Family Guy
Family Guy is an animated television series set in the fictional town of Quahog (pronounced “CO-hog”), Rhode Island. The show was created by Seth MacFarlane and was first aired in the US on the Fox Network on January 31, 1999. The show centres around the Griffin family; parents Peter and Lois, children Meg, Chris and Stewie; and Brian, their pet dog. The show makes many references to the real world, especially the entertainment industry and, for example, William Shatner, Star Wars and President Clinton all appear irregularly. The show includes many references to local Rhode Island culture, people, and places. Three seasons of the show were produced, a total of fifty episodes, before it was discontinued by Fox, and 1.5 million DVD's were sold before Fox revived it yet again.
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2 Main Characters 3 Recurring Characters 4 Episodes 5 DVDs 6 Rhode Island References 7 Revival Efforts 8 External Links |
The first episode was aired on January 31, 1999. This first season contained seven episodes and introduced the viewer to the show's main characters. The second season began on September 23, 1999 and contained 22 episodes, one of which, “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein,” was never shown on the Fox Television Network in the U.S due to fears that its content was too controversial. The third season contained 21 episodes and began its run on July 11, 2001. Fox angered some fans by often changing the scheduling for the show at short notice during the second and third seasons. Indeed after only two episodes of the second season Family Guy was taken off of the network's schedule and was shown irregularly there-after.
There was a great deal of debate and rumor during both the second and third seasons about whether Family Guy would be canceled or renewed. The show was canceled at the end of the second season to the dismay of fans. Websites were set up to attempt to convince Fox to renew the show and petitions were signed, letters were written and some fans even sent diapers and baby food to Fox. A shift in power at Fox resulted in thirteen new episodes being ordered which formed the basis of the third season. The creators were aware of the uncertainty of the show's future and in “Road to Rhode Island”, Brian and Stewie perform a duet featuring the lines “Until we're syndicated Fox will never let us die... please!” During the third season, Fox cancelled the show for good.
Or so it was thought. Due to exceptional ratings for the repeats on the Cartoon Network (where the show has been given a regular time slot) and great DVD sales, it has been confirmed that it will return to the Cartoon Network in 2005. Seth MacFarlane, the show's creator, had never given up on the characters and had been working on putting together a straight-to-DVD film as a result of the great sales, but now all attention has been shifted towards getting the show back on the air.
This is great news for the many fans Family Guy has accumulated since it first started, but also should exist as an odd moment in television history. Rarely, if ever, has a show cancelled for so long been brought back into production.
Although Family Guy centers around Peter Griffin and his family, there are also many other characters who appear on a less regular basis. Below are brief biographies of the main characters;
Peter Griffin – The father of the family. Peter is married to Lois with whom he has three children; Meg, Chris and Stewie. Peter is a production line worker at the Quahog Happy-Go-Lucky toy factory (but after being fired becomes a fisherman). Things involving him often go wrong but generally turn out well in the end. Peter Griffin is voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane.
Lois Griffin (nee Pewterschmidt) – The mother of the family. Lois is Peter's long suffering wife and is much more intelligent than him. She is the daughter of very wealthy parents but married Peter as she preferred him to the wealthy, and in her opinion fake, people she grew up around. Lois teaches piano lessons to supplement the family's income but spends most of her time looking after the family, especially the baby Stewie. Lois Griffin is voiced by Alex Borstein.
Megan Griffin – Megan, or Meg as she is usually known, is the Griffin's eldest child. Aged 16, she worries about many of the stereotypical teen issues like popularity and dating. While Meg is quite intelligent, she is much more worried about being popular. Meg Griffin was voiced by (uncredited) Lacey Chabert in the first season and by Mila Kunis thereafter.
Chris Griffin – Thirteen year old Chris is the least intelligent of the Griffin children. He is also, like his father, very overweight. He does, however, have a talent for drawing, and in “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Bucks” Peter sells one of his paintings to a New York art dealer for $5000. In the episode “And the Wiener is...&rqduo; we learn that he is also very well-endowed. Chris is voiced by Seth Green.
Stewie (Stuart) Griffin – Stewie is a British-accented, machiavellian one year old. Stewie has the vocabulary of a cultured adult but is generally treated as a baby, something he resents. When he speaks, others seem to understand him, but ignore what he has to say. Typically, only Brian carries on conversations with him. Stewie has plans to take over the world and regularly tries to kill Lois, his mother, for thwarting his plans. There are various episodes, however, where it is suggested that when Lois is absent Stewie misses her and that he secretly prefers her presence. Stewie is voiced by Seth MacFarlane in the style of an evil version of Rex Harrison.
Brian Griffin – It would be difficult to describe Brian as the Griffin's pet dog as he talks, smokes, can drive cars and is a border-line alcoholic. Brian is also Peter's best friend and regularly helps him when he is in trouble. Brian is voiced by Seth MacFarlane.
There are a great number of references to Rhode Island that are missed by the vast majority of Family Guy viewers. Although much of Family Guy is fictional, there are a great number of real-life parodies, no doubt as a result of author Seth McFarlane's attendance at RISD, a Rhode Island art school.
