Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
director	Peter Avanzino
producer	Lee SupercinskiClaudia Katz
screenplay	Ken Keeler
story	Ken KeelerDavid X. Cohen''(Parts One and Four)''
starring	Billy WestKatey SagalJohn DiMaggioTress MacNeilleMaurice LaMarchePhil LaMarrLauren TomDavid Herman
specialguestvoice	Seth McFarlanne as Mars Vegas singer
music	Christopher Tyng
editing	Paul D. Calder
distributor	20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
studio	The Curiosity Company20th Century Fox Animation
released
runtime	89 minutes
country
language	English
preceded by	''Futurama: Bender's Game''
followed by	"Rebirth" }}

''Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder'' is the last of a series of four straight-to-DVD ''Futurama'' movies. The movie was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette (credited with Teller), Snoop Dogg and Seth MacFarlane, who sings the theme song. In the movie, Leela becomes an outlaw when she and a group of ecologically-minded feminists attempt to save an asteroid of primitive life forms and the Violet Dwarf star from being destroyed, while Fry joins a secret society and attempts to stop a mysterious species known as the "Dark Ones" from destroying all life in the universe. The title itself is a reference to the U.S. Air Force Song, which main chorus describes reaching "Into the wild blue yonder".

The DVD and Blu-Ray were released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on February 23, 2009, while the film itself premiered on February 6, 2009 at New York Comic Con. It made its broadcast premiere on Comedy Central on August 30, 2009. The film and its predecessors together comprise season five of ''Futurama'', with each film being separated into four episodes of the broadcast season. It won the 2009 Annie Award for Best Home Entertainment Production, and Twentieth Century Fox and Comedy Central cited sales of ''Into the Wild Green Yonder'' and the other ''Futurama'' direct-to-DVD movies as one reason Comedy Central decided to renew the ''Futurama'' television series in 2009.

Plot

The Planet Express crew visits Amy's parents, Leo and Inez, who are destroying the "old" Mars Vegas and constructing a more extravagant one. A group of eco-feminists (calling themselves "eco-feministas") led by Frida Waterfall protest the destruction of the environment, leading to an accident wherein a piece of Frida's jewelry lodges inside Fry's brain. The destruction upsets Leela, but Leo has bribed Professor Farnsworth to rubber stamp the project as environmentally friendly. Leela saves a Martian muck leech, the last of its species, from the site.

In New Mars Vegas, Fry starts to go mad when he cannot stop hearing the thoughts of everyone around him. He meets Hutch, a transient who advises Fry to wear a tin foil hat to keep others' thoughts out of his head. Hutch warns Fry never to reveal his powers and to beware the "Dark Ones".

While golfing with the crew, Leo reveals plans to build the universe's largest miniature golf course, destroying 12% of the Milky Way in the process. Farnsworth and the crew survey the site and discover an asteroid in a violet dwarf star system teeming with primordial life. Despite this, Farnsworth approves Leo’s project. Disgusted, Leela joins the eco-feminists, who begin sabotaging the project.

Hutch introduces Fry to the "Legion of Mad Fellows", a secret society of tin-foil-hat-wearing telepaths led by the Number 9 man. No. 9 tells Fry a story of two species that worked together to survive, until one broke the cycle and caused an "evolutionary arms race", both species evolving to defeat the other. One became the extinct "Encyclopods" who evolved to preserve the DNA of endangered species so they could be restored should they become extinct. The other became the "Dark Ones", who want to destroy all life. Fry learns that the violet dwarf is the only surviving egg of the Encyclopods. Due to a resurgence in the life-giving force "Chi", the Encyclopod will soon be reborn. As Fry is immune to the Dark Ones' psionic powers he alone can save it from Leo Wong's plans to turn it into a golf course, and from the Dark Ones, who have evolved to the point that no one knows what they look like.

To end the sabotage, Leo enlists Zapp Brannigan and Kif Kroker, who in turn hire Bender to track down the eco-feministas. Fry infiltrates Leo's empire as a security guard. Amy is angered by her father's sexist jokes and joins Leela, while Bender bugs Fry's phone in case he communicates with Leela. Fry runs into Frida and has her take a message of support to Leela, but an unseen Dark One murders Frida.

Farnsworth prepares to close Planet Express; with their delivery team missing they cannot continue. Leo Wong hires them to put up a fence around the construction site. Farnsworth cancels the closing and goes with Zoidberg and Hermes to do the job. They are captured by the eco-feminists, who commandeer the Planet Express ship. When the eco-feministas suspect Fry of murdering Frida, Fry and Leela arrange a rendezvous. They are ambushed by the ''Nimbus'', which was tipped off by Bender. The eco-feministas are sent to prison.

At a Legion meeting, No. 9 explains that Fry must stop the implosion of the violet dwarf and thwart the Dark One who is sure to be present. Though no one knows the Dark One's form, its mind cannot be read, allowing Fry to identify it. No. 9 gives Fry the Omega Device, which can temporarily disable the Dark One at close range.

Bender frees the eco-feministas from prison in order to uphold his record for most crimes committed at once. Hermes, Zoidberg, Scruffy, and a repentant Farnsworth rescue them.

