WHAT IS THE BEST ANIMATED SHOW ON TV RIGHT NOW? Let me know below! FOOTNOTES: (Basically stuff that didn't make the final cut of the video, more of the 10,000 feet up opinion stuff. BETTER READ AFTER FINISHING THE WHOLE VIDEO!) CALCULATED COMEDY vs THE QUALITY OF THE COMEDY If you know the structure of an english essay, does that mean you've automatically written a great english essay? So as this video states, Family Guy's jokes are clearly very calculated. The writer's know what they want to do, every time they sit down in front of a script. HOWEVER, while the shows writing is calculated, while it's comedy does follow a formula that has worked, and kept the show on the air, that's very different than being 'funny'. Comedians can be unfunny, and so can comedy. So, about two years ago I made a family guy video about the show's cutaways and how they impacted the show's growth over the years. As mentioned in THIS video, the structure of Family Guy, even today, isn’t exactly sophisticated and it certainly isn’t novel. Calling it smart comedy would be disingenuous, it’s more like calculated formula that creates comedy (as mentioned in this vid). They know EXACTLY what they’re trying to do, now whether it’s actually FUNNY or not is an entirely different conversation. As for the video from two years ago; Despite using an editing expression to generate trend lines (it went horribly poorly, the trend lines in that video were a mess) and not really taking into account the overall TV trends (cord cutting trends and things of that nature that probably should've been looked at side by side) the sentiment under all the numbers and graphs was simple; Family Guy, in my opinion, had become too reliant on cutaways and thus stunted it's own growth in some ways in the process. At that time, I had kind of had my fill of Family Guy after years of enjoying the show. Today's video, this one you're watching, obviously has nothing to do with the overall quality of the show at this point. This video obviously wasn't a review, nor was it a statement of the shows position in television currently, it was a look at what makes the shows jokes tick and how the writers approach comedy at this point. And finally, what happens when it all clicks and works, and what goes wrong when it doesn't. However, to get a little more subjective here (and to look back at my position two years ago), I do still believe that the show is over-reliant at times on cutaways. In fact, since that video two years ago, even though I've re-discovered my love for the show as of late, I don't think my overall opinion has changed much from that video. Well, maybe other than developing a better understanding of the shows mechanisms and underlying structure. I still think that the show may have lived a bit too long of a life at this point (it's tricks aren't so tricky now), and that the show's randomness (especially due to the cutaways) tends to, all too often, spiral out of control. Yet, over the past two years, I think what I've realized is that the writers of the show, who by the way are talented, have developed better fail safes, as I say in this video, for grounding that randomness. The rigidity of A and B line structure is more clear than ever and I think that they can work in the shows benefit. With all of that being said, I think the most fun I had with this video was in seeing how my view of the show has changed in that time frame. Spoilers, it hasn't in regards to what that video years ago was really about, BUT my ability to enjoy the show, as it shows it's age has. Maybe I've grown, maybe my tastes have changed, but I think it's rather remarkable that I even wanted to return to the show on this channel, two years later at all. That after 22 YEARS, a show that began airing before I was even allowed to choose what I watched on TV, can still give me something that I want to talk about. Whether I love Family Guy or not at this point doesn't really matter, what does is that for better or for worse, I'm still watching it. I have no idea what that says about me lol So to answer my own debate here: CALCULATED COMEDY vs THE QUALITY OF COMEDY While I personally am interested in the structure and calculated nature of the shows comedy. I don't know if I would call what the show is today, funny. Impressive in it's writers understanding of what they're doing episode to episode? Sure, but funny? Not for me at this point. I am entertained by the show, but it rarely elicits a laugh in the way some other shows still do. Does that mean you're wrong for finding the show hilarious? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Remember, comedy is one of the most subjective forms of entertainment, love what you love, laugh at what makes you laugh. Structure is objective, humor, not so much. So no, just because you understand the structure of an english essay, doesn't mean you've automatically written a great english essay. It means that you've got the formula for a great english essay, you've done the calculations, now you have to fill in those blank lines, and what's in between those, is what's going to make the biggest impression. You can write a good english essay with poor structure. But you can't write a good english essay with just the structure. ALSO! I want to give a massive shout out to GC Beats who has been providing the music for this channel for a while. He is INCREDIBLY talented and if you aren’t listening to him you absolutely should be. The same goes for Kiyoto!

