The Simpsons "The Italian Bob" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Juu-kuchi]

Sideshow Bob makes his return to the Simpsons tonight. Whether it will be triumphant we have yet to see but he's here.

December 11 • The Italian Bob (HABF02)
"I Simpsoni vanno a Italia" (The Simpsons are going to Italy) when Mr. Burns wants Homer to pick up his new sports car; however, in Italy, they uncover a secret - Sideshow Bob is the mayor of a small town of people who have no idea who he is, and all he asks is for the Simpsons to keep his secret that way, but when certain Simpsons and wine are involved, this is easier said than done.
------
Talk away.

[John Cage]

Funnier than a lot of recent episodes. The Family Guy/American Dad jokes are starting to get a little tired though. I still kind of liked the episode -- The Simpsons get a lot of mileage out of Sideshow Bob and Simpsons-in-other-countries jokes.

Have a good day.
John Cage

[Juu-kuchi]

Damn you Lisa. :mad:

[Rahxepy]

Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!:D That was a treat. Family Guys Peter and American dad Stan , criminals LOL!

[solarflere]

Loved that Peter and Stan cameo in the American Criminal book, only isn't Stan a CIA agent?

[Rahxepy]

Loved that Peter and Stan cameo in the American Criminal book, only isn't Stan a CIA agent?
If you watch American DAd he's done alot of stuff.

[dc_gothamite]

Loved that Peter and Stan cameo in the American Criminal book, only isn't Stan a CIA agent?
yup... but that wasn't the point hahaha :D i luv american dad, but that was just outta nowhere

good stuff, all in all... good to see/hear kelsey grammar back as sideshow bob

[Juu-kuchi]

If you watch American DAd he's done alot of stuff. Maybe they know of his crimes when he was in Saudi Arabia.

[solarflere]

Maybe they know of his crimes when he was in Saudi Arabia.LOL, I think you are right.

[Ultra Mike]

Funnier than a lot of recent episodes. The Family Guy/American Dad jokes are starting to get a little tired though.
To be fair this is the first American Dad joke and what the third Family Guy joke? Besides it was still pretty funny. Although I wish this episode at least tried to keep with the continuity of "The Last Of The Red Hot Mamas" With Lisa learning italian, and I mean actually ACKNOWLODGING it not just "Lisa knows it cause she's smart".

[Dogasu]

Come on, Simpsons. Can't you think of anything better than a "Haha Family Guy copied us" joke? Especially when this is like the third time you've done it?

[Juu-kuchi]

Well, at least Sideshow Bob managed to at least walk away intact.

To be honest, this was better than the last two Sideshow Bob episodes. Not too bad at all.

[Delthayre]

Some of that was rather funny, especially the middle act, but there was a considerable amount of tedious and unfunny material spread throughout that keeps my opinion of the episode somewhat low.

Sideshow Bob's "random" finding of the village was funny and so was much of his material as Mayor, but after the revenge obessesion stuff kicked back in I found myself enjoying very little.

[jv2k]

I liked this episode, it actually made me laugh, alot better than alot of other stuff they've put out.

[sdp]

haha, i liked this episode a lot, bob episodes could be pretty bad but they pull it off after so many. the little bob helps me in my theory that the simpsons world relives the same year, that is why stuff thathappens is still in continuity but characters don't age, at least not most of them with exceptions to babies like apu and bob.

[SirLemming]

Maybe they know of his crimes when he was in Saudi Arabia. No, it said "Plagiarismo di Plagiarismo", as in Stan Smith is a copy of Peter Griffin. ... ... ... ... ...yeah. Saying Peter is a rip-off of Homer is pretty arguable, but Stan Smith is a rip-off of Peter Griffin? That'd be a stretch even for someone who hadn't watched the show at all.



Aside from that, I think the episode had some good moments before they went to Italy and wasn't much good after that. Not really because it was a vacation episode, but just because it wasn't very good.

[MJC]

Better than most recent episodes. I'll give it a generous B.

[SirLemming]

Although I wish this episode at least tried to keep with the continuity of "The Last Of The Red Hot Mamas" With Lisa learning italian, and I mean actually ACKNOWLODGING it not just "Lisa knows it cause she's smart". I hate to add such complaints onto an episode that really doesn't need any more flaws to its name, but you're right. She only once demonstrated knowledge of the language. It would've been nice if they'd worked it into the plot a little more.

[veemonjosh]

Can someone post pictures of Peter and Stan in the criminal book? I was looking away at the time.

[simpspin]

THE GOOD: The book of Criminals, the goat's "look" at the old lady, Sideshow Bob's son, the Opera scene and the animation in the third act...WOW!

Overall, this was nice refreshing change of pace, but the only problem is that there was too much story to cram into 22 minutes. The solution is the writers should've made this a 2 parter with the first two acts being the first part, and the Bob and family gettting their revenge the second part.

GRADE: B+, or an 8/10 (That's by all-Simpson seasons standards)

[mojokingbee1]

I agree with Juu-Kichi, This was a good episode, but with a lame ending.

