# Family Guy 9/25 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410 "2005-09-26T01:04:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/41 "2005-09-26T13:07:01Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > I saw the evil monkey, but I’m not getting the joke - is this a recurring character? i don’t recall seeing it before :eek: You must not have been watching for very long, because yes, he’s very recurring. Hell, they’veused him three times this season so far. It goes back to an episode where Chris says something along the liens of, “Well, there’s an evil monkey thast live in my closet.” The family laughs, but then we see Chris’s room with a monkey grinning eviley and pointing at him, Throught the “pre-cancelation” episodes, Chris would mention him from time to time and he’d do the same evil grin. [Like this.](http://www.allthingschristie.com/archives/evil%20monkey.jpg)[Or this.](http://www.allthingschristie.com/archives/family-guy--evil-monkey_large.jpg)[Or this.](http://www.0xdeadbeef.com/html/2003/05/Screenshot-evil-monkey.png)[And then the one in a suit.](http://www.jmadigan.net/imgs/news/eevil_monkey.gif) That last one is from when he became evil, because, after making partner, he caught his wife in ebd with another monkey. And the Meg abusrreminds me of my favorite new season line. Peter: Meg…who let you back in the house? It’s mostly in the delivery, as Seth perfectly nailed the “who” in that line. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/42 "2005-09-26T13:10:25Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > But Stewie’s cutaways weren’t very good. I loved Stewie’s _Tootsie_ and “effeminate friend” bits. Other than that, I haven’t seen the rest of the show yet. I recorded it, but ended up switching back and forth between _FG_ and \*Desperate Housewives \* anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/43 "2005-09-26T13:10:47Z")
I’ve been trying to give this show a chance. Last night’s episode was just lame. The drag-a-gag-out-too-long thing is only effective if used sparingly, and they used it repeatedly. The scene-for-scene homage to **Raiders of the Lost Ark** was just pointless. This makes 7 episodes of **Family Guy** that I’ve seen. Doubt there’ll be an eighth. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/44 "2005-09-26T13:53:59Z")
What was the first part of this Stewie Howard Stern reference: " they told a joke about Negroes but Robin laughed so it was okay." ? ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/45 "2005-09-26T14:04:44Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The drag-a-gag-out-too-long thing is only effective if used sparingly, and they used it repeatedly. T. Yeah. I agree 100%. This has become a cheap go-to gag. “No, No! It’s funny because they wasted two minutes doing it” is getting kind of old as a reason I should be laughing. There’s a name for that type of gag. Filler. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/46 "2005-09-26T14:07:28Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > What was the first part of this Stewie Howard Stern reference: " they told a joke about Negroes but Robin laughed so it was okay." ? Don’t forget. Getting your fill of “colored.” ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/47 "2005-09-26T14:07:43Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > What was the first part of this Stewie Howard Stern reference: " they told a joke about Negroes but Robin laughed so it was okay." ? IIRC, it was him talking about (paraphrased) “the lesbian strippers on Howard Stern. They sounded hot. Then Howard made a black joke but Robin laughed so it was okay.” -Joe, lesbian stripper, not so not ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/48 "2005-09-26T14:09:37Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > IIRC, it was him talking about (paraphrased) “the lesbian strippers on Howard Stern. They sounded hot. Then Howard made a black joke but Robin laughed so it was okay.” > > -Joe, lesbian stripper, not so not Except I totally think it was “negroes” -Caricci, old enough to remember when you were supposed to say “negroes”. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/49 "2005-09-26T14:09:51Z")
How did I miss the evil monkey? Oh well, guess I gotta wait a couple of weeks and catch the rerun. Chris had a great line: “I married this 11 year old girl for all the wrong reasons!” But the rest was “meh” for me. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/50 "2005-09-26T14:13:48Z")
> [@Murcielago](#): > > For some reason, the Kevin Federline “Magic Mirror, How can I look like a douchebag today?” bit got a big laugh out of me. The part that scored was adding the undeserved look of accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/51 "2005-09-26T15:02:07Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > The caveman bit was sort of funny, but went on too long. Usually that makes a gag funny again. Not this time. Agree on this one. The caveman joke’s punchline was when the wife drops the “naughty pictures” that looks like cave stick drawings. We were laughing like hell at that… and then wondering why it just dragged on, or why they didn’t insert another caveman joke to finish it. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/52 "2005-09-26T15:17:22Z")
