
SPOILER ALERT
Actually, the latest episode did show King of the Hill in the background as Cartman and Kyle were fighting each other. Or more like slapping each other.