TMC
05-07-2004, 02:44 AM
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385690/board/nest/4519224
Frankly I love Family Guy always have and the odds are that I always will! I've always been confused with why Family Guy failed.
...I'm based in the U.K and Family Guy never really got a regular T.V slot but there was a massive "cult" following... I believe that's what kinda happened in the U.S with it being moved around all the time?
- People not getting it?
- 9/11 Stuff
- The fact it's a bit more controversial
- People taking one look at it and saying "Simpsons Rip Off" (which it isn't)
Your thoughts please
Montyman33,
You are correct that the reason FG was cancelled because FOX kept moving it around and no one ever knew when it was on. However, it was not due to the fact that they felt it was controversial- there was no official reason for FOX constantly changing FG's time slots. The above facts have been confirmed in various online interviews with Seth MacFarlane
Fox put the show up against the witless and unimaginative 'Friends' and while that may sound bone-headed, is really just as perfect a counter programming job as there is. And Fox supported the show long after it was getting paltry ratings. I hate Fox as much as the next guy but they did a decent job with Family Guy. Oddly enough they never put it on their big Sunday night line-up where it probably should have gone. They would have done everything for the show except that. Why? Because of their efforts to protect the dying name of The Simpsons at all costs. Family Guy bests The Simpsons on every level nowadays and does so at The Simpsons' own game (so to speak). Fox doesn't want FG to attract away Simpson viewers.
I would also venture to guess that the average TV viewer didn't watch it, not because it was "controversial", but because they simple don't like to try new things. They stick with the same old shows year in and year out - even after those shows have creatively died - and don't ever surf around to find something better.
Probably would'nt have done any good on Sundays as well. It would have been shoved in the 7/7:30pm slot, suffer and gotten cancelled. Just look at Futurama. Sure "Futurama" isn't as good as "The Simpsons" (don't hold me to that), but it had it's charm and a decent following. But as you know, the 7/7:30pm slot is where football or any sporting event airing on fox finishes off. So regardless it would have been killed anyway.
based on the commentary from the fg dvd, the episode 'wish upon a weinstein', which never aired due to very last minute corporate censoring, was the clincher in the 'oh-my-god-how-can-they-make-jewish-jokes-on-tv' P.C. censors at fox. the episode made it through all script, pre-production and production stage censor reviews, but when the final product was revieled, it got canned. the line, 'even though they [the jews] killed my lord', sung a`la 'when you wish upon a star' was especially damning, as well as when lois tries to interfere with chris's quickie bar-mitzvah in Las Vegas, saying it's a 'travesty' (refering to the reasons he's doing it for and not the act itself). the frequent use of jewish-stereotypes was also a major factor.
let's look on the other side of the coin here, folks. peter, the fount of all these pearls of jewish wisdom, is clearly (for as long as we've known him) an idiot, a buffoon, an ass. let's compare this with the hit television show 'all in the family' (still showing uncensored at 3am on tvland). archie's a live action peter griffin if there ever was one, and on every show archie is saying outlandish things about italians, pollocks, the chinese, mexicans, the irish, african americans, women, AND jews. archie said those things decades ago, and we knew that he was an ignorant schmuck, and we were laughing AT HIM, we were laughing at the fact that he said what he said, and NOT at the things he was saying. apparenty, america has gotten a lot dumber since the 70's (at least in the eyes of the fox censors, and of course they are all knowing and very wise) and we can't figure out that the butt of the jokes is peter, not the jews.
peace out, squiggies
Family Guy failed on FOX for the same reason Futurama failed. Football. They had to keep pushing the shows around, and couldn't sacrifice either The Simpsons or the howlingly unfunny King of the Hill. Futurama and Family Guy kept getting bumped around, as football kept preempting the shows, and FOX was desperate to keep all the animated shows on one night.
Never mind both Futurama and Family Guy are the funniest cartoons ever made, Simpsons included as much as I love the Simps.
It galls me to no end that KotH is still on, but Futurama and FG are both dead.
Can't wait for Seth to do the FG movie...hope Groening does the same with Futurama.
You're right; it SHOULD be on HBO; they don't have an animation series, right?
On the failed note: Futurama and certainly KotH were never as funny as Family Guy, and the first one went longer than FG even though the average ratings were the same, this would mean two things: either it was because the show was too controversial or the board didn't know what to do with it considering the shifting of the slots.
I believe football didn't kill Family Guy. I did hear somewhere that it actually WERE the controversial jokes and I believe that one where Osama was singing a showtune to get arms through customs was the clincher.