overall, a pretty “meh” episode, except for the highlights of Peter as Beaker from the Muppets, and the cow being milked i agree the “dragging a joke out too long” is getting extremely overused, and predicatable, i predicted _every_ occurence of DAJOTL before it occured, they beed to give this “joke” a rest, it’s already tedious and sucks the wind right out of a good ep… ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/53 "2005-09-26T15:49:18Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > i agree the “dragging a joke out too long” is getting extremely overused, and predicatable, i predicted _every_ occurence of DAJOTL before it occured, they beed to give this “joke” a rest, it’s already tedious and sucks the wind right out of a good ep… True. From now on, perhaps they could end every one of these scenes, after an established time, by having all the characters drop, grab their knee and cry “hsssst- Ahhh!!” in pain (in homage to the show’s first dragged-out gag). ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/54 "2005-09-26T15:54:04Z")
I loved Mayor Adam West reenacting the paddling scene from “Dazed and Confused.” Classic. Adam West as Batman was my hero when I was little, and he’s my hero still. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/55 "2005-09-26T16:05:32Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > True. From now on, perhaps they could end every one of these scenes, after an established time, by having all the characters drop, grab their knee and cry “hsssst- Ahhh!!” in pain (in homage to the show’s first dragged-out gag). The only way I can imagine to make this thing funny again is have the big long set up and then just dump to commercial. No payoff whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/56 "2005-09-26T16:06:44Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > I loved Mayor Adam West reenacting the paddling scene from “Dazed and Confused.” Classic. Adam West as Batman was my hero when I was little, and he’s my hero still. Even though it was their second _Dazed and Confused_ reference this season, I forgive them since they used Adam West as the paddler. That was great. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/57 "2005-09-26T16:17:10Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > True. From now on, perhaps they could end every one of these scenes, after an established time, by having all the characters drop, grab their knee and cry “hsssst- Ahhh!!” in pain (in homage to the show’s first dragged-out gag). That would be funny. I agree that the dragged out joke thing isd overused this season. The reason why? You and me. Well, not directly, but I remember back when the show was un-calnceled (the latest un-cancelation), many critics writing reviews, or articles on the show, mentioend how the show was able to take a joke, drag it out to the point of being un-funny, then drag it back to being funny. Well…maybe. Tnink for a minute, how many times in the “first run” did they do this? We have skinned knee, chicken fight, Randy Newman singin’ about what he sees, umm…what else? There may be more, but I can only think of those. Whereas in the new season, I can think of many off the top of my head: Second chciken fight Quagmire in thr bathroom stall Stewie and “Bewitched” Caveman Randy Newman Canceled shows list ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/58 "2005-09-26T16:20:07Z")
:smack: 1. Eliminate Randy Newman from the second list 2. My point was: I think the writers read these articles and reviews, and thought, “Hey, everyone LVOES those jokes dragged out too long. Let’s make half of our jokes like that!” “Good idea, bob.” “Way to be on the ball, bob.” So, because we laughed at those jokes the first time, the writers felt a need to put more of them in, and make them dragged out even longer. So, ladies and gentlemen, it’s our fault those jokes are as used as they are. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/59 "2005-09-26T16:25:49Z")
A show becomes stagant when writers start reading their own clippings. It becomes like a sequel. Comedy sequels are inevitably the same joke with a different suit. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410/60 "2005-09-26T16:31:37Z")
I think you can definitely make a case that the new episodes of Family Guy are suffering from self-consciousness on the part of the creative team. There are times when it feels like the show is being written by outsiders who are consciously _trying_ to write a script that “feels” like Family Guy, rather than writing a style of comedy that just flows organically. I hope they get over this and just concentrate on writing funny shows. With so many episodes still to make (I think they have two more seasons’ worth under the current deal with Fox), the show should still have a lot of growth and change ahead of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-9-25/323410.md?page=4)