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![Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][3]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110715024236im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/f1/51/f47c8e5fc60c6cee6737fadff746_grande.jpg "Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][3]")
![Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is a Grammy Award-winning[1] American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a member of the Allman Brothers Band and his own band, which he founded at age 15 and bears his name. The Wall Street Journal has described him as](http://web.archive.org./web/20110715024236im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/5e/d2/b75b01cda59558a133e1089f83d5_grande.jpg "Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is a Grammy Award-winning[1] American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a member of the Allman Brothers Band and his own band, which he founded at age 15 and bears his name. The Wall Street Journal has described him as")
| Show name | Family Guy |
|---|---|
| Caption | The Griffin family. Back: Lois, Peter, Meg, Chris, front: Brian, and Stewie |
| Bgcolour | #1E90FF |
| Colour text | #FFFFFF |
| Alt | Above is the Family Guy logo, bold, blue letters in all caps spelling out "Family Guy" with a small cartoon antenna television used to dot the "i" in "Family". Below is the Griffin family. In the front left is Brian a white dog standing on his hind legs, holding a martini. To the back of him is Peter, a fat man with green pants and a basic white button-up shirt, and Lois, a thin, red-haired woman with blue-green earrings and shirt, full-length khaki pants and red shoes; Lois is embracing Peter. In the foreground is Stewie, a baby with a football-shaped head, wearing red overalls over a yellow shirt and holding red and yellow ray-gun. On the far left is Chris, a large male teenager with blue shirt, black pants, messy blonde hair and yellow hat, and the far right, Meg, an unappealing female teenager with a pink shirt and matching beanie hat, jeans and glasses. |
| Genre | SitcomBlack comedyBlue comedy |
| Format | Animated television show |
| Creator | Seth MacFarlane |
| Developer | |
| Voices | |
| Theme music composer | Walter Murphy |
| Composer | |
| Country | |
| Language | English |
| Num seasons | 9 |
| Num episodes | 165 |
| List episodes | List of Family Guy episodes |
| Executive producer |
The family was conceived by MacFarlane after developing two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. MacFarlane redesigned the films' protagonist Larry and his dog Steve, and renamed them Peter and Brian, respectively. MacFarlane pitched a 15 minute pilot to Fox which aired on December 20, 1998. After the pilot aired the show was given the green light and started production. Shortly after the third season of Family Guy aired in 2001, Fox canceled the series. However, favorable DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns on Adult Swim convinced the network to renew the show in 2004.
Family Guy has been nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards and 11 Annie Awards, and has won three of each. It has garnered three Golden Reel Award nominations, winning once. In 2009, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961. Family Guy has also received criticism, including unfavorable comparisons for its similarities to The Simpsons.
Many tie-in media have been released, including , a straight-to-DVD special released in 2005; , a soundtrack-DVD combo released in 2005, featuring music from the show as well as original music created by MacFarlane and Walter Murphy; a video game and pinball machine, released in 2006 and 2007, respectively; since 2005, six books published by Harper Adult based on the Family Guy universe; and , a series of parodies of the original Star Wars trilogy released in 2010. In 2008, MacFarlane confirmed that the cast was interested in producing a feature film and that he was working on a story for film adaptation. A spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox. The eighth season of Family Guy premiered on the same night.
The Griffin family first appeared on the pilot MacFarlane pitched to Fox, which aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company on December 20, 1998, which featured a fifteen minute plot. Family Guy was originally planned to start out as short movies for the sketch show MADtv, but the plan changed because of the budget as the show did not have a large enough budget to make any kind of animation. MacFarlane noted that he then wanted to pitch it to Fox as he thought it was the place to create a prime-time animation show.
During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, official production of the show halted for most of December 2007 and various periods afterward. Fox continued producing episodes without creator Seth MacFarlane's final approval, which he termed "a colossal dick move" in an interview with Variety. Though MacFarlane refused to work on the show, his contract under Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it would subsequently produce. Production officially resumed after the end of the strike, with regularly airing episodes recommencing on February 17, 2008.
Seth MacFarlane voices four of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin and Glen Quagmire. MacFarlane chose to voice these characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it. Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison, especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady. MacFarlane uses his regular speaking voice when playing Brian. Alex Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown, and Lois' mother Barbara Pewterschmidt. Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork and said it was "really sight unseen". At the time, Borstein performed in a stage show in Los Angeles, in which she played a redheaded mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins. Green stated that he did an impression of the "Buffalo Bill" character from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition. Mila Kunis and Lacey Chabert have both provided the voice of Meg Griffin. Mike Henry voices both Cleveland Brown and Herbert, as well as some minor recurring characters like Bruce the performance artist and The Greased-up Deaf Guy. Henry met MacFarlane at the Rhode Island School of Design, and kept in touch with him after they graduated.
