Palin & Family Guy

Why complain? It's free publicity for both sides. Dog knowns that Ms. Palin needs it.

Cainkane1 said:
I feel that Family Guy is an assault on the senses ... The humor to me is immature and idiotic...
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You say that like it's a bad thing.

;)
 
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Fredrik said:
Unfortunately American dad has such boring characters that the show is unwatchable no matter what happens to them.
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When is the last time you watched the show? You are right at first it started off as a ripoff of Family Guy but it got interesting in the second to third season.
 
Assuming that McFarlane expected Palin to go ape over the joke is giving McFarlane too much credit as a writer and is way too out of character for the general writing on the show itself. The show's comedic formula of small bit of story / gag / non-sequitur joke / segue / more gags for every episode requires the need for scattershot pokes at everything any anything that can be jabbed for laughs, and the bar is set pretty low on most of the humor (or cribbed from other shows). It's not like Family Guy doesn't regularly make fun of the disabled-- in fact, earlier in that episode there was a sight gag in the paraplegic neighbor's bathroom-- so the inclusion of the Downs Syndrome girl doesn't necessarily mean it was aimed at the Palin family when written. It's obvious that one line about the "former governor of Alaska" was aimed at the Palin family, but for the whole episode that just seemed like icing on the cake of constant barrages of non-sequitur jokes or sight gags.

I say that not because I dislike the show, but because that's what it is: not terribly original comedy with a very ADHD bent to it, that still manages to entertain a lot of people (including me from time to time). Palin getting bent out of shape over it just shows how She's riding their handicapped baby to ridiculous false sympathy pleas from the public, and in this case it's either going to be totally ignored by McFarlane and his crew or they'll make a mockery of her for it. And if she tries to ride this like she did with Letterman she'll deserve it.
 
True, but, South Park is rude, insensitive, over the line and you know...FUNNY.

Maybe Family Guy can try that last one on a regular basis.
 
I thought she was angry because her son, Trig, has Down Syndrome. As usual though, Seth MacFarlane took a cheap shot, and she responded.
 
Ixion said:
I thought she was angry because her son, Trig, has Down Syndrome. As usual though, Seth MacFarlane took a cheap shot, and she responded.
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I didn't know that. And to be honest it really bugs me that I need to know that in order to be outraged at the show. Or better yet to presume I know that much about HER to make that connection. I'm sure out there in TV land there is a family with a Dad named Peter with a dog named Brian. I don't see them bitchin on TMZ. Just sayin.
 
I've never enjoyed "Family Guy," and has been said by others, I like Sarah Palin even less. She's not competent, she manages to throw a veneer of "Family/Traditional Values" over her more outrageous acts, and seems to groove on baiting her opponents. Her appearance at the Teabagger's Convention seemed to emphasize this, rather than mute it.

What's interesting here is that she's taking her cue from -- of all people -- Dan Quayle, and his silly criticism of the "Murphy Brown" show. I'd hoped that the responses from Quayle's critics would have addressed the bigger issues, but sadly, they went for the obvious. Quayle, instead of looking like a petty goof who couldn't spell, wound up becoming a hero to a certain segment on the right. It should have been one of the final nails in his political coffin, but he and Marilyn, (who, no doubt has been taking her cues from Angela Lansbury), managed to figure out how to make some political hay from a puerile and silly speech that should have been ignored.

Sadly, even the "spelling" issue was misused by everyone. Quayle could have played that as more of a joke, saying, "See? Just because you hold high political office doesn't mean you're perfect. Good job, Son." His opponents made the joke for him, but missed the broader point that Quayle was taking a bastardized Noblesse Oblige approach, something which has never worked at any point in American politics, (unless you count Bill Clinton and his declaration of how he did not have sex with that woman, in which case it blew up in his face. Did great for his opponents.)

Sarah Palin and her "soccer mom" game plan will not work, in part because real soccer moms, who are trying to navigate the treacherous waters that the people Palin wants as supporters have put us in, are not the fools that the far right wants to think they are. Limbaugh may laugh at them, Hannity might dismiss them, and Savage might berate them as Sheeple, but they are, by and large, better educated, better informed, and more motivated to pay attention to what's happening to the country than these people are giving them credit for. (Okay, I left out Stern beating his meat over them, but you already knew about that one.)

Palin comes across as oblivious to the real concerns of working families. It's a sad fact, but that's the primary reason the Republicans are not going to win anything much in November to my way of thinking. They'll get a few seats, but the reality is that if I had to guess, not much is going to change. When you have Newt Gingrich crying "Hands off Medicare and no socialized medicine for America!" you have to wonder just how far down the rabbit hole you've fallen.

In the meantime, pass the mushrooms. It's tea time.
 
3bodyproblem said:
I didn't know that. And to be honest it really bugs me that I need to know that in order to be outraged at the show. Or better yet to presume I know that much about HER to make that connection. I'm sure out there in TV land there is a family with a Dad named Peter with a dog named Brian. I don't see them bitchin on TMZ. Just sayin.
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Well, someone in the West family should go after that guy doing the voice for the mayor of Quaahog, named "Adam West."

;)
 
I'll be the only one, I guess. I frickin' love Family Guy. Seth McFarlin is a genius. Behind all the "purile humour" and gay jokes and what have you, the man hits some pretty well-protected targets with the sharpest satire around, and hits them hard.

Heh heh, "hard".

It's even been pointed out in thist very thread, the episode in question alone skewered psychics and de-sainted the mentally handicapped.
 
parky76 said:
I love Family Guy 4,567,876 times more than I love Sarah Palin. Therefore, I cannot condemn the show for their funny yet insensitive attack against Palin.
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4,567,876 times zero is still zero.
 
lomiller said:
Now?
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I agree but if you want to see it taken to the next level then try his Cavalcade of ****. There is no story at all. Just a bunch of rejected Family Guy skits one after another.

Also this episode contained zero funny. The part about the down syndrome chick being the daughter of the former governor of Alaska seemed like a last minute addition to me. They figured "Hey how can we make this stupid joke slightly more offensive and get a bunch of press. Oh yeah attach it to Palin." The inclusion of that tidbit of info didn't make the story funnier or have any impact on it. For the record I didn't think it was offensive at all. Sadly this is Family Guy so it was also devoid of comedy.
 
GreNME said:
It's not McFarlane's fault her kid has Downs Syndrome (and a stupid name).
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I never claimed it was. I said I thought that was why I thought she would have responded to his joke.
 
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