Family Guy - "420" - Talkback [4/19]

Wait what? I really don't see how this one wasn't light-hearted, especially considering we got a fairly long, upbeat musical number right in the middle of it all. Considering just how preachy and annoying this episode could have been I think they did a very good job of keeping this one light and enjoyable.

Aside from the musical number there was some great stuff packed into this one: Peter matter-of-factly saying "I hate Quagmire lately", Peter and Carter's propaganda commercials (especially the Hitler one), the "Above the Influence" commercial parody, Lois getting a shot in at Brian after bailing him out of jail, the closure to the cat plot and definitely Peter's "these are all the people I hate" cutaway.

Good stuff.
 
I'm probably going to catch some crap for saying this, but why is it when Family Guy talks about drugs, they need to have someone be punished or have someone explain the dangers? On The Simpsons, characters have tripped on various substances and there have been drug references without anyone being arrested or anything like that.

I find it odd that Brian has to get comeuppance for wanting weed legalized yet an episode of The Simpsons can have Homer tripping on hallucinogenic peppers or Marge tripping on water and they dont have as much as a disclaimer on the bottom of the screen.

Dont get me wrong, I love both shows but its rather odd how one can get away with more than the other. This goes back to the slam on the Simpsons on Family Guy where Quagmire killed them. Seth said that Matt Groening had a great sense of humor about it yet James L Brooks threw a hissy fit. Yet it was perfectly fine when the Simpsons did jokes about Family Guy.

Again this post isnt meant to favor one show over the other or slam any show, but I feel both shows should get equal treatment. Mayor Quimby watering a pot plant on the Simpsons without getting arrested is fine but Peter and Lois smoking pot isnt unless they have a lecture from Chris at the end of the episode? Its the same with alcohol too, Peter and Brian have to face consequences such as hangovers and such from drinking. Yet Homer can drink episode after episode and they treat it like he's doing an every day activity. I don't know.

I thought "420" was great and it stated some true facts about pot and wasnt afraid to explain the true reason behind its illegalization but it kind of saddens me that Brian needed to get comeuppance for wanting to legalize a substance that had proven to be safer than alcohol and tobacco. I get the feeling that Fox made the Family Guy staff write that in.
 
That's very possible. I don't think television is ready for a show on a major network to glorify marijuana use without any consequences. Keep in mind the Simpsons episode "Weekend at Burnsies" where Homer and Smithers almost let Mr. Burns die because they're too busy getting high and losing track of time. Also remember the episode "Brothers Little Helper", where Bart is shown to be influenced for the worse because of mood-enhancement drugs.

And while the Simpsons also uses alcohol abuse as a source of humor, they also very often show just how ridiculous or dangerous the characters can be when inebriated, while at the same time Moes bar is show to be a very seedy and depressing place to inhabit. Barney is never portrayed as a character to be admired or looked up to and is often depicted as an example of how far gone a human being can be in he lets alcohol run his life. And there actually are a few episodes where Homer is shown with a hangover or suffering the consequences of his drunken actions.

And regarding "trippy water" and insanity peppers: these exist in a very different ballpark than common, real world drugs like pot. Those are more gimmicky and cartoony, while weed is something a person can seek out and actually use.
 
The Simpsons episode in question was not mostly about marijuana becoming legalized, it was just about Homer having to smoke medicinal marijuana "with hilarious results". There was that subplot about Ned trying to get medicinal marijuana re-criminalized, but the focus was mostly on Homer.

The FG staff set out to do an episode about legalizing marijuana, so the whole idea of legal battles and repercussions played a factor. And Brian getting arrested for smoking pot while Peter was drunk-driving with a corpse in the car was making fun of marijuana legislation for being too harsh. It really didn't make him look bad at all.

In both cases, the status quo was restored at the end of the episode by having marijuana re-criminalized.
 
Did you just refer to bongs as pot bottles?



Those are worthless if they tune in after the show starts, though.



I'm guessing you've never seen That 70s Show.
 
Ah, this is what I love Family Guy for: well written episodes. Brian and Stewie's song encouraging the legalization of marijuana was very well done, and the bit with Peter too stoned to think of a cutaway was an excellent self parodic wink.
 
This episode was a lot better than the last few episodes. I like the plot, and the big musical number (which seems unneccesarily long for a Family Guy usical number), and the cat plotline was funny because it doesn't seem like something that'd be right for Quaigmire.

And I like that the MTM cat appeared in live action.

So, Brian actually finished his novel? And now that it's been released, I wodner if there'll be any more jokes about his novel.
 
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