Family Guy on The Huffington Post

"Family Guy" Takes On Mac's Spinning Beach Ball (VIDEO)

2009-11-23T11:20:11Z

"Family Guy" took on that annoying beach ball that appears on Macs when the computer needs some time to catch up or scratch its head or whatever computers need. Peter was interrupted by its appearance, but like any confounded Mac user, Peter explains that it's just "trying to do something." Fortunately the beach ball disappeared and the show didn't need to restart.

Given its former partnership with software behemoth Microsoft, it's a bit fishy that there was a dig at the Mac Operating System. So Microsoft, you won't stand for jokes about the Holocaust, but you'll happily sponsor attack campaigns at your competitor? Seems a bit shortsighted. Just like Windows Vista.

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Microsoft Pulls Out Of 'Family Guy' Holocaust, Incest, Tampon Special

2009-10-27T11:05:34Z

NEW YORK — Fans of "Family Guy" are chortling about Microsoft's belated discovery that a "Family Guy" special might not jibe with the software giant's corporate image.

On Monday, Microsoft said it's pulling out as sponsor of a "Family Guy" variety show, just two weeks after announcing its sole sponsorship of the special, "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show," scheduled to air Nov. 8.

Microsoft Nixes "Family Guy" Deal: Show's Off-Color Content "Not A Fit"

2009-10-26T18:49:29Z

The special included MacFarlane and Alex Borstein - the voice of "Family Guy" matriarch Lois - pitching Windows 7.

For most of the special, however, MacFarlane and Borstein made typical "Family Guy" style jokes, including riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest.

That apparently was a bit too much for Microsoft.

Danny Groner: Modern Family Follows Dysfunctional TV Family Path

2009-10-21T23:36:09Z

It looks like the breakout hit comedy of the fall has been ABC's Modern Family. A month ago, a Salon reviewer said, "[T]his dysfunctional family comedy really is its own unique, brilliant gem, shining among an otherwise uncomfortably mediocre haul of cheap comedic rhinestones." The show's writing and originality has unquestionably been stellar. The first couple of episodes have reinforced the message behind the show's title, that this family will push the limits and standards of normal family behavior.

Yet there's a longstanding precedent already in place for TV shows that carry the term "Family" in their headers. Television writers have long played up the hostile, bitter and even violent side to families as a way to offset expectations viewers may have to see expressions of love, devotion and unity. Take a look back at how TV shows have presented other families and their odd groupings of characters:

The Proud Family - TV.com: "How embarrassing must it be to have a crazy family? Only 14-year-old Penny Proud knows what that's like, with her over-protective Dad Oscar, her over-loving but wacky Mom Trudy, her funny Grandma Suga Mama, and twin siblings Bee Bee and Cee Cee."

Family Guy - TV.com: "Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and freakin' sweet. The animated series features the adventures of the Griffin family. Peter and Lois have three kids -- the youngest is a brilliant, sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and world domination. Chris, like his father, is obese, has a low IQ and no common sense. Meg desperately tries to be part of the popular crowd, and is coldly rebuffed. Their talking dog Brian keeps baby Stewie in check while sipping martinis and sorting out his own life issues."

Family Double Dare - Nick.com: "Family Double Dare gets the whole family into the mess! Families team up to answer trivia questions (or dare the other team to tackle them first). If the "dared" team "double-dares" right back, then the other team faces a mega-messy "physical challenge." The winning family goes on to the famously gooey and slippery Double Dare Slopstacle Course. "

Family Matters - TV.com: "Family Matters focused on Harriet Winslow and her family of sorts. Carl Winslow, her husband, was a dutiful cop, and a gruff and lovable father to three kids: Eddie Winslow, the rebel son; Laura Winslow, the smart-aleck daughter; and cute little Judy Winslow. They had opened their home to Harriet's sister, Rachel Crawford and her little baby son Richie, and in the very first episode, Carl had to open his home to his cool and streetwise mother, Estelle Winslow, whether he wanted to or not. Everything was going along just fine until one day, Steve Urkel, the inventive nerd, barged into their home and eventually, into their hearts."

Mama's Family - TV.com: "Mama's Family mined humor from a squabbling family in the Midwestern blue collar suburb of Raytown. The noisy clan was headed by Mama, a buxom, gray-haired widow with sharp opinions and a sharper tongue who shared her small house with her high-strung sister Fran, a journalist for a local paper. Mama's lazy, dimwitted son, Vint, a locksmith by trade, moved in at the start of the series with his troublesome teenage children, Buzz and Sonja, after his wife run off to become a Las Vegas show-girl."

All in the Family - TV.com: "Archie Bunker was the main character, and what a character he was. He was televison's most famous bigot, crass and down right rude. Yet he was lovable, with a soft side just beneath the surface. Edith Bunker was his somewhat dizzy wife whom he called "Dingbat." Edith put up with Archie and had qualities about her that made her one of television's most unforgettable characters. Also living in the Bunker household were Archie and Edith's daughter, Gloria, and her husband Mike, or "Meathead" as Archie called him."

Family Affair - TV.com: "Bill Davis' carefree existence as a swinging bachelor was just about perfect. A highly paid consulting engineer, he maintained an elegant apartment off Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and had his domestic needs cared for by a very English gentleman's gentleman, Mr. French. Into this life of independence came three young orphans, the 6-year old twins Buffy and Jody and 15-year-old Cissy. Their parents, Bill's brother and sister-in-law, had died in an accident, and other relatives felt that Bill could best provide for them."

The Addams Family - TV.com: The Addams Family consisted of Gomez and Morticia Addams and their two children, Pugsley and Wednesday. Also included are Uncle Fester, Grandmama, the hairy Cousin Itt, the butler Lurch and Thing!"

While time changes what's considered wacky, television families have always fit the category.

