The debate to end all debates -- FG vs. Simpsons

To be honest, Simpson's was cutting edge. Everything else was a copy that wanted to say "We go farther". Parody is funny. overt grossness is not. A fine line yes, but often misunderstood. Whenever a show wants to try for the base instincts of humanity, even Shakespeare, they risk going too far. It's just something that needs to be accepted if we want "edgy".
 
That may be true for the classic era, but whenever Homer gets fired in recent episodes, it's treated like a joke and doesn't hold the same impact it once had. Like in "Ice Cream of Margie"- I knew he would be seen at the power plant in another episode anyway.
 
Yeah, I won't even try to deny that most recent episodes lack the proper character-to-audience connection that the classic episodes have. But every so often, the show surprises me ("Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" was a good example of Homer at his best in a long while). Meanwhile, "Family Guy" is just an ensemble of jackasses, and if the writers are to be believed, that's not going to change. And even in spite of the mediocre episodes that "The Simpsons" puts out, you can still tell that the show's writers care about what they do. With "Family Guy", it's more like they just don't give a damn about creating a quality TV show, just so long as they cram in 22 minutes of cheap laughs.

I agree that "Family Guy" is not directly derivative of "The Simpsons", as many people have pointed out. But if anything, I think that's one of its problems - it needs to be more like "The Simpsons" in terms of plot and character. The Griffins need to stop being jackasses to one another and become real people again. I don't want 22 minutes of non-sequiturs and pop culture references surrounded by a plot that goes nowhere and characters that I hate - I want stories that make sense and characters I can care about. Why is that so hard for this show's writers to do?
 
Enjoy both for reasons stated by many.



Since Ben 10 is a bit more serious in tone than the other show/strips mentioned (Aside from King Of The Hill), it works to have a sequel series set in the future. Besides, while it maybe serious, is it really that dark?
 
I love them both, for what it's worth. But the Simpsons is way past it's prime. If it ended tomorrow I wouldn't be too bothered. Family Guy still has some life in it.
 
I Second the vote for American Dad. It is currently the best written and best half hour of the current FOX crop. There's not a week that goes by that the show doesn't make me laugh atleast a little, and hardly a week goes by where the plot makes a bit of sense from start to finish.

I would just like to point out that this debate gets old by the end of the first page. I think both sides of the argument CAN agree that The Simpsons in it's prime was an enjoyable and memorable half hour of TV. Both sides CAN agree that Family Guy used to be nonstop laugh fest which may not have had the most coherent plots, but still was solid to watch. And IMO that both are these shows are neither of these things anymore.
 
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