Family Guy - Season 4 Ep... BETTER
The fourth season of Family Guy aired on Fox from May 1, 2005, to May 21, 2006, and consisted of thirty episodes, making it the longest season to date. The first half of the season is included within the volume 3 DVD box set, which was released on November 29, 2005, and the second half is included within the volume 4 DVD box set, which was released on November 14, 2006. Volume 4 was split into seasons 4 and 5 in regions outside the United States, leading to confusion over season numbers between U.S., Australian, and UK consumers. The last three episodes of season 4 were the basis for the movie known as Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, and are edited for content; Fox does not include these episodes in the official episode count.
Family Guy - Season 4 Ep...
The executive producers for the fourth production season are series creator Seth MacFarlane, along with David A. Goodman and Chris Sheridan. Starting with this season, MacFarlane would hand over showrunner duties to two writers, with Goodman and Sheridan being the inaugural co-showrunners.
"North by North Quahog" was the first episode to be broadcast after the show's cancellation. It was written by Seth MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin.[9] MacFarlane believed the show's three-year hiatus was beneficial because animated shows do not normally have hiatuses, and towards the end of their seasons "... you see a lot more sex jokes and (bodily function) jokes and signs of a fatigued staff that their brains are just fried".[10] With "North by North Quahog", the writing staff tried to keep the show "... exactly as it was" before its cancellation, and did not "... have the desire to make it any slicker" than it already was.[10] Walter Murphy, who had composed music for the show before its cancellation, returned to compose the music for "North by North Quahog". Murphy and the orchestra recorded an arrangement of Bernard Herrmann's score from North by Northwest, a film referenced multiple times in the episode.[11]
Fox had ordered five episode scripts at the end of the third season; these episodes had been written but not produced. One of these scripts was adapted into "North by North Quahog". The original script featured Star Wars character Boba Fett, and later actor, writer and producer Aaron Spelling, but the release of the iconic film The Passion of the Christ inspired the writers to incorporate Mel Gibson into the episode. Multiple endings were written, including one in which Death comes for Gibson. During production, an episode of South Park was released entitled "The Passion of the Jew" that also featured Gibson as a prominent character. This gave the Family Guy writers pause, fearing accusations "[...] that we had ripped them off."[12]
This season received high Nielsen ratings; "North by North Quahog", the premiere episode was broadcast as part of an animated television night on Fox, alongside two episodes of The Simpsons and the pilot episode of American Dad!.[40] The episode was watched by 11.85 million viewers,[13] the show's highest ratings since the airing of the first season episode "Brian: Portrait of a Dog".[41] Its ratings also surpassed the ratings of both episodes of The Simpsons and American Dad!.[13] Season four's three-part finale was watched by 8.2 million viewers,[42] bringing the season average to 7.9 million viewers per episode.[43]
This season was nominated for a number of awards. In 2005, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences nominated "North by North Quahog" for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).[44] It nominated "PTV" in the same category one year later.[45] Neither of the episodes won the award, as South Park received the award in 2005[46] and The Simpsons was the eventual recipient of the award in 2006.[47] Peter Shin and Dan Povenmire were both nominated for an Annie Award in the Best Directing in an Animated Television Production category, for directing "North by North Quahog" and "PTV" respectively; Shin eventually won the award.[48] MacFarlane won the Annie Award for Best Voice-over Performance for providing the voice of Stewie in "Brian the Bachelor".[48] At the Annie Awards the following year, John Viener was nominated in the category Writing in an Animated Television Production, for writing "Untitled Griffin Family History", but lost the award to Ian Maxtone-Graham, who wrote the episode of The Simpsons titled "The Seemingly Neverending Story".[49] The editors of the episode "Blind Ambition" won the Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television Animated.[50]