Catie Lazarus: A Review of The Cleveland Show : Hancock's Previous Episodes

2009-10-19T12:25:48Z

Traditionally, television comedy chronicles the woes of being a shlubby, mediocre
American male, who is really a well meaning teddy bear underneath, but it is also a
defense of obnoxious people. Perhaps this is a reflection of the shows creators or their understanding of the real America. Regardless of what propels the writers to recycle this dynamic, their (and the actors) task is to encourage viewers
to empathize with these curmudgeons, make these prickly pears appear lovable, or, at least, watchable, as determined by TV studio executives.

The
list of sitcoms featuring black or white cantankerous males is endless, be it: The Honeymooners, All in The Family, Sanford & Son, Fawlty
Towers, The Jeffersons, Mr. Belvedere, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Frasier, The Simpsons, Mad About You, Married with Children, Scrubs, South Park, Family Guy, Entourage, My Name is Earl, House of Payne, Bored
to Death, and The Office.

While
fewer in number, female driven half-hour comedies tend to follow a similar formula,
although grouchy women must fit in two girl-next-door sizes, bovine or
extra small. Rhoda, Mama's Family, One Day at a Time, Gimme a Break, Designing Women, Murphy Brown, The Nanny, 227, Roseanne,
Golden Girls, Absolutely Fabulous, Weeds, and Parks and Recreation sought (and seek) to defy the one dimensional characterizations of women as either maternal,
self-flagellating, nuns or sex-craved lunatics. As you've seen, certain characters successfully bucked the trend and others became another spoke in the tried and true wheel.

There
are comedies with equally indefensible male and female characters, colorful
ensemble casts, including Three's Company, Frasier, What's Happening, Just
Shoot Me, Will and Grace, Seinfeld (although with only one female), Little
Britain, Arrested Development, Hung, and The Cleveland Show.

And,
finally, there are comedies where the children are as complex as the adults, acting as apples that don't fall from the tree and provide space for B and C story lines instead of mere anecdotes. What The
Cleveland Show does best is that its kids are, as The Who sang, "alright." Last
night's episode of The Cleveland Show was so exception.

This time, the insipid baby
bully, Rallo, and popular, alpha teen, Regina, are mystified why Cleveland Jr. dutifully
helps their mother Roberta with household chores. But they soon realize he's not merely
responsible and good-natured, he is a sycophant. Cleveland Jr. fastidiously make his bed, ensuring the blanket doesn't
"divorce" his sheets and boast that he has never cried over his
parents divorce. Feeling compassionate, Rallo and Regina intervene.

The
pop-psychology de rigueur depiction of familial dysfunction where members act
as arm chair psychologists and solve each others' problems is America's cheapest form of mental health care (and will sadly remain so even if health care reform passes). Cleveland Jr. is not rebelling and therefore he isn't doing well. The
step-siblings set out to force him to feel his pain. He must cry by any means
necessary, even if the pain isn't about his folks per se. (If they are going to
set him free, i.e. to feel as miserable as they do, they must gain some
sadistic pleasure from it.)

Staged contrived intimacy, typically in the form of a Youtube web video or low-budget reality show, is the only way American teens know how to show they care! Luckily for us, they don't lock him in the bathroom for days on end and film it. Instead, the duo stage "The
Cleveland Jr. Roast," and call in Don Rickels to perform his services. (One
wonder if their audience know his version preceded the Comedy Central glossy toasts.)

Rallo
refers to Cleveland Jr. as a, "A Man So Huge His Butt Has It's Own Zip
Code." Cleveland Jr. feels terrible that he is so overweight, he requires
his own "municipality." After enough taunts from Rallo, Regina, and Rickels,
his whimpering turns to tears. They then hug it out, well, everyone except Don
Rickels. A commercial break appears to be the only way to stop his zinging. Oh, adult-children! Cleveland Jr.'s own parents are no more mature.

Too enmeshed in their own woes, the parents don't know how to prevent Cleveland Jr. from stuffing down his feelings. While the siblings step in, Cleveland finds his footing on the work front. Cleveland hasn't
found a job, a timely issue, except that there is no mention of the present day economic woes as an impetus. His new friend Tim quickly hooks Cleveland up with a job
as an entree level telemarketer. His boss-to-be spews overplayed fears about hiring a black man. (Institutional racism remains a serious issue, and one worthy of skewering, but, like with sexism, it is typically subtler and more intrenched than Hollywood makes it out to be.) Cleveland "overcomes" and makes exceptional sales and the boss apologizes for "stereotyping
people."

Cleveland happily takes his Employee of
the Month $200.00 reward bonus and decides, as Cleveland says, to "waste" it, as if we're in still in the nineties... In
contrast to the astronomical bonuses bankers receive, most recently Goldman
Sachs employees, his paltry two hundred dollars seem reasonable if not
inconsequential. The only person, err, mammal to appear upset is Tim, as the
bear can't seem to make a sale.

Success gets to Cleveland's head. He, along with his bar mates, mock Tim, with awful, ironic
jokes about how his bear genitalia is anything but bigger than the average
bear. Cleveland then starts to self-sabotage after a just a week of success and
plays hooky. He hits bottom when he gets into a car with Terry, his high school buddy, even though he points out that Terry
is too drunk to drive safely. A car accident with a non-moving object ensues. Cleveland
takes the rap, which somehow turns Roberta on sexually.

His
wife may have bailed him out, but he is forced to leave his job. Luckily, he
realizes his racist boss is a closeted homosexual and has a thing for Terry,
and is able to outmaneuver the boss, offering made-up titillating stories about
Terry in exchange for a job, this time though away from his desk. Cleveland
succeeds, even getting Tim a raise. The established conflicts are solved, even
if the plausibility of much of the storylines goes unanswered.