3/5

"YOU WANT BART MURDERED WHEN?"

[Master Moron]

I missed the opening sequence. Can someone tell me what Bart wrote on the chalkboard and what the couch gag was?

[JeffTMBG]

Overall, this was nice refreshing change of pace, but the only problem is that there was too much story to cram into 22 minutes. The solution is the writers should've made this a 2 parter with the first two acts being the first part, and the Bob and family gettting their revenge the second part.
I was actually surprised that they got to the point quicker than usual. Heck, they had discovered SSB by the end of Act 1. Most "The Simpsons are going to..." plots start out with something completely unrelated for the whole of act 1.

[Jazman]

Yawn :yawn: . Another Stab at MacFarlane. Seems like they are getting desperate. How about churning out something original instead of taking more stabs at Family Guy and now new target American Dad or yet another Sideshow Bob episode. The last two were horrible, with this one being a tad funnier. I never thought a Sideshow Bob episode would get old, but then again...

2.0/5

P.S. Thanks for the publicity for Family Guy Al Jean. You want the show to go away, how about not including them in your show. Just some advise.

[Agent S7]

They...they've ruined Bob.

They've ruined Sideshow Bob.

(cries)

~s7 (in mourning)

[SirLemming]

Ehhhh, it's not the first bad Sideshow Bob episode.

[ToOn~g@l]

Wow thats the best episode I have seen in a long time. I enjoyed seeing sideshow bob again even though he had a kid and a wife which I thought was kind of awkward. The kid was silly though with all the knife slashing and stuff. The part where Peter Griffen makes a cameo was funny and seeing Lisa drunk was great.

I missed the first act though, why did they go to Italy any way?

I give it a 3/5.

[Hades]

OMG, that scene with the Peter and Stan were brilliant!!! :p This is truly the best season in the past few years (sans the ToH special though)!!!
A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sounds like you American Dad or Family Guy fans love it when those shows make fun of the Simpsons, yet, you can't take the heat when the ORIGINAL show makes fun of those lackluster ones.

[Agent S7]

Yeah, but having Bob "settle down" with a family is just...wrong. Not in any perveted way, but it's just not right. It's too much of a character change. Now we can't have any solo cameos (if the show gets renewed), but we have to see him with his extremely stupid family. To be frank, it would've been a lot funnier if his wife had already been a serial killer or something.

Ugh. Every time I try to quit watching the Simpsons it lures me in with it's humorous opening and then I can't stop watching (no matter how bad) until it's at least right before the credits.

~s7

[90'sCartoonMan]

No, it said "Plagiarismo di Plagiarismo", as in Stan Smith is a copy of Peter Griffin. ... ... ... ... ...yeah. Saying Peter is a rip-off of Homer is pretty arguable, but Stan Smith is a rip-off of Peter Griffin? That'd be a stretch even for someone who hadn't watched the show at all.
I saw it more as American Dad as a show is a rip-off of Family Guy.

This episode had me thoroughly entertained. I did wish they'd acknowledge Lisa's studying Italian, but ehh, they made up for it with her ripping off Bob's clothes to reveal the prison uniform underneath (so absurd it was funny).

Bob having a family? Well, I thought it was funny and the kid made me laugh, but it does sort of mess up the character's future appearances (then again, they've done that before with Bob saying he'll never try to kill Bart again and giving him the death penalty in another episode). They could always just abandon the family next time. I got a Seed of Chucky vibe even though I didn't see the movie.

[SirLemming]

OMG, that scene with the Peter and Stan were brilliant!!! :p This is truly the best season in the past few years (sans the ToH special though)!!!
A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sounds like you American Dad or Family Guy fans love it when those shows make fun of the Simpsons, yet, you can't take the heat when the ORIGINAL show makes fun of those lackluster ones.
When do those shows make fun of The Simpsons? Please give me some examples so I can write a better reply.

Do you mean Stewie's Mr. Plow reference? That wasn't making fun of The Simpsons in any way, it was making fun of people who quote it.
Do you mean Stewie running over Homer and Peter saying "Who the hell is that?" That was a parody. Big difference.

I don't like The Simpsons' jabs at Family Guy (and now American Dad) because they're stupid. Constantly asserting that Peter Griffin is a Homer Simpson clone, as if Homer is the only fat, drunken, lazy dad in TV history. But saying Stan Smith is a Peter Griffin clone just crosses the line. It's blatant stupidity and ignorance. Have they ever even watched the show? Seriously! There's pretty much no resemblance!

[HellCat]

The current Simpsons staff are too drunk on the success of the show the actual talent in it's early days bought. It's easier for them to just insult the audience or better shows than admit they are churning out crap.

[Eidan]

Funny episode. I liked it.

