On February 14, 2002 Fox aired "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1," the season finale of the third season of the animated comedy. In May of that year, Fox debuted its fall line-up, with "Family Guy" nowhere to be found, unceremoniously dropping the show in favor of inferior programming.
Three years later, last night to be specific, in an unprecedented move, the Griffin family made a triumphant, long-awaited and improbable return.
Of course, there was the great fear that after three years the writers wouldn't be able to catch lightning in a bottle again. Many, if not most college students, have only seen "Family Guy" as it has exploded in popularity on DVD and the Cartoon Network. Many of us also idolize the show, watching downloaded episodes late at night in dorm rooms. The fact that most of us haven't seen many first run airings demonstrates how long it has been since the Griffins graced network TV.
Don't fear for the show, though; MacFarlane recruited many veteran "Family Guy" writers, and now half of the staff is made of former scribes. That turned out to be the right move, as about three minutes into last night's premiere it was clear that "Family Guy" is back, having lost no noticeable steam or edge. Almost miraculously, the style and tone are the same, and the show doesn't seem to have skipped a beat.
It would have been easy for the "Family Guy" team to try to do too much in their first show back, to really push the envelope even more than its usual efforts. Luckily, this wasn't the case, and in the end it was clear that the creative team made the right decision just to make a typical "Family Guy" episode.
In the main plot of the classic two-plot structure, Peter and his long-suffering wife Lois head out on a second honeymoon in an attempt to reenergize their sex life. They con their way into Mel Gibson's barely used New York City hotel room and stumble upon a copy of Gibson's newest movie, the sequel to his "Passion of the Christ." Believing it his duty to protect people from more of Gibson's "Jesus mumbo-jumbo," Peter decides to steal and destroy the film.
The perhaps just-as-outlandish sub-plot finds demonic infant Stewie and talking family dog Brian supervising the other Griffin kids, middle-schooler Chris, and teenager Meg. Brian and Stewie become increasinglyparental, chaperoning a middle school dance and even laying in bed while Stewie croquets a pillow that says "Die Lois."
The show's keen sense of pop-culture parody is still razor sharp; the writers have always done a terrific job of lampooning television shows and films. Highlights in the premiere included a "Honeymooners" take-off where Ralph Cramden finally follows through on his promise of "to the moon Alice," and a twisted version of "Two and a Half Men." G.I. Joe appears out of a bathroom stall to educate the kids on drinking and informing them that "knowing is half the battle," paying homage to the public service announcements at the end of every "G.I. Joe," which concluded with that axiom.
Of course another trademark of "Family Guy" has been its harsh criticism of religion and politics, and that is also abundantly present. Brian reads Michael Moore's "Dude, Where's My Country," and his car sports a "Kucinich 2004" sticker. Peter recounts how he convinced America to go to war with Iraq by explaining his credo, "Anyone who doesn't want to go to war is gay." And don't worry, the offensive and sometimes racist jokes that earned the program so much ire and press over its previous run remain (a scene involving Pinocchio and a pedophilic Geppetto immediately comes to mind).
But it's not just vulgar and crude gags that made "Family Guy" a cult hit. Pushing the envelope has always been the show's bread and butter, but it couldn't do that so effectively without brilliant and fearless writers. It was, and now is, perhaps the most offensive show on network television, but also one of the cleverest (especially with "Arrested Development" most likely on the sidelines).
The story of "Family Guy" may go down in television history. Never before has a show done what it has done. It's become one of the most important programs in the evolution of entertainment, as it demonstrated the power of DVD sales.
Now Fox is behind the show and it won't have to worry about ratings. Finally, after six years, "Family Guy" is getting the attention and support it has always deserved.
The end of the premiere typifies the warped humor of "Family Guy." A naked, greased up, deaf man seen from an earlier episode tells the audience, "It's good to be back, America." Well, "Family Guy," it's good to have you back.