Will
the racial jokes feel less recycled? Like when Terry takes the wrap for he and Cleveland smoking pot, he does so to help Cleveland's bright future
stay that way. Except his joking about how Cleveland might one day become a black president? Mocking past generations dismissal of such possibility has been done repeatedly, including on The Cleveland Show.

Since this is a comedy starring blacks as depicted by whites, it faces greater scrutiny than comedies, the majority of which are uncomfortable and clumsy in rendering prejudice. They see it through the lens of white people and not the minorities or otherwise oppressed.

To its credit, The Cleveland Show doesn't fall as often into the same traps as those programs intending to be sensitive about race and culture as Jody Rosen points out in Slate. Rallo challenges
Cleveland's knowledge of Herbie Hancock, a musician closer to Cleveland's age
is certainly a common source of one-upmanship between parents and children,
peers, and colleagues, regardless of race. And the show will feature more hip celebrities, like Kanye West, to balance out the old school ones, like Mr. Hancock.

The show's pop-culture references outweigh the political ones in terms of
frequency, timeliness, and complexity, which is typical for Seth McFarlane vehicles. Having reviewed four episodes, I think I've offered as much as a picture of the themes and characters as is needed. The characters will continue to develop, some episodes will be better than others, as I've noted and as is the case with any series. It remains to be seen whether the
funny jokes can out outweigh the duds. And as long as The Cleveland Show
remains art mocking life, our country is fine, but if life ends up imitating
it, we're doomed.

Windows 7 On 'Family Guy': Microsoft Teams Up With Seth MacFarlane To Sell Software

2009-10-13T22:59:50Z

The software giant has signed a deal with Fox to sponsor a variety show produced by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, voice of the family guy himself, Peter Griffin, and actress Alex Borstein, who plays wife Lois Griffin. The show will air Nov. 8 without commercial interruption -- because it will instead feature Windows-branded programming throughout the program.

Venezuela Bans "Family Guy" -- But "Baywatch" Is OK (VIDEO)

2009-10-06T14:06:12Z

By Charlie Devereux

CARACAS, Venezuela -- He's a pot-smoking toddler who fantasizes about killing his mother and he's the latest American figure to rile the Venezuelan government.

Stewie Griffin, the animated character from the hit cartoon "Family Guy," has caused offense here in Venezuela by singing a ditty lauding marijuana's restorative properties.

The Venezuelan government highlighted the clip as an example of how the U.S. government promotes pot smoking and the legalization of drugs. Venezuela resented a recent U.S. Congress report that said a fourfold increase in cocaine smuggling through Venezuela has been aided by police corruption and a refusal to work with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

A Bag Of Weed - Funny bloopers are a click away

"There's no subliminal messages here," said Interior and Justice Minister Tarek El Assaimi, who warned that the government would fine any TV station that continues to broadcast the show. "It's an animated cartoon where you can observe perfectly how they promote consumption and moreover sponsor the consumption of marijuana."

El Aissami blamed U.S. drug consumption for fueling Venezuela's narco-trafficking market and suggested that "adult" cartoons such as "Family Guy" were mouthpieces for the U.S. government's tolerant attitude toward drugs.

"Family Guy" is not the first cartoon to receive short shrift from authorities in Venezuela. Last year, "The Simpsons" was banned from terrestrial television after it was ruled "unsuitable" for children. It was replaced with "Baywatch," the 1990s series featuring scantily-clad lifeguards in California.

And offensive American cartoons are not the only shows to have felt the sting of government censure. President Hugo Chavez's government has been shutting down radio and TV stations across the country, accusing them of violating licensing laws. In 2007, the government revoked the terrestrial license of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), arguing the station had played a large part in orchestrating a coup

"Increasingly what we are seeing is the state assuming a role in which it says what you can and can't watch," said Andres Canizalez, an investigator at the Center for Communication at the Andres Bello Catholic University.

Many protested what they claimed was a clamp on freedom of expression, but others were more annoyed about losing the station that broadcast the majority of the beloved telenovelas, or soap operas.

And those staples of Venezuelan viewing habits haven't escaped fierce criticsm from Chavez.

"Careful with those capitalist telenovelas -- they poison," he said last year. "It's all a design, an ideological design -- to destroy the potential of a girl or a boy, of a youth -- to induct them into that plastic life and many times to violence, to prostitution, to the loss of values, to smoke cigarettes, to drink rum and I don't know what else ... to drugs."

So far they've survived but not without having to practice self-censorship, said Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, a professor at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and author of "Venezuela es una telenovela" ("Venezuela is a telenovela").

She points to telenovelas such as "Cosita Rica," which aired in 2003-2004 when Venezuela was at its most polarized following a coup attempt and a two-month national oil strike that tried to bring Chavez's government down.

"Cosita Rita," like other telenovelas at that time, did not shy away from political content. "It had characters who were allegoric of the political scene, including a character that was a metaphor of President Chavez," said Acosta-Alzuru.

But since 2007 when RCTV had its license revoked, most stations have toned down the subjects they tackle, even on entertainment shows, fearing similar reprisals.

The government put out its own telenovela on the state channel Venezolana de Television (VTV) in 2004. "Amores del Barrio Adentro," which told the story of love and life inside a poor neighborhood, was an attempt to present an alternative reality to what the private channels showed, but was panned by critics as government propaganda. It stopped airing soon after its launch, although the government claimed this was because VTV moved toward a news-centered agenda.

Yet despite Chavez's strong aversion to telenovelas, one of them actually helped him in his rise to power, said Acosta-Alzuru.

"Por Estas Calles" mirrored the reality under the government that preceded Chavez's. The show, set in the barrios, became famous for addressing the corruption that was rife in Venezuelan politics at the time and often used plotlines grabbed from newspaper headlines.

"To me it's always ironic when he mentions telenovelas," she said, "because actually he should be thankful."