SP did one with Osama too. FG didn't get as many ratings as South Park, wasn't on a quite liberal network as South Park, didn't make Osama that negative a character as did South Park, so SP got away with it.
FOX is just stupid. They cancelled Titus and Family Guy and both were the best new shows I had seen in a long time. The shows do look alike; both use flashbacks and both are quite controversial, Titus not so much as FG, but it did distort family values and satirized a lot of bad things to look good, like an intervention for Titus' dad to start drinking again.
I hope someone picks these shows up and let's 'em run till season 9. Why can't there be any smart and creative people in high places at the network?
Grounded For Life also used flashbacks but that got canned on FOX as well. Thank God WB picked it up. Still I am upset that both Futurama and Family Guy were canned because they kept switching it around and conviently placing it after football. FOX is afraid of change. They just keep the same old crap and perhaps add a new show or two that actually work, like Malcom in the Middle, but run a new and exciting show for awhile and then can it. Fox annoys me sometimes, but I do like King of the Hill and the Simpsons, which are the only thing I ever watch on that newtwork besides Malcom and Seinfeld.
For me, Family Guy would best be brought back right now, when the lineup on FOX's Sunday night has so much potential.
The Simpsons, although it has dwindled in recent years, is the staple of the FOX primetime scheduling.
Then you have The Bernie Mac Show, the most awful show ever created, and the sole reason for Titus being cancelled (in my book, that's how it happened, when Bernie Mac usurped Titus' timeslot, it ended up killing Titus). This would be the perfect slot for Family Guy. Not in the 7:00 PM hour, because most people don't start watching FOX until 8:00 PM on Sundays.
Then you have Malcolm in the Middle, another great show.
And finally, FOX's newest addition, which is one of the funniest sitcoms I've ever seen in my entire life, Arrested Development.
That would be a fantastic lineup, in my humble opinion.
Though Family Guy is a great show, it seemed to me that all the episodes had their share of dumb jokes that made me, at least, want to see what else was on.
But what it really boils down to is money. If another show is getting better ratings and therefore will pull in more ad revenue, it will most definately get moved to a more "appropriate" time slot.
Family Guy has a target audience of about 10-25 years of age, which may seem like a large quantity of people, but seeing as that all of the other shows on Fox's Sunday night lineup have a much broader target range, and more marketable material, it got cancelled.
This new movie is good for the fans of Family Guy so that they can get more of the Griffins, but will not interfere with the more appropriately tailored material of Fox's current Sunday night primetime lineup (this excludes Arrested Development which will be cancelled or moved to a weekday time slot by it's next season).
What ***s on X (Fox) did: Acted like morons and couldn't shuffle their hefty schedule with Malcom (their only funny non-animated show), Simpsons (classic, despite poor new episodes, you gotta let Groening try, he's done so much for us), King of the Hill (unfunny show, but great ratings in Texas), and of course, Football. Football simply needed to be aired on Fox for their sake, whether you like it or not.
What they are doing: Fox often shows funny new sitcoms (Luis, Wanda, Whoopi, AD) and cans them after two seasons most of the time. I don't think they will can Development, it's a great show, but anyone would love to see Family Guy instead. And since these Fox idiots (RUPERT!!!) won't air Family Guy, they get dissed more and more by Simpsons! (Gotta love it, Rupert hates it but if he cancelled them, he would likely be assassinated)
What they will do: Forget about FG, and continue what they're doing now, throwing new sitcoms down the toilet whenever an episode loses ratings. They are simply too afraid to keep something, but I can't explain why they keep KotH.
What they should do: Cancel Wanda and Whoopi (maybe AD) and fill slots with FG and Futurama.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385690/board/nest/4519224
My guess is, there must have been several reasons for the initial cancellation of "Family Guy" (which is by far one of the funniest darn shows EVER!).
1) Ratings - Several factors contributed to this. The shifting of timeslots (let's face it Thursdays at 8:00, going up against "Friends" is like Billy Barty going up against The Rock in a cage match). Face it, all networks look at are ratings and critics (which is my next topic). Another factor is the demographic the show attracts. People who watch shows like "Friends" or "Survivor" or "8 Simple Rules" are NOT going to tune into "The Family Guy". Most people that I know that watch the show are in their early to late twenties anyone older that I know HATES the show.
2) Critics - Many critics find the show to be crude and disgusting and usually placed this show on their "Year's Worst List". And these are the same critics who praise "South Park" (which is another funny show!).
