who else has noticed that...

[cloneasaurus]

since that South Park episode, Family Guy has become more like The Simpsons? or at least more plot driven?

i mean, there's less cutaways, more out-there experimental episodes, more political episodes... there was even a sincerely played sweet moment in 'Tom Tucker The Man and His Dream'.... it feels like they actually took what SP said to heart, sort of.

i mean, obviously the show's still Family Guy, it hasn't changed that much. but there definitely has been some change in approach, it's almost like they're trying to make some of their episodes mean something. and i think it's kinda cool SP has had that impact (even though i still don't like the show, i mean, lottery fever and seahorse party whatever were fucking terrible)

thoughts on this? is there a difference in Family Guy pre-SP/post-SP? is it better? etc.

[Bertholomew]

Perhaps they just ran out of cheap jokes, Family Guy typically just seems to make a plot in order to open up opportunities for jokes rather than for the sake of telling a story.
It would be a good move to make more plot/emotion driven episodes though, as that's what keeps me watching the Simpsons, Family guy can at times be as funny as older Simpsons episodes, but they have much less 'Rewatch Value' as they are shallower and more forgettable than Simpsons episodes or South Park's

Edit: what South Park episode exactly are you referring too? they've taken quite a few stabs at family guy over the years.

[TheSecondComing]

No it's still pretty gag driven. The only difference is that it used to be funny. South Park now there's another show that used to be funny.

[Shaunbadia]

Edit: what South Park episode exactly are you referring too? they've taken quite a few stabs at family guy over the years.

No they haven't. They did the "Cartoon wars" two parter in Season 10 which made fun of Family Guy, but the plot centered around FG broadcasting an image of Mohammad in a cut-away and the impending terrorist attack because of it. It was made into a two part episode because Matt and Trey REALLY wanted to get an image of Mohammad broadcast on Comedy Central, who wouldn't let them do it in the end because they were actually scared of a real terrorist retaliation like the one which took place in Denmark.

There was also a callback to Cartman hating FG in the season 12 episode "Canada on strike", but that's the only other time they've mentioned the show.

Getting back on topic, I do admit there are less cutaway gags and the plots are a little more serious. The thing is, it's not that the plots in the newer episodes are TRYING to be serious, it's simply because FG's jokes have gotten darker in tone (Seahorse Seashell Party, Screams of Silence: The story of Brenda Q, Thanksgiving etc.) .

A good example of one of the darker gags from this last season would be in "Be careful what you fish for" when the Griffin's are watching The Cove with the dolphin that was voiced by Ricky Gervais.
All you hear is the sound of multiple dolphins being slaughtered, the family are grossed out by what they see and the dolphin mentions that the one getting it's throat slit is kind of hot.

Plus the violence seems to be a bit more graphic (Peter chopping his hands off, Joe getting shot in the eye, Quagmire's fight with Brenda's boyfriend, Babs' knitting needles going through Stewie's ears, Peter breaking his own neck etc.)
I know FG has done some pretty violent shit in the past (Stewie beating Brian because he owes him money, Peter's head exploding when he ate half a fudgesicle in one bite, Chicken fights, etc.) but it seems to be done more frequently now. As opposed to earlier seasons where it was done more sparingly.

[Flimpson Tide]

Yeah, not a fan of the increased dark humor and violence. I've actually turned off several new episodes of FG and American Dad on initial viewings because of how bloody moments were. Although I've actually gotten to the point where I start squinting my eyes when I know something sickening is coming up. Doesn't work all the time though, like the hamster suddenly barfing blood on American Dad. That still greatly disturbs me just thinking about it. There are episodes like season 1 ones where I feel completely safe watching them in front of my mom, and then there are atrocities like Brenda Q that I would never.

And I have noticed increased storytelling, and I'll add that New Kidney in Town had emotion. Don't think I'd say there are less cutaways though because for every episode that doesn't have any, next week's makes up for it with twice the typical amount. You can't really consider yourself a Family Guy fan and hope every new episode doesn't have cutaways, though. That's just the show's humor, and it's like saying, "Oh gee, I hope Hank Hill doesn't object to the ways of modern society again this week."

[TheSecondComing]

Family Guy's new direction wouldn't bother me, and to be honest I'm not sure it actually does, if it was still funny. Dark can be good but it's very hard to pull off.

[Shaunbadia]

I should probably point out that the violence doesn't bother me, I was just making a point of how the new episodes differ in tone compared to the old ones. Honestly the only things I actively disliked this past season were the episodes "Stewie goes for a drive" and the "Fatman and Robin" segment from Viewer Mail 2. Although the latter did grow on me slightly, but not by much.

Also, I agree with TheSecondComing. Dark can be good and yes, it is hard to pull off. Which is why I like my dark humour to just go waaaaayyyyyyyy overboard. I don't like a show that tries to do dark stuff with characters I care about. Which is the reason shows like "Drawn Together" work for me, because you're not supposed to really give a shit about what happens to the characters. Whereas with Family Guy, a gag like Peter shooting Meg for no reason just falls flat, sure the shock value works the first time and might raise a small chuckle, but you can't help but feel a tad disheartened to see Peter do something like that to his daughter. Granted, Peter is an asshole for all intensive purposes, but there's a line that gets crossed every now and then that makes you dislike the character and can harm the shows standing among the dedicated fan base because of it.

[Jesse Pinkman]

Incidentally, this is around the time I stopped caring for the show.

[Dobbie]

I seriously doubt Parker & Stone changed Family Guy with their little dig at them. Especially when you consider the fact that they poked fun at themselves during that episode (Cartman asking Kyle how he'd feel if there was a show making fun of Jews all the time, preachy messages up their own asses, etc.). However by simply reading the episodes sypnosis I can tell the show hasn't changed, in fact it probably got worse, and I'm only saying that by READING what the episodes are about!

If Parker and Stone actually had a positive influence on Family Guy, then someone please beg them to make an episode about modern Simpsons right now...

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

I'm pretty surprised they haven't. Probably because they've pretty much ignored it since it started.

[Shaunbadia]

I'm pretty surprised they haven't. Probably because they've pretty much ignored it since it started.

Yeah, I remember one of the mentioning on that they had only seen like 10 full episodes on the commentary for "Simpsons already did it"