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Catie Lazarus: TV Review: The Cleveland Show

2009-10-05T17:13:59Z

The
Cleveland Show is simultaneously inventive and familiar in how it chronicles the
adventures of a loving and garden-variety dysfunctional American family. The
second episode lets us get to know the interpersonal dynamics and challenges
Cleveland faces as he seeks to ingratiate himself and command respect in his
newly blended family.

It
is easy to root for the character, Cleveland. Like many adults, he does not
enjoy putting on the mask adulthood requires, but, as with the rest of us, he
does try to rise to the occasion that age inevitably poses. (Granted for men, these
days, effort seems to be all that matters.) Cleveland fumbles at first. He
would rather buy off his step children, Regina, who he tries to appease with a
pair of cubic zirconium earrings, and Rallo, who he tries to win over with a
new dog. He seems most uncomfortable parenting his own son, Cleveland Jr., perhaps
as he sees in his son his own tendency to avoid conflict and
active-passivity. What is most refreshing and wry is how Cleveland tackles his own
disappointment in his son's shortcomings.

Cleveland
refers to his son's dumb decisions as "curious," a far more clever
and gentle response than his more misanthropic comedic counterparts, be it
Larry David, Homer Simpson or Cartwright, might offer their kinder. As the prototypical
comedic, buffoonish dad character goes, Cleveland falls in the well-intentioned
variety. He feels bad about running over his step-children's dog, revolted by
his friend eating the dog, and clear-eyed about how the kids will react, even
if it was a mistake. His goal is not to subvert growing up at any cost, only do
right if it is the only way out. Cleveland is more of an every man, capable of
good and bad acts, despite having a heart that beats.

There
are moments and characters that are not as earnest. The show's otherwise
traditional format is broken up intermittently by catty, biting sketches ridiculing
celebrities. The jabs are on point but easy, like how pop star John Mayer, actor/Bono-to-be Brad Pitt, and several other famous males all share one thing in common: dating then dumping Jennifer Aniston. Some of the other potshots made in hindsight over yesteryear's inconsequential news are mocking the deceased Indie musician Kurt Cobain's questionable judgement in sleeping with train-wreck Courtney Love, and Halle Berry's tear-strewn acceptance speech over being the first black female actress to win an Oscar.

Overall,
The Cleveland Show is funny and, for lack of a better word, true. When Rallo compliments
Cleveland for being supportive during this vulnerable time in Rallo's life, and
then blows his nose on Cleveland's shirt, it hilariously and accurately conveys
how children, like adults, can be, as the French say, mechante. The writers also
deftly demonstrate how humans do dumb things well. Cleveland Jr. makes a
concerted effort in becoming a bathroom attendant, oblivious to the nine
zillion other options he can pursue in making a niche for himself at a new school.
With both boys, Cleveland buoyantly steps in, as he does with Regina, when her
own father neglects to do so. He is rewarded, successfully wining over Regina and Rallo, not to mention a growing audience fan base.

"Family Guy" Goes Disney (VIDEO): The Pie Song

2009-09-28T09:51:49Z

During the premiere of Fox's "Family Guy" last night the show imagined what it would look like if the characters were all transported into the wonderful world of Disney. Everyone became much happier and skipped along "gaily," as Stewie put it, and there is a very pleasant song about pie.

However, this being a "Family Guy" episode, it doesn't work out well in the end.

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Catie Lazarus: TV Review: The Cleveland Show

2009-09-27T16:21:33Z

"Can you come wipe me?" Cleveland
Jr., a teenage schlub who is sitting on the toilet, asks his pop, who is next to him taking a bath. Cleveland Jr. isn't developmentally delayed, more of
a man-child in the making: like father, like son. A similar parallel can be
drawn about The Cleveland Show, a
new 1/2 hour animated comedy starring the father-son team, which is a spin-off of
The Family Guy.

Like it's forefather, The Cleveland Show shares the
same aesthetic and skewers the oafish, albeit well-intentioned, middle-America,
middle-aged male. When asked at a screening at The
New York Television Festival, what is different about The Cleveland Show,
its creator, Mike Henry, said, "The show has more heart."

As animated comedies go, it certainly has poignant moments, like a flashback to Cleveland's high school prom years prior,
where despite his jerry curl worn non-ironically, he is rejected by his crush, Donna. She falls for the bad boy, Robert Tubbs, who slaps Donna on the ass and commands her to, "Show your fat ass to
the boys."

Decades later, Cleveland stumbles upon Donna when he returns to his hometown in Virgina. Recently divorced, he is still starry-eyed over
Donna, and the pilot episode (airing tonight at 8:30 pm EST) chronicles him wooing her back. I won't say whether he succeeds, only that at one point, Cleveland
slaps Donna on her rear, and says that her, "nice fat ass is mine." As
it's a cartoon made in Hollywood, all Donna does is smile.

The Cleveland Show is not meant to offer a
meta-analysis of the state of America's gender or race relations. It's a family comedy,
with black characters, that doesn't shy away from off-color jokes,
which is as progressive as network TV gets. There is
not one scene where a black character interacts with a white one without a
racial joke played, as if it's some type of nervous tick. Still, creating leading black characters, even in 2009 and in a cartoon, is progressive compared to its non-animated and animated competition. Behind the camera, the talent is also mixed, not in
terms of skill, but race.

Seth MacFarlane was not as involved in the production as Mike Henry and Rich Appel, although he does
voice the bear with the unidentifiable, maybe European-accent. Arianna
Huffington plays the bear's wife. (If this seems
odd, she's worn different hats, as this liberal champion once
served as a Republican grand dame.) Ms. Huffington doesn't mug and keeps up
with some incredibly talented voice-over actors, most notably Kevin-Michael
Richardson, who plays Cleveland Jr. and the redneck neighbor Lester. Like
The Family Guy, there are celebrity cameos, including Kanye West, Earth, Wind
& Fire, and Scottie Pippen.