Family guy jokes be like: "here's an unmotivated roast against a celebrity you don't recognize"

I graduated from USC for Film and Television production and you completely nailed why the industry dislikes Family Guys’s writing. We are actively discouraged from writing any jokes into our screenplays that don’t advance the story. But growing up on Family Guy, Ed Edd n Eddy, and Lol random internet humor, random comedy outside of the story has always been around me. My belief is that for a new screenwriter, it is smart to only focus on comedy that drives the story forward as it will improve your writing. Like you said, if a random joke doesn’t land, the scene is wasted. But seasoned professionals like Family Guy’s writing team knows it’s audience and can get away with breaking the rules that the industry desperately holds onto.

I one time dreamt of a Family Guy joke, where the family sat around the TV and the announcer said "We now return to: Star Trek, the Greatest Generation" and it was a D-Day joke involving Old Picard and Riker. I watched every single episode of Family Guy to just find out it wasn't real.

Another thing they've picked up on in recent years is characters announcing what they're about to do in a REALLY specific way. I know they're supposed to be "funny cuz it's true" bits, but they can get annoying after a while, especially if there are several in a single episode. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna do some Google Meet virtual training with a Latino guy in his home office while his kids scream at random intervals in the next room.

90% of Family Guy jokes in a nutshell: “Remember that one time *blank* happened”

I don't even mind the cutaways, it's the fact that they need to explain why certain jokes are jokes in newer seasons

You've got me taking notes every time I watch your videos

Whenever I hear "Bottle episode" all I can think about is Jeff Winger saying, "We're doing a bottle episode!" very angrily.

“This is like that one time Nerdstalgic made a video about me.”

As a wise man once said, "If you have to explain the joke, there IS no joke."

Family Guy isn't really "swimming", moreso "slowly treading water and gradually sinking". The structure that has miraculously kept Family Guy on air for so long is the same structure that has been killing it for over half that time. It's called a Parasitic Dependency.

The long cut-aways that are obviously filler are the worst.

Family guy is like throwing a dart while blindfolded. You will miss, and you will miss often, but when it DOES hit that 1 in a million shot, you feel like you've won the lottery...but It's still just blind luck. Is it worth sitting through 21.5 minutes of mind numbing garbage to get there? No, especially because some episodes NEVER get there. But goddamn, some family guy lines are just exactly what I need when I hear them.

Family guy is the best show to have on in the background. There's a ton of episodes. The characters and story don't matter, and there's always something funny going on when you pay attention

One of my favorite examples of A and B stories in a show is Rugrats. The kids are always up to some whimsical kid stuff while the adults are doing adult stuff and forgetting about the kids

Made this one for me, huh?

This episode is like that one time *unrelated incident* cut to *random unfunny cutaway gag*

Every Family Guy story: 1. Someone makes an announcement that will change the show forever. 2. Ooops, wasn't that easy or character becomes an even bigger prick than before. 3. "I'm sorry Lois, I guess we all learned something today." "Uuuhhh no, that church is still on fire and hundreds of people are dead" 4. "Well good thing we're a cartoon then Lois, this will all work itself out"

Seth MacFarlane once said that family guy is there to make people laugh and I think if that’s the motivation behind the show I love it bc nearly every family guy episode make me at least one time laugh. And I know the show has a lot of bad jokes but the one that are good are really good

The industry: hates Family Guy Family Guy: *do y’all hear sumn?*

One of my favorite things about this KZfaq channel is how fair you are. It is very hard to talk about something and not involve an opinion. But you are very fair and understanding to both the writers the cast and the overall project or production.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty.

I want an entire season of family guy where they just do cutaways to past seasons and events that we've seen. It's not incredibly meta, but it would challenge the writers and be somewhat original.

Family guy in my opinion has the weaker stories comparing to South Park, Family Guy can be funny but I find the stories to be kinda unbearable and thats without the cutaways, with cutaways it gets worse, but I will admit it does have very strong comedy

You don’t watch family guy for the plots you watch it for the cutaways plots.

I just subbed a few days ago & I gotta say, I really dig your structure, timing & delivery. You could be doing much more with this line of thought! Surely, you do. Keep up the great work!

remember: there's effectively 2 family guy shows: pre-cancellation post-cancellation

"Hey lois remember the time nerdstalgic came back to KZfaq"?