At the ceremony, Fry cannot locate an unreadable mind; he concludes that he himself (having an unreadable mind) must be the Dark One. The eco-feministas disrupt the ceremony, but Fry convinces Leela to let him proceed. Fry activates the Omega Device, which creates a small dome around the two that appears to have no effect. Leela's leech falls to the ground and reveals itself as the final Dark One. The violet dwarf system forms a giant sperm and flies into the star, creating an Encyclopod embryo which quickly matures, taking the form of a giant manta ray-like creature. The Dark One kills Hutch, whose dying act is to pull Frida's necklace out of Fry's forehead, causing Fry to lose his telepathy. The Encyclopod kills the Dark One. No. 9 convinces the Encyclopod to preserve the Dark One's DNA, but Zoidberg eats the remains before it can. The Encyclopod preserves Hutch's DNA before leaving.

Zapp attempts to apprehend the escaped prisoners, but the crew of the Planet Express ship and the Eco-feminists escape along with Kif. Fry and Leela profess their love for each other as the ''Nimbus'' chases the Planet Express ship toward a wormhole, which the Professor warns could take them trillions of light years away. Everyone agrees to go for it. Fry and Leela kiss as the ship enters the wormhole.

Ending

The ending refers to the unsure future of the show. The makers were not sure if the show would return to TV, so if it did not, it is implied that the ship was in fact taken trillions of light years away. The show was picked up by Comedy Central, and it is revealed in the episode "Rebirth" that the wormhole sent the ship directly back to Earth.

Cast

Actor	! Character
Billy West	Philip J. FryHubert J. Farnsworth
[[Katey Sagal	Leela (Futurama)>Leela
John DiMaggio	Bender (Futurama)
[[Tress MacNeille	MomFannyAdditional voices
Maurice LaMarche	Kif KrokerList of recurring characters in Futurama#Robot Mafia
[[Phil LaMarr	Hermes ConradAdditional voices
Lauren Tom	Amy WongList of recurring characters in Futurama#Leo and Inez Wong>Inez WongAdditional Voices
David Herman	Number 9Additional voices
Dawnn Lewis	List of recurring characters in Futurama#LaBarbara Conrad>LaBarbara ConradPrison Warden
Snoop Dogg	Himself
Phil Hendrie	A Taste of Freedom>Frida Waterfall Hutch Waterfall The Encyclopod
Seth MacFarlane	Mars Vegas singer
Penn & Teller	Themselves

Continuity

The movie draws upon several major and minor running themes of the ''Futurama'' series. As in previous environmentally-minded episodes such as "The Problem with Popplers", "A Taste of Freedom" and "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz", the Waterfall family makes an appearance, with Frida Waterfall reappearing along with a new member, Hutch (identifying himself as Frida's brother by removing her jewelry from Fry's head as Hutch dies), and in keeping with tradition both Frida and Hutch Waterfall meet an untimely end. The Encyclopod's decision to preserve Hutch's DNA defines it as Hutch's successor and serves as a warning about the fragility of the existence of the human species. With dark matter now useless as fuel the Planet Express ship has been modified to run on whale oil, an alternative introduced in "Bendin' in the Wind".

Fry was originally frozen and brought to the future by Nibbler because a Nibblonian prophecy foresaw that he and his unique, Delta-wave-deficient mind (a consequence of his being his own grandfather) would be required to save the universe. In ''Yonder'' Fry is once again appointed for such a task (though by the Legion of Mad Fellows instead of the Nibblonians), due to his immunity from the Dark Ones' psionic attacks.

The No. 9 man, a recurring background character throughout the series, is given a significant role in the movie, though quite different from the role in the series for which he was originally conceived.

As a fan service, the climactic scene of the film features a scene with up to 200 characters on screen at once; most minor characters from Futurama's history can be seen (Unit 2013 appearing twice) with the exception of the children (like Dwight and Cubert), who were removed when the production team realized that Morbo mentions that there are no children present. In the DVD commentary, producer David X. Cohen notes that Rough Draft Korea, ''Futurama'''s overseas animation studio, charged a significant premium because of the difficulty of animating this scene.

In the final scene of the movie, Amy and Kif are reunited after being estranged. After years of Fry trying to win her over, Leela finally returns Fry's love in full; Cohen notes that there was considerable debate among the ''Futurama'' writers about how to end the movie, and that ''Futurama'' creator Matt Groening himself pushed for the actual conclusion.

The movie was initially intended to end the series. After ''Futurama'' was renewed, its creators were unsure if the storylines in the film would be continued. Groening stated that he wanted to ignore the film's ending and move on with the show. Cohen felt differently, stating that the revelations at the end should be resolved, even if the resolutions were brief, which they were in the premiere of the new season.

Production

The ''Futurama'' staff began working on the movie in 2006, and at two different points labor issues affected the production process. According to producer Lee Supercinski, the ''Futurama'' studio realized that they were going to receive the animatic of the movie from Rough Draft Studios two weeks before the deadline for the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike. As a result, the writers were forced to make revisions to the script without having completely reviewed the animatic; no writing was done during the strike. The ''Futurama'' studio then received the colored film in June 2008, weeks before a proposed Screen Actors Guild strike deadline, again forcing the writers to revise the script without completely reviewing the picture.

