With all the tragedy and mayhem that plagues the world today it seems rather irresponsible to devote my time to discuss animated comedies on an intellectual level. However I don't care, FAMILY GUYS SUCKS and every waking moment with this utter garbage in the limelight makes me sick to my stomach. So what can an average man like me do but express my views on the sacred internet and hope to reach some of you. I have recently developed such an interest in every aspect of animated comedies that I have made it my duty to dissect my favorite shows by listening to audio commentaries where the writers and animators discuss the thought behind certain stories and jokes. Also I have watched certain shows so many times I feel like I could provide a oral transcript at any given time.

A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away I was a huge Family Guy fan. In my opinion I was the biggest fan in London Ontario. I had seen every episode a multiple number of times and listened to all available audio commentaries. I was able to repeat every joke word for word and to the delight of many around me I implemented Family Guy jokes into everyday conversation which was often quite funny if I do say so my self. I had great conversations about family guy with fellow patrons and even wrote an episode for an English class project. So what could have led to my utter hatred for Family Guy after being such a huge fan? Well I suppose I could compare it to the Matrix. My interest in animated comedies led to a moment in time where I was presented with two options. The first I could stay in a state of ignorance and continue to enjoy the mindless comedy of Family Guy, or I could study comedy writing and risk losing my ability to laugh at certain jokes. I made my choice and am happy I did, knowledge is always welcome.

Family Guy was not the only comedy I analyzed. I took on every animated comedy I’ve ever liked. From The Simpsons to South Park. Oddly enough the results were somewhat puzzling. Before this grand analysis I ranked my favorite shows as follows:

The Simpson
Family Guy (close second)
Duckman (I assume many of you don’t know what this one is)
King of the Hill
American Dad
Futurama
South Park

After a serious critical analysis of content, structure, characters, stories, animation, and a world of other criteria my list changed significantly.

The Simpson’s
South Park
Futurama (these first 5 are absolutely brilliant)
Duckman
King of the Hill
American Dad
Family Guy

My love for The Simpson’s grew immensely as I realized the sheer and utter brilliance of the first 12 seasons of the show (seasons 4-8 are the absolute best). South Park grew on me in a big way as well, as it is an extremely intelligent show that challenges its viewers. I will not bore you with my reasons for loving the others but needless to say the biggest change came with my feelings about Family Guy.

Family Guy is the culmination of the work of untalented writers and a lack of creativity. This show is most famous for its “Pop-culture references” and mind numbing repetition where it will show the viewer a character they may remember from there child hood in order to get a cheap laugh. This is a ridiculous ploy and an obvious sign of bad and lazy comedy writing. Often no joke at all is attached to the reference and they just rely on the reference itself. A well known standard of bad comedy is that if people recognize the reference, they’ll laugh even if the joke isn't funny. Family Guy goes beyond that, it doesn’t even try to make a joke half the time, it just assumes that making a pop culture reference is funny. Another claim from the average Family Guy fan is that the show has cutting edge humor and that it's offensive so it's cool. That is a false condition that these writers propagate. This show is utterly spineless as it never risks offending anyone who would actually watch the show. Instead it makes jokes about sexual prudes, the elderly, and the religious right. The show pans to liberals and makes fun of conservatives. This is done of course because the majority of young people are liberals and they make up 90% of Family Guy’s viewing audience. Show’s that dare to be edgy would include Duckman, South Park and back in the 90s The Simpsons. An example being that when a regular show would do an episode about saving the environment and market anti-smoking, South Park will do the opposite (as they have) showing that tobacco corporations are warm hearted people who are just trying to make an honest buck or that we should do everything in our power to destroy the rain forest before it destroys us. Using clever satire and subtle wit South Park is truly at the peak of comedic brilliance. Another incredibly irritating fact about Family Guy is that the family has no soul. They have no charm and no warmth in their characters developments. Facts about them that would make them endearing and give us the ability to care about the family is simply not present. This lack of a soul makes it impossible for the Griffin Family to have the timeless charm that the Simpsons have. A point that I have not yet touched on is the fact that the basic premise of the show is a copy of the Simpsons, but that fact just seems too obvious to talk about in length. Something viewers may not have known however is that the beloved character Stewie is a rip off of the comic book character Jimmy Doogan who was a talking baby with an odd shaped head who also had the desire to kill his mother and take over the world. Basically the reason for my hatred of Family Guy came about when I dissected the show to find the substance behind it, and I found none.

One might think that I would have had a similar falling out with The Simpson. However the opposite happened. I discovered the brilliance of the show as I had never seen it before. They have so many subtle references to other show and events as well as a wide array of pop-culture references that have jokes supporting them and are not shoved in our faces like Family Guy shamelessly does. The Simpson’s at its prime was the closest thing to a perfect animated comedy as I have ever seen. People may claim that the new episodes of the Simpsons are awful or no where near as funny as Family Guy and frankly I may be inclined to agree up to a certain point. However even the new much less funny episodes of the Simpsons entertain me more then Family Guy. Quite frankly I feel that the Simpsons has changed its focus to attract younger audiences for continued financial success. But that's a topic for another time.

Perhaps many of you will believe that I have over thought the content of these shows but as an aspiring writer myself I consider it to be an art and thus cannot help but judge it accordingly. I’m sure many of you like Family Guy and that is fine with me. Most people are content to watch a show just for the sake of single minded entertainment but my pallid has grown more sophisticated and it’s impossible for me to like the one dimensional characters from the Griffin Family.

Well those are my thoughts on the show. This (although a nerdy interest) is my passion. I even hope to one day be a writer for an animated comedy. I hope you have found something interesting in the article whether you agree or disagree. Cheers.