Stars aren't the only ones finding time for The
Cleveland Show. Fox ordered a second season before the first one even aired. Based
on the reaction from the packed crowd at The New York Television Festival's screening,
Cleveland will be a welcome in many homes.

Venezuela To Fine Networks That Air "Family Guy"

2009-09-25T09:53:23Z

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan authorities plan to impose fines on cable television companies that refuse to stop airing the animated television series "Family Guy."

Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami says the program should be pulled from the airwaves because it promotes the use of marijuana.

Brandon Mendelson: Oh Noes , You're Outrage: Hating On The Family Guy Critics

2009-09-24T18:45:26Z

Let’s walk through the following blog post. The excerpts are from “Family Guy Hacks A Cat To Death: Humor Or Repugnance?”

“That’s it. I’m not going to sit here any longer and do nothing but jaw with supporters of Family Guy on my Hub”‘

If you don’t want to jaw with them, why don’t you just delete the comments or block the users? Why does everyone think a blog is a democracy? Its not.

“I’ve just sent this letter to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) through media channels and intend to follow up to ensure that action is taken.”

Really? Granted, PETA freaks over everything (just ask the president), but it’s a cartoon. A. Car. Tooooooon. Out of everything to be offended with on Family Guy (how about that joke with Meg, the hot dogs, and the New York Knicks?) you’re upset about Peter killing a cat? Stewie beating the crap out of Brian was ok?

Hmm. Brutal violence. Questionably racist hot dogs. No? Not offended? But an anoynmous cat? Oh NOES, YOU’RE OUTRAGE!

“As a leading blogger on the number one internet publishing platform HubPages, I have railed against Seth MacFarlane and Fox Network’s Family Guy for unethical and repugnant subject matter which has no right to be shown on the public airwaves of the nation.

Whoa. A leading blogger? Sorry dude, unless you’re on this list, the only thing you’re leading is a trail of smoked bullshit. I’ll give you that Hubpages has a lot of traffic, but if you’re a leading blogger, wouldn’t you need to appear on, oh I don’t know, on the first twenty pages or so of the best Hubspot authors?

Oh, and number one Internet publishing platform? Hmmm. Blogger. Wordpress. Typepad. Even Live Journal is ranked higher than Hubpages on Alexa.

“However, in the episode of Family Guy aired last night, April 19, 2009, this following scene completely left me disgusted, nauseated and revolted:”

Wait. I thought, “I have railed against Seth MacFarlane and Fox Network’s Family Guy for unethical and repugnant subject matter which has no right to be shown on the public airwaves of the nation”. So why are you still watching it?“

“As a lifelong animal lover I cannot possibly imagine the effect that this scene can have on children, showing one of their cartoon heroes savagely killing and desecrating the corpse of a household pet.”

Dude. I taught in the ghetto. If you think what kids see on Family Guy is going to have an adverse effect on them, you’re a fool.

I find no redeeming social value to a young impressionable child channel surfing and watching what to all outward appearances is a fun kiddie cartoon and ending up viewing a man mutilating a household pet or a half naked woman trying to have sex with a tied-up dog, whether the dog is anthropomorphosized or not.

Television broadcasts not on PBS require social value? I realize Kim Kardashian is hot, but where’s the social value in Keeping Up With The Kardashians?

I’m pretty sure Family Guy airs at 9pm. It’s not 10pm, which is when it should air if you want to split hairs concerning content that airs according to the FCC guidelines, but I like how you assume:

1) Kids are retarded. They’re not.

2) That kids are watching the show on television. They’re not, they’re watching on Hulu. AND if their parents are responsible, the family computer is downstairs, not in the bedroom, where an adult is around if needed if not present as the kids are watching these shows.

“I see no reason why the public airwaves must feature content which not only promotes felonies, pornography, bestiality, animal mutilation, and other forms of horrific violent nihilism, but wraps them in a cartoon format to specifically appeal to young people.”

You know The Flintstones when they aired promoted cigarettes, not to mention sexism, right? And that was outright promotion, Family Guy, The Simpsons, Married With Children, I could go on, but that is all satire meant for entertainment. If you can’t deal with it, you can tune out the “public” airwaves in favor of any number of alternatives. I hear that Internets is awesome.

“I have been advocating that Fox remove Family Guy from the broadcast airwaves, and either put it on an XXX rated satellite channel which is for adults only, or package it in a DVD format and sell it in adult stores. If Family Guy is on the public airwaves which are administered by the FCC on behalf of the people of the United States, then it needs to be removed immediately as pornography.”

Yes. He said that.

“PETA has a long history of activism against television broadcasters who promote animal cruelty. From Reuters on August 15, 2007 with regards to a Gaza TV station airing footage of a cat being swung by his tail:

“It’s shocking and sickening,” said Martin Mersereau, manager of the domestic animal abuse division of U.S.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).”

Huh. An actual person swinging a cat around violently registers a response from PETA. Whoa. I am now freaking out!

If PETA took this level of action with a single television station in a very small market and audience, I hereby formally request that your agency act immediately and forcefully against a television program promoting the massacre of a household pet viewed last night by millions of Americans.

I’m failing to see the quantum leap here. PETA responded to a program featuring actual people abusing actual cats in the name of education. I won’t debate the merits of Palestinian Television (this clip says it all), but you want them to freak out on a fictional person, abusing a fictional cat, in a cartoon, because you’re offended?

Listen, no one cares what I think. That’s why I’m posting this on my blog and not answering this on television or in the news. No one cares what this author thinks either. All because we’re all social publishers doesn’t mean people care about what we have to say.

Quite honestly, I’m tired of folks like this. Bullies. You remember bullies? That’s what they’re being right now. A loud, stupid, bully who is trying to grind their axe against a cartoon, and to what end?

