Family Guy's recent status?

[HomeMoviesFan]

So, yeah, I know there's been a writer's strike and all that bad stuff, but that's no excuse for how Fox has been treating the audience to the show.

It's kind of ironic, if you think about it. In the glory days, Fox kept FG away from us because they didn't like it and it had bad ratings. Nowadays, Fox is doing the same damn thing, except it's because they want to milk extreme amounts of cash out of every fan for 13-episode DVD sets!

It's gotten so bad that this season is actually only 13 episodes long! What?! Okay, I KNOW that the writer's strike has been over since February. And I also know that at least ten episodes afterward were most likely completed/near completion. But Fox is only delivering to us four?

Can someone explain this to me? Is it about DVDs or are we once again seeing the demise of Family Guy? (which this time wouldn't be necessarily a bad thing)...

[tb4000]

They know FG is their biggest cash cow right now aside from American Idol. They will draw it out as long as they can, because they know announcing new eps. after a long hiatus will draw crowds.

[Draft]

I'd have to disagree, mainly because Family Guy doesn't get very good ratings (7.1 Million it got a couple weeks ago is 1/4 of the average Idol audience). But Family Guy does have a lot of merchandise. I think The Simpsons is a bigger cash cow since they have had a lot more merchandise than Family Guy will ever have (and it's still more popular than FG I think)

[Classic Speedy]

Not counting the 100th Episode special, there have been 15 episodes since Bill & Peter's Bogus Journey, the last episode on volume 5. Most likely the season will conclude in late April/early May, at which point we'll probably get close to 20, a typical season length. So I'm not too concerned.

I only hope Fox doesn't give us another 13 episode set for volume 6. I'd rather pay a little more for more content than to have a season be awkwardly cut down the middle like with volume 5.

[Peter Paltridge]

Last year at this time I was complaining about Fox shortchanging us on FG episodes, but due to a comment from Seth during the strike, I now have reason to believe it's his fault.

According to him they are always behind on the final mix for episodes and every single one that airs just barely makes the deadline. I suspect he's the one holding things up so he can order retakes for certain scenes he wants to change. The reason we got a steady stream of episodes during the strike is 'cuz he wasn't there to stop them!

[Michael24]

Yeah, I'm really POed at the way Fox has been handling Family Guy within the last year or so. It's gotten to the point now where my brother and I have decided to just wait for the new episodes to come out on DVD to watch them since it seems virtually impossible now to catch them when they air on Fox.

[Lavenderpaw]

They know FG is their biggest cash cow right now aside from American Idol. They will draw it out as long as they can, because they know announcing new eps. after a long hiatus will draw crowds.

So their basically moochers.

[Old Guy]

I think The Simpsons is a bigger cash cow since they have had a lot more merchandise than Family Guy will ever have (and it's still more popular than FG I think)

The Simpsons isn't more popular at the moment. MANY feel the show hasn't been good for the past 10 years. As for Family Guy...as popular as the show is it was more popular when people were discovering it on Adult Swim. Many people feel the show hasn't bee THAT good since its return in 2005.

[dth1971]

Will there be a Treehouse of Horror 2008 for the Simpsons ready for FOX by October-November 2009 the same time new 2008-2009 Family Guy episodes air?

[Draft]

The Simpsons isn't more popular at the moment. MANY feel the show hasn't been good for the past 10 years. As for Family Guy...as popular as the show is it was more popular when people were discovering it on Adult Swim. Many people feel the show hasn't bee THAT good since its return in 2005.

Well, obviously not in the past 10 years, but The Simpsons Movie helped gain viewers for the TV series, and there was a slew of merchandise and tie-in crap that people bought up probably almost similarly to when the show first came out. Overally The simpsons is probably a more marketable franchise compared to FG, especially since they can't really get the younger set

[Blackstar]

Will there be a Treehouse of Horror 2008 for the Simpsons ready for FOX by October-November 2009 the same time new 2008-2009 Family Guy episodes air?

I don't see why not, seeing as how it's APRIL now, and animated half hour episodes are typically written several months in advance.

But I have to ask, what does The Simpsons ToH have to do with Family Guy's recent status?

[Tobias]

Well, obviously not in the past 10 years, but The Simpsons Movie helped gain viewers for the TV series, and there was a slew of merchandise and tie-in crap that people bought up probably almost similarly to when the show first came out. Overally The simpsons is probably a more marketable franchise compared to FG, especially since they can't really get the younger set

Walk into Spencer's Gifts (or any niche shop, actually). FG has more merchandise than you can shake a stick at.

At one point, even Toys R Us was carrying the toy line that came out.

