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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Family Guy.
American Dad! "Aw Rats, A Pool Party"
Love the Fox joke at the beginning. Yeah, nobody is sold on this yet.
New opening title with Jeff in it though is a good start.
Roger's going full Ricky Spanish on Tuttle's book club.
One of the biggest questions I had about the move to Fox is how much of the TBS stuff they'd follow. I would think a TON of Fox viewers never saw the TBS stuff. Rogu being present, and what happened with Gwen being a major plot point says the canon is being followed directly. This is no soft reboot.
Stan blowing up the rat like a balloon was easily the funniest gag in the episode.
I've missed Debbie, but she was extremely unlikable in the episode, and when she bolts at the end I'm like, "Good riddance."
I will say that yes, the move back to Fox has softened a lot of the humor. "Shit" is off-limits now, and they have to be a bit more mindful of the censors too. Definitely something I noticed.
Roger hints one of his personas is Ned Flanders. Now that doesn't actually EXCUSE Flanderization. But it might EXPLAIN it.
I love that the show STILL has Sir Patrick Stewart saying weird and gross stuff. That knight will say anything you tell him to if you pay him enough money.
On Gwen's first episode, she was voiced by Uma Thurman. Because cartoons are now mindful of representation, Francine's Asian sister is now voice by Ming Na-Wen. Is it just me or is Wen the better voice for that character? Thurman voiced her because I believe the producers wanted to give Gwen a VERY Anglo-Saxon feel, especially compared with Mama and Baba. And Wen not only sounds Asian (because she is) but she's capable of projecting that WASP thing in her voice too. Much better fit for that character, and they were able to keep the WASP aspect to her anyways.
I thought it needed to thread a needle between the eras, and it did it kind of successfully. Impressed. ****.
Family Guy "Pumpkin Spice Girls"
You know what? I was never on-board the tabloid piling on of Olivia Wilde. She had an affair. Why the fuck did everyone treat it as though the movie she directed was damaged goods because of it? The Bill Gates Epstein joke in this episode, as well as the bit of the Patriarchy Boardroom saying abortion is "gone", are the precise reasons that should piss us all off.
Stewie was in the background of the episode and was funny in everything he said and did. World Domination Stewie was never funny. I think the idea that fans prefer that loud, crass iteration of the character to droll, observational Stewie is fucking crazy.
I laughed at "Porn Hub: Join the conversation." And it sort of disturbs me that people probably set up accounts there for JUST that reason. You think the scenarios on that site are messed up? There are people out there giving up their personal information to a porn site to be able to share their opinions about that shit. THAT'S messed up.
I think the show has sort of done to Bonnie what they did to Brian. They just decided at some point that both characters contained no redeeming qualities. I question the wisdom of them doing that in both instances, but while making Bonnie a sociopath makes her stuff with Joe extra depressing, it makes her a decent foil for Lois. I'll give the producers that.
Peter macking on Joe in the dress was disturbing.
I love Peter driving up to Lois to ask where the remote was, her telling him it's under the table, and then him driving back up five seconds later to affirm he found it. The timing there makes no fucking sense which is why it's funny.
They went back to sex pervert Quagmire with the double entendre misunderstandings with Joe about Lois, but it sort of worked out okay because none of that stuff was technically predatory on Quagmire's end. Yeah, it was gross and inappropriate, but it was a far cry from his white noise machine being a woman screaming. But drop the "The" in The Foot Book, Quagmire. It's cleaner.
It was all right, but there's a reason Bob's Burgers is gonna win the Emmy this year. This episode wasn't wrong about that. Using Lois' dress shoe to scoop out... I can't even finish. Too gross. Also, Peter, you're not negging correctly. Read Chapter 2.
Like I said, all right. ***.
Family Guy "Man-Fest Destiny"
Underwhelming as shit.
I liked the joke that the guys on Fire Island weren't mad at the end because they're guys and get over stuff quickly. I don't feel like enough gay humor actually addresses the fact that gay men ARE men and have similar selling points to straight men. I liked that joke.
Don't ask the turtle which side of the Civil War he fought on in the Turtle Brigade.
I love the Brazilian guy in ordinary everyday clothes. Thank you for your street dancing, sir.
The Memes thing was hit and miss. I don't use Memes myself. Mostly because I don't really have the technical know-how to create them. If I have something funny to say I'll either put it in my comic book, or here's an idea, just fucking say it.
That being said, I don't approve of Brian looking down on Memes for essentially being stolen comedy. I have never believed in joke ownership, or that comedic propriety is a thing. My Gen X days on the schoolyard told me jokes must be spread far and wide once they've been thought up and told. This whole "You stole mah joke!" nonsense is not just antithetical to comedy, but it's an insane idea created within living memory. It's done to placate comedians, but it's not a real thing. Everybody who saw Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First?" bit did that bit too. And the estates of Abbott and Costello never complained, because back in those days Vaudeville comedians all shared and told the same jokes. You'll see them all in comedy and cartoon shorts of the era too. If you told the comedians back then they were crossing a moral line by doing that, they'd look at you like you had two heads. For good reason. It's a crazy notion. Why do we even indulge comedians about that shit? Fuck, if there is a group of people on the planet more overindulged and treated with kid gloves than comedians, I haven't heard of them. For that group of people, nothing is sacred. Unless it's the right for the comedian to be a total dick. You call them on that, then you are censoring them!
What a bunch of fucking snowflakes.
I don't do Memes, but Meme culture doesn't bother me. You get a laugh from telling a joke you heard elsewhere. Believe it or not, that's how jokes actually used to work. It's how they SHOULD work.
Sigh. Mediocre episode. **1/2.
