Family Guy, Vol. 8

5 Comments

1. mskrisclark

   September 21, 2010 at 5:14 pm

   Review by mskrisclark for Family Guy, Vol. 8
   Rating:
   I have been a fan of the show since it’s ORIGINAL debut after the Super Bowl in 1999.

   Course, how they have done the DVD releases it is NOT right that you can NOT get a complete season in 1 DVD package.

   The episodes in this DVD are NOT up to normal “Family Guy” standards. No stand out episodes. Only a couple of episodes “Fox-y Lady” & “Brian’s Got A Brand New Bag” have jokes I want to rewind to see again.

   Uncensored. Unlike when they just slapped curse words in “The Empire Strikes Back” straight to video release where most of the curse words were just there because they could get away with it but they did NOT work. In Volume 8 they do work & go along with the story script.

   Of these episodes notable for me “Three Kings” with the “Star Wars” figurine bit & of course Richard Dreyfess & the late Roy Scheider together again for the “Jaws” references. This episode aired of course after Roy’s death in 2008. “Family Goy” episode has 2 “Star Wars” saga references & also an “Indiana Jones” reference. The “Spies Like Us” episode “Spies Reminiscent Of Us” good idea for an episode & good to see Dan & Chevy were used.

   Now, we can complain again the DVD makers went cheap with the horrible plastic cases. You have an episode list but not like in the older DVD releases you get NO information on that episode. Cheap plastic disc holders.

   Normal extras on the DVD package.

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2. Mommy Extraordinaire

   September 21, 2010 at 4:47 pm

   Review by Mommy Extraordinaire for Family Guy, Vol. 8
   Rating:
   I bought this for my boyfriend for his 34th Birthday. Of course, this is NOT for kids, but the adults in my household LOVE Family Guy. Volume 8 did not dissapoint. We have collected each volume and love sitting up after the kids have gone to bed and having a good laugh. Family Guy is not to be taken seriously and not to be watched by the easily-offended. It is hilarious, smart, witty, raunchy fun.

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3. Andew Jones

   September 21, 2010 at 3:49 pm

   Review by Andew Jones for Family Guy, Vol. 8
   Rating:
   Family Guy, when on form, is the funniest show on television. However, this season is more inconsistent. Episodes like Road to the Multiverse and Quagmire’s Baby are absolutely fantastic, but when the show manages to make the Buzzkillington joke (a joke about a man who kills a mood with bad jokes) old, the message is clear: the show is starting to run out of ideas.

   Worth seeing for it’s best moments, but there is a lot that pales in comparison.

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4. mwreview

   September 21, 2010 at 3:45 pm

   Review by mwreview for Family Guy, Vol. 8
   Rating:
   This volume is slightly better than 7, but it is still a far cry from what Family Guy used to be. The few clever lines and gags are buried in ridiculous segments and storylines. The Star Trek actors segment is just silly. There is nothing clever or funny about it. They have a 50 year old woman talking and acting like someone who would’ve been dead for most likely the last 20 years. Decent episodes like “Not All Dogs Go To Heaven,” “Peter’s Progress,” and “Hannah Banana” are ruined by crummy endings. One episode that is very clever and original is “Road to the Multiverse.” “We Love You Conrad” is another good one mainly because I like the air-headed Jillian character. “Three Kings” is a fun change of pace and “Dog Gone” has its moments (good ones as well as head-scratching ones). “Stew-roid” and “Jerome Is the New Black” are the better ones from the mediocre rest. When a clip showing the Flintmobile on the World’s Wildest Police Chases is the highlight of a volume, that is pretty bad.

   Disc 1
   
   1. “Fox-y Lady”–Lois becomes news anchor for Fox News and is put on an assignment to investigate Michael Moore. Meanwhile, Peter and Chris collaborate on an animated show “Handi-Quacks.” When Lois was running with her Fox contract, I thought she was going to fall and hurt her knee, but it didn’t quite go that way.
   
   2. “Not All Dogs Go To Heaven”–Peter: “That’s right folks, it’s going to be a Meg episode. Stick around for the fun…here’s the clicker, no one would blame you.” Meg is bedridden with the mumps and finds religion from Kirk Cameron’s televangelist show. Brian admits to being an atheist, so in the hopes to cure him, Meg blabs it on the news making Brian Quahog’s enemy #1. The ending where Meg and Brian patch things up is a bit too easy, I think, and the ending is stupid. It might actually have worked with Bob Newhart and the wife from his first television show in bed ala the last episode of “Newhart.” Meanwhile, Stewie kidnaps the Star Trek cast. That part is lame. The actors act like kids (note: The actor who played Capt. Picard is the voice of Avery Bullock on American Dad, so the characters are the same). This episode had potential with the atheist theme, but fell completely flat.
   
   3. “Episode 420”–Brian campaigns for the legalization of pot. When Lois’s father promises the publication of Brian’s novel in exchange for him switching sides, will he sell out?
   
   4. “Stew-roid”–Joe’s baby girl beats up Stewie so Peter pumps him up with steroids. Stewie: “It doesn’t matter how you find the pot of gold, all that matters is that you beat the leprechauns.” Connie, the most popular girl in school, goes out with Chris as a challenge. when he disses her and becomes a jerk like the popular guys, Connie and Meg concoct revenge.
   
   5. “We Love You Conrad”–I like the non-praying mantis (maybe he’s an atheist). Jillian is engaged to a great guy who speaks French (Jillian: “He also speaks Orange!” Derek: “Mandarin, honey.” Jillian: “Mandolin!”) and Brian is jealous even when he starts dating Lauren Conrad.