Let’s say the author has their way and Fox suddenly caved and pulled Family Guy off the air. Then what? They’ll find something else to be outraged with. And then something else. And then something else. In most cases, this would be an assumption on my part, but for people like them, this has been the course of action for years now. All these idiots all worked up thinking what they say matters suddenly because they’ve found other idiots who share their myopic opinions.

For all the good social publishing has brought to us, these people represent the worst kind of evil. The kind our young men and women go overseas to fight against. No sir, I call bullshit on this author, their misdirected anger, and the kind of America he and his friends would leave us with. Enough is enough and I’m tired of the stupids dictating what we can and can’t do or watch.

If we don’t stand up to bullies like this, it won’t end until bland, stale programming, not targeted to anyone in particular, airs on every single channel, on every time of night, on every website around the world. What. Did you think they would stop with America?

We will all live in a place where we dress the same, act the same, and smile the same empty, souless smile that accompanies corpses when they’re displayed at a wake.

And the stupids will be happy with this, until someone looks at them funny or says something in jest, and then you’ll find something else to spew crazy at.

I hate people like this, many of us do, we’re just too busy living life, being responsible, and having fun to acknowledge their existence. But I’m acknowledging their existence because I pledge eternal hostility against their kind, and any self-righteous bully out there that wants to blame everything for what’s wrong with society instead of taking personal responsibility.

If this guy and his friends care so much about the children and what they interact with, what the hell are they doing online writing blog posts like this? Shouldn’t they be out volunteering and helping the children in need through wonderful programs like Big Brothers and Big Sisters? Yes. Yes they should.

'Family Guy' Mocks 'The Office' In Emmy Ad (VIDEO)

2009-08-18T13:53:40Z

"Family Guy" is the first animated series in almost 50 years to earn an Emmy nomination for best comedy series, and it is not going to lose without a fight.

The show, which is up against six other comedies ("Entourage," "The Office," "30 Rock," "Weeds," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Flight of the Conchords") has started a public ad campaign bashing its competitors.

The first short in the series has baby Stewie attacking "The Office" and his friend Brian for defending it. "Indians and Hispanics don't live in Scranton!" He yells.

Stewie, who was recently outed, may have stiffer competition in his future brawls when Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh guest-star this season.

WATCH:

Rush Limbaugh And Karl Rove To Appear In Family Guy

2009-08-14T09:27:11Z

American right-wing talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and former president George Bush's strategist Karl Rove are to play themselves in a forthcoming episode of Fox's animation Family Guy.

In the episode being produced for next season, Brian, the liberal dog of the cartoon's central family, the Griffins, gets bored and frustrated because he feels he no longer has anything to complain about with Barack Obama in the White House, so he becomes a Republican and starts listening to Limbaugh.

Seth MacFarlane: Baby Stewie From 'Family Guy' Is Gay

2009-08-13T14:52:55Z

Seth MacFarlane is finally spilling the secrets of "Family Guy" -- including the fact that, yes, baby Stewie is gay.

"We had an episode that went all the way to the script phase in which Stewie does come out," MacFarlane, the show's creator, says in the September issue of Playboy magazine. "It had to do with the harassment he took from other kids at school. He ends up going back in time to prevent a passage in Leviticus from being written: 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is an abomination.'

"Family Guy" Censored Abortion Episode Performed Live (VIDEO)

2009-08-13T10:46:58Z

BY DERRIK J. LANG, AP

LOS ANGELES — "Family Guy" was uncensored for Emmy voters.

The cast of the bawdy popular animated Fox series performed a never-to-be-aired episode for members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the press on Wednesday evening at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Hollywood. The episode's topic du jour? Abortion.

"Not as bad as you think," said Seth MacFarlane, the husky toned "Family Guy" creator who serves as executive producer, writer and who also supplies numerous voices on the show, including bumbling Griffin family patriarch Peter, antagonistic toddler Stewie and talking dog Brian.

MacFarlane was joined on stage by fellow "Family Guy" voice actors John Viener, Danny Smith, Christine Lakin, Alec Sulkin, Mila Kunis and Alex Borstein. The actors read their lines in front of a live orchestra with MacFarlane and Borstein performing musical routines between acts.

WATCH (VIDEO COURTESY THE LIVE FEED)

RELATED: LIMBAUGH, ROVE TO GUEST ON "FAMILY GUY"

Part I

Part II

Part III

READ MORE FROM THE LIVE FEED HERE

RELATED: LIMBAUGH, ROVE TO GUEST ON "FAMILY GUY"

Most of the episode dealt with matriarch Lois (played by Borstein) deciding to become a surrogate mother for her infertile friend – against Peter's wishes. After her friend is killed in a car crash, the Griffins are left with the difficult decision of what to do about the pregnancy.

At one point, Peter watches an anti-abortion video, which proclaims several people would be alive if abortion wasn't legal, including a fourth Stooge, the guy who would have killed Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden's America-loving brother, who could have prevented 9/11.

Inappropriate or not, the crowd was in stitches. The series, which is set in the fictional suburb of Quahog, R.I., has had a penchant for political incorrectness and going to the edge since premiering in 1999 and being canceled – and then later resurrected – in 2000 and again in 2002.

Earlier this month at Comic Con, MacFarlane announced that Fox had declined to air the "Family Guy" episode. Network entertainment president Kevin Reilly told the Television Critics Association last week that the decision not to air the episode was driven by potential advertiser concerns.

Before Wednesday's show began, 20th Century Fox Television spokesman Chris Alexander warned the audience not to record the live performance "because this episode has never aired, and quite frankly never will air, but it will probably be on DVD at some point."

"Family Guy" is the first animated comedy to be nominated for a comedy series Emmy since "The Flintstones" in 1961. This year, it will go up against series such as "30 Rock" and "The Office." MacFarlane joked the event was organized to "drum up support so we could lose by fewer votes."