[Jazman]

The score:

Simpsons slam Family Guy: 5
Family Guy slams Simpsons: 1

Where as Family Guy has done it once in response, The Simpsons has done it 5 times, each time the same joke. We get it. And everyone hates the feud, yet Al Jean and Co. keep fanning it with the jokes. So if you want it stopped, I suggest a friendly email to Al Jean and Co telling them it's not funny. Otherwise, get used to it, cause it doesn't look like they are going to drop it, where as Seth and Co. are already sick of it. Listen to the DVD commentary on Vol 3, and you know what I'm talking about.

[John Pannozzi]

This episode was funny, but I think it's about time that the Simpsons are put to the Big Sleep. The shows are largely unoriginal and fairly boring, and they just make me fell empty at the end. One reason is probably the fact that the show has less airtime then it used to. The density of gags isn't quite as great as it was in some of the classic (and even post-classic) Simpsons and Futurama episodes.

[SirLemming]

I saw it more as American Dad as a show is a rip-off of Family Guy. Still not true. If they watched more than, like, 1 episode, they'd know that. Perhaps this episode went into production before they were able to watch many AD episodes, but if that's the case, they're still stupid for doing something like that, cementing it in their own show's history, before watching enough AD episodes to know.
Even if it's just a friendly jab, it's a very ill-informed one.


The score:

Simpsons slam Family Guy: 5
Family Guy slams Simpsons: 1
Personally I don't even remember 1. What are you referring to? If you mean Peter Griffin saying "Who the hell is that?" it's hard to say, because why would he know Homer Simpson?

[MGFanJay]

Didn't Peter run over Homer? I'd call that a slam, and a funny one. This week's slam was funny, but needless. The American Dad one was a real stretch, and Stan is quite a bit different than Peter. It was still a funny episode though, and it had some nice direction by Mark Kirkland. Poor Mr. Burns never got his new car though.

[Zorak Masaki]

No, STEWIE ran over Homer, but it fit the context of the naked gun parody. If there had been a naked gun 4 or 5, we might have seen a similar gag where frank runs over homer.

[TurtleTitan]

Well, it was better than the last two Sideshow Bob episodes, and I did find it funny at times, actually. I initially thought Lisa's Rome subplot with Milhouse would be in continuity with this one, but it I guess not, so that will remain forever unresolved...

Can anyone list the other times The Simpsons slammed Family Guy? I can only remember two at the top of my head.

[Draven]

Still not true. If they watched more than, like, 1 episode, they'd know that. Perhaps this episode went into production before they were able to watch many AD episodes, but if that's the case, they're still stupid for doing something like that, cementing it in their own show's history, before watching enough AD episodes to know.
Even if it's just a friendly jab, it's a very ill-informed one. Actually I don't think that's totally true. The American dad family is pretty much a clone of the Family Guy family with some key diffrences. Let's take a look at the family set up. A father who reacts without thinking things through. A mother who loves the father head over heels, and likes the kid in him. The oldest is a girl who is the rebel of the family. A younger son, who loves his father, but can sometimes disagree. A pet, who can talk. And an Alien who loves to drink and constantly clashes with the father.

If you think of things THAT way, Stan is a skinny Peter who can legally carry a gun. Francine is a blonde Lois. Hayley is Meg, with Stewie's attitude and coolness. Roger is Brian if Brian was bi. Klaus is Klaus. Both familes have 5 members.

Now the important part. Yes, each family is stand alone, and unquie, but there are clear similarities. I honestly think the knock makes sense.

[dc_gothamite]

Actually I don't think that's totally true. The American dad family is pretty much a clone of the Family Guy family with some key diffrences. Let's take a look at the family set up. A father who reacts without thinking things through. A mother who loves the father head over heels, and likes the kid in him. The oldest is a girl who is the rebel of the family. A younger son, who loves his father, but can sometimes disagree. A pet, who can talk. And an Alien who loves to drink and constantly clashes with the father.

If you think of things THAT way, Stan is a skinny Peter who can legally carry a gun. Francine is a blonde Lois. Hayley is Meg, with Stewie's attitude and coolness. Roger is Brian if Brian was bi. Klaus is Klaus. Both familes have 5 members.

Now the important part. Yes, each family is stand alone, and unquie, but there are clear similarities. I honestly think the knock makes sense.
i pretty much agree w/ everything u said...

i gotta admit, my friends and i havent really been enjoying "Family Guy"'s recent outings... nothing particularly memorable from any of 'em... Stewie's character isn't as interesting anymore, and the whole hate on Meg is kinda lame... "American Dad" is actually pretty fresh... Patrick Stewart, Saudi Arabia... great stuff... it's like another take on "Family Guy" but actually funnier than the "original" material...

again, I liked tonight's "Simpsons"... call my friends and me nuts, but so far the Simpsons haven't been doin that bad this season (compared to some of the other stuff they've dished out over the past few seasons)...

[Mandi-chan]

I thought the ep was boring and the Family Guy/American Dad joke lame.
Plus, didn't Sideshow Bob give up on killing Bart eps ago?

In Brother from Another Series, he gives up on killing Bart (if I remember correctly he saved Bart's life at some point in the ep, I know Bart saved him.). His nutty brother shows up and decides he wanted revenge on Bob for stealing his thunder with Krusty.

