Review of Family Guy Season 2

Introduction

It`s time for season 2 of the latest dysfunctional American family cartoon, Family Guy. The show`s had a rough ride over it`s insensitive and un-PC script but has managed to bounce back against unfair criticism. While some may complain about the racism, sexism or other ism, the undeniable fact is that the lead character, Peter Griffin, is a complete imbecile and should not be taken seriously. Here`s a quick episode summary:


Disc One:
Da Boom
It`s Y2K and the end of the world is nigh. Computers fail and nuclear missiles launch destroying pretty much everything. Peter thankfully forced his family into a shelter and as a result of being saved they found a new town, New Quahog and try to run it.

Brian in Love
Brian has an incontinence problem which leads him onto the therapists couch. It seems our Brian is in love and has to come to terms with his feelings.

I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar
Peter`s lack of respect for women leads to him having an overdose of sensitivity training resulting in him becoming a feminist!

A Picture is Worth a 1000 Bucks
Chris paints a picture which is discovered and bought by a pretentious art dealer. This starts Chris`s meteoric rise and with it a self-centered and snobbish attitude to everyone outside of the artworld.

Fifteen Minutes of Shame
The Griffins family are the subject of a live TV crew ala EdTV who follow them 24-7. It gets a bit out of hand however when the family start to drop out of the show only to be re-cast by beautiful people.

Road ro Rhode Island
Brian and Stewie have a road trip in the vain of Hope and Crosby while Peter and Lois try to communicate more via self-help videos.

Let`s go to the Hop
Hallucinogenic toads are having an effect on students and Peter goes undercover at the school to put a stop to it. All in the style of Grease, with a musical number and everything.

Dammit Janet!
Lois wants to find a job and Stewie goes to Day Care where he promptly falls in love with Janet.

Disc Two:
There`s Something About Paulie
Peter unwittingly asks a mobster for a favour and owes one to The Don. One thing leads to another and someone then takes out a contract on Peter`s wife, Lois. The only guy who can call it off has just been killed!

He`s Too Sexy For His Fat
Chris is the butt of fat jokes and he starts working out. The idea of liposuction gets into Peter`s fat head and before you know it, he gets himself `sorted`. Peter becomes narcissistic like you won`t believe!

E. Peterbus Unum
A town planning technicality means the Griffin family sets up their own country within the USA and call it Petoria. Leading the `new` country goes to his head as he claims diplomatic immunity and tries to get away with anything he desires.

The Story on Page One
Meg wants to go to Brown College but her lack of extra curricular activities goes against her. She starts with her school newspaper as a reporter and one way or another her father gets involved with her story and the story ends up libelling a celeb about being gay.

Wasted Talent
The owner of the local brewery has placed 4 silver scrolls in random beer bottles. Those that find the scrolls win a tour of the Partucket brewery. Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Peter`s hidden piano playing talent also comes to the fore when he`s had a few drinks and Lois enters him into a piano playing competition.

Fore Father
Peter`s parenting skills comes under scrutiny so he takes Cleveland`s son under his wing when he finds he`s a natural golfer and wants to nurture the talent. He convinces everyone that he has what it takes to be a mentor to the boy, all the while neglecting his own son.

When You Wish Upon a Weinstein
Peter needs financial planning and comes to the conclusion that he needs the help of a Jew since they seem to be good with money.

Video

Presented with the original fullframe aspect, Family Guy looks fine. There`s nothing complicated in terms of colour or detail. This has a good transfer.

Audio

Nothing fancy, just a plain DD2.0 soundtrack. The sound is clear and hiss free. Nothing demanding and nothing wrong with it either.

Features

What extra features? There are English subtitles, but these hardly constitute as an extra. There isn`t even a `play all` option. This lack of extras should hopefully be resolved by season 3.

Conclusion

Family Guy has a big following so I wanted to see what the fuss and good reviews of season 1 had been about and since I`d seen only a few episodes from season 1, it was with great interest that I watched all of season 2, twice. Would it be as good as everyone seems to say it is?

Overall I like it, but there are problems, the main one being inconsistency in the writing. If it wasn`t for Brian the talking dog or Stewie, the 42 year old pompous toddler (think of Kelsey Grammer`s `Frasier` character with a viscious edge and you`re almost close) the show would be another stab at dysfunctional family Americana. Brian and Stewie are the things spin offs are made of! Plus they make me laugh the most.

One of the unique aspects of Family Guy is the vulgar, childish and plain stupid humour. When it`s written well and applied it works incredibly well and gets a good laugh or cringe. In fact dare I say that some of the terrible lines have elicited a few sniggers. It`s grown on me. Other times when it doesn`t quite hit the mark it becomes predictable and falls flat but this should get better with time. Mix in surreal elements to the everyday stories and litter it with filmic references and you`ll find enough to keep you occupied for each 22 minute episode.

A lot of comparisons are made with that other American family institution, The Simpsons, but I think it`s a bit unfair. The audience for Family Guy is older, while the writing for The Simpsons is more subtle, consistently wittier and suits a wider audience. Granted it can`t be as edgy as Family Guy which is why there`s a big loyal following and it`s growing. If you like your humour literal and crude and enjoyed season 1 or the episodes on television, then this will appeal to you. It`s a shame there aren`t any DVD extras, but hopefully this will be addressed in the next season boxset. For fans it`s a must. All we need now is King of the Hill…