Aware that ''Into the Wild Green Yonder'' could have been the final ''Futurama'' episode at the time of writing, the writers inserted numerous references to that fact. The title screen displays the message "The Humans Shall Not Defeat Us" in Alien Language 1; according to Cohen, the message is a defiant statement regarding the possible end of the series. Midway through the movie, a shot of the exterior of the Planet Express building draped with a banner reading "Going Out Of Business Forever! Again!" is shown, a reference to the original series' previous cancellation in 2003. The scene where Professor Farnsworth removes Zoidberg's and Hermes's career chips and the countdown scene at the violet dwarf implosion ceremony both reference events from the pilot episode, "Space Pilot 3000" and also "The Cryonic Woman". The cliffhanger nature of the final scene in the movie was devised so that it could conclude the series on an emotional note but also provide a point of departure for a series renewal, according to Cohen.

The script contains several detailed scientific references, such as the Keeler Gap in the rings of Saturn, the asteroid 2261 Keeler and the Keeler crater on Mars, all named after astronomer James Edward Keeler. In the movie the violet dwarf star is located at "galactic coordinates 167.84, -58.03, Mark 948", and Cohen mentions in the DVD commentary that the first two coordinates refer to another astronomical object. In addition, the Martian muck leech is given the scientific name ''Cyprinodon martius''. Writer Ken Keeler adapted the name from ''Cyprinodon salinus'', the scientific name of the Death Valley pupfish, which like the Martian muck leech lives in the desert and is nearly extinct.

The opening musical theme is a Frank Sinatra-style number sung by ''Family Guy'' and ''American Dad!'' creator Seth MacFarlane as the Planet Express ship flies around the casinos of Mars Vegas.

Reception

Overall the film has received mixed reviews. Alynda Wheat of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a grade of B, saying that it catered to established fans. Scott Collura of IGN rated the movie itself 5/10, praising the use of both major and minor characters from the series and the science-fiction content, but criticizing the movie for being disjointed and for its "underwhelming climax" and concluding that it "never fully captures the greatness of the original series." Collura rated the DVD 7/10, noting the high quality of the video transfer, the image detail and depth, and the use of surround sound and low-frequency effects. Martin Liebman of Blu-ray.com rated the movie 2.5/5 and the Blu-ray release 3.5/5 overall. Liebman praised the film for its development of the primary characters in a way that would appeal to longtime fans and new viewers, but criticized the messy plot and haphazard pacing of the movie. Liebman lauded the Blu-ray release for its crisp images, resolution of detail in the animation, lossless soundtrack and use of surround sound. Movie Critic Bruce Kirkland of Sun Media Corporation wrote that the movie was "just as good as ''Bender's Big Score''", praising its send-ups of Las Vegas and science fiction themes and writing that it "nicely handles its environmental message with trenchant wit". Jeffrey Kauffman of DVD Talk rated the movie four stars out of five, calling it a "a fun and frenetic windup to a perhaps undervalued television gem".

According to the-numbers.com, the DVD sold approximately 83,000 units for a total of $1.6 million during its initial week of release, placing it 20th in sales across the USA. As of April 19, 2009, estimated DVD sales in the USA stand at approximately 159,000 units for a total of $3.03 million. Comedy Central cited sales of the DVD as one reason it decided to renew the ''Futurama'' television series.

References

External links

''Into the Wild Green Yonder'' at ''the Infosphere''.

Category:2009 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Into the Wild Green Yonder Category:2000s comedy films Category:2000s science fiction films Category:American comedy science fiction films Category:Animated comedy films Category:Animated features released by 20th Century Fox Category:Animated science fiction films Category:Direct-to-video films Category:Environmental films Category:Films set in the 31st century Category:Mars in film Into The Wild Green Yonder

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Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	Seth MacFarlane
alt	A man (Seth MacFarlane) with black hair, and tan skin with a black shirt on, leans forward while laughing into a microphone.
birth name	Seth Woodbury MacFarlane
birth date	October 26, 1973
birth place	Kent, Connecticut, U.S.
alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design (B.F.A.)
occupation	Actor, animator, writer, comedian, singer, producer, voice actor
years active	1995–present
religion	Atheist
signature	}}

Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms ''Family Guy'', ''American Dad!'' and ''The Cleveland Show'', for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.

A native of Kent, Connecticut, MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied animation, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. He was an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera for several television shows, including ''Johnny Bravo'', ''Cow and Chicken'', ''Dexter's Laboratory'' and ''I Am Weasel'', before creating his own series for 20th Century Fox entitled ''Family Guy'' in 1999. MacFarlane went on to co-create ''American Dad!'' in 2005, ''The Winner'' in 2007 and ''The Cleveland Show'' in 2009 for 20th Century Fox.

As an actor, he has made guest appearances on shows such as ''Gilmore Girls'', ''The War at Home'' and ''FlashForward''. MacFarlane's interest in science fiction and fantasy has led to cameo and guest appearances on ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' and voicing the character of Johann Kraus in Guillermo del Toro's ''Hellboy II: The Golden Army''. In 2008, he created his own YouTube series entitled ''Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy''. As a performer, MacFarlane has sung at several venues, including Carnegie and Royal Albert Hall.