There was nothing in the ep that encouraged Bob's murderous feelings towards Bart, he didn't want to kill him anymore.

Yet, in the next new episode featuring SB after that, he was back to his murderous ways. For no reason either.

I find that annoying, I liked that SB gave up and thought it was dumb to turn him into the wannabe killer again for no reason.

The Simpsons has lost it...it lost it long before Family Guy came on tv to me. I'm not going to deny the fact that FG is very similar to Simpsons, but IMO it's much better than the Simpsons right now.

[John Cage]

i gotta admit, my friends and i havent really been enjoying "Family Guy"'s recent outings...That's funny, because I really hate the few few years of Family Guy with a passion, but have been enjoying most of the recent episodes.

Have a good day.
John Cage

[Scythemantis]

Sounds like you American Dad or Family Guy fans love it when those shows make fun of the Simpsons, yet, you can't take the heat when the ORIGINAL show makes fun of those lackluster ones.Family guy has never, ever insulted the simpsons. The people behind Family Guy like the Simpsons, and expected to get along just fine with its staff. As soon as Family Guy grew in popularity, however, the Simpsons crew started taking cheap shots at them and slinging childish, unconstructive criticism with no provocation.

American dad has never even mentioned the Simpsons at all...so what in the world are you talking about?

[Animelee]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Simpsons may of jumped the shark at the end of season 9, but I can safely say it's slowly reversing its jump -- season 15 was better than 10 - 14, season 16 was a bigger improvement, and the first real* season 17 episode, "The Italian Bob", definitely is a classic in my book.


* - The new episodes this season were holdovers from season 16, but this is the first season 17-produced episode.

Two animation mistakes for the nerd-ly like myself. They were each one frame:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Animelee/Mistake01.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Animelee/Mistake02.png



The Seth McFarlane jabs:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Animelee/Plagiarismo.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Animelee/PlagiarismodiPlagiarismo.png

[John Cage]

Two animation mistakes for the nerd-ly like myself. They were each one frame:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Animelee/Mistake01.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Animelee/Mistake02.png


I don't get it -- what was the mistake in the first frame?

Have a good day.
John Cage

[ShadowGUN]

I don't get it -- what was the mistake in the first frame?

Have a good day.
John Cage
Homer mouth is colored different

[John Cage]

Homer mouth is colored different
But the original post said there were two mistakes.

Have a good day.
John Cage

[Animelee]

Right here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Animelee/Mistake1Clear.png

[SirLemming]

Actually I don't think that's totally true. The American dad family is pretty much a clone of the Family Guy family with some key diffrences. Let's take a look at the family set up. A father who reacts without thinking things through. A mother who loves the father head over heels, and likes the kid in him. The oldest is a girl who is the rebel of the family. A younger son, who loves his father, but can sometimes disagree. A pet, who can talk. And an Alien who loves to drink and constantly clashes with the father.

If you think of things THAT way, Stan is a skinny Peter who can legally carry a gun. Francine is a blonde Lois. Hayley is Meg, with Stewie's attitude and coolness. Roger is Brian if Brian was bi. Klaus is Klaus. Both familes have 5 members.

Now the important part. Yes, each family is stand alone, and unquie, but there are clear similarities. I honestly think the knock makes sense. "A father who reacts without thinking things through." Well okay, that rules in just about every father in the history of the universe. Stan is a buff overachieving ultra-conservative CIA agent, not a fat lazy relatively apolitical beer-drinking slob. Sure, they're both stupid, but that describes a lot of comedy characters.

Francine and Lois are both basically the typical housewife, so I guess that could be considered the same sort of thing. But that's really just genericness, not rip-off.

"The oldest is a girl who is the rebel of the family." A rebellious teenage girl? NO WAY! But more importantly, Meg is rebelling in the COMPLETE opposite direction that Hayley is. Hayley is ultra-liberal, ultra-individualistic and anti-mainstream, whereas Meg is completely devoid of self-identity and wants to fit in with what everyone else is doing. I'm sorry, but these are pretty much completely different characters.
And she has "Stewie's attitude and coolness"? Huh? That one's just baffling. I don't see any character traits in Hayley that are definitively "Stewie's" unless Stewie invented attitude.

"A younger son, who loves his father, but can sometimes disagree." If this is your criteria for "rip-off" there's pretty much no way to win. Come on. You can't be serious. You can't be. Like Meg, Chris has very little character to speak of aside from those aspects which make for good comic relief. That's actually one of the major differences between AD & FG. In FG it's really all about Peter and his life, so the kids have virtually no depth at all. AD is much more about the family.

"A pet who can talk." This is the biggest similarity.


Anyone who's actually watched the two shows (beyond AD's first two episodes) has to admit that they're very different. They're both Seth McFarlane shows, so on the surface they share a certain comic sensibility, but AD is far more plot and character oriented. They're about as different as The Simpsons and Futurama. Not in setting, but in execution.



