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The Banned 'Family Guy' Episode
In the episode, Peter and Lois attend Lois’ college reunion, where she is approached by ex-roommate (and old flame!) Naomi, who has a secret request. Peter’s certain he’s about to have a three-way; instead, Naomi and her husband reveal they cannot have children and ask Lois to serve as a surrogate mother. At first supportive, Peter soon sours on the concept, imagining that his home’s “rickety staircases, faulty wiring and gay poltergeists” might lend fate a hand. This quickly escalates to Peter’s challenge to his wife, “I bet I can drink more bleach than you,” and a Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote-inspired bit involving an “Acme Miscarriage Kit.”
When Naomi and her husband are killed in a traffic pileup on the freeway, Lois is faced with the dilemma of what to do with the pregnancy, and consents to a visit to the local family counseling center. There, Peter is scared straight by some right-to-life protesters and their video Abortion Madness, in which a single-celled cartoon named Ziggy the Zygote displays a sign reading, “Don’t kill me—I wuv you,” before being dispatched by “a sharp, foreboding hook device.”
The one-liners, ungrounded in the best of times, now teeter dangerously close to nastiness. Peter says, “If God wanted us to kill babies, he’d make them all Chinese girls.” And later, “I’m here to save the unborn – after they come out of the vagina, they can go fuck themselves,” which drew a smattering of applause. The dialogue hits its low point when someone asks, “What if a woman is raped?” and Peter replies, “Maybe she should have thought about that before she asked me for directions.”
You don’t need to look too deeply to realize there was little chance of such material ever airing. McFarlane admitted as much at Comic-Con in July. The event was a publicity stunt to drum up support for the Emmy run, and the audience was mainly Academy of Television Arts and Sciences voters and VIP guests.
Or, as MacFarlane put it afterwards, “We did this to drum up Emmy votes, so we could lose by fewer votes.” Fox, which hosted the evening, claims their concern was for the delicate sensibilities of advertisers rather than viewers. Look for the episode on the DVD release after the rest of the season airs.
Paul Cullum is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles. He has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly, Variety, Details, Radar, Vanity Fair and hundreds of tiny magazines that pay comically little.
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Paul Cullum is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles. He has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly, Variety, Details, Radar, Vanity Fair and hundreds of tiny magazines that pay comically little.
hubbast
dude, it's spelled harelip, as in rabbit.
hair-lip makes no sense!
gak001
Thank you. And thank you for being the first to post.
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n--Y--misterdonThis user is no longer registered.
n--Y--nightdragon83xbainx
Nobody cares dude. You're not a TV critic. Anyone can say a show sucks.
krabapple919
Nobody cares, dude. You're not a comment critic. Anyone can say a comment sucks.
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n--Y--nightdragon83Ochitochito
Ofcourse people care, you don't have to be a critic you just have to have an opinon, just like anyone, and that is not even the point here. Any way... you are right, the show continues to be in worse an worse taste, too bad, since it originally was a very uncanny satire. However in order to make "new" material, they have to go way under the moral standards I guess to draw ratings... go figure thanks for your comment!
pkimelman
The point is that it is satire. They are attacking all your sacred cows. We have a very skewed sense of morals in this country and shows like Family guy serve to remind us of that. If you do not get what they are doing and how they are reacting to what is topical, then you should not watch.
kaleb85
nightdragon,
I agree that Family Guy started great and has since gone downhill. I do still think it's funny, but not like it used to be.
South Park is the best show on TV no doubt. I don't think we have to necessarily pit the two shows against each other (although South Park already did that already did that with their fantastic double-episode, Cartoon Wars) They totally murdered Family Guy and pointed out all of its flaws.
But still, Family Guy is no doubt clever and funny, and better than most of what is on TV. Bill Maher is the best but that doesn't stop me from watching Stewart and Colbert too. The shows can co-exist :)
Oh, and nice burn krabapple XD
kaleb85
Although to be fair the difference between Stewart/Colbert and Family Guy for me is that I watch Stewart/Colbert on the regular and don't really go out of my way to watch Family Guy.
