Family Guy, Season 13 Episode 1 "The Simpsons Guy"
“Pointing out your flaws does not make them go away.” – Jonathan "Mr. Enter" Rozanski
When I first decided to write a fifteen-week animation in television review blog, I had no clue where to begin. Surely, I would find solace in the series finale of Space Dandy, a show I have grown quite fondly of ever since a January premiere. Perhaps a new series that arose to take its place would grab my attention enough to hold me rapt with anticipation. I could maybe even seek my backlog of neverending titles, the size of which I am most ashamed. Size does matter, folks.
However, today I am faced with the dubious task of writing in regards to a work no one was really asking for. As a member of this funny thing called the Internet, we often don’t mean what we’re saying. Especially when we say, “Gee, wouldn’t it be swell to see Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin meet face to face? What if they suddenly agreed to fix all the problems that each show has? What if they focused only on referencing the good episodes, and in doing so reminded us of better time? What if everything was positive and happy good vibe feels??”
Sadly, reality and the Internet are not on the same level, and your fanboy scripts of fancy-free mean jack squat in the long run. So, Seth McFarlane and his ragtag bunch of writers thought they could write a Family Guy episode based in Springfield. Not even starting this episode, and we see a problem. The writing staffs of Family Guy and The Simpsons have very different creative minds and very different flaws. The latter suffers because instead of examining the wild creature known as Americana suburbia like they used to, they have become ostentatious and misguided in being too open minded with subject matter. Though they wear this jacket with discomfort, I would applaud them for being highbrow in a sea of lowbrow had they not betrayed their identity. Family Guy, on the other hand, suffers from suckling on the same teat for the past decade and a half. We know every joke telegraphed. Then again, there are rare moments of brilliance for each program, even in today’s television market. So, with a level head, shall we begin?
Our episode starts out with Peter Griffin becoming a comic strip artist after harping on the declining quality of Dennis the Menace. His style is single frame, single joke, rinse, repeat style. Now, that in and of itself could possibly carry a whole episode of Family Guy, and to see their commentary on infantile comicking would no doubt be guffaw worthy. However, this isn’t your average episode. In literally the next scene, we see one of the strips make a wife being a broken dishwasher joke, and a raging sea of straw feminists respond with violent protest. This ties in at the end into how The Simpsons often start with one plot, only to drop it for another in the first act, which is true. However, when you take on straw feminism in this day and age, not several months after the Internet held a highly contested civil war between 4Chan and Tumblr, try to respond in equal to how bona fide feminists are a legitimate demographic who deserve a podium. Just because Emma Watson speaks at the UN does not mean you get your turn to fart in a sandwich bag.
The Griffins, knowing they will very well be killed should they stay and face the wrath of feminists (that is exactly how this played), they leave town. After driving enough of a way, they stop at a gas station only to have their car stolen. As it turns out, they can stay in the nearby town of Springfield. Lazy writing for convenience of teleporting to a destination? Not exactly Tolkien, but I’ll let it slide for now.
The Griffins find the Kwik-E-Mart, where they meet Apu. When I first saw the episode, I didn’t at first see it, but this episode’s treatment of Apu is not exactly sterling. When one of your jokes is that the language of India uses the same word for sewage and beverage, you walk off a cliff into a pit casual racism. In fact, I haven’t caught up with The Simpsons, as there only so many hours in a day, but has there been a recent episode that features Apu as the main character? You know, other than using him as caricature.
Finally, we see Homer Simpson literally step out of the shadows in order to purchase doughnuts for the Griffins, as he would never. And right here is where the episode begins to take a dive-bomb.
In a traditional crossover, you typically get the two leads and their ensemble casts building on an original story that couldn’t exist in either show. For example, in 2004, The Fairly OddParents and Jimmy Neutron, two Nickelodeon properties, did a crossover in which each character had to face the other’s average life, as well as their greatest aggressors. The genius behind this is that Timmy Turner and Jimmy Neutron are nowhere near the same character, but play off each other through their strengths and weaknesses. The crossovers gave them the immediate focus and all supporting character one subplot to grapple with, as to not clutter the story.