I'm really not trying to be angry or condescending or anything, but I really just think you're stretching a heck of a lot for the sake of defending what The Simpsons' writers claimed about these two shows. You can still dislike one or both of these shows without them being rip-offs. Because it's almost a fact that AD is not a rip-off FG. Neither in characters nor in execution. After the pilot they've almost NEVER used cutaways, which alone separates it from about 50% of Family Guy's jokes. And just like with Futurama vs. The Simpsons, you rarely see a plot on American Dad that could've been done on Family Guy without very major changes.

[judyindisguise]

IMO, "The Simpsons" established a cartoon precedent that has, sadly, been overused in just about every toon show that wants to bill itself as having an "adult" angle: the husband/daddy is a moron and the wife/mother is smart, virtuous and will take anything the moron will dish out. In "The Simpsons" that factor is handled with a wry wink at human nature; in "Family Guy" it's exaggerated to the point of absurdity (Peter, in an attempt to bond with Stewie, actually helps the brat try to kill his mom. Lois survives this attempt yet stays with her husband. Hilarious hijinks ensue. ;) ). The American Dad setup is much the same. Even TV critics have taken note of it (and god knows they're not the most observant bunch). Nickelodeon shows also use this factor and just as badly: Timmy Turner's father and fairy godfather are both morons, although his father, unlike his godfather, at least doesn't flirt with other women and dump on his wife. Nonetheless, both wives tolerate their husbands' cretinous behavior, which of course is hilarious. :sad: Then there's Jimmy Neutron's dad, who is stupid to the point of being more annoying than amusing. Danny Phantom's dad is a dolt. And don't get me started on Mr. X! Everywhere you look in Toontown you see an idiot husband/father. If I were a guy, I'd be a little tired of this male-bashing by now. As a girl, I'm put off by the idea that a female has to put up with any amount of moronic male behavior. (Really, sometimes I worry about what we're teaching kids to laugh at). Now if this stupid male/tolerant female formula were present in only one or two shows, that'd be one thing. But it's every toon show that has a family in it. And worse, in most of those shows the formula is badly developed and badly written.

So my point (and, to quote Ellen Degeneres, I do have one), is that IMO "The Simpsons"' penchant for taking shots at "Family Guy" and "American Dad" is fine. In fact, not only is it fine, in my opinion, "The Simpsons" shouldn't stop there. It should be taking shots at every toon that has stolen and corrupted its family-comedy formula, from "The Proud Family" to "The Fairly Oddparents".

Again, JMHO. You are not required to agree.

[SirLemming]

What about shows like The Honeymooners? Women have always been portrayed as the more reasonable ones in the family, way before The Simpsons started. I think it just comes from... life. Not to stereotype, but we all know the whole "men don't stop to ask for directions" deal. It's common knowledge that men are more irrational than women. Now, you can disagree with that common knowledge, but that's not really the issue here. It's that nobody can really claim ownership of it.

Now, that isn't concrete proof that Peter Griffin isn't a rip-off of Homer Simpson, but I don't think The Simpsons really started the whole thing. The whole idea of The Simpsons is that it's a typical American family, really...
And then we have American Dad, which is not a typical American family, but the family of a CIA agent which has an alien living in their house.

[Discloner]

If the Simpsons is so eager to point fingers at others who use a family as the main plot device, perhaps they should remember their own Flinstones-esqueness.

[Neo Yi]

Hmmm, this episode of Simpsons seems to border on good to bad to good in random appearance. While there were some good scenes like Sideshow Bob's history of how he got to Italy and his family, I particularly think little Gino is a bit charming, despite his killing intention, heh and generally, the story was decent. Somehow, the fact that Bob wanted to make a clean living and him begging for the Simpsons to give him a second chance was touching and of course, when he went all back to who he truly was, at least he was back to his old self, but with the possibility of a family. Them casualing walking away in the end I thought was great. There were also the bad though:

It's not the worse Sideshow Bob episode I've seen (I still think the worst one involves the one with Frank Grims Jr.), but it's not the best. I'm getting rather sick and tired of the rake hitting Sideshow Bob. It was funny the very first time I watched it when he got hit for the first time, and maybe a little a few times later, but I'm getting kind of sick of it. Lisa's handling of the Italian language was grossly underused, especially since last episode made it so promising she'd use it to her fullest extent.


And to tell you the truth, the whole "Simpsons takes a stab at Family Guy" bothers me little. I like both shows equally and that's all I'm gonna say. I give this episode about maybe a 6.5/10.
~Neo

[Black Vulcan]

Can someone list all the times "Simpsons" made jabs at "Family Guy?" The only ones I know of are the one from this episode and the one where Homer clones himself, and amongst all the clones is Peter. I'd love to know the others. I love both shows the same, I think it's funny.

So let's not get too wrapped up in this Simpsons/Family Guy "beef" alright? I don't want no cartoon characters getting shot.

