Family Guy: Not All Dogs Go To Heaven
By fred | March 30, 2009
(S07E11) So… that was it. Another episode of Family Guy that, quite frankly, doesn’t inspire me with much to say but what has been said before, about how much the show lost its appeal, how unfunny it’s become and how lazy the writers can appear to be. I know they love the idea to repeat/redo a joke over & over & over again for way too long, but past a point it just gets very old and not funny at all.
And the thing is, maybe it could be funny, if it was fresh at least in the execution, if they tried to make it funny instead of just going for the same old routine without even bothering to try and add something new. Take the Meg bashing for instance, I love that crap. Or, I used to, because now it’s come to a point where they just push things too far and don’t even try to make it funny.
By the end if the episode, Peter throwing soup and milk at her face like that just wasn’t funny, and when Brian told her how pathetic she was, and Meg realized he was right and there couldn’t be a God - and by the way, since when such a crap ever got any religious fanatic to realize there’s no God? They usually just throw it right back at you, how it’s a test, mysterious ways and whatnot, the more they life suck the more they need to believe, not just for the ego booster but because it’s the only hope they got – I think you could actually feel bad for Meg.
We’re not supposed to feel bad for her, we’re supposed to laugh at her! That’s the whole point of the joke, that they treat her like crap and we don’t care, because it’s funny. Here, it wasn’t funny, more like depressing. After that, I think it wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if Meg had just got home and killed herself. (Although, if then they all had a party and dance over her dead body, I could have laughed at that and how wrong it is, I’m twisted that way I guess…)
It’s like Brian asking Stewie if he’s queer, and him to answer “probably.” Feels like an old, old topic we’re been over too many times, and it stopped being funny or worthwhile ages ago already. If they can’t come up with anything new, there’s just no point of continuing… I’d rather watch the first seasons again, I know the jokes as well, but at least they’re funny!
Not to say it was all bad though, I liked a few things, like how people would rather have a terrorist than an atheist in their town, because at least the former believes in a God, or of course Brian acting as a dog. That one joke might not be new either, but it was well done and it still always gets me laughing.
All in all though, a very disappointing episode, where both the Meg plot and the Star Trek: TNG special plot failed to deliver (although admittedly I am not a fan of Star Trek, so I might have missed lots of the private jokes).
What did everybody else think?
Posted in Reviews
Shows: Family Guy
I missed the whole thing about Rob Lowe and Adam West in in bed in another Universe or what?
What was that????
Can they please cut the religious humor? This episode and the one where Peter turns Gay are episodes of religious propoganda! I was yelling WTH at this episode. That got really annoying how Brian is all liberal, political, and atheistic rather than dry and boring like he used to be.
The Star Trek part wasn’t a failure. There were some jokes about the actors in some ways. As a Star Trek fan, it was funny. Overall, this episode was a major disappointment though and I agree… this show needs to be canceled again.
I think you are an idiot for demanding a show to have a scapegoat character that everyone would laugh at. I suppose back in school you would laugh at kids getting picked on.
I TOTALLY disagree with this article. The writers of Family Guy haven’t got worse, they’ve got better. I choked on my own saliva while laughing hysterically while watching this episode. I don’t know what’s up with the author of this article, but this episode was Family Guy’s best episode YET.
‘Brian is all liberal, political, and atheistic rather than dry and boring like he used to be’
So basically, what you’re saying is you prefer boring, one dimensional characters to characters with depth, meaning and with a cause?
Nice.
How very theist of you.
DON’T QUESTION TRADITIONS!! EVERYTHING MUST STAY BORING AND CLOSED-MINDED DAMMIT!!!
Whoever wrote this article sounds quite theistic to me……
It almost seems like he’s “mad” at the show entirely to hide the fact that he disaggreed with the plot of the episode.
Sounds like a tactic used by the religious side of things.”just say EVERYTHING was terrible to show your discontent”.
Of course the show has a formula. Every damn t.v. show has a formula!
I’m saying Brian used to correct Peter and Stewie with his dry and witty humor while drinking Martini. I miss that in him. Fred is right on this. This entire season has not had one good episode of me laughing for at least half of it. I only laugh for about a minute of this show as they have run out of ideas.
Actually the Author of the article seemed Atheistic, and a bit condescending, when he referred to Religious Fanatics needing to believe because there lives are pathetic. However, there is an undercurrent in modern Atheistic thought, shored up by Dawkins and Harris et all, that seems to relish in undue and unkind critisism of htose whol disagree with them, which is Ironic in a group that also insists ont he value of Tolerance.
In this episode, we see the same in Seth McFarlane, and its not the only one. He hates Christians and depicts them in the worst stereotype available. They burn books, especially “FIrst Grade logic” , that contradict what McFarlane thinks they believe, because in his mind Christians hate Science and Logic and Atheist are always logical and rational.
Now you may agree with that, but its incredibly biased and inaccurate. Many Christians use Logic and reason routinely, and even apply it to their beliefs. (Faith is not beleiivgn soemthign even tough you have no evidence n it, no matter what some uppity groups say.)
mcFarlanes attacks on Christians doens’t simply indicate he disagrees wiht them., but that he hates them and wants his viewers ot hate them too, and to see them as irraitonal, hate filled bigoted zombies who do nto think for themselves. he also depicts BRian as the vpice of reason and (in this episode) the one who has a much better view on life.
THe whole thing was just an attack on Christianity and what Christians beleive, and was base don sterotypes that help to make Christians look horrible, which isnt really warrented.
The same applies to other episodes, where McFarlane attacks Christianity , Relgiion (Excpe this own, and lets face it no one lacks relgiion, as Relgiin is just a Philosophicla outlook on life, not theism) and conservatives.
He wats peopel to hate these groups. He hates them. He will not give wuarter to them.
And it snot funny, ts just preachy and condescending.
Citing this isn’t really proving your any beleif system. Sayign it is is liek those hwo think others hwo find Dawkisn Arrogant andhis logic deeply flawed must be “Religious” ( As in theistic) because htey disagree with him, dispite he fact htat Athiests have also foudn his case poor.
The trouble isnt that peopel disagree wih the lot, its that the plot was propoganda.