[Racattack!Force]

Well, obviously not in the past 10 years, but The Simpsons Movie helped gain viewers for the TV series, and there was a slew of merchandise and tie-in crap that people bought up probably almost similarly to when the show first came out. Overally The simpsons is probably a more marketable franchise compared to FG, especially since they can't really get the younger set

I've seen more FG merch at my school than any Simpsons stuff in my life. :sweat:

[Draft]

I've seen more FG merch at my school than any Simpsons stuff in my life. :sweat:

Well, you go to a High School i'm asumming, where FG is more popular than The Simpsons, which also explains the amount of FG merchandise at Spencer's.

The Simpsons Season 1 is the 2nd highest selling DVD set ever released (I doubt FG has gotten that close), The video games have sold very well (FG is currently on clearance in many stores), and not to mention all the stuff from the early 90s and the Movie (and the comic books too).

[Racattack!Force]

Well, you go to a High School i'm asumming, where FG is more popular than The Simpsons, which also explains the amount of FG merchandise at Spencer's.
I attend a middle school, high school is in Fall. :sweat:

[tb4000]

Even if it ain't age appropriate, there are quite a few little kids into family guy, simply because older peeps are into it.

[Tobias]

Even if it ain't age appropriate, there are quite a few little kids into family guy, simply because older peeps are into it.

QFT. I know my ten year old nephew's seen many episodes (through his dad), and I've let him watch a few of the tamer episodes when I watch him. He gets a kick out of Stewie.

[GuardianKid13]

especially since they can't really get the younger setHmm really? It was popular back in my elementary school and it was something we all talked about here and then. No one really talked about The Simpsons (even now) alot besides of the movie that was coming up back then...Even though Family Guy wasn't for kids, we still watched it and asked our parents to buy us t-shirts, dvds and stuff like that...and we got them. =D

[DrTooth]

Bah! I was watching Family Guy since 1999, when it first premired and people didn't give a crap. Back when it was close to being cancelled the first time.

Anyway, it seems that the show has gotten humoungously popular in it's "last" season 2002 (or was it 2003?), just before it got canned the first time. After the ressurrection, it really gained a huge mainstream following. And when something gets a huge mainstream following, it usually winds up cowtowing to the mainstream audiences. This winds up alienating the original fans.

While the Simpsons still is ahead in popularity (dispite the fact their episodes have sucked for years), Family Guy is the only other thing holding Fox together. The Simpsons, FG, and that American Idle stuff. And I think the popularity caused it to suffer. now we have more episodes per season, less time to make more episodes, and that makes the writing suffer. That and the current stage of "Do we want to keep making cut scenes every few minutes, or do we want to bow to people complaining too much about them?"
So, you don't know if they want to do it or not. Not to mention the fact they have too many bad set ups like "This is gonna be as big as Uncle Sam's Nipples" or "We need more Immigrants like my cousing Peter the Pig needs more houses."

Something just says, that because American Dad gets the short end of the stick, they work much, much harder on that series than FG, and it shows.

[dth1971]

Maybe Family Guy should return with new episodes midseason in 2008-2009, but if the Screen Actors Guild strike occurs this Summer, will this delay Family Guy more if Seth McFarlane is a SAG member?

[Silverstar]

Maybe Family Guy should return with new episodes midseason in 2008-2009, but if the Screen Actors Guild strike occurs this Summer, will this delay Family Guy more if Seth McFarlane is a SAG member?

You have to assign specific dates to everything, don't you? ;)

I kind of doubt that Seth MacFarlane is a member of the Screen Actors' Guild, given that he's never acted in anything in his life.

And why would an Actors' Strike affect an animated series with no live actors in it?

[DrTooth]

And why would an Actors' Strike affect an animated series with no live actors in it?

Depends if the other voice actors are. I mean, Mila Kunis and Seth Greene have acted in things prior to this series at least.

[Blackstar]

Depends if the other voice actors are. I mean, Mila Kunis and Seth Greene have acted in things prior to this series at least.

True, but Chris and Meg are pretty much expendable, especially Meg, who has had very little to do on FG as of late. And it's not as if Meg's voice is irreplaceable; let's remember also that Meg was voiced by Lacey Chabert in the shows 1st season before Mila Kunis took over the role. Seth Green hasn't been as heavily involved with FG since he started working on Robot Chicken.

Family Guy would indeed suffer without Seth MacFalrlane, who voices half of the characters on the show, but I think that FG could survive without Mila Kunis or Seth Green, for a while at least.

[Racattack!Force]

True, but Chris and Meg are pretty much expendable, especially Meg, who has had very little to do on FG as of late. And it's not as if Meg's voice is irreplaceable; let's remember also that Meg was voiced by Lacey Chabert in the shows 1st season before Mila Kunis took over the role. Seth Green hasn't been as heavily involved with FG since he started working on Robot Chicken.
Meg's voice actor only comes in like only once a month or so. :shrug:

[tb4000]

Everything is new tonight except for FG and AD.