Addendum
Family Guy also has the problem of having two awful main characters. These two characters are, of course, Chris and Meg. Chris is particularly terrible and I couldn't help but crack up when I saw an interview with Seth Green in which he discussed how lucky he was to play a character like Chris. Oh, a character who makes you laugh once every 60 episodes, sounds great. Brian is the best main character on the show and if the rest of the show was written more with his style of humor in mind, it would be better in my opinion. Also, while Family Guy is in some ways a knock-off of The Simpsons (simple parallels can be drawn, but MacFarlane does change things a little), MacFarlane's other show American Dad is a knock-off of Family Guy and is much worse, but that is not even worth discussing. A comparison between Brian and that alien character is enough to put that baby to rest.
And now, off to Atlantic City for a family trip. Back tomorrow.
You're analysis is off base. In your first post, you claimed that MacFarlane's problem lay in trying to smother his viewer with a non-stop array of incessant jokes. You then claim Chris is a bad character, citing his inability to make you frequently laugh. But Chris isn't supposed to make you frequently laugh. He's a dull, uncharismatic, sweet but aimless failure. Chris isn't funny because he isn't funny. That's one of his character traits. MacFarlane exhibits subtlety and comedic restraint in his characterization of Chris. His treatment of Chris reveals that he is anything but a laugh-obsessed scribe dedicated to constant joking at the expense of the integrity of the show.
ReplyDeleteAnd the same goes for Meg. She's a below average looking, bland, somewhat dim girl with literally no friends and no clue about how to operate in life. Stewie hits on this in one episode when he says something to the effect of "In college, Meg will be able to look forward to being a drunk guy's last choice at the end of the night." That really is about all Meg has to look forward to. That and a life far lamer than even her mother's. Is that funny? Not in a laugh-out loud way but it's powerful in a satisfyingly dark, hopeless way. The kids in this show represent the future of the American Middle Class, and, as you've noted, they're the most worthless characters on FG. Whereas the Simpson's, despite all of Homer's foibles and Bart's lack of intelligence and Springfield's problems, ultimately endorses the american middle class which it represents, FG suggests that perhaps this class represents a kind of cultural, social abyss.
If you don't buy into the despondent, subversive, intentionally not-laugh-out-loud undertones of FG, then okay...we have different taste. But if you don't even buy into the idea that they're there..then I think you should take a closer look. They're why Meg and Chris aren't that funny, and they're evidence that MacFarlane has more on his mind than incessant joke telling.
Best comment exchange ever. Thank you both.
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