3) Polical Correctness on Prime Time comedies - For networks such as FOX, NBC, and ABC a show like "Family Guy" is a risk. Heck, Archie Bunker was a risk (but it garnered high ratings, see above)! Taking on a show like this is a gamble and in the end, FOX (I assume) decided that certain topics which have been named above would give the network a "bad image" privvy to protests to many different organizations which is out of control in the USA. What happened to our civil rights to watch whatever we want? Okay, I've ranted enough. It all boils down to what the networks perceive as "good taste" and "bad taste".
Remember folks, brilliance is never truly appreciated. One man's "Dude, Where's My Car?" is another man's "Citizen Kane". "Family Guy" is a take no prisoners comedy that makes fun of EVERYBODY and it never relents. It mocks everyone from Ted Turner to Saddam Hussein (btw it Hussein who was in the show, not Osama). It satirizes Luke Perry, 80's films, the Catholic Church. And being the highest selling DVD FOX produced this year, they realized their mistakes and are learning from them.
As far as time <A TITLE="Click for more information about slot" slots go....why not put it on Mondays at 8:00 or 8:30? Most people who watch that show are usually at that time and FOX has NOTHING on at that time and it has NO competition except what? FEAR FACTOR? "Yes, Dear"? I have seen better shows on UPN!
Keys to the "Family Guy's" success in the future:
1) Steady timeslot. DO NOT MOVE IT AROUND!
2) Place it on a night where it will NOT go up against heavy competition. Thursdays it will be up against "Survivor", "CSI, "Will & Grace", etc., there's no room on Sundays unless one of the big four gets cancelled ("Simpsons", "Bernie Mac", "Arrested Development", "Malcolm in the Middle"), which will happen when I excrete monkeys after a Taco Bell binge. Perhaps a Spring to Summer run when all shows are in reruns. The only competition would be baseball (and being a Mets fan I am NOT tuning into a Mets - Expos series, that's for sure!).
3) Proper advertising for the show.
Just some well thought out thoughts from a binge drinker with spell check.
Comic Book Resources Forums > Miscellaneous Forums > TV/Film > Most Promising TV Show that Fox Treated Like Dirt (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102303&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)
Which network has burned you the worst / most? (http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=b7d8dca7.0404070602.420d9a30%40posting.google.com&prev=/ groups%3Fdq%3D%26num%3D25%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3<br />DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26group%3Drec.arts.tv%26start%3D25)
Frankly I love Family Guy always have and the odds are that I always will! I've always been confused with why Family Guy failed.
...I'm based in the U.K and Family Guy never really got a regular T.V slot but there was a massive "cult" following... I believe that's what kinda happened in the U.S with it being moved around all the time?
- People not getting it?
- 9/11 Stuff
- The fact it's a bit more controversial
- People taking one look at it and saying "Simpsons Rip Off" (which it isn't)
Your thoughts please
Montyman33,
You are correct that the reason FG was cancelled because FOX kept moving it around and no one ever knew when it was on. However, it was not due to the fact that they felt it was controversial- there was no official reason for FOX constantly changing FG's time slots. The above facts have been confirmed in various online interviews with Seth MacFarlane
Fox put the show up against the witless and unimaginative 'Friends' and while that may sound bone-headed, is really just as perfect a counter programming job as there is. And Fox supported the show long after it was getting paltry ratings. I hate Fox as much as the next guy but they did a decent job with Family Guy. Oddly enough they never put it on their big Sunday night line-up where it probably should have gone. They would have done everything for the show except that. Why? Because of their efforts to protect the dying name of The Simpsons at all costs. Family Guy bests The Simpsons on every level nowadays and does so at The Simpsons' own game (so to speak). Fox doesn't want FG to attract away Simpson viewers.
I would also venture to guess that the average TV viewer didn't watch it, not because it was "controversial", but because they simple don't like to try new things. They stick with the same old shows year in and year out - even after those shows have creatively died - and don't ever surf around to find something better.
Probably would'nt have done any good on Sundays as well. It would have been shoved in the 7/7:30pm slot, suffer and gotten cancelled. Just look at Futurama. Sure "Futurama" isn't as good as "The Simpsons" (don't hold me to that), but it had it's charm and a decent following. But as you know, the 7/7:30pm slot is where football or any sporting event airing on fox finishes off. So regardless it would have been killed anyway.
