Family Guy - Season 5
The season received positive reviews from critics, who praised that the series saw "no sign of tiring", and had "as many funny moments as ever."[1] Some criticism went to the cite of a lack of original writing.[2]
Family Guy - Season 5
Season five contains some of the series' most acclaimed episodes, including "Barely Legal", "Airport '07" and "No Chris Left Behind".[3][4][5] The fifth season won an Annie Award at the 35th Annie Awards for storyboarding and was nominated for three more, including writing and voice acting. It also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation.
The Volume Five DVD box set was released in Region 1 on September 18, 2007, Region 2 on October 15, 2007 and Region 4 on November 25, 2009. Thirteen of the eighteen episodes are included in the volume. The remaining five episodes of the season were released on the Volume Six DVD box set, released in Region 1 on October 21, 2008, Region 2 on November 10, 2008 and Region 4 on November 25, 2009.
Production for the fifth season began in 2005,[6] during the airing of the fourth season. The season was executive produced by series regulars David A. Goodman, Seth MacFarlane, Chris Sheridan, and Danny Smith. In addition, Goodman served as showrunner throughout the season.[7]
As production began, Tom Devanney, Kirker Butler, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild,Patrick Meighan, Danny Smith, and future showrunners Mark Hentemann and Steve Callaghan[8] all stayed on from the previous season. No new writers were hired after the conclusion of the fourth season. Alex Borstein, who serves as the voice of Lois, wrote her last episode, "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", and regular writers Ken Goin and Gary Janetti, who returned during season eight, left the series before the beginning of the fifth season.
Julius Wu and Brian Iles received their first directing credits this season. Mike Kim, James Purdum, Cyndi Tang, Greg Colton, Pete Michels, Zac Moncrief, John Holmquist and future Blue Harvest director Dominic Polcino all also stayed with the show from the previous season. This season, however, was director Dan Povenmire's last season before leaving the show to create his own series, entitled Phineas and Ferb, which would be nominated for three Emmy Awards.[9][10]
New recurring characters were also introduced in season five. The character of Jillian Fisher, Brian's new dimwitted girlfriend, was introduced in the episode "Whistle While Your Wife Works". She provided an ironic counterpoint to Brian's intellectualism.[12] Her final character personality was designed to be a stereotypical blonde, "a bulimic cheerleader," and "not the brightest bauble on the tree."[13] Her voice would later play upon the bulimic cheerleader element, with actress Drew Barrymore providing the voice of Jillian in eight episodes, five of which would be in season five.[14] Other guest stars who made multiple appearances as recurring characters from previous seasons were Carrie Fisher as Peter's boss, Angela,[15] and Phyllis Diller as Peter's mother.[16] Seth MacFarlane's sister, Rachael MacFarlane, also made an appearance as Olivia, the child actress, when her character was apparently killed by Stewie in the episode "Chick Cancer".[17]
The season ends just short of the series' 100th episode, which presents the funniest clips of the previous 99 episodes. The decision to end the fifth season before the 100th episode was made due to Fox executives' desire to show the Family Guy special "Blue Harvest" as the sixth-season premiere, which was still unfinished, at the end of the fifth season in May 2007.[18]
The fifth-season premiere "Stewie Loves Lois" received a 3.5 rating share in the Nielsen ratings among viewers age 18 to 49, attracting 9.93 million viewers overall, the highest rated episode of the entire season.[19] Both of these figures significantly built upon numbers set by the fourth season finale.[36] In the weeks following "Stewie Loves Lois", viewership ratings hovered just over 8 million. Aside from the premiere, "Hell Comes to Quahog", the third episode for the season, garnered the most viewers thereafter with 9.66 million, a high for the fifth season.[21] While the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One" received the lowest number of viewers for the season with 7.22 million.[37]
