Sometimes a show is too smart for its own good. Take for instance Fox's Family Guy which like Futurama had it's share of crappy timeslots, delays and the eventual cancellation. The show was created by Seth Macfarlane in the year 2000 and debuted to decent numbers. Although I found it to be a little too strange I did like the charm of the series.
After having released the first two seasons together, Fox has now released the THIRD SEASON as Volume 2. A little recap of this family. First we have the father Peter Griffin who is a big, boisterous, lovable oaf who isn't afraid to say what's on his freakin' mind -- usually the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. Next up is the mother Lois Griffin who is a modern-day housewife who finds time to cook, clean, run errands, teach piano and avoid daily attempts on her life by her baby son, Stewie.
Speaking of Stewie he is the key to the whole show. This 1-year-old baby with a single goal: Total world domination, has the voice and manner of an evil Rex Harrison, but he's only recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of his escape from his mother's "cursed ovarian Bastille," in which he was incarcerated for nine gruelling months.
It gets even stranger here in an almost Disney like Goofy way. The next character is actually the family dog Brian Griffin who not only speaks but is also a gentleman and a scholar, and undeniably the most eloquent member of the Griffin household. Brian is the first person Peter will turn to in times of crisis. But the sarcastic barbs that Brian doles out can be as dry as his martinis.
Rounding out the family are the older siblings Chris Griffin the overgrown, sweet-hearted 13-year-old who looks imposing, but wouldn't hurt a fly and Sixteen-year-old Meg Griffin who is constantly struggling to gain acceptance from the "in" crowd, or any crowd for that matter.
So there you have it, the Family in its entirety. Season 3 saw the decline of ratings and well the decline of its edge. While the first season had the adavantage of being new, the third season suffered from recycled gags and plots which is quite a shame. Still no fan should pass up the chance to see an episode that never aired and the conclusion of the series.
The complete season offered 22 episodes on three discs, including the never-before-seen "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein"
The Disc:
Family Guy Volume 2 is one of the newer cartoon shows produced for primetime. So it's look is absolutely stunning presented in their original 4:3 broadcast aspect ratios. The artists use such vibrant beautiful colors that make me love the look of this show. The sounds are coming in with English Dolby 2.0 surround only. There are also tracks for Spanish and French fans here. Just listening to Stewie in other languages is hillarious!
Goodies on this package are light which is disappointing since the original Volume 1 also failed to give us many extras. The extras begin with Episode Specific Commentary on several episodes. These include commentary for "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington," "Death Lives," "Mr. Saturday Night," "Ready, Willing and Disabled," "Brian Wallows," and the new never before seen "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Somewhat interesting since you can hear the reflection of disappointment that the show is now ended.
Next up is the Pilot Pitch. I found this to be quite interesting as I always wonder how some of these shows ever get made. It's not quite as an intricate process as you might think. Next up on the docket are the standard Animatics that can be found on many animated DVD's that are released these days. I found these 28 deleted scenes to be pretty interesting though there's nothing really new here.
Probably more interesting to fans of the series is the best extra on the set. It's two features that are pretty funny and interesting. We have Uncensored which pretty much speaks for itself. Just wait until you get your eyes and ears on this one! Finally there's a feature called Series Overview which for fans will seem rather redundant. Still there's something here to be viewed.
bottom line:
Volume 1 is a bit better since the episodes were fresher and edgier. Still for fans there's nothing like seeing an unaired episode and this provides that plus conclusion to the series.
3 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