Other recurring cast members include: Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson; Adam West as the eponymous Mayor Adam West; Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson; John G. Brennan as Mort Goldman and Horace the bartender; Carlos Alazraqui as Jonathan Weed; Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald as Death; Lori Alan as Diane Simmons; and Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams and the judge. Fellow cartoonist Butch Hartman has made guest voice appearances in many episodes as various characters. Also, writer Danny Smith voices various recurring characters such as Ernie the Giant Chicken.
Episodes will quite often feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guest voices starred as themselves. Leslie Uggams was the first to appear as herself in the fourth episode of the first season episode "Mind Over Murder". The episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" guest starred the entire cast of , which includes Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Marina Sirtis and even Denise Crosby (season 1 as Tasha Yar), playing themselves; this is the episode with the most guest stars of the seventh season.
"North by North Quahog" was the first episode to be broadcast after the show's cancellation, and it premiered May 1, 2005. It was written by MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin. MacFarlane believed the show's three year hiatus was beneficial because animated shows do not normally have hiatuses, and towards the end of their seasons, "... you see a lot more sex jokes and (bodily function) jokes and signs of a fatigued staff that their brains are just fried". The episode was watched by 11.85 million viewers, the show's highest ratings since the airing of the first season episode "".
On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish upon a Star", through a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, MacFarlane, and Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution and unspecified damages. Bourne argued that "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star" without commenting on that song, and that it was therefore not a First Amendment-protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.
In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement when actor Art Metrano filed a lawsuit regarding a scene in , in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature "magic" act involving absurd "faux" magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy". 20th Century Fox, MacFarlane, Callaghan, and Borstein were all named in the suit. In July 2009, a federal district court judge rejected Fox's Motion to Dismiss, saying that the first three fair use factors involved—"purpose and character of the use", "nature of the infringed work", and "amount and substantiality of the taking"—counted in Metrano's favor, while the fourth—"economic impact"—had to await more fact-finding. In denying the dismissal, the court held that the reference in the scene made light of Jesus and his followers—not Metrano or his act.
Many recurring characters appear alongside the Griffin family. These include the family's neighbors: sex-crazed airline-pilot bachelor Glenn Quagmire, Cleveland Brown and his wife Loretta Brown, paraplegic police officer Joe Swanson, his wife Bonnie and their baby daughter Susie (it should be noted that Bonnie is pregnant with Susie from the show's beginning until the 7th episode of the 7th season); paranoid Jewish pharmacist Mort Goldman, his wife Muriel and their geeky and annoying son Neil; and elderly ephebophile Herbert. TV news anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons, Asian reporter Tricia Takanawa, and Blaccu-Weather meteorologist Ollie Williams also make frequent appearances. Quahog mayor, Mayor Adam West, is in various episodes.
The primary setting of Family Guy is Quahog, Rhode Island (). MacFarlane resided in Providence during his time as a student at Rhode Island School of Design, and the show, as a consequence, contains distinct Rhode Island landmarks similar to real-world locations. MacFarlane often borrows the names of Rhode Island locations and icons such as Pawtucket and Buddy Cianci for use in the show. MacFarlane, in an interview with local WNAC Fox 64 News, stated that the town is modeled after Cranston, Rhode Island.
The original idea for the "Road to" episodes came from MacFarlane as he is a fan of the original films of Crosby, Hope and Lamour. The first episode was directed by Dan Povenmire, who would go on to direct the rest of the "Road to" episodes until the episode "Road to Rupert", as he left the show to create Phineas and Ferb. As a result, series regular Greg Colton took over Povenmire's role as director of the "Road to" episodes.
Early episodes based much of their comedy on Stewie's "super villain" antics, such as his constant plans for total world domination, his evil experiments, plans and inventions to get rid of things he dislikes; and his constant attempts at matricide. As the series progressed, the writers and MacFarlane, agreeing that his personality and the jokes were starting to feel dated, began writing him with a different personality. The show uses catchphrases, and most of the primary and secondary characters have them. Notable expressions include Glenn Quagmire's "Giggity giggity goo", Peter's "Freakin' sweet" and Joe Swanson's "Bring it on!". The use of many of these catchphrases declined in later seasons. The episode "Big Man on Hippocampus" mocks catchphrase-based humor: as Peter, who has forgotten everything about his life, is introduced to Meg, he exclaims, "D'oh!", to which Lois replies, "No, Peter, that's not your catchphrase."