Season 4 received widespread critical acclaim from critics. Reviewing the season premiere, Mark McGuire of The Times Union wrote: "... the first minute or so of the resurrected Family Guy ranks among the funniest 60 seconds I've seen so far this season."[51] The Pitt News reviewer John Nigro felt that the show had not lost its steam while it was on hiatus, and was surprised that the show had been canceled because of its "wildly extravagant shock factor".[52] Nigro cited "Breaking Out Is Hard to Do", "Petarded" and "Perfect Castaway" as the season's best episodes.[52] In 2007, BBC Three named the episode "PTV" "The Best Episode...So Far".[53] The episode has also been praised by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, who called it "Family Guy's most rebellious outing yet".[54] The Boston Globe critic Matthew Gilbert felt Family Guy's fourth season was as "crankily irreverent as ever".[55]
Fewer critics responded negatively to the season; Seattle Post-Intelligencer critic Melanie McFarland reacted very bitterly, stating "Three years off the air has not made the Family Guy team that much more creative".[56] Critics of both PopMatters and IGN criticized the first few episodes but felt the show regained its humor after "Don't Make Me Over";[57][58] IGN's Mike Drucker commented "At that point, we get some amazingly creative humor. It's almost like MacFarlane and gang decided they had thanked their fans enough and could return to what made the show successful in the first place."[57] Media watchdog group the Parents Television Council, a frequent critic of the show, branded the episodes "North by North Quahog",[59] "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz",[60] "Brian Sings and Swings",[61] "Patriot Games",[62] and "The Courtship of Stewie's Father" as "worst show of the week".[63]
Season 4 is the fourth season of Family Guy, and the only season of Family Guy's second run. It premiered on May 4th, 2003 with "North by North Quahog" and ended on March 14th, 2004 with "Stu & Stewie's Excellent Adventure"
The season also falls back into its roots of episodic nature, where no clear storyline seems to appear for the next season, with the only positive being that it awards Meg with more screen time. While some chuckle-worthy moments exist, Season 17 does little to stand out, leaving it insignificant and stagnant.
Featuring 21 episodes in 2014, Season 12 leads astray, becoming a parody of what Family Guy used to be. Standout plots this season include a Quahog-wide treasure hunt, Stewie destroying his time machine, Brian favoring his career over his son and Cleveland (Mike Henry) and Peter being separated when their wives get into an argument.
However, when discussing Season 12, the topic will always change to the most controversial finale episode, "Life Of Brian," which depicts the death of Brian after being hit by a car. Audiences were made that the humanized dog was killed in such a mundane way but were even more angered by the fact that it happened at all. Season 17 encapsulates self-contained episodes rather than developing over time, reminding viewers of Season 1 all over again. Random rather than calculated, the season lacks a freshness, where it favors shock factor over the typical humor it was once known for.
The humor takes a back seat with a sharp focus on pop culture references. While the episodes are creative as always, the direction they end up taking became ineffective at entertaining the audience in the typical Family Guy way. This season unfortunately has some of the most skippable Family Guy episodes.
Opening with a crossover with The Simpsons, the first episode of the season promised a zappy, fun thread to reoccur throughout the rest of the episodes. However, the audience quickly realized that Season 13 was in the same downward spiral as the handful of seasons before it. Season 13 left audience members feeling uncomfortable with the contrived writing and its offensive (but not laughable) humor.
Season 16 distinguished itself as an inconsistent season, teasing fans with excellent episodes such as "HTTPete," and then disappointing them with ones such as "The Unkindest Cut." Its inconsistency stems from predictable jokes, filler moments, and episodic plots. On the other hand, it offers viewers character development, fewer cutaways, and glimmers of the best of what Family Guy can produce.
Season 15 premiered in 2016 to 2017, with 20 episodes. The season produced zany storylines such as Taylor Swift (Ursula Taherian) agreeing to go to prom with Chris, Lois and Peter leading an anti-vax movement in Quahog, Quagmire becoming obsessed with dating apps and Meg joining a roller derby team.
With high points like a satirical portrayal of legendary Oscar-nominated movies and Lois' knack for hypnotism, there's no denying that Family Guy's latest season offers some gut-busting moments. It also has some boring and predictable storylines, like Stewie's political campaign and Cleveland's new job.
2011-2012 brought together a collection of 23 episodes to mark Family Guy season 10. The season celebrates its rowdy misadventures with plots such as the hilarious Ryan Reynolds becoming obsessed with Peter, Quagmire taking a shot with Meg, Brian dating a blind woman and Joe cheating on Bonnie (Jennifer Tilly). 041b061a72