Beyond hysterical and FREAKIN' SWEET!!!!

One can only imagine the reaction at FOX Network when Seth McFarlane pitched the idea of a cartoon about a New England family with an oafish father, a semi-reformed "bad girl" mother, a nerdy daughter, and two sons (one borderline retarted and the other an evil genius toddler.) Oh, did I forget to mention the alcoholic talking dog, the sex-fiend neighbor, the c-list celebrity mayor and a wild assortment of other bizzare characters? No matter...all of these wonderful folks can be found among the denizens of Quahog, Rhode Island, home of "Family Guy" Peter Griffin.

As an American anti-hero, Peter leaves his contemporaries Homer Simpson and Eric Cartman in the dust. There are times I almost despise the character, and then I realize that I am laughing uncontrollably at his most recent atrocity. Peter truly has no redeeming qualities...he's rude, inattentive to his family, ill-mannered, stupid, and has the most annoying laugh since Suzanne Somers on "Three's Company."

The rest of the family, while more endearing than Peter, is just as dysfunctional. His sexpot wife, Lois, makes repeated attempts at being a good wife and mother, and usually succeeds in spite of winding up naked, stoned, or otherwise compromised in almost every episode. Daughter Meg is a nerdy high school student, and son Chris is on an intellectual par with the average kindergartener. The most intelligent member of the family is Brian, the dog. Brian winds up repairing or explaining away most of Peter's antics, despite the fact that he (Brian) is outrageously drunk most of the time.

...and then there's Stewie.

Stewie Griffin, the matricidal genius 1-year-old, is quite possibly the funniest character ever written. With the voice and vocabulary of Rex Harrison, the cynical wit of Dennis Miller, and the criminal mind and high-tech arsenal of Lex Luthor, Stewie is the most enigmatical of the Griffin clan. Within one episode, Stewie can go from obviously homosexual to woman-chasing to naive. He poops his diaper and plays with toys, yet he can also articulately discuss Pacific Rim economics and nuclear fission. Sometimes the adults seem to understand what he is saying, and sometimes he is clearly babbling like a...well...baby.

The storylines are ribald and insulting, yet prove the theory that if you offend everyone, you don't offend anyone. I have friends who run the gamut of demographics...rich,poor,gay,straight,white,black, etc. and almost ALL of them enjoy this show. The writing is clever and edgy, the characters are bizzare yet familiar, and the animation quality is high without being "high-tech." Visually, the show is more in the vein of "The Simpsons," where the characters exist in a bright primary-colored world, as opposed to the more "realistic" animation style of some other modern cartoons.

Creator Seth McFarlane is clearly a fan of musical theatre, as almost every episode contains a song-and-dance number. This is an added "plus" for those of us who share his enthusiasm for musicals, while those who are not big musical fans will still enjoy the delightful absurdity of the whole thing.

One caveat: this is NOT a show for children. While I love "Family Guy," I would probably put it off-limits for the pre-teen set. If you're older than 12 and breathing, however, you will most likely enjoy this wonderfully irreverent show as much as I do. See you in Quahog!

FLT3