"Cartman and Kyle are at war over the popular cartoon, 'Family Guy.' Kyle loves 'Family Guy' and hates Cartman. The two boys embark upon a mad chase across the country and the fate of 'Family Guy' lies with the first boy to reach Hollywood."
Yikes. I'm sure this entire episode will be very mean.
Most likely, Matt and Trey will indict the popular cartoon show for a lack of originality. It's a pretty familiar argument against the Chronicles of Peter Griffin, probably because some of MacFarlane's rip-offs are blatantly obvious.
The entire structure of his show practically reeks of "The Simpsons." A stupid Dad and his endlessly patient and tirelessly devoted wife raise three children - a boy, a girl and a precocious baby. Also, and I hadn't been aware of this until just today, when WWTDD brought it to my attention, the character of Stewie appears to be entirely lifted from a comic by Chris Ware, dating back to three years BEFORE the initial debut of "Family Guy" on Fox. Check out this panel from Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth.
Wow, that is pretty damning stuff! I mean, it seems from this excerpt that Jimmy genuinely loves his mother, while Stewie wants only to murder his mother and get away with it, but otherwise the characters are identical.
In fact, there's a whole blog devoted to picking out all the stolen jokes and references from "Family Guy." (Not all of Family Guy Steals blogger Randy's citations strike me as particularly convincing that Seth MacFarlane is a dirty thief, though...At one point, he claims family dog Brian is a direct rip-off of Snoopy, which would be a really hard character to rip off considering his massive international fame and popularity.)
I'm kind of split on this issue, personally. I have no doubt that Seth MacFarlane takes ideas from other TV shows, movies and stand-up comics. I'd go so far as to say that he's particularly poor with inventing funny characters or scenarios, actually, and probably needs to borrow high-concepts and funny set-ups pretty frequently to create an entire TV show.
I like a lot of "Family Guy" episodes, but it's a show that lives and dies with the jokes. When the show hits the mark, makes a great pop culture references or throws in a surprising bit of raunch, it can be absolutely hilarious. An early episode featured a courtroom scene, and the camera darts around capturing everyone's reaction to the verdict. Three or four characters shout "Oh NO!" and then the Kool-Aid pitcher guy bursts through the wall and yells his trademark "OH YEAH!" Seeing that he's come at an inappropriate juncture in the story, he then backs slowly out of the room. Brilliant.
Viewers don't come back because of the great characters and funny stories. It's just the jokes. But I kind of find this entire "talentless rip-off artist" argument less than compelling for a few other reasons, too.
(1) Everybody rips off everybody
Matt and Trey have admitted this very thing on "South Park." Remember the episode about how "The Simpsons" has already come up with every good plotline? A fact that drives Butters, obsessed with devising an evil plan to destory South Park, utterly insane? The entire show explained how originality derives from the spirit of the enterprise and the individual ideas and jokes, not from some gimmicky plot that has been used by movies, TV shows and books for decades.
I don't know...Maybe "South Park" tonight will focus on different "Family Guy" flaws (like how the latest batch of episodes haven't really been as good as the early days of the series, or even the few shows right after its return). But it will be a bit hypocritical of them to state that they're allowed to borrow from "Simpsons" stories while MacFarlane has to be totally original.
(2) Family Guy can be really really funny
I'm sorry, the show is just really clever at times and there have been some really classic moments. Not to mention that, for a show on Fox, it really does push the envelope in terms of language, adult references and sexuality. I mean, there's a recurring pedophile character who's attempting to seduce Chris Griffin. You won't find that on most TV shows. (Even "South Park" limits its pedophile jokes to individual episodes, like the classic NAMBLA episode).
(3) There's no way to tell if similar jokes are stolen or merely coincidental
Last year saw the release of that Johnny Knoxville film, The Ringer, which shared a plotline with a "South Park" episode. Knoxville played a regular guy who posed as retarded in order to compete in The Special Olympics, which as you'll all recall, Cartman had done the previous season to regrettable results.
There was much talk about the Knoxville movie ripping off "South Park," until it came out that the Knoxville movie had a script and had been in pre-production several years before that "South Park" episode ever aired or was even conceived.
