Holiday Cheer: American Dad! Christmas

I've been fruitlessly searching for just one more post for the night, and have been coming up empty. Then I thought about the fact that I've only got a couple of more days left for "Holiday Cheer" posts. And one of my favorite Christmas-themed TV episodes was available on Hulu. So here you go, American Dad's "Most Adequate Christmas Ever."

Frivolity Break: HuffPo Matches Cartoon Characters with Their Voice Actors

As a pop culture sponge, I know many of these, but I think some people would be surprised at what the voice actors of their favorite cartoons look like. And since my blogging time was wrecked by my computer woes, I needed an easy one. Enjoy!

[Excerpt]

Meet The Voice Actors Behind 'Bob's Burgers,' 'King Of The Hill,' 'Family Guy' And 'The Simpsons'

Ever wonder what the faces behind the voices of your favorite animated TV characters look like? . . .
See them all at: Huffington Post

Seth MacFarlane on Family Guy, Politics and Religion

Image from source, TV Squad

I am guilty on this blog of posting just about anything relating to a few notable personalities, usually of the political or comedian variety (or a combination of the two). That short--but growing--list includes Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, Al Franken, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Seth MacFarlane. Fortunately, just about anything from the above group has the virtue of being good and entertaining, so hopefully my weakness is not too irritating.

This writeup would--I thought--be blogworthy because it includes

MacFarlane and Maher. But they picked the wrong person to write the article. How a person could be both a fan of Family Guy, and put off by political discussions is beyond me. A different writer--me for instance--would likely have come away with an entirely different article. Especially since the reporter says the audience was having a very good time. I'd like to know what really went on, instead of the poo-poohing this guy wrote. Oh well.

[Excerpt]

MacFarlane Takes on the Enemies of 'Family Guy'

It was a communal, sarcastic and distinctly anti-flyover love fest when Seth MacFarlane visited the 2010 PaleyFest Tuesday.

As expected, the event had more of a Comic Con feel to it then the normally more reserved Paley atmosphere. Obsessed fans of 'Family Guy,' 'American Dad' and 'The Cleveland Show' (or fans of all three when you consider they're all kind of the same show). . .

Read more at: TV Squad

Is Seth MacFarlane Planning for the End of Family Guy?

Image from source, TV Squad!

When Family Guy premiered, I was not a fan. I liked the off-beat humor, and the overall irreverance for everything, but I had a basic problem with it. I didn't like the central character. Peter Griffin has absolutely no redeeming qualities, unlike, say Homer Simpson. I loved Stewie the baby and Brian the dog. But Peter was off-putting in behavior and appearance.

After it came back from the dead (cancellation) though, I warmed to it for some reason. Possibly because I'd become a fan of Seth MacFarlane's other show, American Dad! in the mean time. Also, I became a fan of MacFarlane himself, who is completely on my page politically and (non-) spiritually. So, it makes me a little sad to see him sort of planning for the demise of the show. And it must really freak FOX out.

I can understand the compulsion of a series creator/writer/performer to end things before the show grows stale. But I also think it is a fallacy that every show that goes on for a long time suffers for it. Most do, true. But several, like Friends, Seinfeld, and Cheers manage to keep fans wanting more. With any long stretch, there will of course be clunker episodes. And shows like The Simpsons have been taken for granted by viewers. You'll hear people complaining about it, but since it went HD, it seems better than ever to me.

With three series, I do bet that MacFarlane is tired. I always get irritated when I read about some British show (*cough* Absolutely Fabulous *cough*) where the creator claims to be worn out coming up with new ideas, when their seasons run eight episodes per year!

[Excerpt]

Is the end nigh for Family Guy?

Seth MacFarlane might have one of the most overrated shows on television right now (in my personal opinion, of course), but he hasn't let that cloud his realism when it comes to its future. . .

Read more at: TV Squad!