Not so with this episode. We begin to see the carbon copy effect take place through a series of convoluted subplots, in which each family trades members.
Bart and Stewie play off each other nicely, as the Simpson teaches the Griffin the finer side of delinquency. What sinks this is a lack of jokes and Stewie’s sociopathic tendencies being more egregious, including a rape joke that was seen by Fox as controversial (which in the context of Family Guy is saying something). Also, where’s Maggie, the other enfant terrible, as a foil for Stewie? Why would Bart hang out with Stewie, considering he is still a toddler? However, they manage to save it with a final note of the episode, but more on that later.
Lisa and Meg’s subplot pains me the most, as they are the ugly ducklings of the shows, and could fill their own half-hour if not weighted by their families. Lisa tries to encourage Meg’s self-confidence and finds she is a saxophone savant much like herself. This makes Lisa initially jealous, but she comes to see Meg’s talent, and even gives her the saxophone as a parting gift. However, the absolute worst running joke in Family Guy rears its ugly head. Meg is useless, and everyone in her family reinforces this idea to the point where her talent is wasted, making this plot point moot when Peter says she can’t keep the saxophone. My best guess is that somewhere in California, Seth McFarlane cries himself to sleep every night in a pool of bodily fluids, thinking about a girl named Meg who dumped him in the eighth grade.
Marge and Lois get absolutely nothing other than an aside about going to a matinee movie. Again, pains me to see a wasted opportunity of having the two straight men in the room get sidelined in favor of buffoonery.
Chris and Brian get sidelined just with their partner character of Santa’s Little Helper, having the lost dog arc be reduced to a non-problem, as there is eventually no tension because SLH returns on his accord.
However, the stars were Peter and Homer, and why shouldn’t they be? They are our main characters. So, lay it on us. What’s their subplot?
Going back to the stolen car, Homer and Peter come up with an idea to retrieve it…by having a car wash for all stolen vehicles in Springfield. I’ll admit that is very clever writing. It reinforces the joke of how much a hole Springfield actually is by placing all the criminals in plain sight, but does so in a fresh way.
It’s a shame this joke is ruined by having Homer and Peter strap themselves in tank tops, daisy dukes, and heels. They have a sexy car wash scene while “Pour Some Sugar On Me” plays in the background. This goes on for a solid minute, and believe me, it is the episode’s low point. It’s gross-out and shock for no reason other than laughing at the jesters. The images will be seared in mind for a good long time. May mercy come to the animators.
Eventually, the car plot solves itself, as Peter is run over by his own car, with Simpsons regular Hans Moleman driving. He thought they were a pair of pants. Okay, sure, moving along.
They celebrate with a round at Moe’s. Peter has an emergency case of Pawtucket Patriot beer, which he shares with Homer. Homer suddenly realizes the taste is all wrong, having been a Duff man his entire life. Sure enough, Pawtucket is just relabeled Duff. Here, the carbon copy joke reaches a head, as Peter represents Pawtucket Patriot as an employee in a plagiarism lawsuit.
This premise that Family Guy has relentlessly plagiarized The Simpsons is one that could also carry an entire episode, much like Lisa and Meg’s subplot. What we get is actually a watermark for the crossover by not devoting tomes of content to this plot. Homer and Peter are exhausted for having to do one more half-hour of entertainment (clever), but forge onward into the courthouse. There, they present arguments regarding their beers. Family Guy actually has the foresight to realize that most of their characters are lifted from their predecessor, as exemplified with some character cameos in the courthouse scene:
• Mayor Quimby/Mayor West
• Dr. Nick/Dr. Goldman
• Smithers/Bruce
• Bumble Bee Man/Consuela
• Both iterations of James Woods
Finally, the judge is ready to make his decision. In an ingenious twist, the judge is revealed to be Fred Flintstone, who argues that both beers are pale imitators of Bud Rock. This of course refers to how both works would not exist without The Flintstones leading the charge for animated sitcom. Give due credit to the writers – they know how to respect the classics and realize their inspirations. It’s too late for Peter, however, as Judge Flintstone rules in favor of Duff. Cut to Kool Aid Guy busting a courthouse wall in the wrong Springfield.
