Okay, as a whole I liked last night's Family Guy episode, and thought it was a real step up from the last couple of weeks.
I laughed really hard at the end of the episode, but just so I am clear:
I was laughing at a baby killing, dismembering, and then stuffing in a bloody garbage bag the dog who had illicit sex with his teddy bear.
Also -- the episode was a little bit of a rip-off on the "Poochie" episode from Simpsons. Did anybody else pick up on this? Both are grinning glib "hyper-positive" dogs who are forced on the regular cast of a TV show (in Simpsons it was the "Itchy & Scratchy" show).
I felt bad laughing at the fate of “New Brian”, but the last scene of Stewie in the shower with Rupert had me in stitches.
ReplyDeleteI think the “New Brian and Poochie EPs were similar in concepts, but not in execution, if I remember right the Poochie EP made if obvious that they were satirizing shows that bring on a new character to “hip” up the show, if I remember right they had a college-aged guy named Roy living at the Simpsons house who popped up through the EP to help drive the satire home. The Family Guy didn’t beat the viewers over the head with the concept.
They both represented that additional character shoe-horned into a long-running series, but they are presented differently.
ReplyDeletePoochie was obnoxiously "cool," playing off all the current trends and attitudes, whereas New Brian was simply a saccharine-sweet psychophant (with a barely-touched upon malicious side).
They both owe their origins to the "Cousin Olivers" of the TV world, but they're not the same character.
Well, one of the few "post movie" South Park eps I really liked was the one where everything they came up with was done by The Simpsons, first.
ReplyDeleteWasn't the last scene creepy? The one with Stewie in the shower with Rupert? It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.
I did like the Stewie moment, the transition to the bloody trash-bag was a definite laugh-out-loud. No one seems to get McFarlane. He has stated over and over that, yes, he does "plaguarize". He basically takes all the crappy stories and aspects of sitcoms then makes an amalgam out've them that is absurd and satirical. Although, it's funny at times, and not to seem like a turn-coat, it's starting to get really old for me. After the fourth season, I was kinda bored of it. And I was one of the people that was all for it to be un-cancelled. I've been missing episodes...and...I'm just starting to get bored with the show. (Shrugs, "Sorry, Peter fans. Hehehe...peter.")
ReplyDeleteI think The Simpsons' Poochie was more enlightening, as the show sort of took us "behind the scenes," showing us why poorly thought out characters like Poochie get created.
ReplyDeleteAnother distinction is that Poochie was meant to be an addition to the cast of Itchy & Scratchy, and New Brian was meant to replace a cast member.
But even though you can draw any number of distinctions between the two episodes, the underlying message is probably the same: the reason we watch these shows is because of the characters that are already there, not because of newer, hipper characters.
Perhaps this is why people (such as Harlan Ellison) are against remaking older films.
There have also been some voices in the fanboy community that are against rebooting, reimagining, or re-casting comic book characters.
I suspect it's all connected somehow.
i havent found this show funny in a long, long time.
ReplyDeletei honestly kind of despise seth mcfarlane.
but south park is totally genius, still.
i love the south park ep where they just slam family guy. genius.