American Dad! "Aw Rats, A Pool Party"
Love the Fox joke at the beginning. Yeah, nobody is sold on this yet.
New opening title with Jeff in it though is a good start.
Roger's going full Ricky Spanish on Tuttle's book club.
One of the biggest questions I had about the move to Fox is how much of the TBS stuff they'd follow. I would think a TON of Fox viewers never saw the TBS stuff. Rogu being present, and what happened with Gwen being a major plot point says the canon is being followed directly. This is no soft reboot.
Stan blowing up the rat like a balloon was easily the funniest gag in the episode.
I've missed Debbie, but she was extremely unlikable in the episode, and when she bolts at the end I'm like, "Good riddance."
I will say that yes, the move back to Fox has softened a lot of the humor. "Shit" is off-limits now, and they have to be a bit more mindful of the censors too. Definitely something I noticed.
Roger hints one of his personas is Ned Flanders. Now that doesn't actually EXCUSE Flanderization. But it might EXPLAIN it.
I love that the show STILL has Sir Patrick Stewart saying weird and gross stuff. That knight will say anything you tell him to if you pay him enough money.
On Gwen's first episode, she was voiced by Uma Thurman. Because cartoons are now mindful of representation, Francine's Asian sister is now voice by Ming Na-Wen. Is it just me or is Wen the better voice for that character? Thurman voiced her because I believe the producers wanted to give Gwen a VERY Anglo-Saxon feel, especially compared with Mama and Baba. And Wen not only sounds Asian (because she is) but she's capable of projecting that WASP thing in her voice too. Much better fit for that character, and they were able to keep the WASP aspect to her anyways.
I thought it needed to thread a needle between the eras, and it did it kind of successfully. Impressed. ****.
Family Guy "Pumpkin Spice Girls"
You know what? I was never on-board the tabloid piling on of Olivia Wilde. She had an affair. Why the fuck did everyone treat it as though the movie she directed was damaged goods because of it? The Bill Gates Epstein joke in this episode, as well as the bit of the Patriarchy Boardroom saying abortion is "gone", are the precise reasons that should piss us all off.
Stewie was in the background of the episode and was funny in everything he said and did. World Domination Stewie was never funny. I think the idea that fans prefer that loud, crass iteration of the character to droll, observational Stewie is fucking crazy.
I laughed at "Porn Hub: Join the conversation." And it sort of disturbs me that people probably set up accounts there for JUST that reason. You think the scenarios on that site are messed up? There are people out there giving up their personal information to a porn site to be able to share their opinions about that shit. THAT'S messed up.
I think the show has sort of done to Bonnie what they did to Brian. They just decided at some point that both characters contained no redeeming qualities. I question the wisdom of them doing that in both instances, but while making Bonnie a sociopath makes her stuff with Joe extra depressing, it makes her a decent foil for Lois. I'll give the producers that.
Peter macking on Joe in the dress was disturbing.
I love Peter driving up to Lois to ask where the remote was, her telling him it's under the table, and then him driving back up five seconds later to affirm he found it. The timing there makes no fucking sense which is why it's funny.
They went back to sex pervert Quagmire with the double entendre misunderstandings with Joe about Lois, but it sort of worked out okay because none of that stuff was technically predatory on Quagmire's end. Yeah, it was gross and inappropriate, but it was a far cry from his white noise machine being a woman screaming. But drop the "The" in The Foot Book, Quagmire. It's cleaner.
It was all right, but there's a reason Bob's Burgers is gonna win the Emmy this year. This episode wasn't wrong about that. Using Lois' dress shoe to scoop out... I can't even finish. Too gross. Also, Peter, you're not negging correctly. Read Chapter 2.
Like I said, all right. ***.
Family Guy "Man-Fest Destiny"
Underwhelming as shit.
I liked the joke that the guys on Fire Island weren't mad at the end because they're guys and get over stuff quickly. I don't feel like enough gay humor actually addresses the fact that gay men ARE men and have similar selling points to straight men. I liked that joke.
Don't ask the turtle which side of the Civil War he fought on in the Turtle Brigade.
I love the Brazilian guy in ordinary everyday clothes. Thank you for your street dancing, sir.
The Memes thing was hit and miss. I don't use Memes myself. Mostly because I don't really have the technical know-how to create them. If I have something funny to say I'll either put it in my comic book, or here's an idea, just fucking say it.
That being said, I don't approve of Brian looking down on Memes for essentially being stolen comedy. I have never believed in joke ownership, or that comedic propriety is a thing. My Gen X days on the schoolyard told me jokes must be spread far and wide once they've been thought up and told. This whole "You stole mah joke!" nonsense is not just antithetical to comedy, but it's an insane idea created within living memory. It's done to placate comedians, but it's not a real thing. Everybody who saw Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First?" bit did that bit too. And the estates of Abbott and Costello never complained, because back in those days Vaudeville comedians all shared and told the same jokes. You'll see them all in comedy and cartoon shorts of the era too. If you told the comedians back then they were crossing a moral line by doing that, they'd look at you like you had two heads. For good reason. It's a crazy notion. Why do we even indulge comedians about that shit? Fuck, if there is a group of people on the planet more overindulged and treated with kid gloves than comedians, I haven't heard of them. For that group of people, nothing is sacred. Unless it's the right for the comedian to be a total dick. You call them on that, then you are censoring them!
What a bunch of fucking snowflakes.
I don't do Memes, but Meme culture doesn't bother me. You get a laugh from telling a joke you heard elsewhere. Believe it or not, that's how jokes actually used to work. It's how they SHOULD work.
Sigh. Mediocre episode. **1/2.