[Jerry Mouse]

Do we really have to go through this crap EVERY time The Simpsons takes a stab at Family Guy??!! Give it a rest, people!

[Master Moron]

So, can someone tell me what the opening gag was?

[SirLemming]

Do we really have to go through this crap EVERY time The Simpsons takes a stab at Family Guy??!! Give it a rest, people! Uh... ...why? Besides, it was also a stab at American Dad this time.


Can someone list all the times "Simpsons" made jabs at "Family Guy?" The only ones I know of are the one from this episode and the one where Homer clones himself, and amongst all the clones is Peter. 1. Peter as one of Homer's clones
2. "The Wandering Juvie": the girl calls Bart "Family guy!" when they're trading insults (this is a pretty iffy one).
3. This year's Treehouse of Horror: Al Jean's "scary name" was "Al 'Family Guy' Jean"
4. Plagiarismo

Those are the ones I remember.


For the record I'm not exactly furious about these (especially the ones that don't actually accuse them of ripping off Homer), but the American Dad one crossed the line for me because it seems so ill-informed and irresponsible. I feel like they'll regret doing it in about a year or so.

[Yash]

Honestly I don't know what the whole "lol Peter ripped off of Homer" thing came from, other than the obviously jealous writers. Not only is the "stupid dad" character common in a lot of comedies/sitcoms, but Peter's stupidity is a lot more... surreal than Homer's.

And Stan being a rip off of Peter? Simpsons crew, please watch the show before you make jabs at it.

BTW, when has Family Guy ever insulted the Simpsons? Unless you count the gag where Stewie runs over Homer, which was a parody, not a knock.

[Jazman]

You can add Family Guy being called "Crude, LowBrow humor" from Betty White in "Missionary impossible".

And I wouldn't care at all, except as some have pointed out, this is the 5th time. We get that you don't like the show, and it's time to move on. The commentaries on the Simpsons DVD's have Al Jean and the writers insulting the show. Meanwhile, cut to Family Guy's DVD's and it's nothing but respect from MacFarlane and the rest of the crew. For that alone, I respect MacFarlane, and hopes he doesn't stoop too low in responding.

A 6th one will cement the pettyness on the Simpsons part, and make it really sound like they are sore loosers.
Expect it this season. I guarentee it.

[jv2k]

Man you people really got to remove that stick from your lower intestines!
Its just a joke, its not saying that the people in charge hate family guy, its just a little jab at the show. Besides that how far apart are these 5 jabs? I know the first one listed with the clones happened before family guy was originally canceled that was years ago. Its a joke, they aren't going "OMG FAMILY GUY IS CRAP WE HATE THEM!!!!".

[simpspin]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Simpsons may of jumped the shark at the end of season 9, but I can safely say it's slowly reversing its jump -- season 15 was better than 10 - 14, season 16 was a bigger improvement, and the first real* season 17 episode, "The Italian Bob", definitely is a classic in my book.

The series is running like an overplayed joke: Funny at first, then it becomes very irritating, then it becomes funny again.

[judyindisguise]

Man you people really got to remove that stick from your lower intestines!
Its just a joke, its not saying that the people in charge hate family guy, its just a little jab at the show. Besides that how far apart are these 5 jabs? I know the first one listed with the clones happened before family guy was originally canceled that was years ago. Its a joke, they aren't going "OMG FAMILY GUY IS CRAP WE HATE THEM!!!!".
That's how I see it. It's just a joke. But a joke doesn't work if there isn't some truth to it. ;)

As for the dumb dad/smart mom toon formula I wrote about earlier, I disagree about "The Honeymooners" being a live-action precedent of it. Ralph Kramden wasn't stupid; he was continually frustrated, overly ambitious and bombastic. But he was far from the oblivious idiot Peter Griffin is. That's due in part because of the times the show existed in and the fact that the show's writers wanted Ralph to be likeable despite his flaws. Whereas with Peter Griffin it doesn't matter, because he's more a prop than an actual character anyway.

[Master Moron]

So...can someone tell me what the opening gag was?

[SirLemming]

Man you people really got to remove that stick from your lower intestines!
Its just a joke, its not saying that the people in charge hate family guy, its just a little jab at the show. Besides that how far apart are these 5 jabs? I know the first one listed with the clones happened before family guy was originally canceled that was years ago. Its a joke, they aren't going "OMG FAMILY GUY IS CRAP WE HATE THEM!!!!". Yes, it's a joke, but in my opinion it's a stupid joke because it's based on a false premise. A false premise which offends me as a viewer. It'd be like if they made a joke based on the premise that The Beatles stole other people's music.

And it's really not important, but for the record, the Clones incident was in October 2002, half a year or so after FG ended. Then about 2 years later we got the Juvie incident, and now two incidents this year so far.