Many celebrities have admitted that they are fans of the show. Robert Downey, Jr. telephoned the show production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode creation, as his son is a fan of the show, so the producers came up with the character for Downey. Lauren Conrad met MacFarlane while recording a clip for the episode "Prick Up Your Ears", (season 5, 2006). She has watched Family Guy for years and considers Stewie her favorite character. Commenting on his appearance in the episode "Big Man on Hippocampus", (season 8, 2010), actor Dwayne Johnson stated that he was a "big fan" of Family Guy, having quickly befriended MacFarlane after he had in a minor role in Johnson's 2010 film Tooth Fairy. as has pop singer Britney Spears, confessing that she tries to imitate Stewie's British accent. She also offered to make a cameo in the show to hit back at the similar animated show South Park, but MacFarlane declined, stating he did not want to start a feud with the series.
Parental advocacy and religious organizations have voiced disapproval over the show's mockery of religious subjects. Similarly, Family Guy has drawn criticism from charities and public figures for its perceived offensiveness when handling sensitive issues, such as HIV/AIDS and Down syndrome. The show has also been derided by critics for the overuse of cut-away gags, pop culture references and similarities to other shows. Several episodes of The Simpsons and South Park have poked fun at Family Guy, highlighting the reliance on interchangeable gags as well as similarities with the former show. However, both MacFarlane and Simpsons creator Matt Groening have said that there is no serious feud between them and the rivalry of their shows is good-natured. In contrast professional cartoonists have criticized the show as well, such as Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi The stage shows were an extension of a performance by the cast during the 2004 Montreal Comedy Festival.
In 2007, at the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, MacFarlane performed (as the digitally inserted Stewie and Brian) the ceremony's opening number. He performed a song insulting modern television to the tune of the song performed in the episode PTV. The song insulted TV shows such as Two and a Half Men, Desperate Housewives, and Scrubs, as well as the final scene of The Sopranos.
In 2009 a special televised performance show aired titled Family Guy Presents Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show in which voice actors Alex Borstein and creator Seth MacFarlane performed songs from the show and a parody of Lady Gaga's worldwide hit "Poker Face" in voice of Marlee Matlin who appeared on the stage as a guest during the performance. Some new animated gags also appeared in the show.
As of 2009, six books have been released about the Family Guy universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005. The first book based on Family Guy, (ISBN 978-0-06-077321-2) by Steve Callahan, was released in April 26, 2005. Written in the style of a graphic novel, the plot follows Stewie's plans on ruling the world, despite him only being a child. Other books include (ISBN 978-0-7528-7593-4), which covers the entire events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One"; and Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded (ISBN 978-1-4051-6316-3), a collection of 17 essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers.
Family Guy has been commercially successful in the home market. The show was the first to be resurrected because of high DVD sales. The first volume, covering the show's first two seasons, sold a total of 1.67 million units, topping TV DVD sales in 2003, while the second volume sold another million unit. Both the volume six and seven DVDs debuted fifth in United States DVD sales; volume seven was the highest television DVD, selling 171,000 units by June 21, 2009. In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz; each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made. Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released, with various forms of Peter. In 2008, the character Peter appeared in advertisements for Subway Restaurants, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich.
Category:1990s American animated television series Category:American culture Category:1999 American television series debuts Category:2002 American television series endings Category:2005 American television series debuts Category:2000s American animated television series Category:2010s American animated television series Category:1990s American comedy television series Category:2000s American comedy television series Category:2010s American comedy television series Category:Animated sitcoms Category:English-language television series Category:Fox network shows Category:Satirical television programmes Category:Television series about dysfunctional families Category:Television series by Fox Television Studios Category:Television shows set in Rhode Island Category:Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Television series revived after cancellation
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![Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][3]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110715024236im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/f1/51/f47c8e5fc60c6cee6737fadff746_thumb.jpg "Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][3]")
![Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is a Grammy Award-winning[1] American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a member of the Allman Brothers Band and his own band, which he founded at age 15 and bears his name. The Wall Street Journal has described him as](http://web.archive.org./web/20110715024236im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/5e/d2/b75b01cda59558a133e1089f83d5_thumb.jpg "Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is a Grammy Award-winning[1] American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a member of the Allman Brothers Band and his own band, which he founded at age 15 and bears his name. The Wall Street Journal has described him as")