Family Guy has Abortion Episode Pulled

Image from source, THR.com

I often wondered what it would take to get a Family Guy episode banned by FOX. Unlike FOX "News," where they pretend to be all moral and high-and-mighty, the FOX network has never pretended to have a single shred of decorum. Which, is just how I likes it! Even so, I'll admit to thinking that either Family Guy or American Dad! (both creations of Seth MacFarlane) have gone over the line on occasion. But it has always been easy to shrug off because they lampoon just about everything. The name of the game seems to be taboo-busting, and there has rarely been a punch pulled.

It turns out the one "bridge too far" seems to be abortion. Frankly, it's amazing they haven't gone there before. It's not like it's uncharted territory anyway, with Maude haven broken that barrier decades ago. More recently, I've heard Chelsea Handler make off-color abortion jokes, and certainly on Absolutely Fabulous, which while British, still aired on Comedy Central. Some people, to quote Stockard Channing, are so touchy.

[Excerpt]

'Family Guy' abortion episode unlikely to air on Fox

News Corp. paid Seth MacFarlane the ultimate compliment when it made him 20th Century Fox TV's $100 million crown jewel. But the "Family Guy" creator wasn't exactly returning the favor at Comic-Con.

At the series' panel Saturday, MacFarlane continued his show's tradition of jibing its studio and network. . .

Read more at: THR

UPDATE: As a cross-eyed American (before corrective surgery, but still when I'm tired or drinking), I never noticed before that Seth MacFarlane seems to be a little lazy-eyed himself.

Brent Bozell, Right-Wing Crank, Hates Family Guy

Image from source, "News"Busters

I'm still playing a bit of catch-up after my trip. Here's a hysterical take on Family Guy by right-wing nutcase, Brent Bozell. And I mean "hysterical" in both senses of the word. There is no reasoning with Bozell, but it is worth pointing out that there is a parental advisory before each episode of Family Guy (and American Dad! for that matter). Oh, and while I don't find everything about the show the greatest thing ever on TV, it does have inspired moments, and picks on everything and everybody fairly equally. Oh, and Seth MacFarlane is a genius.

[Excerpt]

Bozell Column: Fox's 'Comedic Genius'

Our cosmopolitan elites have embraced the smutty Fox cartoon "Family Guy." A month ago, oh-so-sophisticated National Public Radio used their parody song "Everybody Poops" to report on Julius Genachowski, the incoming chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Perhaps it was NPR’s way of welcoming in an Obama appointee who everyone expects will "lighten up" at the FCC and let Hollywood go wild with its "poetic license. . ."

Read more (if you dare) at: "News"Busters

Seth MacFarlane's Hulu Ad

Family Guy was slow to grow on me, but I was eventually a convert. I was actually an American Dad! fan before I warmed to it. The Other Half was even slower to take to the offbeat, outrageous humor, but is now a rabid fan. So, I was delighted to see the new Hulu ad by FG & AD! creator/producer/writer/voice actor Seth MacFarlane. It's the latest in a series, where stars of NBC and FOX TV shows openly shill for the video service in a most humorous (and offbeat) way.



Previously:

Eliza Dushku's Alien Hulu Commercial

Steelers Win, Whoop-de-do! (Alec Baldwin's Hulu Commercial)

Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane on Olbermann

It's weird when favorite media figures from completely different spheres appear in one place. But that's what happened tonight on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Seth MacFaralane, creator/writer/voice actor of Family Guy, American Dad! and the upcoming The Cleveland Show was on to talk about all of the strange utterances coming from the GOP these days. Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher is featured for saying to a conservative crowd that they make him horny.

It's good stuff, and it's fun to watch Seth doing Stewie Griffin's voice. Enjoy.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Seth MacFarlane Sings on Talk Show

Since MadTV was cancelled, I've been watching the local news while waiting for Saturday Night Live to start. But weekend news is usually a snooze-fest, so the last couple of weeks, I've tuned back into FOX, and have found a new show called Talk Show with Spike Feresten.