RELATED: LIMBAUGH, ROVE TO GUEST ON "FAMILY GUY"

___

On the Net:

http://www.fox.com/familyguy/

Beth Armogida: Get in Line, "Family Guy"

2009-07-30T19:46:53Z

Recently, "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane told an audience at Comic-Con that Fox is not likely to air a new episode about abortion. Apparently, 20th Century Fox had green-lighted the episode entitled "Partial Terms of Endearment," but then Fox later got cold feet. Sure, it's disappointing, but this particular type of censorship has happened throughout the history of television. "Family Guy" now joins a long list of shows that have had abortion-themed stories pulled off the air. Here are just some of the abortion episodes never seen:

"Seinfeld" - Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George hold a contest to see who can go for the longest period of time without having an abortion.

"I Love Lucy" - Lucy and Ethel get a job working at an abortion clinic, and they can't keep up with the number of pregnant ladies on the conveyor belt

"The Flintstones" - While Fred spends their savings on a new hair-brained scheme, Wilma secretly visits a Bedrock clinic to get an abor-stone.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" - Raymond learns not everybody loves him when he finds out his mother almost aborted him once while she was pregnant and once on his 16th birthday.

"The Carol Burnett Show" - Harvey Korman and Tim Conway crack up when Carol Burnett spoofs Joan Crawford trying to have an abortion with "No wire hangers!"

"Saved by the Bell" - At prom, Screech finds a surprise in the dumpster.

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" - Entitled "Mary's Secret," Mary thinks she's pregnant and schedules an abortion, and, since the father is the newly deceased Chuckles the Clown, she can't stop laughing about it. (Voted one of the funniest, unaired abortion episodes ever.)

"The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" - Mrs. Tiny Tim gets an abortion on the show, and then Burt Reynolds sprays whipped cream down everyone's pants.

"Malcolm in the Middle" - When Lois discovers she's pregnant, Malcolm, Reese and Dewey slip a bottle of morning-after pills into her coffee and push her down the stairs.

"Three's Company" (Season 2) - Chrissy gets knocked up, and when Mr. Roper overhears Janet telling her to "get rid of it," he thinks they've murdered Jack.

"Three's Company" (Season 5) - In order to impress a girl at the Regal Beagle, Jack pretends to be a doctor and then has to perform an emergency abortion assisted by Mr. Furley.

"Friends" - The one where Phoebe, Monica and Rachel all end up at the same abortion clinic and Ross loses a dinosaur egg.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - At Sunnydale High, young women are becoming pregnant by vampire boyfriends, so Buffy becomes the Baby Slayer.

"Happy Days" - Fonzie aborts the shark.

"Star Trek" - Captain Kirk impregnates a green, alien woman, and Dr. McCoy must perform an interstellar abortion while yelling, "Damn it, Jim!"

"Monty Python's Flying Circus" - The classic, musical sketch about the sword-wielding Medieval Knights of the Third Trimester.

"Maude" - Wait... In 1972, CBS actually aired an episode in primetime about Maude having an abortion. This tells you how much we've progressed since then.

Seth MacFarlane Gets Emmy Nomination For "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" In Family Guy Episode "I Dream Of Jesus" (VIDEO)

2009-07-16T20:30:16Z

The hit animated series "Family Guy" scored a major triumph when it became the the first animated series to be nominated for an Emmy (Best Comedy Series) in 48 years. The last animated series to be up for an Emmy was "The Flinstones" in 1961.

Indeed, "Family Guy" received not one but two Emmy nominations. The second is for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, which series creator Seth MacFarlane hopes to take home for his portrayal of Peter Griffin in the episode "I Dream of Jesus." Watch clips from the episode below.

WATCH:

'Family Guy' Vies With Live-Action Sitcoms For Comedy Emmy

2009-07-16T16:27:23Z

NEW YORK — More than most other Emmy categories, the nominations for best comedy series emerge as a clash of disparate contenders.

With the announcement of the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards Thursday, a familiar, knotty question rears its head again: Just what kind of comedy is fit to be honored above the rest when Emmy time rolls around?

"Family Guy" Mocks Annoying Banner Ads On Fox (VIDEO)

2009-05-20T08:18:47Z

In a segment called "Commercial Interruption" on this week's "Family Guy," the littlest Griffin, Stewie, began yelling at the on-screen graphics promoting a new episode of "24."

"Maybe finish this candy bar before you open another one," he shouted at a banner ad of Kiefer Sutherland's head.

Stewie then noted that at least it wasn't one of those lower-thirds that contained a whole cast jostling each other for attention. At that moment an ad for the fictional ad "Shovin' Buddies" appeared.

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Everything's Better With A Bag Of Weed: "Family Guy" Celebrates 4/20 (VIDEO)

2009-04-20T10:43:54Z

HuffPost's own Ryan Grim did an excellent piece today on the origins of 4/20 and why it has become the highly celebrated "National Weed Day." Something tells us the folks at "Family Guy" didn't need to read it to get jazzed about the holiday.

Last night they did an episode entitled "420," in which Brian, the dog, lead a campaign in Quahog to legalize marijuana after being arrested for possession. He gave an impassioned speech about the topic in the local park then realized a big musical number was a better way to recruit stoners.

Set to the tune of "Me Ol' Bamboo" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, "Everything Is Better With A Bag Of Weed," is fun for the whole family!

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"Family Guy," "American Dad" Men Talk Hillary Clinton, Maureen Dowd (VIDEO)

2009-04-04T08:30:12Z

Characters from "Family Guy" and "American Dad" riff on Hillary Clinton and Maureen Dowd in a promo for Fox's Sunday lineup.

"Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State," Peter Griffin says. "What do you think?"

"Well I think she's doing great, but I bet Joe Biden would like a little less blonde ambition at State," Stewie replies.