Although Quahog is not a real Rhode Island town, the shot of the Griffins' house includes a view of the skyscrapers of downtown Providence. The two largest buildings are the Fleet Building and One Sovereign Plaza. The orientation of these buildings indicates that Quahog is intended to be located just north of downtown Providence.
Lois' wealthy parents live in Newport, which is indeed a real town. Newport is famous partly for Bellevue Avenue, which boasts an array of mansions owned by the rich and famous. In years past, the Newport mansions were summer homes of the extremely rich and famous, and many of them will allow you to take a tour for a small price. McFarlane's presentation of Lois' family as part of the Newport elite thus fits in quite well.
There is an episode where there is a nuclear holocaust, and the family attempts to find a Twinkie factory in Natick. Natick is actually a town that is not in Rhode Island, but rather in nearby Massachusetts.
There is an episode where Chris and Quagmire visit a strip club called The Fuzzy Clam. Although there is no place by this name, it appears to be a veiled reference to The Fuzzy Grape, which is a real strip club in Webster, MA, near the Rhode Island border.
In the episode "The Son Also Draws" while driving to New York City the Griffins stop at Geronimo's Palace a reference to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Native American casinos located in neighboring Connecticut.
Meg's high school on Family Guy is the Buddy Cianci Jr. High School. Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Jr. is the famous long-time mayor of Providence who was sentenced to prison for racketeering conspiracy. Although already once convicted for felony, Buddy Cianci was repeatedly reelected in Rhode Island, and claims credit for the “Rennaisance” of Providence that caused the city to go from a rough industrial city to one with higher rents and an "artsy" brand.
There is at least on one occasion an animation of a pest control agency with a giant blue bug on top. This is a real place, and it is visible on the west side of Interstate 95 in Providence just north of the Thurbers Avenue curve. The 'big blue bug' as it's called is a very popular Rhode Island icon.
There is an episode where a beer branded Pawtucket Patriot is featured. Although Pawtucket is a real town in Rhode Island, there is no local brew by this name. This is a reference to Samuel Adams beer, a beer bottled in nearby Massachusetts. This is supported by the fact that Samuel Adams was a famous patriot and by the fact that the label on Pawtucket Patriot is nearly identical to the label on the real-life Samuel Adams beer.
In "The Son Also Draws" Chris is a member of the Youth Scouts a reference to the Boy Scouts organization.
The news of Fox's cancellation in the third season was met with dismay by fans and renewed efforts were made to convince Fox to resurrect the show. An online petition was launched, which in only a few weeks had over 10,000 signatures, containing the following message, addressed to Gail Berman and Sandy Grushow, the President of Entertainment and Chairman of Fox at the time;
Fox cited poor viewing figures as part of their reason for not renewing the show but critics claimed this was due to the erratic scheduling the show had received and the fact that it was shown at the same time as Friends and Survivor, two very popular shows at the time. Also, reported costs of around $1.1 million per episode may have played a part in the decision.
At the current time, however, Cartoon Network is playing reruns of the show. According to a Cartoon Network press release, "FAMILY GUY ranks #1 in its time period on cable among Adults and Men 18-34 and Adults and Men 18-24, and also beats both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in head-to-head competition among Men 18-34 and Men 18-24". The network aired the previously unseen “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein” on November 9, 2003, although it was slightly censored. The uncensored version can be found on the Volume 2 Family Guy DVD Box Set.
On November 19, 2003, the E! Entertainment Television channel and its website reported (See External Links) that the Fox Network was negotiating with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane to revive the show with 35 new episode which would be a coup for fans who have been petitioning the Fox Network to return the show back onto network television since it's cancellation in 2001.
On February 27, 2004, in an interview with IGN, Seth MacFarlane confirmed that Family Guy would resume production. MacFarlane provided even more information in a BBC interview. (IGN intervew) (BBC interview)
On March 26, 2004. Cartoon Network announced that Fox Television has committed to producing at least 22 more episodes of Family Guy to be broadcast on Adult Swim in early 2005. The Fox Network has retained a window to run these episodes at a later date. Seth McFarlane was quoted as saying "I'm just incredibly excited that we're back in business on FAMILY GUY. Now all those crazy kids who've been hounding me to bring the show back can stop bothering me and move onto more serious matters - like saving 'Coupling.'" (Press Release)History
Main Characters
Recurring Characters
Episodes
Season 1
Stewie wars with the brocolli; Meg learns to drive from Peter; Quahog loses television transmissions; Brian sinks into alcoholism; Peter learns to live without TV
Season 2
Season 3
DVDs
Region 1
Region 2
Some British critics had complained about the omission of the audio commentaries from the Region 2 releases. The Family Size Collection goes some way to address those complaints, although inevitably some buyers complained about having to buy the same discs a second time in order to get the bonus material which was not released separately.Rhode Island References
Places
People
Things
Revival Efforts
The petition gained over 100,000 signatures but this, along with mass e-mailing and letter writing to Fox executives and organised street protests failed to save Family Guy. Later efforts to get other networks, particularly UPN, to buy Family Guy also failed.