[90'sCartoonMan]

IMO, "The Simpsons" established a cartoon precedent that has, sadly, been overused in just about every toon show that wants to bill itself as having an "adult" angle: the husband/daddy is a moron and the wife/mother is smart, virtuous and will take anything the moron will dish out. In "The Simpsons" that factor is handled with a wry wink at human nature; in "Family Guy" it's exaggerated to the point of absurdity (Peter, in an attempt to bond with Stewie, actually helps the brat try to kill his mom. Lois survives this attempt yet stays with her husband. Hilarious hijinks ensue. ;) ). The American Dad setup is much the same. Even TV critics have taken note of it (and god knows they're not the most observant bunch)
God bless King of the Hill (a very strong counter example).


So...can someone tell me what the opening gag was?
A hand deals out five cards onto the couch, Homer is king, Marge is queen (forget what Maggie and Lisa are), and Bart is the joker.

Hey, does anyone remember when Clerks made fun of Family Guy? "How To Write Cartoons" by Seth MacFarlane or something? They did it before it was cool.

[Robin2099]

Uh... ...why? Besides, it was also a stab at American Dad this time.

1. Peter as one of Homer's clones
2. "The Wandering Juvie": the girl calls Bart "Family guy!" when they're trading insults (this is a pretty iffy one).
3. This year's Treehouse of Horror: Al Jean's "scary name" was "Al 'Family Guy' Jean"
4. Plagiarismo
Well, numbers one and four were nothing more then cameos that were meant to be funny and were just a little jab that fan boys are getting waaaaay to upset over. And two and three are really strecthing it in terms of saying there insults. And going back to the clone one, I can't see how people say that Stewie running over Homer "fit in the context of the parody" when Peter being among the Homer clones is along the same context.

[PowerZord]

I gotta see if I can find a friend who actually taped this episode, cause I forgot to see it.

About the jokes, people then you should be blaming South park as well, cause' they also throw jokes at everything.

Like it or not, the Simpsons won't go for awhile.

[jv2k]

Yes, it's a joke, but in my opinion it's a stupid joke because it's based on a false premise. A false premise which offends me as a viewer. It'd be like if they made a joke based on the premise that The Beatles stole other people's music.

And it's really not important, but for the record, the Clones incident was in October 2002, half a year or so after FG ended. Then about 2 years later we got the Juvie incident, and now two incidents this year so far.The irony of course is that you are offended by a joke about a show that offends others. I'm sure you wouldn't care if someone found a joke you found funny in family guy offensive, so why take offense to something so stupid? Really there is nothing to be offended by its a joke about a show, no need to do what you've done throughout the entire thread, because really I don't mean to sound like an ass, but NO ONE CARES!
The producers of the simpsons don't care, I doubt the team that works on family guy cares, and most of the american public probablly doesn't care. Its really not that big a deal, let it go.
As for the juvie episode, that seems like a stretch if I remember that episode was the one where bart meets that girl with no family right? So it really is in context of what was going on in the episode. Its kinda like if in a show someone went "my dads and american dad" and going "OMG they are refferencing the American Dad!
And for the record I love family guy, and american dad and found the joke funny.

[HellCat]

The irony of course is that you are offended by a joke about a show that offends others. I'm sure you wouldn't care if someone found a joke you found funny in family guy offensive, so why take offense to something so stupid? Really there is nothing to be offended by its a joke about a show, no need to do what you've done throughout the entire thread, because really I don't mean to sound like an ass, but NO ONE CARES!
The producers of the simpsons don't care, I doubt the team that works on family guy cares, and most of the american public probablly doesn't care. Its really not that big a deal, let it go.
As for the juvie episode, that seems like a stretch if I remember that episode was the one where bart meets that girl with no family right? So it really is in context of what was going on in the episode. Its kinda like if in a show someone went "my dads and american dad" and going "OMG they are refferencing the American Dad!
And for the record I love family guy, and american dad and found the joke funny.If the guys writing The Simpsons didn't care, then why keep doing it? I'd say the clones joke or this one would be fine as isolated incident, but when it's part of a continuing chain than there's surely some insecurity from The Simpsons writers. In it's older days, the show would have perhaps taken a shot at Family Guy but the people behind the show would probably still support it. Current Simpsons is like a bratty school kid, with none of the wit or tact shown in it's better days. It jumps around going "Look at me, look at me!" and being violent towards any other show that gets people's attention.

[jv2k]

Obviously they don't care or they wouldn't have done it. Also it isn't a chain if one joke is done in 2002 and then aside from someone putting family guy in their name durring tree house of horrors, the second refference is really vague
You people really need to calm down, especially since we all know if family guy did something similar you probablly wouldn't care.
*looks at stewie running over homer episode*

[Yash]

Even though I disagree with the notion that Peter's a ripoff of Homer, I thought showing his clone in the Treehouse of Terror episode was somewhat clever.

However, when they keep doing it constantly, and like tonight, are totally misinformed on what they're joking about, it stops being clever and starts being annoying.


You people really need to calm down, especially since we all know if family guy did something similar you probablly wouldn't care.
*looks at stewie running over homer episode* Ugh.

That was a parody. Not a knock.

