Review of Family Guy Season 3

Introduction

Family Guy ran for only fifty episodes, and then got cancelled (after being cancelled the first time around after just 7 episodes).

Here are the episodes from the final season that you get, spread across 3 discs:-

The Thin White Line (part 1 of 2)

Brian needs a change, and gets a job as a police sniffer dog. However, he gets too involved in his work, and ends up needing some rehab.

Brian Does Hollywood (part 2 of 2)

Brian`s rehab has taken him to tinsel town, with a job as a screenwriter. He gets offered a directing job, and directs a certain type of film, leading to being nominated for a Woody award. Will he continue his glamorous new life or just get back to Quahog?

Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington

The toy company that Peter works for is bought by an evil cigarette company to promote cigarettes to children. Peter is offered the job of president to keep him quiet, and gets into political lobbying. Will he do what he knows is right?

One If By Clam, Two If By Sea

A hurricane strikes, and destroys the town`s favourite bar. It is then rebuilt as a classical English pub, causing uproar amongst residents.

And the Wiener is...

A Meg and Chris story - Meg wants to be popular at school, and Chris is better endowed than Peter, which causes some tension.

Death Lives

Peter sneaks off to play golf, but has another near-death experience. He realises that he should change his ways if he is to save his marriage.

Lethal Weapons

Lois takes up martial arts, and Peter takes advantage of her new skills straight away. But will this violent trend spread?

The Kiss Seen Around the World

Meg gets a job on TV, but her TV dream doesn`t turn out quite how she wanted. Stewie exacts revenge on a thief.

Mr. Saturday Knight

The toy factory closes, and Peter needs a new job. Should he live his lifelong dream and become a jouster?

A Fish Out of Water

Peter is desperate for cash, and takes a huge loan, but he wants to pay it off again when he realises what he`s done.

Emission Impossible

Peter and Lois want another baby, but Stewie vows to stop them. He resorts to very desperate measures to do this.

To Live and Die in Dixie

The witness relocation programme moves the Griffins to the deep south, and they don`t fit in well with their new neighbours. There are some absolute classic lines in this episode, definitely one for fans of the Simpsons character Cletus the slack jawed yokel.

Screwed The Pooch

Brian becomes a father after meeting a lady dog. But her owner doesn`t want him around, so Brian resorts to the legal system.

Peter Griffin: Husband, Father...Brother?

The Griffins find out more about their family history, including some ancestry and living relatives.

Ready, Willing, and Disabled

Peter trains Joe for the Paralympics, but takes the illegal route, and pumps him up with steroids. Joe wins, but Peter doesn`t get any credit and is severely disgruntled.

A Very Special Family Guy Freakin` Christmas

Stewie asks Santa for a very special gift, but Christmas turns into a nightmare for the Griffins, as presents go astray and a fire really spoils their plans.

Brian Wallows and Peter`s Swallows

Brian is dating again, and gets drunk after a bad date. Community service is his punishment and he meets thelove of his life.

From Method to Madness

Brian auditions for a play, but Stewie is the more talented one and forms a double act with another precocious young talent.

Stuck Together, Torn Apart

Super mega strength glue is involved, as are Brian and Stewie, whilst Lois runs into an school friend. Peter does not approve.

European Road Show

After their previous glue incident, Brian and Stewie stow away on a plane en route to Saudi Arabia. Back in Quahog, KISS turn up.

Family Guy Viewer Mail #1

The final episode is something a bit different. Brian reads out supposed mail from viewers which forms the basis for three stories. "No Bones About It", "Supergriffins" and "Li`l Griffins".

When You Wish Upon a Weinstein was also supposed to be part of this season when it was created, but it never aired on TV. It was included in the season 2 DVD box set in region 2.

Video

The review copy clearly states "low bitrate DVD-Rs for review only", so the retail product might be slightly different. However, we basically get a standard 4:3 transfer, as you would expect for an animated TV series. Everything looks good, with the colour palette looking fine and contrast levels also looking good.

There are one or two artefacts lying around but on the whole it all looks very good and very watchable. Maybe the retail product will be slightly better, but I couldn`t really spot any major flaws on the review discs.

Audio

A standard DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which is prety much perfect. There`s nothing wrong with it and that`s all there is to say.

Features

Unfortunately not a single thing, which is the only bad thing about this 3 disc set. Region 1 releases feature commentary tracks.

Conclusion

Family Guy is an excellent series, and the final episodes of the show (presented here) are very funny indeed. And more importantly, they are uncut - if you`ve watched the show on TV you`ve missed some great jokes that have been cut out so that the programme can be shown before the watershed. And it`s clearly not a programme for children, despite the fact that it`s animated. Some of the jokes are very near-the-mark indeed.

After watching all of the episodes from all of the seasons, my favourite character is still Stewie, the evil child genius who is always plotting and inventing.

This disc is good from an audio/visual point of view, it`s just a damn shame that there aren`t any extras. However, the quality of the episodes is so good that you shouldn`t be put off by this lack of extras. Buy it and prepare to laugh long and hard. Interestingly, the popularity of the DVDs of the show (in the US at least) have led to various people discussing the possibility of new Family Guy material being produced for DVD release - we`ll wait and see.

Recommended for anyone who likes to laugh.