Family Guy

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Family Guy is an American adult animated sitcom produced Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television) for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It has been on the air since January 31, 1999, with over 300 episodes across 19 seasons. It was created by MacFarlane, a former staff writer for Hanna-Barbera. While there, he developed a short film Larry & Steve, a sequel of sorts to his own independent film, The Life of Larry, which became the basis for Family Guy. The idea of an animated sitcom proving to be successful in primetime began with the likes of Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones and Fox's previous series The Simpsons.

Family Guy is about the exploits of the Rhode Island-bound Griffin family led by blue-collar worker Peter (voiced by MacFarlane), his loving wife Lois, not too bright son, Chris (voiced by Seth Green), his popularity-seeking daughter, Meg (initially voiced by Lacey Chabert), his infant son bent on world-domination (voiced by MacFarlane), and his martini-drinking pet dog, Brian (voiced by MacFarlane).

If Hanna-Barbera and Turner had commissioned Adult Swim when they first hired MacFarlane, Family Guy would probably be a WarnerMedia property now, instead of a Walt Disney Company property, which bought out 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox Broadcasting Company, in 2019.

Family Guy has poked fun at the characters and concepts of Hanna-Barbera since the beginning, usually acted out in the form of a cutaway gag Family Guy has become famous for.

Scooby-Doo

  • Season 1, episode 2 - "Chitty Chitty Death Bang": With the television transmitter cut, Peter wonders what the Scooby gang are up to, with the scene then cutting to an adult spin-off spoof called The Scooby-Doo Murder Files, where Mystery Incorporated investigates and describes in detail how someone was killed, as well being able to curse, as Fred demonstrates by saying, "Son of a bitch." There's also a van with the words "Murder Machine" written on the side as a reference to the Mystery Machine. Scooby and Velma's voices are supplied by cast members, while Frank Welker has a guest spot to reprise his role of Fred.
  • Season 3, episode 21 - "Family Guy Viewer Mail": A segment parodies the Little Rascals with the adults as kids, which includes a portion of time at a spooky mansion, where the regressed boys also copy the hallway chase gag, featuring Mystery Incorporated in a cameo also running through one door and into another.

Season 1

  • Episode 2 - "Chitty Chitty Death Bang": With the television transmitter cut, Peter wonders what the Scooby gang are up to, with the scene then cutting to an adult spin-off spoof called The Scooby-Doo Murder Files, where Mystery Incorporated investigates and describes in detail how someone was killed, as well being able to curse, as Fred demonstrates by saying, "Son of a bitch." There's also a van with the words "Murder Machine" written on the side as a reference to the Mystery Machine. Scooby and Velma's voices are supplied by cast members, while Frank Welker has a guest spot to reprise his role of Fred.
  • Episode 3 - "I Never Met the Dead Man": Peter can't resist the urge to jump into a children's ball pit at Cheesie Charlie's, shouting out "Hong Kong Phooey!" as he does.
  • "Episode 5 - "A Hero Sits Next Door": Peter thought being a hero would be all fun and games, like the time he played strip poker with the Super Friends at the Hall of Justice. A transition from The All-New Super Friends Hour featuring "SF" in a shield, shows Peter revealing three kings and asks Wonder Woman to bare her breasts, which she does after a sigh. Peter and the men are all excited to see Wonder Woman barechested, except for Robin who's curiously staring at Peter. The scene then shifts away with another Challenge of the Superfriends transition of two shooting stars (which is different from the three shooting stars Super Friends actually had).

Season 2

  • Episode 11 - "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Bucks": While walking in New York set to Flintstones-esque music, Peter tries to lift Meg's spirits by telling her she'll find her hidden talent, when they suddenly walk onto Bedrock.
  • Episode 15 - "Dammit Janet!": When Peter and Lois don't return to America after the plane they were on was hijacked in Cuba, it is reported on the news, with the artist's rending capturing a fat man inexplicably married to an attractive redhead, which is in the form of Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
  • Episode 20 - "Wasted Talent": When the final scroll to entering the Pawtucket Brewery was found, Peter disappointedly asked aloud what he was going to do now, when the Great Gazoo popped up asking the "dum dum" what he could do for Peter, but all Peter wanted was to be left alone. Annoyed at Peter's treatment of him, Gazoo whined that it wasn't always about him, the "fatso."

Season 3

  • Episode 21 - "Family Guy Viewer Mail": A segment parodies the Little Rascals with the adults as kids, which includes a portion of time at a spooky mansion, where the regressed boys also copy the hallway chase gag, featuring Mystery Incorporated in a cameo also running through one door and into another.

Season 4

  • Episode 7 - "Brian the Bachelor": Chris told Doug, his talking zit, that they were the best pals since the Snorks; cut to Allstar Seaworthy and Casey Kelp on a date. Daphne likes Allstar for not being like all the other guys who only want sex, but when she accidentally spills wine on the floor and cleans it up, it gives AllStar an erection, which is channeled through his snorkel. Micheal Bell reprises his role of Allstar, while Nancy Cartwright does Daphne, instead of Daffney Gilfin, the character she actually played in the show. In all fairness, Casey and Daffney look pretty similar.
  • Episode 12 - "The Perfect Castaway": After being shipwrecked on a deserted island with his friends, Peter becomes like Tom Hanks in the film Castaway, growing a long beard and trying to catch fish. Peter takes out a pocket watch as Hanks does, but instead of his wife (or girlfriend in Hanks's character case), Peter carries a photo of Captain Caveman.
  • Episode 23 - "Deep Throats": In a DVD-exclusive scene, when Brian and Stewie sneak into the town hall, they run into Mystery Incorporated, but Stewie gets rid of them by humming their own walk music against them. Fred is voiced by Frank Welker.
  • Episode 30 - "Stu & Stewie's Excellent Adventure": Stewie talks to his older self about the job he once had as an airline check, where he accepts entry for Jonny Quest and his father, Benton, but not for Hadji, who he retains for a security inspection because of his race. Hadji tries to get his way by saying "Sim sim sala bim," but Stewie is unfazed and tells him to cut back on saying that.

Season 5

  • Episode 3 - "Hell Comes to Quahog": When Meg berates Peter for getting her tank confiscated, he tells her it's not as worse as the time he did a park ranger (likely Ranger Smith) a favor by fatally stabbing Yogi with a hunter's knife and then suffocating him to get the job done faster, while Boo Boo watches helplessly. After Peter is done, he callously orders Boo Boo to tell the other bears what he just saw.

Season 9

  • Episode 15 - "Brothers & Sisters": Lois tries to talk her sister, Carol, out of marrying Mayor Adam West, since it didn't work out with her third husband, Doggie Daddy, due to a son from a previous marriage. He then casually pops up to inform Carol he's available now because Augie's "all grown up now [and] out of the house".

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