Now, did Matt and Trey read the script for The Ringer that was floating around town, and then rip it off before the movie had a chance to debut? Or was it merely a coincidence, two epople in the same town thinking of the same idea within a few years of one another. I'm inclined to go with the latter.
These past few weeks, as I have been attempting to conjure up a brilliant comedy script idea, I have stumbled accidentally upon other people's work several times. I thought I had devised the most incredibly awesome high-concept comedy ever...Someone like Jack Black would star in the story of the American competitive eating champion (you know...one of those guys who competes in eating contests). After winning the title easily for years, he is suddenly and shockingly bested by a tiny Japanese man with an inhuman stomach capacity. His reputation shattered, his confidence lost, the American eater decides there's only one way to restore him to glory - to venture to Japan and take the Japanese title away from his opponent!
I was so excited when I had this idea, I could barely contain myself. Unfortunately, I was soon to be informed that a script with a similar story is already out there making the Hollywood rounds. (I don't know if they have the Japanese angle or not, which is really my favorite part of the idea, but there is definitely already a competitive eating movie out there).
Now, I didn't rip off this other script. We just had similar thoughts. Because there's only so many possible funny stories out there, and everyone in this town is so desperate for the Next Big Concept, they're bound to come up with the same stuff. That's just life. There's too many goddamn people around.
Something about the thick fog of common culture we all bumble about in makes different writers think of similar ideas at around the same time. I don't think it's plagiarism, it's just people's creativity being simulated by some common thing out there on the internet/airwaves.
ReplyDeleteLook at how many Bukkake movies there were this year. See.
I agree. Odd coincidences abound in this world. Often, two clever writers trying to come up with a great, original concept will think of the same idea at the same time.
ReplyDeleteAnd as it turns out, "South Park" mainly criticized the fact that "Family Guy" is all about individual jokes and doesn't bother to tell a coherent story. Their parody of the show was funny, but I can't say I really think that's a serious criticism. The jokes are funny, so who cares whether or not they relate to a larger story?
I do think that Chris Ware comic is pretty damning, however. MacFarlane clearly borrowed this character for Stewie, at least in terms of the design.
Except the jokes aren't funny. Matt & Trey nailed that one.
ReplyDelete2 FACTS:
ReplyDelete1ST FACT- SOUTH PARKS BIGGEST DVD RELEASE SALES 1,921,789
2ND FACT- FAMILY GUYS BIGGEST DVD SALES 3,213.284.
THE POINT IS FAMILY GUY RULES!!!
Titanic is the highest grossing film of all time. I guess that means its the best.
ReplyDeleterobot chicken by seth green, another family guy cronie has also ripped off tons of content from www.most offensivevideo.com for example robot chickens "screw youssical the musical" is like a melting pot of the videos on that site (the grinch and rudolph to be exact). See for yourself.
ReplyDeleteIf they really need to rip off so much stuff why not try hiring new writers instead of stealing the ideas?
... Except south park is actually pretty adept at satire, and often focuses on current events. However, family guy does nothing of the sort, unless one of their random disjointed jokes happens to be on a current afair.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, they rarely adhere to a conservative or liberal viewpoint overall. For example, they bashed PETA and vegitarianism, yet also bashed the church and their use of "gay conversion" camps for homosexuals.
I can't think of a trailer park militia type that would adhere to both of these opinions.
@solerso...Chances are you don't watch South Park, as like 70% of their episodes have a premise focused around current events, focused on the characters, or pulled out of thin air(or stolen, whatever). So they have a character MADE from poo, that's still more original and mature than most family guy jokes. Giggity.
ReplyDeleteSouth Park's point was the Family Guy is nothing but a gag show with interchangeable jokes that don't relate to the story.
ReplyDeleteso pedophilia is funny, hmmmm.....i never knew.
ReplyDeletei love pedophilia!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, while I totally agree with some of your point, I think the assumption that people don't care about characters or funny stories is false.
ReplyDeleteYou said:
"Viewers don't come back because of the great characters and funny stories."