The season received positive reviews from critics. Ahsan Haque of IGN wrote mixed comments about the season, saying, "The ratio of bad to good episodes was not too favorable in this season of Family Guy. Far too many episodes were either seriously lacking in humor or were just plain poorly written", but added, "While much of the original appeal seems to have washed-off, there are still a few moments from this season that really stand out", listing "Chick Cancer", "Road to Rupert", "Saving Private Brian", and "No Meals on Wheels" as the best episodes of the season.[2] Haque also gave praise to "Blind Ambition", "No Chris Left Behind", "Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey", and "Meet the Quagmires".[2] Manisha Kanetkar of Smart House, however, felt that the series saw "no sign of tiring" and had "as many funny moments as ever."[1] Nancy Basile of About.com regarded "Airport '07", "Prick Up Your Ears", and "Barely Legal" as "gem episodes."[45] In his review for the Family Guy volume five DVD, Francis Rizzo III of DVD Talk said "There are several points to criticize when it comes to this set, including a series that's losing some of its steam and relying on comedic crutches and an oddly constructed episode structure, but in the end, the series is fun to watch, which is all you really ask for from a cartoon sitcom."[46] In a later review, Rizzo added "Is Family Guy coasting on it's [sic] past successes? It could be argued, as the series doesn't surprise or shock the way it once did, instead doing the things that have worked before and doing them more and larger. The DVD releases are predictable and consistent, with high quality and impressive rafts of bonus material, but if the show doesn't do it for you, that doesn't make much of a difference."[47]
The first thirteen episodes of the fifth season were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2007, four months after they had completed broadcast on television.[48] The "Volume Five" DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode.[48]
The remaining five episodes of the fifth season, along with the first seven of the sixth season, were also released under the title "Volume 6" by 20th Century Fox in the United States and Canada on October 21, 2008, five months after they had completed broadcast on television.[49] The DVD release also features bonus material including deleted scenes, commentaries, and a 'making of' featurette.[49]
The season also falls back into its roots of episodic nature, where no clear storyline seems to appear for the next season, with the only positive being that it awards Meg with more screen time. While some chuckle-worthy moments exist, Season 17 does little to stand out, leaving it insignificant and stagnant.
Featuring 21 episodes in 2014, Season 12 leads astray, becoming a parody of what Family Guy used to be. Standout plots this season include a Quahog-wide treasure hunt, Stewie destroying his time machine, Brian favoring his career over his son and Cleveland (Mike Henry) and Peter being separated when their wives get into an argument.
However, when discussing Season 12, the topic will always change to the most controversial finale episode, "Life Of Brian," which depicts the death of Brian after being hit by a car. Audiences were made that the humanized dog was killed in such a mundane way but were even more angered by the fact that it happened at all. Season 17 encapsulates self-contained episodes rather than developing over time, reminding viewers of Season 1 all over again. Random rather than calculated, the season lacks a freshness, where it favors shock factor over the typical humor it was once known for.
The humor takes a back seat with a sharp focus on pop culture references. While the episodes are creative as always, the direction they end up taking became ineffective at entertaining the audience in the typical Family Guy way. This season unfortunately has some of the most skippable Family Guy episodes.
Opening with a crossover with The Simpsons, the first episode of the season promised a zappy, fun thread to reoccur throughout the rest of the episodes. However, the audience quickly realized that Season 13 was in the same downward spiral as the handful of seasons before it. Season 13 left audience members feeling uncomfortable with the contrived writing and its offensive (but not laughable) humor.
Season 16 distinguished itself as an inconsistent season, teasing fans with excellent episodes such as "HTTPete," and then disappointing them with ones such as "The Unkindest Cut." Its inconsistency stems from predictable jokes, filler moments, and episodic plots. On the other hand, it offers viewers character development, fewer cutaways, and glimmers of the best of what Family Guy can produce.
Season 15 premiered in 2016 to 2017, with 20 episodes. The season produced zany storylines such as Taylor Swift (Ursula Taherian) agreeing to go to prom with Chris, Lois and Peter leading an anti-vax movement in Quahog, Quagmire becoming obsessed with dating apps and Meg joining a roller derby team.
With high points like a satirical portrayal of legendary Oscar-nominated movies and Lois' knack for hypnotism, there's no denying that Family Guy's latest season offers some gut-busting moments. It also has some boring and predictable storylines, like Stewie's political campaign and Cleveland's new job.
2011-2012 brought together a collection of 23 episodes to mark Family Guy season 10. The season celebrates its rowdy misadventures with plots such as the hilarious Ryan Reynolds becoming obsessed with Peter, Quagmire taking a shot with Meg, Brian dating a blind woman and Joe cheating on Bonnie (Jennifer Tilly). 041b061a72