MacFarlane has won several awards for his work on ''Family Guy'', including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Annie Award. In 2009, he won the Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year. For several years, ''Family Guy'' has been a large subject of criticism from television watchdog groups, such as the Parents Television Council, who regularly condemn ''Family Guy'' for its indecency. Even fellow cartoonists such as ''The Simpsons'' creator Matt Groening, ''Ren and Stimpy's'' John Kricfalusi and ''South Park'' duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have criticized MacFarlane's creation on numerous occasions. He occasionally speaks at universities and colleges throughout the United States, and is a supporter of gay rights.

On the February 10, 2011 episode of the TBS variety nighttime talk-show series ''Conan'', MacFarlane announced he is directing his first feature-length film, ''Ted''. The film stars Mark Wahlberg as an adult, who as a child, wished his teddy bear would come to life. MacFarlane will be the voice and motion capture for the bear. It is currently in production and is scheduled for release sometime in 2012. MacFarlane has announced he is working on a debut album. The album, ''Music Is Better Than Words'', has recently been finished and will be released in September 2011. It has been announced that MacFarlane will produce a revival of H-B's ''The Flintstones'' for the FOX network. Development will begin in fall 2011 and the first episode is scheduled to air in 2013.

Early life

MacFarlane's parents, Ann Perry (née Sager) and Ronald Milton MacFarlane, were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He is of Scottish, English and Welsh ancestry, partly by way of Canada, and his ancestors include William Brewster, who traveled to America on the Mayflower. MacFarlane's parents met in 1970, when they both lived and worked in Boston, and married later that year. The couple moved to Kent, Connecticut in 1972, where Ann Perry began working in the Admissions Office at South Kent School and later in the College Guidance and Admissions Offices at Kent School, a selective college preparatory school where Ronald was also a teacher. During his childhood, MacFarlane developed an interest in illustration and began drawing cartoon characters Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker, as early as two years old. By the age of five, MacFarlane knew that he would want to pursue a career in animation, and began by creating flip books, after his parents found a book on the subject. Four years later, at nine, MacFarlane began publishing a weekly comic strip entitled "Walter Crouton" for ''The Kent Good Times Dispatch'', the local newspaper in Kent, Connecticut, which paid him five dollars per week.

MacFarlane received his high school diploma in 1991 from the Kent School. While there, he continued experimenting with animation, and was given an 8 mm camera by his parents. MacFarlane went on to study film, video and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. As a student, he had originally intended to work for Disney, but changed his mind upon graduating. At RISD, MacFarlane created a series of independent films, eventually meeting future ''Family Guy'' cast member Mike Henry, whose brother was MacFarlane's classmate. His senior year at RISD, MacFarlane created a thesis film entitled ''The Life of Larry'', which would eventually become the inspiration for ''Family Guy''. MacFarlane's professor submitted his film to the animation studio Hanna-Barbera, where he was later hired.

Early career

After college MacFarlane was hired at Hanna-Barbera (then Hanna-Barbera Cartoons) based on the writing content of ''The Life of Larry'', not based on artistic merits. He was one of few people hired to the company solely based on writing talent. At Hanna-Barbera, MacFarlane worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's ''Cartoon Cartoons'' series. He described the atmosphere at Hanna-Barbera as resembling an "old fashioned Hollywood structure," where you move from one show to another or you jump from a writing job on one show to a storyboard job on another. MacFarlane worked on four television series during his tenure at the studio: ''Dexter's Laboratory'', ''Cow and Chicken'', ''I Am Weasel'', and ''Johnny Bravo''. Working as both a writer and storyboard artist, MacFarlane spent the most time on ''Johnny Bravo''. He found it easier to develop his own style at ''Johnny Bravo'' through the show's process of scriptwriting, which ''Dexter'' and ''Cow and Chicken'' did not use. He also did freelance work for Walt Disney Television Animation, writing for ''Jungle Cubs'' and ''Ace Ventura: Pet Detective''. Through strict observation of writing elements such as story progression, character stakes, and plot points, MacFarlane found the work for Disney was, from a writing standpoint, very valuable in preparation for his career (particularly on ''Ace Ventura''). MacFarlane also created and wrote a short titled ''Zoomates'' for Frederator Studios' ''Oh Yeah! Cartoons'' on Nickelodeon. In 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to ''The Life of Larry'' entitled ''Larry and Steve'', which features a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network's ''World Premiere Toons''. Executives at Fox saw both ''Larry'' shorts and negotiations soon began for a prime-time animated series.

Although MacFarlane enjoyed working at Hanna-Barbera, he felt his real calling was for prime-time animation, which would allow a much edgier style of humor. He first pitched ''Family Guy'' to Fox during his tenure at Hanna-Barbera. A development executive for Hanna-Barbera, who was trying to get back into the prime-time business at the time, introduced MacFarlane to Leslie Collins and Mike Darnell, heads of the alternative comedy department at Fox. After the success of ''King of the Hill'' in 1997, MacFarlane called Collins once more to ask about a possible second pitch for the series. The company offered the young writer a strange deal: Fox gave him a budget of $50,000 to produce a pilot that could lead to a series (most episodes of animated prime-time productions cost at least $1 million). Recalling the experience in an interview with ''The New York Times'', MacFarlane stated, "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot." After six months, MacFarlane returned to Fox with a "very, very simply, crudely animated film – with just enough to get the tone of the show across" to present to the executives, who loved the pilot and ordered the series immediately. In July 1998, the Fox Broadcast Company announced the purchase of ''Family Guy'' for a January 1999 debut. ''Family Guy'' was originally intended to be a series of shorts on ''MADtv'', much in the same way ''The Simpsons'' had begun on ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' a decade earlier. Negotiations for the show's ''MADtv'' connection fell through early on as a result of budgetary concerns. At age 24, MacFarlane was television's youngest executive producer.

