# Friendly reminder: FAMILY GUY returns tonite! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985 "2005-05-01T22:44:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/101 "2005-05-04T02:40:21Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > By the way, this episode was making its way around the internet over a week before it aired. That’s what worries me about Family Guy’s attempted comeback. If all the fans who were begging for its return are just going to download illegal copies before the shows even air, it’s not going to work. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/102 "2005-05-04T03:11:25Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > That’s what worries me about Family Guy’s attempted comeback. If all the fans who were begging for its return are just going to download illegal copies before the shows even air, it’s not going to work. I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Every episode of the first 3 seasons was being traded before the DVDs came out, and before Cartoon Network started airing the show, and that didn’t put a dent in demand. It doesn’t look like any more episodes have been leaked early… of course, every episode will still be shared as soon as it airs, but that happens to every other TV show too. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/103 "2005-05-04T08:24:06Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Every episode of the first 3 seasons was being traded before the DVDs came out, and before Cartoon Network started airing the show, and that didn’t put a dent in demand. It doesn’t look like any more episodes have been leaked early… of course, every episode will still be shared as soon as it airs, but that happens to every other TV show too. In fact, according to one article I read, _Family Guy_ episodes were more popular in the P2P crowd than **porn!** :eek: ---
**Author:** ![drewcosten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@drewcosten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewcosten)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/104 "2005-05-04T14:24:07Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > They weren’t mentioned because they both pre-dated FG’s original run. The gag was all the shows FOX was going to offer that squeezed FG off the schedule, so only shows that debuted after FG could be included. Is it just me or did the opening scene air somewhere before? I can’t figure out why but when I saw it I had the strangest feeling of deja-vu. ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/105 "2005-05-04T15:16:29Z")
> [@Dob](#): > > loved the show! I am amazed that Fox network, of all networks, allowed some of the jokes!!! How can they be so far right on news, but ignore it all on the network?? Have you ever watched Fox before? The network that had _Married with Children_ on it in the early 90’s? Fox has always been known as the most raunchy network. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/106 "2005-05-04T16:17:04Z")
> [@drewcosten](#): > > Is it just me or did the opening scene air somewhere before? I can’t figure out why but when I saw it I had the strangest feeling of deja-vu. I can’t remember if they did the “previously on FG” as part of the opening or just the promos, but the promos recycled scenes from the ep where Brian goes to Hollywood (they did a series of fake “previously on” shots, stuff like Chris kneeling over Quagmire’s body, Lois as a scientist, etc.). The pacing of the joke is a FG standard, the “make it so long that it stops being funny and then starts getting funny again.” See Peter’s knee injury in _Wasted talent_. The list gag itself was similar to a Simpsons gag where Homer listed off all the jobs he’d held in the course of the series. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/107 "2005-05-06T02:07:49Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > So you were appauled when Quagmire saw a tied up cheerleader and yelled “Jackpot”? > > I mean it’s Family Guy! Off color jokes are the nom de plume. They also had a joke about child beating (“Tell them I got hit with a baseball”). Its what they do! > > Frankly I thought it was the best joke of the show. I wasn’t appalled when Quagmire said “Jackpot!” That is one of the best in the series. The Pinocchio joke was lame and played out too long. If it had lasted a few seconds with Geppetto bending over and asking him to lie, it probably would have been funny. All IMHO, not fact, of course. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/108 "2005-05-06T02:17:02Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > The pacing of the joke is a FG standard, the “make it so long that it stops being funny and then starts getting funny again.” See Peter’s knee injury in _Wasted talent_. This time-honored technique is known as “comedy torture.” My favorite example is Norm MacDonald’s blank stare-into-the-camera when a joke flops on _Weekend Update_. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/109 "2005-05-06T02:49:11Z")
My favorite is the rake scene with Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/110 "2005-05-06T02:53:01Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > My favorite is the rake scene with Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons. I just watched that scene of the Season 5 DVD. The episode was running short so they added several more hits to fill in time and duped Grammer’s reaction as needed. Grammer was surprised when he saw the final product. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985/111 "2005-05-16T01:13:11Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > That’s what worries me about Family Guy’s attempted comeback. If all the fans who were begging for its return are just going to download illegal copies before the shows even air, it’s not going to work. I think [this recent article](http://www.mindjack.com/feature/piracy051305.html) might be relevant. It describes what happened with _Battlestar Galactica_, which aired in the UK three months before it aired in the US, and was shared online by fans in the meantime. > [@](#): > > The British aficionados of the series provided torrents for each episode within a few hours of each broadcast. Many fans in the US picked them up and watched them; so did many people in Australia. > > While you might assume the SciFi Channel saw a significant drop-off in viewership as a result of this piracy, it appears to have had the reverse effect: the series is so good that the few tens of thousands of people who watched downloaded versions told their friends to tune in on January 14th, and see for themselves. From its premiere, Battlestar Galactica has been the most popular program ever to air on the SciFi Channel, and its audiences have only grown throughout the first series. Piracy made it possible for “word-of-mouth” to spread about Battlestar Galactica. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friendly-reminder-family-guy-returns-tonite/301985.md?page=5)