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After watching this Sunday’s Family Guy, I can’t help but think they’re losing their edge.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/61211/family-guy-family-gay
Here’s a quote from the TV complain board that sums up the problems with the characters exactly:
“Characters that I knew and loved have become mere shadows of their greatness and have been severely dumbed down. Stewie was once a brilliant character, evil with a subtle feminine side which made him funnier and more two dimensional but he now is a flat out homosexual, and gay jokes are simply not funny. There are gay people in the world and Stewie being one doesn’t make him funny – and after writers heard that people didn’t like new Stewie they tried to force evil into him, like when he attacks Brian in Patriot Games, which was originally funny, until he did it a second time and more exaggerated when in earlier seasons it came naturally. Peter has gone from stupid to retarded and childish which is just terrible, since at least before he was occasionally funny. Meg has gone from being a gullible, ignored character to the butt of all jokes and Peter blaming Meg for a car accident or ignoring her comments is a lot funnier than Peter abusing her. Chris has gone from a hilarious moron with a talent for painting to basically absent. Worst of all, my favourite character Quagmire has gone from a terrific pervert with clever double entendres to a nut that does crazy songs and dances whenever he makes a silly remark. Characters that were barely funny the first time like Herbert, Vaudeville Guys and Evil Monkey are now almost main characters which is horrible since with them it is the same joke over and over.”
I have to say that a couple of the jokes on Sunday were worth a chuckle, but it felt like the show was mostly trying way to hard for a laugh, and falling flat on its face in the process. I think part of the problem is that writers become jaded when they’re digging for offensive material that is just on the edge of funny. After 7 years the writers are not offended anymore by the old ideas so they look farther, digging deeper and crossing the line of bad taste. Eventually, and this is what has happened here, they’re fully into the truly offensive realm where only they and their high friends find it funny/twisted. The rest of us have normal lives and only visit the show once a week or less, so we’re left with this sophomoric attempt at humor by our perspective.
Many shows fall into similar traps, where only a fresh perspective and a fresh team can resurrect it. Bring back a mildly idiotic Peter instead of a severely mentally deranged adult-child and this show might be saved.