Further career

''Family Guy''

''Family Guy'' first aired January 31, 1999. MacFarlane's work in animating ''Family Guy'' has been influenced by Jackie Gleason and Hanna-Barbera along with examples from ''The Simpsons'' and ''All in the Family''. In addition to writing three episodes, "Death Has a Shadow", "Family Guy Viewer Mail 1" and "North by North Quahog", MacFarlane voices ''Family Guy'''s main characters – Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin and Glenn Quagmire as well as Tom Tucker, his son Jake and additional characters. Bolstered by high DVD sales and established fan loyalty, ''Family Guy'' developed into a $1 billion franchise. On May 4, 2008, after approximately two and a half years of negotiations, MacFarlane reached a $100 million agreement with Fox to keep ''Family Guy'' and ''American Dad'' until 2012. The agreement makes him the world's highest paid television writer.

MacFarlane's success with ''Family Guy'' has opened doors to other ventures relating to ''Family Guy''. On April 26, 2005, he and composer Walter Murphy created ''Family Guy: Live in Vegas''. The soundtrack features a Broadway show tune theme, and MacFarlane voiced Stewie in the track "Stewie's Sexy Party". A fan of Broadway musicals, MacFarlane comments on using musicals as a component to ''Family Guy'': In addition, a ''Family Guy'' video game was released in 2006. Two years later, in August 2007, he closed a digital content production deal with AdSense. MacFarlane takes cast members on the road to voice characters in front of live audiences. ''Family Guy Live'' provides fans with the opportunity to hear future scripts. In mid-2007 Chicago fans had the opportunity to hear the then upcoming sixth season premiere "Blue Harvest". Shows have been played in Montreal, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

On July 22, 2007, in an interview with ''The Hollywood Reporter'', MacFarlane announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official." In September 2007, Ricky Blitt gave TV.com an interview confirming that he had already started working on the script. Then in TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released ''Family Guy'' feature film sometime "within the next year". He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie." He later went to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to ''The Sound of Music'', saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel."

Despite its popularity, ''Family Guy'' has not been immune to criticism. The Parents Television Council frequently criticizes ''Family Guy'' for its content, once organized a letter-writing campaign aimed at removing ''Family Guy'' from FOX's lineup, and has filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission alleging that some episodes of the show contained indecent content. MacFarlane has responded to the PTC's criticism by saying, among other things, "That's like getting hate mail from Hitler. They're literally terrible human beings." ''Family Guy'' has been cancelled twice, although strong fan support and DVD sales have caused Fox to reconsider. MacFarlane mentioned how these cancellations affected the lineup of writers each time Fox again gave ''Family Guy'' the green-light, "One of the positive aspects of 'Family Guy' constantly being pulled off [the air] is that we were always having to restaff writers".

During the sixth season, episodes of ''Family Guy'' and ''American Dad!'' were delayed from regular broadcast due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike (which MacFarlane participated in to support the writers while FOX aired three ''Family Guy'' episodes without MacFarlane's permission). On February 12, 2008, the strike ended, and the series resumed airing regularly, beginning with "Back to the Woods".

''American Dad!''

Seth co-created ''American Dad!'', with Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker. ''American Dad!'' was first shown after Super Bowl XXXIX as a sneak preview on February 6, 2005. The show began airing regularly on Fox on May 1, 2005. MacFarlane describes the show being similar to ''All in the Family''

''American Dad!'' received its inspiration from President George W. Bush's policies. The show focuses on Stan Smith, a straight-laced CIA officer and fanatical conservative. Stan's wife (Francine) and children, (Hayley and Steve), share a typical middle class home with Roger, an extraterrestrial rescued by Stan from Area 51, and Klaus, a goldfish who hosts the transplanted brain of an East German, 1986 Olympian skier. Seth MacFarlane provides the voices of Stan and Roger, basing Roger's voice on Paul Lynde as he played Uncle Arthur in ''Bewitched''. His sister Rachael MacFarlane provides the voice of Hayley Smith.

''The Winner''

MacFarlane was the executive producer of a live-action sitcom starring Rob Corddry called ''The Winner''. The show premiered on Fox on March 4, 2007. The plot has a man named Glen discussing the time he matured at 32 and has him pursuing his only love after she moves in next door. Glen meets her son and both become good friends.

After six episodes, the show was officially cancelled on May 16, 2007. However, at ''Family Guy Live'' in Montreal on July 21, 2007, Seth MacFarlane stated, "It is looking like there could be a future life for ''The Winner''". After MacFarlane's statement neither Fox nor MacFarlane has released any details of plans for the show to return. The show was mentioned in the ''Family Guy'' episode "Family Gay" where all of the horses at a racing track are named after failed Fox shows, ''The Winner'' being one of them.