based on the commentary from the fg dvd, the episode 'wish upon a weinstein', which never aired due to very last minute corporate censoring, was the clincher in the 'oh-my-god-how-can-they-make-jewish-jokes-on-tv' P.C. censors at fox. the episode made it through all script, pre-production and production stage censor reviews, but when the final product was revieled, it got canned. the line, 'even though they [the jews] killed my lord', sung a`la 'when you wish upon a star' was especially damning, as well as when lois tries to interfere with chris's quickie bar-mitzvah in Las Vegas, saying it's a 'travesty' (refering to the reasons he's doing it for and not the act itself). the frequent use of jewish-stereotypes was also a major factor.
let's look on the other side of the coin here, folks. peter, the fount of all these pearls of jewish wisdom, is clearly (for as long as we've known him) an idiot, a buffoon, an ass. let's compare this with the hit television show 'all in the family' (still showing uncensored at 3am on tvland). archie's a live action peter griffin if there ever was one, and on every show archie is saying outlandish things about italians, pollocks, the chinese, mexicans, the irish, african americans, women, AND jews. archie said those things decades ago, and we knew that he was an ignorant schmuck, and we were laughing AT HIM, we were laughing at the fact that he said what he said, and NOT at the things he was saying. apparenty, america has gotten a lot dumber since the 70's (at least in the eyes of the fox censors, and of course they are all knowing and very wise) and we can't figure out that the butt of the jokes is peter, not the jews.
peace out, squiggies
Family Guy failed on FOX for the same reason Futurama failed. Football. They had to keep pushing the shows around, and couldn't sacrifice either The Simpsons or the howlingly unfunny King of the Hill. Futurama and Family Guy kept getting bumped around, as football kept preempting the shows, and FOX was desperate to keep all the animated shows on one night.
Never mind both Futurama and Family Guy are the funniest cartoons ever made, Simpsons included as much as I love the Simps.
It galls me to no end that KotH is still on, but Futurama and FG are both dead.
Can't wait for Seth to do the FG movie...hope Groening does the same with Futurama.
You're right; it SHOULD be on HBO; they don't have an animation series, right?
On the failed note: Futurama and certainly KotH were never as funny as Family Guy, and the first one went longer than FG even though the average ratings were the same, this would mean two things: either it was because the show was too controversial or the board didn't know what to do with it considering the shifting of the slots.
I believe football didn't kill Family Guy. I did hear somewhere that it actually WERE the controversial jokes and I believe that one where Osama was singing a showtune to get arms through customs was the clincher.
SP did one with Osama too. FG didn't get as many ratings as South Park, wasn't on a quite liberal network as South Park, didn't make Osama that negative a character as did South Park, so SP got away with it.
FOX is just stupid. They cancelled Titus and Family Guy and both were the best new shows I had seen in a long time. The shows do look alike; both use flashbacks and both are quite controversial, Titus not so much as FG, but it did distort family values and satirized a lot of bad things to look good, like an intervention for Titus' dad to start drinking again.
I hope someone picks these shows up and let's 'em run till season 9. Why can't there be any smart and creative people in high places at the network?
Grounded For Life also used flashbacks but that got canned on FOX as well. Thank God WB picked it up. Still I am upset that both Futurama and Family Guy were canned because they kept switching it around and conviently placing it after football. FOX is afraid of change. They just keep the same old crap and perhaps add a new show or two that actually work, like Malcom in the Middle, but run a new and exciting show for awhile and then can it. Fox annoys me sometimes, but I do like King of the Hill and the Simpsons, which are the only thing I ever watch on that newtwork besides Malcom and Seinfeld.
For me, Family Guy would best be brought back right now, when the lineup on FOX's Sunday night has so much potential.
The Simpsons, although it has dwindled in recent years, is the staple of the FOX primetime scheduling.
Then you have The Bernie Mac Show, the most awful show ever created, and the sole reason for Titus being cancelled (in my book, that's how it happened, when Bernie Mac usurped Titus' timeslot, it ended up killing Titus). This would be the perfect slot for Family Guy. Not in the 7:00 PM hour, because most people don't start watching FOX until 8:00 PM on Sundays.
Then you have Malcolm in the Middle, another great show.
And finally, FOX's newest addition, which is one of the funniest sitcoms I've ever seen in my entire life, Arrested Development.
That would be a fantastic lineup, in my humble opinion.
Though Family Guy is a great show, it seemed to me that all the episodes had their share of dumb jokes that made me, at least, want to see what else was on.
But what it really boils down to is money. If another show is getting better ratings and therefore will pull in more ad revenue, it will most definately get moved to a more "appropriate" time slot.
Family Guy has a target audience of about 10-25 years of age, which may seem like a large quantity of people, but seeing as that all of the other shows on Fox's Sunday night lineup have a much broader target range, and more marketable material, it got cancelled.