I still love old family Guy but the show is stupid and self aware about how stupid it is. They've even made a joke about people online, "KZfaqrs and redditors" , saying that the first seasons were their best. So they know exactly what they're doing. One of the few current episodes that I liked was was Stewie sees a therapist. It's a deep episode and you can tell that the burnout is getting to them. Also, they make a lot of digs at huge celebrities and their own network. So of course they're gonna make enemies and be critiqued hard (Which is fair).

I will admit that while I have never slammed the table because of how much I was laughing while watching Family Guy, most of the jokes do get a "ha ha" from me on-par with an ostrich in a live studio. Less so in recent years, but still.

American Dad is *the* good Seth McFarlane show. It starts out as Family Guy 2.0 in the first season or two (complete with cutaways, even) but thankfully finds its way and becomes consistently excellent, even into the later seasons now. It just kinda does its own thing without giving a crap, and it works- largely because it has solidly written stories and characters you actually learn to give a crap about who actually, weirdly enough, get a surprising amount of character development that actually sticks, for a sitcom.

Its honestly a miracle that this show has lasted so long. Breaking down the structure of their storytelling has only made the jokes even less funny than they already were.

I love your channel. So insightful and well made. Just wanted to say THANK YOU!!

I always love your videos man! The way you make them and explain things is very entertaining.

I think this is why season 4 is, to me, the best Family Guy season there is. By that point they managed to polish the formula to near perfection while still having good jokes and stories to tell, making the show very funny

Reading these comments, I'm surprised how many people don't enjoy Family Guy. And some of the reasons why they dislike it are totally valid, but some of the reasons they don't like are the things that I like about the show. I love Family Guy and South Park, and American Dad, Bob Burgers, Futurama, Archer, Mike Tyson Mysteries, and so many more animated serial shows.

Those South Park episodes pretty much sum up what I've never liked about Family Guy. The jokes aren't funny and never make sense. (Lois mentions Peters high school sweetheart coming to dinner) *"You think THAT'S bad??? Remember the time I auditioned to be David Hasslehoffs car?"*

Archer does a similar multi-story thing sometimes with 3 or more stories happening simultaneously. Usually it Archer and Lana (and maybe another character) on a mission, with the rest of the characters having their own story back at the office. It works well.

"remember that one time when?" "oh man this reminds me of!" - The Family Guy Formula -

Oh yea Don’t forget the “jokes” when they have the character do some repetitive dumb action for 1 minute all for it to just end up dragging on until you get bored

Personally I think the whole “cutaway concept” would work better if those jokes were integrated into the story in someway or another like the Michelin bit. Even if it’s random at least it isn’t the generic “Boy that’s just like the time that” bs.

Great job! Very interesting and fun to watch! Thank you

When I'm up for some "Family guy", I just find a joke compilation on youtube. I found there's no reason to watch whole episodes because no context is needed.

I can see why people hate this show for its "comedy", and I agree with them. These types of jokes in almost all cases serve no purpose whatsoever in the plot, and serves only as a cheap way to get a laugh, at least that's a family guy's joke intention. Cutaways aren't bad but the way family guy handles them is tremendously obnoxious.

It’s a formula that has gotten old over the years, but I still appreciate random comedy for what it is. Most people are layman and therefore can’t appreciate the subtle nuances of writing a story. This show is a hit because it is an escape from our mundane lives. The chaos of random comedy is always something I will cherish any time I’ve come back weary from a long day of work.

Literally yesterday KZfaq suggested your video to me out of know where and I was like damn he hasn’t posted in so long, and then I’m blessed with this video.

I love that last line you gave "just keep swimming" that was a nice punch line 🤣

Stewey and the therapist was an episode I greatly enjoyed. I just loved the interactions between the two.

The best way to watch Family Guy is through the thirty second rips that randos upload on KZfaq.

I thought your channel was over , youtube has not shown me your video in like 7 months ? Wtf ... Well glad I am back with tons to watch

I really wish family guy would just be over already. For its "humor" it feels like a blend of not trying at all and trying way too hard. Family guy is just a hollow shell of its former self

Soooo your premise is that a show I have never once laughed at and is a literal GRIND to get through is actually _good!?_

My problem with _Family Guy_ isn't the cutaways, it's just that everyone (the major characters, anyway) are just terrible people and are, for the most part, horrible to each other.

Oh my god I have not watched one of your videos in my life yet I was already subscribed to your channel. WHAT?!?