   Disc 2
   
   6. “Three Kings”–The Family Guy characters parody Stephen King novels “Stand By Me” (with Meg as the dead body), “Misery” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” Joe’s character is crippled in each segment. An OK change of pace but the ending to “Misery” was a bit weak.
   
   7. “Peter’s Progress”–Madame Claude tells Peter and the gang who they were in a past life. She tells the story of 17th or 18th century England when Peter was the founder of Quahog. Lois’s character is called Lady Redbush (ha!). King Stewart the Turd exiles Griffin Peterson to America so he could marry Lois Redbush. The ending was stupid.
   
   8. “Road to the Multiverse”–Clever episode where Brian and Stewie visit parallel universes that show Family Guy in such styles as The Flintstones, Robot Chicken, and Disney.
   
   9. “Family Goy”–Lois finds out her mother is Jewish. At first Peter embraces Judaism until the spirit of his strict Catholic father tells him he will BURN!!! I n this uncensored episode, you get to see Peter’s…um…peter.
   
   10. “Spies Reminiscent of Us”–Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase move into Cleveland’s old house and Brian and Stewie find out they’re actually spies. Meanwhile, to prove he’s funny, Peter and the gang start an improv act. This episode is lame.
   
   11. “Brian Has a Brand New Bag”–This episode is embarrassingly bad. Brian dates a 50 year old and his family gives him grief about it. It makes no sense. She was 50 in 2009 when the show aired, so she was born in 1959. She spent her adolescence probably watching the Brady Bunch and her late teens at the discos. She wouldn’t use old fashioned words like “chesterfield.” They make her character as though she was born in the 1910s. Ridiculous!

   Disc 3
   
   12. “Hannah Banana”–Stewie has to see Miley Cyrus in concert and threatens Brian’s brothers and sisters to get him in (that was pretty funny). Chris captures the evil monkey and he becomes a father figure. The end of the Miley Cyrus thing was a bit much.
   
   13. “Quagmire’s Baby”–The Flintstone police chase clip might be the highlight of this entire volume. Quagmire’s baby girl is left on his doorstep and she is cramping his style. Meanwhile, Stewie experiments with cloning. The Quagmire/baby thing was unoriginal.
   
   14. “Jerome is the New Black”–The gang thinks they’ve found a replacement for Cleveland until Peter finds out he once slept with Lois. Also, Quagmire lets Brian have it! Dang!
   
   15. “Dog Gone”–Brian is excited about being honored by the Rhode Island Society for Special Literary Excellence until he finds out the “Special” is for “special ed.” He gets drunk and hits and kills a dog. He buries the carcass but is racked with guilt. When he confesses, he is alarmed that no one cares and starts a movement for animal rights. The meeting is lame. They end up wanting to eat Brian, whatever! Anyway, it is up to Stewie to make Brian see he has value to his family. Meanwhile, Consuela (“need more lemon pledge”) becomes the Griffin’s maid and drives Peter nuts.

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5. Tommy Morais

   September 21, 2010 at 3:16 pm

   Review by Tommy Morais for Family Guy, Vol. 8
   Rating:
   Look at this point if you’re still going to complain how the show is not funny since the earlier seasons I can’t blame you, in fact I agree with you. I think Family Guy has gone a little downhill yes but I still like it for what it is. Besides I think most customers visiting this page are actually interested in this volume DVD, the episodes it contains and they should know what to expect out of those 3 discs. If you’re just here to complain well beat it, it’s just a television show right? Maybe it’s not as funny to you but I still get a good laugh out of watching the show and think it’s still more entertaining than most of what is on television right now. Vol 8 has the seven remaining episodes of season 7 and the first eight of season 8 for a total of 15 episodes.

   Here are all of the episodes on Vol.8:
   
   1. FOX-y Lady
   
   2. Not All Dogs Go To Heaven
   
   3. 420
   
   4. Stew-Roids
   
   5. We Love You, Conrad
   
   6. Three Kings
   
   7. Peter’s Progress
   
   8. Road To The Multiverse
   
   9. Family Goy
   
   10. Spies Reminiscent of Us
   
   11. Brian’s Got a Brand New Bag
   
   12. Hannah Banana
   
   13. Quagmire’s Baby
   
   14. Jerome is the New Black
   
   15. Dog Gone

   It seems that even if some fans of the show didn’t enjoy this season as much as the others ones they generally agree that there are a few great episodes on Vol 8 such as “Road To The Multiverse” and “Stew-Roids”. I also liked “Quagmire’s Baby” and “Three Kings”. I don’t think Family Guy is done just yet but if they don’t do something soon then it could be the end of the show. Fans brought the show out of cancellation and could very well put it back to that status. I don’t think vol 9 will be that much better as I’ve seen most of those episodes ( “Brian & Stewie” was just a painful one to watch).

   And yes they still haven’t done anything about the “volumes” DVD and you don’t get a full season here, it’s disappointing but that’s what they’ve been doing since season 4 when they decided to split a season in two DVD’s boxed set and I guess it’s what Fox will continue to do so for future DVD releases. Yes I’ve bought this DVD even if I’d like actual season sets to be released because I enjoy Family Guy. I just wish they wouldn’t charge as much for only 15 episodes in a cheap package, basically the same as season 7’s, I also hope they don’t discontinue the DVD version with the cover on it like they did for season 7 after a while that was just disappointing. There are still some good episodes on this Volume DVD, the show is not what it once was but it’s still decent. 3 stars.
   

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