''The Cleveland Show''

Seth MacFarlane developed a ''Family Guy'' spin-off called ''The Cleveland Show'', which focuses on the character of Cleveland Brown and his family. The idea for the show originated from a suggestion by ''Family Guy'' writer and voice of Cleveland, Mike Henry. Fox ordered 22 episodes and the series first aired on September 27, 2009. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes, was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings FOX picked up the back 9 episodes of season 2 which would make a 22 episode season and bring the total episode count of the show to 44.

''Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy''

On September 10, 2008, MacFarlane released a series of webisodes known as ''Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy''. These animated shorts were distributed by Burger King and released weekly.

''The Flintstones''

In May 2011, it was reported that MacFarlane had signed a deal to revamp ''The Flintstones'' for airing in 2013 and a shot of Peter and Lois Griffin as Fred and Wilma Flintstone was released.

''Pokemon Guy''

In August 2011, it was also reported that he will make a TV series for KIDS based on Family Guy and the hit TV series/video games series, Pokemon. It stars the characters of Family Guy becoming a Pokemon Trainer with their own Pokemon. To see go to: http://pokemonfamilyguy.wikia.com/

Guest appearances

MacFarlane has appeared in sitcoms, comedy and news programs, independent films, and other animated shows. In 2002, MacFarlane appeared in the ''Gilmore Girls'' episode "Lorelai's Graduation Day". Four years later on November 5, 2006, MacFarlane guest starred on Fox's ''The War at Home'' as "Hillary's Date", an unnamed 33-year-old man who secretly dates teenaged Hillary in the episode "I Wash My Hands of You". MacFarlane has also appeared as the engineer Ensign Rivers on ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' in the third season episode "The Forgotten" and the fourth season episode "Affliction". During 2006, MacFarlane had a role in the independent film ''Life is Short''. He portrayed Dr. Ned, a psychologist who advises a short man (played by ''Freaks and Geeks'' star Samm Levine) to have relationships with taller women. He is also a frequent guest on the radio talkshow ''Loveline'', hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky.

MacFarlane appeared on the November 11, 2006 episode of Fox's comedy show ''MADtv'' and performed a live action re-enactment of a scene from the ''Family Guy'' episode "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High". In the scene, Peter and Lois suspect Chris of murdering his teacher's husband. As a reaction, a terrified Meg jumps out the window. A version with McFarlane as Peter, Nicole Parker as Kathy Griffin as Lois, Ike Barinholtz as Dane Cook as Chris, Nicole Randall Johnson as Queen Latifah as Meg, and Keegan-Michael Key as Snoop Dogg as Stewie was recorded over the original cartoon. MacFarlane served as a host to the Canadian Awards for the Electronic & Animated Arts's Second Annual Elan Awards on February 15, 2008.

MacFarlane has also appeared on news shows and late night television shows such as ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' and ''Late Show with David Letterman''. On January 19, 2007, MacFarlane appeared on ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' on MSNBC to discuss Stephen Colbert's appearance on ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and Bill O'Reilly's return appearance on ''The Colbert Report''. MacFarlane introduced the segment by saying in Stewie's voice "Oh, wait Bill. Hold still, allow me to soil myself on you. Victory is mine!" Three months later on March 24, 2007, MacFarlane was interviewed on Fox's ''Talkshow with Spike Feresten'', and closed the show by singing the Frank Sinatra song "You Make Me Feel So Young". He also provided Stewie's voice when he appeared as a brain tumor-induced hallucination to Seeley Booth in an episode of ''Bones'', writing his own dialogue for the episode. On May 8, 2009, MacFarlane was a guest on ''Real Time with Bill Maher''.

Other than ''Family Guy'' and ''American Dad!'', MacFarlane voices characters in other cartoon shows and movies. He voiced Wayne "The Brain" McClain in an episode of ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force''. He has also voiced various characters on Adult Swim's ''Robot Chicken'', including a parody of Lion-O and Emperor Palpatine as well as Peter Griffin in the Season 2 premiere – he even parodied himself in the Season 4 premiere, in which he renewed the show simply by mentioning it in a ''Family Guy''-like cutaway after its fictitious cancellation at the end of Season 3. He also played the villain "The Manotaur" in Bob Boyle's animated kids series Yin Yang Yo!. In addition, MacFarlane voiced Johann Krauss in the 2008 film ''Hellboy II: The Golden Army''. He also had a guest appearance in the animated film ''Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder'' where he sings "That Was Then (And This is Too)", the opening theme. He had also starred in a commercial for Hulu in which he plays an alien presenting Hulu as an "evil plot to destroy the world," progressively as his famous ''Family Guy'' and ''American Dad!'' characters.

On August 1, 2009, MacFarlane performed at The BBC Proms with John Wilson and his orchestra, singing a selection of songs from MGM musicals alongside Kim Criswell, Sarah Fox, Sir Thomas Allen, and Curtis Stigers. Three songs from ''High Society'', ''Singin' in the Rain'', and ''That's Entertainment'' were featured. Seth also repeated the MGM musicals show on tour in the UK with the John Wilson Orchestra during November and December 2010. He made another appearance with the John Wilson orchestra in a BBC Two special, Swingin' Christmas, on December 25, 2010.