I liked your conclusion of tips to the video subject. Informative and concise 🙂

This was a really good analysis with incredible editing! Nice work!

I've always thought that if Family Guy gave some redemption to its characters it would be so much better. Every time I think they're gonna give a character anything redeemable they stray the other way. It honestly still could fit their formula too. You wouldn't even have to change the character. Just one where the resolution doesn't revolve around the character failing to be a little better. Or just doing one simple nice thing. I would like to see one where the character shows they have at least some morals. One line in the sand.

3 years ago i started watching family guy as a gag, now here i am yearning for a discussion about the ins and outs of family guy, finding solace in videos like this that give it some form of credit...

Your videos are 🔥🔥 And a bit mind blowing at times 😅

One thing Family Guy has done much more often recently, or rather stopped doing, is making Meg the butt of the jokes. I haven’t seen her used as a punchline in a while

Family guy is like Soulja Boy, no matter how much you hate him you got to acknowledge the hustle. Edit: since people don’t like Soulja Boy and respect being in the same sentence (which I understand) here’s the revamped version.

I don’t know what is it yet, but you got something special about your videos keep it up man

The show Community has great story based jokes too. I think the big difference why I like Community over Family Guy is that in Community there's character development. The show isn't episodic but it doesn't rely entirely on plot either. The jokes help develop the characters and overarching plot. Family Guy doesn't appeal to me because the jokes develop the epispdic plot but nothing else. Maybe a character might change in that episode, but in the next it will be as if they never did. Many jokes are also at the expense of characters, especially Meg. This makes me feel like I'm watching a person be bullied and it generally feels uncomfortable.

Unapologetically I LOVE the first five seasons of Family Guy. The next few seasons have okay moments but as with most shows, seasonal rot set in. But those first five, especially the first three, are great and I dislike how nobody will give them a shot anymore.

Nerdstalgic is what Wisecrack wants to be

Family guy be like: hey remember that time I did my taxes **does an obnoxiously long cutaway of Peter griffin doing his taxes for a whole minute**

I think what really makes the show is that you don’t even know where half of the jokes came from but you still laugh at them

For some odd reason I've been bombarded by the algorithm lately with a ton of Family Guy cutaways and clips, and every comment section I've seen from those (except for the universally hated scenes like Brian killing the squirrel) has at least one person say "This is the only good joke in Family Guy" in very different clips. I honestly think the show just doesn't work as a show anymore. It's functioning better right now as just a series of unrelated clips that shows a funny cutaway gag or jokes.

I'm not a big fan of Family Guy, at all. But, I think their jokes getting multiple punchlines, especially ones that rest for some time is brilliant. It feels like an inside joke between the show and the viewer.

Very respectable take/observation! I think I've finally discovered why I liked Family Guy as a kid.

Thank you for this video. :) I was surprised by it today. I’ve just realised it is brand-new.

I've been watching family guy clips on KZfaq randomly the past few days and this pops up

🤣🤣🤣Omg the news paper cracked me up I saw the episode and I only read it in your video when I paused it. standing desk guy gets car keyed... every one a suspect 🤣🤣🤣

Nerdstagic videos are sooooo good!

I used to love Family Guy. It wasn’t until they took that Fred Rodgers joke too far. The reason why that “joke” resonated with me so much was because I never even grew up with Mr. Rodgers, my first time being exposed to him was unfortunately, through Family Guy. I eventually did some research and I began to adore Mr. Rogers, whether it was from the court case he won, or simply watching interviews, I slowly began to love his world and who he was as a human being. After learning about about this great man, I watched the same joke reel about Mr Rogers, with a new outlook and fresh eyes. For some reason I felt almost disgusted and horrified, not just with myself for originally laughing at that joke, but how they could make a joke out of anything no matter how disrespectful it may have seemed. To me, at least, that was the one joke Family Guy took too far.

Seth McFarland knew the power of a cut away joke 30 years ago. I am entertained by most adult cartoon comedy shows but only old school family guy can make me physically lol

Oh, that reminds me of that time when *KZfaq recommended me a lot of Family Guy cutaway scenes* and they were actually funny on their own...

Your videos are so great!