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n--Y--charles116Darksun45230
Family Guy has had a good long run. And yes it's true they've pushed the envelope many times, but as I watch the more current episodes I feel as if some vital piece is missing. It could be that instead of Stewy who adorably plotted to take over the world is running around in womens clothing. Or the agonizing episodes where we have to deal with the dog Brian's relationship troubles.
Somewhere along the line I saw the charm of the series get sucked out and refitted with unfunny one-liners and as many offensive jokes as possible. Where there was once a corny bond of love between Peter and Lois, I see her calling him a "****ing retard." Jesus, where did they go wrong? It was funny I tell you.
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n--Y--charles116allonfla
I STILL love Family Guy.
birminghambeast
"Maybe she should have thought about that before she asked me for directions."
LMAO. That's funny, I don't care who you are.
sonofloud
LOL
drstedman
Unless you're a rape victim
Note: I am not, and I did find it funny.
jhub32
Hey, maybe your mother will get raped someday and you can share the joke with her.
pkimelman
It is funny only because it is so absurd as to be made harmless. That is the real strategy they use - in general, the things that should be totally offensive are funny because they are so absurd. Many are by reversing roles or genders to change the meaning (e.g. Peter as hotel maid who barely speaks English, Peter as prostitute in fishnets, the Baby as the evil and violent one, etc), others are contexts that are ridiculous (like the above).
I suspect some people have their offense-radar tuned up so far that nothing can be funny.
wowjustwow
Like all the other lines the author pointed out as "ungrounded", this was mockery of ideas that way too many people believe. In this case, those who blame the victim for being raped. Or that so many pro-lifers could care less what happens to children once they are born.
Funny? yes, but with a little something extra.
smithstar4
I don't believe in abortion but I might change my mind if they could make it retroactive and appy it to the circus geek Cullum's mama-Hey Paul,bit any heads off chickens lately?--
Jetskidd46
Bobby Darin, not Bobby Darrin. Jesus, does this site have copy editors?
bobzaguy
Happens all the time here. God knows who has time to proof everyone these days...
Dolmance
Lame show. Lame jokes. Lame all around.
Fenario
I, too, enjoy commenting on the things I find the most tiresome and pretentious.
Case in point.
sonofloud
LOL the best satire around these days outside of Colbert !!!
sonshine
Censorship is great because it makes people ask, what? Then they look for the "censored" item, find it and hopefully they have a more open mind. Great job Seth and the entire cast, writers, producers, and everyone affiliated with Family Guy.
DBFan2009
i LOVE family guy - seth leaves no ox ungored and uh, that's the point. watch it long enough and eventually he'll have one of his characters say something that will offend you, too - and you will hear yourself say, "oh, dude, that went a bit too far...."
but come on - peter trying to throw the dead frog out the window? you didn't laugh at that?
i love the stewie vengeful baby and brian the urbane dog - what's not to like? stewie and lois in a fight to the death - loved it.
and btw another bit that was censored (edited out) after it was first aired this season was about shatner's late wife...similar to the tommy lee bit.
come on people - family guy is the anti-cartoon. all the rest are just pretenders to the throne (yeah, i mean, YOU southblechpark.)
and fyi, i'm female and over the age of 50. if you can laugh at jon stewart and colbert, you most certainly can laugh at family guy.
leftygoleft
I love the "Family Guy" episode where Macfalane interviews actual people who hate the show. It is even funnier than the actual show to watch mental morons who are appalled by such a "horrible, horrible show". It's a T.V. show, that's it. If it offends you, don't watch it. It think it's funny so I watch it. It's that simple.
pantzini
The aired line of "I need a Jew" is actually "I don't think they killed my Lord". Get your quotes right, creepy long haired guy pictured above.
nickmagoo
Family Guy, sigh...it's almost funny. It lacks the satirical genius of South Park, the heart of The Simpsons, the storytelling abilities of The Venture Brothers, etc, etc. It's a 1/2 hr. grouping of one liners strung to gether in a barely coherent fashion, some hitting the mark, but most others others landing with a dull thud. The FG evisceration by South Park was spot on.
Which is a shame, because I think Seth McFarlane is an extremely talented guy - every interview I see him in (like the recent Bill Maher episode) I find him funny, highly intelligent, engaging and thoughtful - many of the things lacking from the show itself...
Thank you.
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