Seth also played in a character named Ziggy in the 2010 film, The Tooth Fairy. In August 2010, MacFarlane appeared as a guest voiceover in a sci-fi themed episode of Disney's Phineas and Ferb entitled ''Nerds of a Feather''. MacFarlane was the roastmaster of the Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff in 2010 and then of the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in 2011, and will be during the Roast of Charlie Sheen, being the first (and currently the only) person to serve as roastmaster for more than one occasion of the Comedy Central Roasts.

Speaking engagements

MacFarlane is a frequent speaking guest on college campuses. On April 16, 2006, he was invited by Stanford University's ASSU Speakers' Bureau to address an audience of over 1,000 at Memorial Auditorium. MacFarlane was invited by Harvard University's class of 2006 to deliver the "class day" address on June 7, 2006. He spoke as himself, as Peter Griffin, as Stewie Griffin and as Glenn Quagmire. He has also delivered speeches at George Washington University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Texas, the University of Missouri, University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University and Loyola Marymount University.

Activism

Political beliefs

MacFarlane is a supporter of the Democratic Party. He has donated over $200,000 to various Democratic congressional committees and to the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama. He has stated that he supports the legalization of cannabis.

Gay rights support

MacFarlane came to support gay rights and gay marriage after a family member wondered aloud whether his gay cousin's homosexuality could be "cured". The incident angered MacFarlane, who said in a 2008 interview in ''The Advocate'', that such a statement "was fucking horrifying to hear from somebody that you love." He credits his parents for raising him to be a logical person, in reference to his support for gay rights.

MacFarlane is passionate about his support for gay rights. He said it is "infuriating and idiotic" that two gay partners "have to go through this fucking dog and pony act when they stop at a hotel and the guy behind the counter says, 'You want one room or two?'" He went on to say, "I'm incredibly passionate about my support for the gay community and what they're dealing with at this current point in time." MacFarlane went on to say, "Why is it that Johnny Spaghetti Stain in fucking Georgia can knock a woman up, legally be married to her, and then beat the shit out of her, but these two intelligent, sophisticated writers who have been together for 20 years can't get married?"

MacFarlane, in recognition for "his active, passionate commitment to Humanist values, and his fearless support of equal marriage rights and other social justice issues", was named the Harvard Humanist of the Year in 2011.

Despite his position on gay rights, MacFarlane was criticized for his portrayal of transsexuality in the ''Family Guy'' episode "Quagmire's Dad". Gay novelist Brent Hartinger found the episode's inclusion of transphobic remarks from Peter and Lois—as well as a scene of Brian vomiting profusely upon discovering his date to be transgendered—to be "shockingly insensitive". Hartinger continued, "Frankly, it's literally ''impossible'' for me to reconcile last night's episode with MacFarlane's words, unless I come to the conclusion that the man is pretty much a complete idiot." The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT media watchdog organization, shared "serious concerns being voiced from members of the community" about the episode. MacFarlane said he was "surprised" by the negative reaction to "Quagmire's Dad", saying that "it seemed that [gay commentators] were not picking up on the fact that it was a very sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual character." He further added, "Look, Brian happens to be a heterosexual character, as I am. If I found out that I had slept with a transsexual, I might throw up in the same way that a gay guy looks at a vagina and goes, 'Oh, my God, that's disgusting.'"

2008 Writers Guild of America strike

During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, MacFarlane publicly sided with the Writers Guild, and fully participated in the strike. Official production of ''Family Guy'' was halted for most of December 2007 and various periods afterwards. Fox continued producing episodes without MacFarlane's final approval, and although he refused to work on the show during the strike, his contract with Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it subsequently produced. Rumors of continued production on ''Family Guy'' prompted the statement from MacFarlane that "...it would just be a colossal dick move if they [continued production without his final approval]." The strike ended on February 12, 2008.

Personal life

MacFarlane identifies himself as a ''Star Wars'', ''Star Trek'' and science fiction fan. He appeared at a ''Star Wars'' convention to promote his new ''Family Guy'' episode "Blue Harvest" on May 26, 2007. He is a skilled pianist and singer who, in his early years, trained with an elderly couple who were Frank Sinatra's vocal coaches. In fact, he signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records and announced that he is recording a big band/standards album. MacFarlane's interest in science fiction and music are regularly themes for his birthday and Christmas parties in Los Angeles. In 2009, he held a ''Star Wars''-themed Christmas party. In 2010, he held a Rat Pack-themed party for his birthday with a 60-piece orchestra and performance by Frank Sinatra, Jr.. In early 2007, fellow comedian Alex Borstein reported in an interview that MacFarlane is old-fashioned in several aspects of his life, in that "his pop culture knowledge is very retro. Seth doesn't have e-mail at home, doesn't own a computer and he doesn't really watch television. He doesn't understand MySpace and despises most new music."

MacFarlane is unmarried. In 2004, in an interview with ''The Daily Princetonian'', MacFarlane noted his similarities to Brian on ''Family Guy'', revealing, "I have some Brian type issues from time to time – looking for the right person – but I date as much as the next guy".