I watch family guy clips all the time, but when I actually tried to watch full episodes, there were so many cutaways that I forgot the entire point of the episode

Family guy cutaways : Here’s a thing about this random celeb you don’t know or care about

Love the video. Side note u sound like booger from the nerds movie. 😂

0:00 laughed so hard at that like bruh how do you get a job as a Carrot cake 😂

As a fan of Family Guy (even though I haven’t kept up with it in a few years), I agreed with South Park’s criticism. I don’t think it’s so much an issue about the cutaways / silly humor in general, but about the times when “jokes” are just random filler. One thing would be their cutaway about Kate Hudson (I think) disappearing when she turns to the side / sliding through a crack in the floorboards. It makes sense - they’re saying she’s paper thin. Great. Sure, you could say “what does Kate Hudson have to do with the story?” but there was a _purpose_ behind the details of the cutaway. No issues there. There was actually something logical. Even though South Park presented their criticism in a way that includes these, I doubt they’d take much issue if all cutaways were like this. The “random filler” gags are completely different. If they had a cutaway like “I’m having fun! Like that time I went roller skating in Minnesota with the president of Latvia” - cut to Peter roller skating with someone dressed as an authority figure and excitedly expressing joy in an Eastern European accent. I get that it’s silly, but… why? Why any of this? Is the Latvian president known for roller skating? Is he specifically known to exude childlike joy, or appreciate activities that people wouldn't expect? Is the activity of roller skating known to be popular in Minnesota, or in Latvia? Is there any purpose that ties this together? No - these things were completely arbitrary, and the “joke” would be no different if I picked “ice skating” and “Canada” and “the Turkish ambassador.” As long as these completely arbitrary things can vaguely tie back to the premise of “having fun,” it stops there. But Family Guy then just takes the cheap route of laying on the “this is supposed to be funny” cues so thick that they just get laughs out of sheer confusion. It’s essentially them showing and saying something completely nonsensical, but then _telling you_ that it’s funny and that you’re supposed to laugh here, while also hiding the lack of a joke behind a veil of how specific or out-of-the-ordinary the details are. Subconsciously we accept it and and sometimes laugh and trust that maybe there’s a point actually being made that we just don’t know about, but there _is none._ This is completely different from the Kate Hudson example. To use a real example, I think I remember you taking issue with the Conway Twitty thing in the other video, and I agree. Why him instead of someone else? Why present it like that? Is there something about him that makes people bored, or feel like he drags on too much? Is there something about his style, or even his genre of music? Is there a _joke_ being made, or a _claim_ anywhere in sight?? To my knowledge, no, and if there is and I’m just missing it, the same can’t be said about a LOT of their other cutaways. It’s just another half-assed context to use as an excuse to forcefully include more “insert laughter here” cues. And sure, they’ll use elements of humor (like repeating the Conway Twitty thing over… and over… and over…), but where was the substance of the humor to begin with? It’s as though the characters, activity, setting, and overall situation are just arbitrarily picked by a tank full of manatees

Back then: Haha, their parents destroying the TV because family guy was on it is a funny exaggeration. Now: That’s a super reasonable response.

We need more Nerdstalgic videos , this is too deep

I think my favorite part about the episode stand by Meg is when they start off by mentioning the old voice actor for Meg and then they actually bring her back as one of the other athletes.

I understand that Family Guy knows how to tell a joke. My issue is they're just not very funny.

The thing is in the newer episodes they just feel really dragged out and the jokes aren't funny or just don't land. They've exaggerated every joke to the point that they just feel forced and draws away from the actual plot rather then helping to develop it.

Glad to see you back in action sir

This was awesome to learn!

Wasn’t even aloud to watch adult swim growing up but u still found a way to make this nostalgic

I genuinely love a large amount of Family Guy but the most recent seasons cant seem to even get a chuckle out of me its always like the joke is halfway there like only setup in my opinion

Family Guy is the "Book of Silly Jokes for Funny Kids" version of a sitcom. It's that thing you got from your uncle for your 9th birthday, you kinda like it even though it sucks.

I would love you to make a video on what's the perfect trilogy and what makes it perfect. Keep up the great work 👍

I watched South Park before didn't understand it. I like Family Guy.

Of recent episodes, I thought the one where they did a commentary in character over a fake episode was brilliant. It made fun of itself while also being funny in its own right.

I'd love you to dissect how a joke is structured on Father Ted, The IT Crowd or especially Black Books. The intricate long game

As a man who has watched this show since I was 9 and watched every episode I got to say you nailed this

If I was trying to create my very own comedy show.. where would I have to go to get me a couple of manatees?