That's actually part of why The Simpsons actually rose to popularity. The show was often praised for having funny, yet touching, stories. The series is now often criticized for LACKING that now by long time fans who go back and who have favorite episodes BECAUSE of the characters and story. That was actually the very reason the show became famous and still retains a lot of fans of the classic episodes to this day. The idea that story and characters aren't important to comedy seems to be pushed by the fact that so many shows are about gags and such now that they forget that many films that are comedies also became incredibly popular because people wanted to see the characters.
Even Family Guy relies on that. The reason Meg is the punching bag and butt of so many jokes? She's the least popular character. People tune in to see Peter make crazy pop culture references. You have people tuning out of the show because Stewie is no longer the evil baby who wants to take over the world, and who don't like the kind of character Brian has become. So to say that no one cares about the character or funny stories is totally false.
both are funny but South Park is amazing beyond the comprehension of some idiots. People dont see the real comparisons that south park makes. Family guy is too random at times whereas SP is random and ridiculous yes but tied together to make a bigger joke on some part of society. in conclusion its way better. thank you
ReplyDeleteFamily Guy simply has become lower class in production and writing. The episodes routinely have filler, whether it be in long musical numbers (Conway Twitty), or jokes that last a minute or two. (Will Ferrel Bewitched joke). The fact of the matter is that these are being used to mask their inability to fill up 22 minutes per episode with fresh, interesting jokes. Yes, it can still be funny, but it's being eclipsed every week by South Park, American Dad, and The Simpsons, just for a start.
ReplyDeleteThere is simply no room for mediocrity.
Family Guy is definitely a right wing propaganda to put the Simpsons, which is pro Democrat/Socialism/Using your brain, off the air.
ReplyDeleteJust connect the dots, Bush Admin-->Fox-->The Family Guys-->American Dad-->Cleveland Show. All these are right wing propaganda while Seth playing his role as the right wing's bitch.
Sold his soul for 10 million or something like that, so he can push out crap shows.
Conspiracy or Futurama's comeback got something to do with Democrats in the White House? If that's true, I'll vote for Democrats just for good tv shows like Simpsons & Futurama!!!
I can honestly say that Family Guy and South Park, though both are shows that like to push the envelope on what is allowable on tv, are quite different in their approach. Family Guy, whom I will admit has it's moments of funny, is not even close to what it used to be, the characters have turned one-dimensional and some gags like the chicken fights and (as a previous poster mentioned: Conway Twitty) are simply filler and proof that they can't fit some stories into their 22 minute run time, yet South Park, whose jokes and gags are quite immature, yet the show's stories have a deeper meaning and impact, sometimes the whole tale being a massive joke with the audience as the butt of it, something Family Guy lost somewhere along the line in lieu of flashbacks and chicken fights
ReplyDeleteComedy borrows from comedy. If every joke was completely original, there'd be no humor workshops or improv workshops, because you couldn't teach someone else proven funny themes, timing or delivery. "Nope, sorry, can't use that; it's been done." "Not even if I put my own sparkling personality into the delivery or slightly twisted spin on it?" "Nope. Sorry, THAT WOULD BE A RIP OFF."
ReplyDeletePlease. There is nothing new under the sun. Get over yourselves.
The people who don't find Family Guy funny are generally right wing and/or religious. They don't see the humor when their own wrongs, shortcomings, blind sides and hipocrisies are satirized. That's human nature. It doesn't change the fact that Seth McFarlane is a genuine wit and that the show is hilarious.
And before you tell me that Matt and Trey don't fit that mould, let me just stop you right there. That show where they depicted Atheists as having feces literally coming out of their mouths? Yeah, they hate Atheists, we get it. Oh yes, they fit the mould. And by the way, they have no room to criticize, with their sledgehammer brand of humor.
Quite right. Don't tell me Matt and Trey insult everyone equally. They insult certain things Christians or the church *say* or *do*, but approve and support the idea of God and religion. Atheists, however, are condemned as shit talkers from square one. Oh, no, a true thinker could NEVER have anything intelligent to say, because we all know that what we are taught to believe as children is THE TRUTH.
ReplyDeleteAs one who would know
ReplyDeleteAmen
ReplyDelete