"I read that in the New York Times!" Roger the Alien says.

"Yeah, that was in Maureen Dowd's column," Cleveland chimes in.

"Well," Stewie stutters, "that Maureen Dowd sounds like one sharp tack. I'll have to start reading her. What paper does she write for again?"

Watch:

In November, Dowd wrote in the New York Times about Obama's possible selection of Clinton as Secretary of State:

How, one may ask, can he put Hillary -- who voted to authorize the Iraq war without even reading the intelligence assessment -- in charge of patching up a foreign policy and a world riven by that war?

You can hear the gnashing of teeth from John Kerry -- who thought the job was promised to him in return for his endorsement after New Hampshire -- and Bill "Judas" Richardson, who met Friday with Obama in Chicago to discuss the job.

And Joe Biden would probably like a little less blond ambition at State so he could be the shadow secretary. But as James Carville has said, a campaign is the time to stab your enemies and a transition is the time to stab your friends.

"Family Guy" Takes On Fox News (VIDEO)

2009-03-26T11:57:46Z

In an episode entitled "FOX-y Lady," the "Family Guy" took on their own network's news branch this Sunday. The plot revolves around the family's matriarch auditioning to be a Fox News anchor after the woman who held the job previously turned out to be too ugly for HDTV.

In the following scene Lois gets a tour of Fox's studio. She has her liberal dog in tow to prove to him that it's not a "lie factory." It doesn't go well, although the family's fascist baby says it "feels like a warm blanket."

For the full episode, go here.

WATCH:

Scott Foval: Send Rupert Murdoch A Message He Truly Understands

2009-02-20T17:00:00Z

Tonight I am canceling my MySpace account.

First, I messaged everyone in my address book, and told them why.

Rupert Murdoch only understands one thing. Eyeballs + Ears = Money.

When the New York Post Wednesday published an editorial cartoon by artist Sean Delonas picturing a chimpanzee being shot by police officers, with one officer stating "THEY'LL HAVE TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO WRITE THE NEXT STIMULUS BILL" it was the last straw. To me, the cartoon appeared to be a clear, racist message about assassinating the President of the United States. When one considers that there is a "Beware of Dogs" sign not-so-hidden in the cartoon, another not-so-subtle linkage with our country's racist past; the combination spoke a darker message.

Now, defenders of New York Post owner Rupert Murdoch are already saying that liberals like me are the ones being racist for viewing this cartoon and gleaning the message we have from it. They have called us hyper-sensitive; insisting that the cartoon refers to Congress, whom they say "wrote the bill." This is, of course, despite the fact that the cartoon was published one day after the first African American President of the United States signed the largest piece of stimulus legislation into law. You do the math. Hate speech, even if it is veiled in a cartoon, is still hate speech.

In Chicago we see images of police officers shooting African Americans, in the past publicly calling them "monkeys," and sicking police dogs on civil rights marchers; and it instantly reminds us of the painful, racist past we have worked so hard to erase. Considering that New York is very much as racially divided as Chicago is, it isn't hard to make a linkage that the "rich white guy who owns a major paper" in New York might have just allowed his paper to send a very clear, violent, and outwardly racist, yet First Amendment-protected message to the President.

Hopefully the U.S. Secret Service is going to take this cartoon for what it is, satire. I don't think they should hunt down cartoonist Delonas and try to nail him to the wall. Nor do I think Murdoch and his editors should be charged with threats to the President. A) Just try to prove it. B) It gives Murdoch and Delonas more publicity than racist pigs deserve. C) It is First Amendment protected speech, and we shouldn't want to abridge others' rights to say what they want. That's part of Democracy and we have to deal with the idiots as much as legitimate leaders and thinkers in an open society.

What I do hope for, though, is that every one of my readers, listeners, like minded friends, and associates emails every one of their MySpace friends with this column, adapted to their own beliefs; and then actually dumps their MySpace account. Furthermore, we should boycott all of NewsCorp's properties (a list is at NewsCorp.com) including Fox News, The NY Post, Fox Radio, Fox Chicago and its sister stations, and any advertiser that does business with the company. American Idol...sorry, you're going down. Jack Conaty, Lil Chacone, and Robin Robinson; as much as I love you...see ya. Simpsons, Family Guy, Jack Bauer...yep, I have to say "buhbye."

We have to send a message to Rupert Murdoch that he will understand. Money. Hit his big white Right Winger pocketbook right through his pants. Dump all of NewsCorp's properties and teach these extremist bigots a lesson in a way they'll remember.

"The Cleveland Show," Featuring Arianna Huffington, Picked Up For Full Season By Fox

2008-11-10T14:55:07Z

FOX has ordered an additional nine episodes of THE CLEVELAND SHOW, the FAMILY GUY spin-off, bringing the series to a full season order. Additionally, Arianna Huffington has been tapped for a recurring role and joins previously announced series regulars Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Kevin Michael Richardson, Mike Henry and Seth MacFarlane.

"FOX picking up nine more episodes of our show is proof that an African-American can make it in this country," said Cleveland Brown. "This is a milestone for the United States of America."

THE CLEVELAND SHOW, set to debut fall 2009, is a new animated series that follows everyone's favorite soft-spoken neighbor Cleveland Brown (voiced by Henry) to his hometown in Virginia, as he settles down with his high school sweetheart, Donna (voiced by Lathan), and her unruly kids Roberta (voiced by Long) and 5-year-old Rallo (voiced by Henry), as well as his own 14-year-old son, Cleveland Jr. (voiced by Richardson). Once in Virginia, Cleveland is welcomed by a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck, Lester (voiced by Richardson); a hipster wanna-be, Holt; and a family of talking bears, including Tim (voiced by MacFarlane) and his wife Arianna (voiced by Huffington).

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RELATED: Doh!-ling: The Simpsons Have Some Fun with Arianna