Family Guy - Volume 1: Seasons 1 & 2

Family Guy - Season One

Episodes on 2 Discs

Cast:
Seth Green - Chris
Alex Borstein - Lois
Lacey Chabert - Meg (season 1)
Seth MacFarlane - Peter / Stewie / Brian

Plot:
Family Guy is a prime time Cartoon show which many have said is an edgier version of 'The Simpson's'. It follows the Griffin family throughout their (Strange and Unusual) lives, the griffin family is made up of...
Stewie: An evil intelligent baby with a British accent who is intent on taking over the world but more importantly killing his mother Lois.
Peter: He is an Irish-American Catholic and the man of the house but is really a , fumbling idiot who gets himself into all sorts of problems.
Lois: Is a stay-at-home mom/piano teacher, who comes from a very rich family who do not like Peter.
Brian: The talking dog who is witty and intelligent but loves a good martini.
Meg: The teenage daughter of the show, who is regularly the butt of the jokes.
Chris: The teenage son who is nearly as stupid and incompetent as his father.

Ratings out of Ten:

Originality: 2/10 - Although i don't agree with people that say Family Guy copied the Simpson's, i do think it took aspects from it and other shows.
Comedy: 9/10 - Nearly every episode is hilarious.
Writing: 6/10 - Often use cop out of flashbacks i.e "that's not as crazy as when i met.........."
Episode Quality: 8/10 - Very few episodes disappoint.

Price: -
Ebay = Around #10 inc Delivery *This is the one i used.
Amazon = #12.97
Play = #17.99 including delivery

Summary:
An interesting show which is both weird and unusual but still manages to be hilarious, the story lines are often weak but that doesn't ruin the episode because it is still very funny. Most of the humour in Family Guy comes from side bits that have no Real relevance to the story in that episode ( which the writers of South Park have panned), it may well be easier to write this way but it works and is funny so i have no real complaints there.

Comparisons to the Simpson's:
Family Guy has often been compared to The Simpson's but i think this is mainly due to the similar base of characters both shows have, i.e both have a stupid, ignorant dad, a mother, both a girl(which both ahve problems with their looks) and a boy, a dog and a baby, But the shows are actually very different, Family Guy is much more unusual than the simpons i.e A talking martini drinking Dog and an evil baby with a british accent. Both shows feel a lot different and i would say Family Guy feels a lot more adult aswell.

Positives:
Well obviously the main plus point is that the show is continually funny and the characters are all individually funny with Peter and Stewie being the most interesting, another great thing is that even in a below par episode you are near enough guarenteed a laugh. Family Guy also has many side characters to the griffin family who add to the show very well, i.e Adam West, The Evil Monkey and tons more.

Negatives:
The Storylines are often quite poor and often make no real sense at all (but thats okay because its a cartoon), and as the South Park creators have said, alot of the Family Guy jokes come from Things that are not connected to the story line, usually Flashbacks and the family watching TV, but this has never bothered me while i have been watching the show but could bother you. Another possible negative is that the cartoon is definately not sutiable for kids and has a 12 or 15 rating for most series, it can be very lewd and offensive. Also the extras was a big let down, with no extras at all. Another negative would eb that there is only 7 episodes in season one, but they are top quality so its worth the money.

Extras: None on the entire DVD, which is dissapointing, they could have least done a few commentaries or featurettes.

Episode List :
1) Death Has a Shadow - Peter gets fired, and applies for wlefare btu after a mixup, he ends up with $150,000
2) I Never Met the Dead Man - Stewie tries to destroy all vegetables, while Peter goes insane from no TV.
3) Chitty Chitty Death Bang - Meg accidentily joins a cult and its stewies birthday.
4) Mind Over Murder - Peter is placed under house arrest after punching a women, while Stewie attempts to build a timemachine.
5) A Hero Sits Next Door - Peter gets jealous of his new disabled neighbour, joe and tries to rob a bank.
6) The Son Also Draws - The Griffins go to a Indian casino.
7) Brian: Portrait of a Dog - Brian walks out on the family after peter enters him in a dogshow to win some extra cash.

Watch if you Like: South Park, American Dad, Futurama

Trivia: The creator of the show; Seth Macfarlane was actually due to be on the plane to boston on 9/11 which was eventually taken down by its own passengers, but he cancelled it at the last minute.