This new movie is good for the fans of Family Guy so that they can get more of the Griffins, but will not interfere with the more appropriately tailored material of Fox's current Sunday night primetime lineup (this excludes Arrested Development which will be cancelled or moved to a weekday time slot by it's next season).
What ***s on X (Fox) did: Acted like morons and couldn't shuffle their hefty schedule with Malcom (their only funny non-animated show), Simpsons (classic, despite poor new episodes, you gotta let Groening try, he's done so much for us), King of the Hill (unfunny show, but great ratings in Texas), and of course, Football. Football simply needed to be aired on Fox for their sake, whether you like it or not.
What they are doing: Fox often shows funny new sitcoms (Luis, Wanda, Whoopi, AD) and cans them after two seasons most of the time. I don't think they will can Development, it's a great show, but anyone would love to see Family Guy instead. And since these Fox idiots (RUPERT!!!) won't air Family Guy, they get dissed more and more by Simpsons! (Gotta love it, Rupert hates it but if he cancelled them, he would likely be assassinated)
What they will do: Forget about FG, and continue what they're doing now, throwing new sitcoms down the toilet whenever an episode loses ratings. They are simply too afraid to keep something, but I can't explain why they keep KotH.
What they should do: Cancel Wanda and Whoopi (maybe AD) and fill slots with FG and Futurama.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385690/board/nest/4519224
My guess is, there must have been several reasons for the initial cancellation of "Family Guy" (which is by far one of the funniest darn shows EVER!).
1) Ratings - Several factors contributed to this. The shifting of timeslots (let's face it Thursdays at 8:00, going up against "Friends" is like Billy Barty going up against The Rock in a cage match). Face it, all networks look at are ratings and critics (which is my next topic). Another factor is the demographic the show attracts. People who watch shows like "Friends" or "Survivor" or "8 Simple Rules" are NOT going to tune into "The Family Guy". Most people that I know that watch the show are in their early to late twenties anyone older that I know HATES the show.
2) Critics - Many critics find the show to be crude and disgusting and usually placed this show on their "Year's Worst List". And these are the same critics who praise "South Park" (which is another funny show!).
3) Polical Correctness on Prime Time comedies - For networks such as FOX, NBC, and ABC a show like "Family Guy" is a risk. Heck, Archie Bunker was a risk (but it garnered high ratings, see above)! Taking on a show like this is a gamble and in the end, FOX (I assume) decided that certain topics which have been named above would give the network a "bad image" privvy to protests to many different organizations which is out of control in the USA. What happened to our civil rights to watch whatever we want? Okay, I've ranted enough. It all boils down to what the networks perceive as "good taste" and "bad taste".
Remember folks, brilliance is never truly appreciated. One man's "Dude, Where's My Car?" is another man's "Citizen Kane". "Family Guy" is a take no prisoners comedy that makes fun of EVERYBODY and it never relents. It mocks everyone from Ted Turner to Saddam Hussein (btw it Hussein who was in the show, not Osama). It satirizes Luke Perry, 80's films, the Catholic Church. And being the highest selling DVD FOX produced this year, they realized their mistakes and are learning from them.
As far as time <A TITLE="Click for more information about slot" slots go....why not put it on Mondays at 8:00 or 8:30? Most people who watch that show are usually at that time and FOX has NOTHING on at that time and it has NO competition except what? FEAR FACTOR? "Yes, Dear"? I have seen better shows on UPN!
Keys to the "Family Guy's" success in the future:
1) Steady timeslot. DO NOT MOVE IT AROUND!
2) Place it on a night where it will NOT go up against heavy competition. Thursdays it will be up against "Survivor", "CSI, "Will & Grace", etc., there's no room on Sundays unless one of the big four gets cancelled ("Simpsons", "Bernie Mac", "Arrested Development", "Malcolm in the Middle"), which will happen when I excrete monkeys after a Taco Bell binge. Perhaps a Spring to Summer run when all shows are in reruns. The only competition would be baseball (and being a Mets fan I am NOT tuning into a Mets - Expos series, that's for sure!).
3) Proper advertising for the show.
Just some well thought out thoughts from a binge drinker with spell check.
Comic Book Resources Forums > Miscellaneous Forums > TV/Film > Most Promising TV Show that Fox Treated Like Dirt (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102303&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)
Which network has burned you the worst / most? (http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=b7d8dca7.0404070602.420d9a30%40posting.google.com&prev=/ groups%3Fdq%3D%26num%3D25%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3<br />DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26group%3Drec.arts.tv%26start%3D25)