[HellCat]

Obviously they don't care or they wouldn't have done it. Also it isn't a chain if one joke is done in 2002 and then aside from someone putting family guy in their name durring tree house of horrors, the second refference is really vague
You people really need to calm down, especially since we all know if family guy did something similar you probablly wouldn't care.
*looks at stewie running over homer episode*Actually, I'm against arrogance in any form. I certainly didn't care for the fact when Seth showed some on the season 1-3 DVD commentaries or the fact that his ego seems to have gotten bigger since the show was brought back. The fact is though, Family Guy hasn't resorted to this childish name calling tactic that The Simpsons has.

[SirLemming]

The irony of course is that you are offended by a joke about a show that offends others. I'm sure you wouldn't care if someone found a joke you found funny in family guy offensive, so why take offense to something so stupid? This isn't ironic at all, because Family Guy doesn't make these kind of jokes on a regular basis. Yes, it is an "offensive" show in general, but don't use that term too broadly. I'm very specifically offended by the Simpsons writers' misguided and misinformed (in my opinion) stab at Family Guy. You're trying to apply this to the fact that Family Guy has a lot of "oh no they didn't" type humor. It's pretty different. And FG has had their share of misguided and misinformed gags in the past, and when they do, I feel that my intelligence is insulted by it. But of course, I didn't watch the majority of the series on first airing, so I really wasn't in a position to discuss most of these incidents.


Really there is nothing to be offended by its a joke about a show, no need to do what you've done throughout the entire thread, because really I don't mean to sound like an ass, but NO ONE CARES!
The producers of the simpsons don't care, I doubt the team that works on family guy cares, and most of the american public probablly doesn't care. Its really not that big a deal, let it go. This is a poor argument. "Just let it go"? Do you actually think I've walked around all day with fists clenched, stewing in my fury? This is one thread about one episode, and I'll debate the quality of this gag all I want. I'm not trying to start trouble, and I think you can see that. But as long as people keep responding about it, I'm going to keep talking about it. So what if, in the grand scheme of things, no one cares? People in this thread apparently care.
I know what you're trying to get at, but I still think it's a bad gag with a wrong premise. I haven't been the one trying to prove that the Simpsons writers are doing this out of a grudge against McFarlane, either. Not for the most part. I don't know whether or not they really mean it or whether or not they care. All I know is it's a bad gag, regardless of how seriously I take it.


As for the juvie episode, that seems like a stretch if I remember that episode was the one where bart meets that girl with no family right? So it really is in context of what was going on in the episode. Yeah, I know. That's why I said "this is a pretty iffy one" in that list. I only made that list because someone asked me to list all the jabs that people have been referring to. It doesn't represent my opinion about the matter.

[Ickis]

Dangit! I should've watched that episode,To me it sounds like an Italian Job spoof,Ilike the old and the new Italian job except for well... If I told you I'd spoil it so I'm not saying another word.

[SirLemming]

Dangit! I should've watched that episode,To me it sounds like an Italian Job spoof,Ilike the old and the new Italian job except for well... If I told you I'd spoil it so I'm not saying another word. Nope, really just the title. It happened to involve a car, but that wasn't really the main issue.

[nakak]

Can somebody post shots with the FG/AD jab?

[mojokingbee1]

Can somebody post shots with the FG/AD jab?
They're in the previous page.

[Zyzzybalubah]

Hey, does anyone remember when Clerks made fun of Family Guy? "How To Write Cartoons" by Seth MacFarlane or something? They did it before it was cool.Yeah, that was just Kevin Smith or whoever responsible for that joke being jealous of Seth Macfarlene. I'll admit, Seth isn't the most original comedy writer, but he's not that bad, and any insults coming from someone behind "Clerks the Animated Series" should be taken as a a grain of salt.

This episode was funny all the way through, and you know it's so weird how Bob's son can develop so much faster than Maggie despite being quite a lot younger. :) He can talk and walk up right, while Maggie has yet to speak (besides Halloween specials and the one time she said "daddy") and she can't really walk up right for very long. :)

Onto the Family Guy and American dad jokes, who cares they're funny. Same with the gag of Stewie running over Homer Simpson. I know The Simpsons shares similarities to Flintstones and The Honeymooners, but let's face it, The Simpsons did help start the animation for older audiences generation we have today (then there are those idiots who say "The Simpsons isn't really a cartoon." Um, yes it is...) Without The Simpsons, there is a good possibility there wouldn't be King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, The Critic (that one may be a little arguable...), Adult Swim, etc. I like Family Guy to an extent and American Dad has grown on me (hated it at first). Family Guy has been better than some of the most recent seasons of The Simpsons, but Family Guy overall isn't as rewatchable as most seasons of The Simpsons (or many other shows for that matter.)

What I get fed up with at times is when people say "Family Guy is sooo funny and The Simpsons stinks." Funny they forget that there wouldn't be Family Guy without The Simpsons (don't even try to say otherwise.) And it's laughable when people prefer Peter to Homer. I think Peter can be funny, but all he is is just a ruder, cruder, dumber version of Homer.