World Famous Comics: Family Guy, Vol. 1 (Seasons 1 & 2)
Family Guy, Vol. 1 (Seasons 1 & 2)
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Mike Henry Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC Model: 3007wfp Number of Items: 4 Region Code: 1 Release Date: April 15, 2003 Running Time: 22 minutes Studio: 20th Century Fox Theatrical Release Date: January 31, 1999
Amazon.com: To the ranks of shows too brilliant and outrageous for prime time (The Ben Stiller Show, Andy Richter Controls the Universe), add Seth McFarlane's Family Guy. This animated series, which debuted after the 1999 Super Bowl, simply sparked too much controversy and offended too many sensibilities to survive (Entertainment Weekly dubbed it "the Awful Show They Just Keep Putting on the Air"). That the Fox network also played hackysack with its schedule, ensuring viewers would not be able to find it, sealed its fate (it was cancelled in 2002). This boxed set containing all 28 episodes from the first two seasons is payback for the show's devoted cult following, who may be moved to echo the words of infant Stewie Griffin, the megalomaniacal 1-year-old bent on matricide and world domination: "Victory is mine!"
The dysfunctional Griffins of Quahog, Rhode Island, invite comparisons to The Simpsons. The testicular-chinned father, Peter Griffin, is a clueless oaf in the Homer mold. "Peter, what did you promise me last night?" asks his long-suffering wife Lois in one episode. "That I wouldn't drink at the stag party," he replies. "And what did you do?" she asks. "Drank at the stag part--oh ho ho, I almost walked into that one," he cackles. Other family members include teenage daughter Meg, a desperate high school social pariah; 13-year-old son Chris, a chip off his father's blockhead; and Brian, the family's sarcastic talking dog. But this series' true inspiration is football-pated Stewie (voiced by McFarlane, who earned an Emmy), who was born to be a Bond villain once he escaped his mother's "ovarian bastille." Family Guy recklessly ventured where The Simpsons feared to tread. In one episode, Meg's one and only friend turns out to be the member of a suicidal cult. In another, Death (voiced by Norm McDonald) becomes an unwanted houseguest. Each episode plays fast and furious with surreal flashes (in one episode, Peter turns his house into a puppet) and pop-culture references and TV, movie, and commercial parodies that invite repeated viewings. Freed from its own family-hour bastille and the whims of dim network executives, Family Guy can be appreciated at last on its own profane, sacrilegious, and irreverent terms. Welcome to the DVD family, Griffins. --Donald Liebenson
Family Guy: Volume One DVD. ^ This show is funny, but you might not get at first, it sort of grows on you.
One of the silliest, funniest shows ever ^ To give you an idea of what Family Guy is like, imagine the Simpsons but without that small veneer that keeps it grounded in reality. Family Guy has the same old-fashioend sitcom core that has worked for generations - a stupid but well-meaning dad and his zany family - but adds a huge dose of ridiculous unreality to the mix. The show makes heavy use of random cutaways that exist for no other purpose but to be funny. It also holds nothing sacred, willingly making jokes at anything, even itself. Admittedly, this humor is not for everyone. If you can appreciate a dose of the ridiculous, though, Family Guy is solid gold.
This volume contains the first two seasons of Family Guy, which gets the show off and running quickly. You'll get a feel from the very first episode, where we start off with a talking dog, an evil maniacal baby, and a cutaway to a joke about Hitler's low self-esteem. If you can see how that can be fun, this DVD volume is for you.
While I'm usually not keen on commentary or other goodies in a DVD, the commentary tracks on this set are very good and worth listening to if you're curious about the history of the show. Family Guy had a tumultuous relationship with Fox, leading to some severe censoring and eventual cancellation. The creators give some insight as to what was going on behind the scenes but are thankfully unbiased, taking as many shots at themselves as the network. Such matters are merely footnotes, however. This volume is one of the best bits of American animation you'll see and is well worth the price for the episodes alone.
A Classic ^ If you have never heard of the Griffins', well maybe you should start here. You will really enjoy the comedy of Seth MacFarlane. Laugh Out Loud Funny!
Curse You, Vile Woman! ^ This is my second copy of Vol. 1. The box was slightly damaged on the first copy and it bothered me so much I had to get a new one. I remember when Family Guy first debuted on TV thinking that the idea of a talking baby was ridiculous so I never bothered to watch the program. Then one day I was on YouTube looking at videos and saw a hilarious clip of Family Guy featuring Stewie. I started watching the program after that and was completely hooked after a couple of episodes. I own all the volumes of this show and look at them often laughing hysterically. I would love to choose my favorite characters but that would be impossible since they are all so funny. If you haven't watched this program, you are cheating yourself out of an extremely funny and witty show.
Love it ^ Love it. That's all I have to say. To add: its nice to have two seasons in one DVD box set.
Anything Goes Trivia
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