So far, the courthouse scene has managed to save this episode from being a complete wash. The Griffins, with car in tow, head back to Quahog to find employment for Peter. With almost eight minutes left in the episode, it’s going to be difficult to fill that time. This is done in one of the most contrived ways possible.
Longtime viewers of Family Guy will know their running gag of Peter fighting the giant chicken, which runs back to Season 2, Episode 3 “Da Boom”. Well, it’s Homer’s turn to get the fight treatment, with Springfield set as the battleground. Peter calls out Homer from nowhere and says that The Simpsons suck and rightly offended by this, Homer clocks Peter, starting the fight.
While there are little touches like an always-welcome Ralph Wiggum cameo and Homer using all of the show’s Emmys against Peter, it drags on far too long and doesn’t have nearly enough Easter Eggs to sate diehard fans. Even Roger Smith of American Dad, my favorite McFarlane creation, gets only seconds of screen time with Kang and Kodos. Additionally, their cameo isn’t even a joke. Roger says they were buddies at summer camp, gets blasted from the ship, and that’s it. No galavanting fun times or sociopathic escapades. All in all, it is a wasted opportunity with too much sadism. If it weren’t for the car wash scene, this would be my least favorite moment of the episode.
Ultimately, Homer and Peter agree to disagree, remain good friends, and get a dig at Bob’s Burgers being “a load of garbage”. I’m all for friendly competition, but the fact that McFarlane can’t stop talking how The Cleveland Show lost in the ratings race to Bob’s Burgers (which posts average but not great numbers in viewership) through his scripts is indicative how thin skinned he really is. Just because you don’t like a show does not mean it correlates to overall quality, but no one told him this. The humor is different in Bob's Burgers than any other show on television, and yes I'll admit it treads the thin line of awkwardness, kitsch, and comedy gold. Even Gravity Falls isn't completely the same, though it in many ways confirmed that is a market for this type of humor. However, just because something is different does not make it automatically terrible.
Now, had the episode ended there, it wouldn’t be enough to save it. I would have called it there. Yet, remember what I said when Bart and Stewie’s subplot having a final note.
When the Griffins return to Quahog, the controversy over Peter’s comic has died down, and he forgets the entire incident. Brian and Stewie talk about their experience, and Stewie wanting to look tough say he won’t miss Bart. He heads upstairs only to write another line on his chalkboard, much like his Simpson counterpart.
I WILL NEVER FORGET ABOUT BART
Stewie breaks down in tears and the episode ends.
At last, the emotion behind this union is revealed. Seth McFarlane, as much as I want him out of the television business, is a showman honest about his influences. To even get a chance to write for The Simpsons must have been a dream that not only came true but sevenfold. Think of how much The Simpsons has influenced modern animation. Even the couch gag animator of The Simpsons episode prior, the most creative mind in animation Don Hertzfeldt, owes a kings ransom to the humor of the team behind Springfield. As much as I want to say this episode was awful, in many ways it wasn’t. When McFarlane wants to be emotional about his feelings, it is difficult to even make base decisions on human emotion (this strangely explains why his known non-human characters, Brian Griffin and Roger Smith, are my personal favorites from each show). When he wants to dance, he'll give you a Broadway chorus line and a half. He is an entertainer first and foremost, and because of the spectacle he tries to bring, his meatiness suffers.
In conclusion, this episode to me was an unfortunately wasted opportunity to unite two juggernauts. The lackluster narrative writing, combined with a lack of direction and plot focus, dragged this thing down. However, the love is there under the layers. This doesn’t turn me off to the idea of more crossovers between these two shows. I want this relationship to foster. Fox needs to stop being so hung up about the ratings, and take a genuine risk with these properties, I say. Next time, however, have more of a relation between the writing teams, and try not to make the focus just the very thought of these two worlds meeting. Give our warring families something to strive for.