I've never heard of Feresten before, but he's apparently a former writer for Seinfeld. Anyway, the last couple of weeks, he's done some great counter-programming, by interviewing great guests just as SNL is getting ready to start. This week, it was Seth MacFarlane, the creator/writer/voice artist of Family Guy and American Dad! I was impressed that Talk Show played up the resemblance between McFarlane and Christopher Knight (Peter Brady of The Brady Bunch)--something I've noted here on the blog. And I was even more impressed by the (really dirty) song that Seth sang.

I couldn't get just the singing clip anywhere, but here is the entire show, if you're interested, with the song starting at about 22 minutes in. Enjoy.

Holiday Cheer: American Dad! Christmas

I've been fruitlessly searching for just one more post for the night, and have been coming up empty. Then I thought about the fact that I've only got a couple of more days left for "Holiday Cheer" posts. And one of my favorite Christmas-themed TV episodes was available on Hulu. So here you go, American Dad's "Most Adequate Christmas Ever."

Separated at Birth: Seth MacFarlane and Christopher Knight

This is just a frivolous post to point out something I noticed (likely others have too). I was reading about Seth MacFarlane, the creator/writer/voice of Family Guy, American Dad! and the upcoming Cleveland Show. I found it most interesting that he was booked on American Flight 11 on September 11, 2001, but missed the flight both due to bad information and a hangover.

While his cartoons have their critics, I'm a fan of both, and think it's amazing how close we came to barely knowing who he is. McFarlane seems to take it in stride, and it is true that we all come close to death many times in our lives (probably more often than we know). This is just one of those times that was huge.

Anyway, that all has absolutely nothing to do with Christopher Knight of The Brady Bunch. It's just a little window into how my brain works. Knight has turned a kid's sitcom from the 70s into a life-long career, with nearly all of his fame based on that one silly show. Or rather, one silly show, countless spinoffs and reality show tie-ins. But Knight, like McFarlane seems pretty affable too, and doesn't seem to take himself very seriously (and he was terrific on Celebrity Circus!). While I know they don't look exactly alike, they do look more alike than the various girls who stood in for the Brady sisters in all those various spinoffs!

Other Separated at Birth Posts:

Sarah Palin Looks Like?
Featured Blog: Totally Looks Like (Cindy McCain and Borg Queen from Star Trek) Cindy McCain Plagiarizes Recipes? (Cindy McCain and Jane Badler, Diana of V)
Separated at Birth: John McCain & Lon Chaney, Sr.
Horrible Monster or Presidential Candidate? (Fred Thompson and Movie Monsters)
Separated at Birth: Obscure Celebrity Edition
Sean Hannity & Lou Costello Separated at Birth

Astronaut Claims Alien Cover-Up?

Image from BuddyTV

Wow. Aliens. Really? Cool. Let's hope they're the friendly E.T. type, or even the American Dad Roger type, and not--ohhhh--War of the Worlds.

[Excerpt]

Moon-walker claims alien contact cover-up

FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist.

And he says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions - but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades. Dr Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview that sources at the space agency who had had contact with aliens described the beings as 'little people who look strange to us. . .'

Read more at: News.com.au

Good Morning, USA!

A little levity for a moment (though you could argue a tenuous connection to the news, since Stan Smith works at the CIA!). I found myself singing this song this morning. It's somehow appropriate since it's the 4th of July. Also appropriate since it is a cartoon, and it sometimes feels like we're living in one, doesn't it?



Valerie Plame should really do a guest spot on this show. . .

And while I'm on a roll, I guess I might as well post this one for my friends, Jim & Keith, and Rob & Keith (yeah, that's a lot of Keiths on one page, counting Olbermann--who as far as I know is lacking one thing in common with the other Keiths). WARNING Though this aired on the ordinary FOX channel, it is semi-vulgar and offensive. You've been warned!

Stan meets the Log Cabin Republicans


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