So, any reactions to those of you who saw the pilot after the Superbowl?
I thought it was great and felt a lot like Family Guy in the rapid fire jokes and general edgyness, which was no surprise. The pilot did a good job of introducing the major characters and involving most of them in the plot, though I still don’t know what the hell is up with that goldfish. I also suspect that the son and the wife aren’t really rounded out as characters yet, though they probably will be within a few episodes that give them room.
I think this show has more of potential for storylines than Family Guy did. They’ve got the familiy unit, which is already almost limitless in terms of possibilities, but the addition of a government job adds a whole new dimension. With a couple of exceptions I think work and politics are two areas Family Guy never really exploited.
Looking forward to the full series, but I was kind of dismayed to find out that we’ll have to wait until MAY. Good news is that that’s apparently when new FG episodes start as well, but I’m kind of worried that the two shows will, in the warped mind of the Fox decision-makers, compete with each other and one will get cancelled. Again.
I’m torn. The show was ok, with some new jokes that aren’t Family Guy in style, but I couldn’t help but note which FG char the AD ones are based off of.
American Dad - Joe, the cop
American Mom - Lois
Liberal Daughter - Meg
Nerdy Son - the nerdy guy in love with Meg
Grey - Stewie
Fishitler - Brian
I don’t know about Fishitler being Brian or the daughter being Meg… they didn’t look the same at all to me… the Fish is some perverted German socialist, while Brian is a dry, martini-drinking confidante to Peter… they do share an attraction to the spouse though…
That said, the show just didn’t make me laugh as much as Family Guy, but it was enjoyable… I don’t see how it and FG can be on at the same time though. They’re not that distinct.
To someone unexcited by Family Guy in the first place, this was more of the same. If you really appreciate the rapid-fire non sequiters of Family Guy, maybe you’ll take the time to find subtle differences in this, but for me it was an excuse for even more outlandish characters and situations than Family Guy so that no off the wall gag bounced around in writing would have to be wasted.
Give me a comedy that builds coherent stories with plots that actually advance (even if just in a basic 30 minute arc) in a somewhat logical fashion over this any day, or even something like Seinfeld that may not actually advance things logically but manages to tie things together in a clever (if eventually predictable) way.
In many ways, Family Guy is the anti-Arrested Development for me.
Did nothing for me at all. Few laughs, but mostly it seemed pretty flat, with a lot of standard sitcom lines that were more explanations for the audience than dialogue. Like the way the alien was introduced with that “I rescued you from Area 51 and if the government every finds out you’re here…” stuff.
It was still better than last night’s Simpsons, though. There’s 30 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. The Ned Flanders making bloody Biblical epics idea was great, though, and deserved an episode of its own. Pretty obvious that they hacked two separate scripts together to come up with something they could tack on to the Super Bowl.
I was kind of suprised that the creators were able to come up with even less appealing character designs than FG. FG characters were ugly but at least the faces had ranges of motion. I mean what is the deal with the wife and the alien(just the most egregious ones)? Did their facial expressions change at all through the course of the show? Additionally I think they have a ways to go with the voice parts that aren’t voiced by Seth McFarlane. I know its an early sneak peek but I was not exactly filled with confidence.
I thought it was profoundly awful. Just an unfunny, unfocused mess. They actually made terror threat color code jokes. In 2005. Hopefully future episodes will include “Bill Clinton sleeps around” jokes and the occasional Dan Quayle “potatoe” zinger, for similar feel.
Here’s how bad it was: it made the implausibly stupid Simpsons episode that aired right before it seem hilarious by comparison.
I think it was good for a pilot. I see potential, even if the initial episode was pretty lack luster.
The characters still need to be fleshed out better, and I certainly hope the alien doesn’t spew that crap 3 times every episode.
The characters may seem flat and one-dimensional, but that (hopefully) will be solved after a few more episodes. As it is, everyone seemed like a one trick pony.
A LOT. It’s a staple of sitcoms because it’s so flexible and a lot of people can immediately relate to it. I do agree, though, that they didn’t seem to branch out from FG too much in this respect. I can understand why though: Family Guy worked. People liked the spoofing of the traditional suburban family sitcom (c.f., The Simpsons) so they stuck with that in part.
Had its moments… I’ll wait for the actual episodes before I make any judgements. Family Guy wasn’t too funny for awhile either, but by its second season, FG was hilarious. I think the alien is a horrendous character, and the fish isn’t much better. Other than Steve and… Joe? (the dad)… the characters don’t seem to have been developed much.