On July 16, 2010, MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry MacFarlane, died after a long battle with cancer. Her death was reported by Larry King on his show, ''Larry King Live'', who acknowledged a conversation he had with her during an interview with her son in May 2010. A brief opening scene from the first episode of the ninth season of ''Family Guy'' ("And Then There Were Fewer") mentions her lifespan, and dedicates the episode to her.

MacFarlane is an atheist.

September 11, 2001 experience

On the morning of September 11, 2001, MacFarlane was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston, Massachusetts. Suffering from a hangover from the previous night's celebrations, and with an incorrect departure time (8:15 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m.) from his travel agent, he arrived at Logan International Airport about ten minutes too late to board the flight as the gates had been closed. Fifteen minutes after departure, American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked, and at 8:46 a.m. was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, obliterating the airplane, and killing everyone on board.

In an interview with TVShowsOnDVD.com, MacFarlane said the following about his close call:

Filmography

Films

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1995		Larry CummingsSteveLois Cummings	Voice OnlyStudent Film
2006	''Life is Short''	Dr. Ned	Short Film
2008	''Hellboy II: The Golden Army''	Johann Kraus	Voice Only
2009	''Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder''	Mars Vegas Singer	Voice OnlyDirect-to-DVD Release
2010	''The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!''	I.S.R.A.E.L. (Intelligent Smart Robot Animation Eraser Lady)	Voice OnlyDirect-to-DVD Release
2010		Ziggy
2012		Ted	Voice OnlyAlso Writer/Director/ProducerPre-production

Television

! Year	! Series	! Role	! Notes
1995	''The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show''	Rhode Island Bug	Episode 2.3: "Bugging Out!"
1996		LarrySteveVarious characters
1999–2003 2005–present	''Family Guy''	Peter GriffinStewie GriffinBrian GriffinGlenn QuagmireVarious characters	Longest-running role, Creator/Executive producer/Voice artist/Writer
2002–2003	''Gilmore Girls''	ZachBob Merriam (Emily Gilmore's lawyer; on the phone)	Episode 2.21: "Lorelai's Graduation Day" Episode 3.11: "I Solemnly Swear"
	''Aqua Teen Hunger Force''	Wayne the Brain	Episode 2.10: "Super Trivia"
''The Pitts''	Radio voice	Episode 1.3: "Squarewolves"
2003–2005	''Crank Yankers''	Dick RogersArthur Johnson	Appeared in four episodes
2004	''Complete Savages''	TV Announcer	Episode 1.4: "Nick Kicks Butt"
2004–2005	''Star Trek: Enterprise''	Engineer	Episodes 3.20: "The Forgotten (Star Trek: Enterprise)
2005–2009	''[[Robot Chicken''	Various characters	Appeared in 15 episodes
2005– present	''American Dad!''	Stan SmithRogerVarious characters
2006		Hillary's Date	Episode 2.5: "I Wash My Hands of You"
	''Help Me Help You''	Seth	Episode 1.13: "Moving On"
''Robot Chicken: Star Wars''	Emperor Palpatine	TV film
59th Primetime Emmy Awards	Stewie GriffinBrian Griffin	TV special
2008	''Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II''	Emperor PalpatineVarious characters	TV film
2008–2010	''Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy''	Various characters	Appeared in 19 episodes
2009		Stewie Griffin	Episode 4.25: "The Critic in the Cabernet"
2009–2010	''FlashForward''	Agent Jake CurdyFBI Agent	Episode 1.1: "No More Good Days" and 1.15: "Queen Sacrifice"; uncredited
2009– Present	''The Cleveland Show''	Tim the BearVarious characters
	''Phineas and Ferb''	Jeff McGarland	Episode 2.33: "Nerds of a Feather"
	Himself	Roastmaster of The Roast of David Hasselhoff
2010	''BBC Breakfast''	Himself	Guest
2010	''Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III''	Emperor Palpatine	TV film
2011	''Comedy Central Roast of Donald J. Trump''	Himself	Roastmaster of The Roast of Donald Trump
2012–2013	''The Flintstones''	Fred Flintstone
2012-present	''Pokemon Guy''	Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, Joe Swanson and Herbert.

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Awards

Year	Award	Category	Role	Series	Result	Ref.
2000	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.		''Family Guy''
2002	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Music and Lyrics	Music and lyrics	''Family Guy''
2006	Annie Award	Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production	Stewie Griffin	''Family Guy''
		Film & Video Person of the Year 2009	—	—
Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.	Peter Griffin	''Family Guy''
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics		''Family Guy''
	Choice Animated Series	Creator	''Family Guy''
	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Villian	Stewie Griffin	''Family Guy''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Animated Series	Creator	''Family Guy''

References

External links

Interview on IGN.com

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Category:1973 births Category:Actors from Connecticut Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of French-Canadian descent Category:American animators Category:American atheists Category:American baritones Category:American comedians Category:American male singers Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American television producers Category:American television writers Category:American voice actors Category:American television actors Category:American film actors Category:Annie Award winners Category:Connecticut Democrats Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Family Guy Category:Kent School alumni Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:People from Kent, Connecticut Category:People from Providence, Rhode Island Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni

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