Plagiarismo - Family Guy

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 8:22pm

Watching THE SIMPSONS now, and Sideshow Bob is in Italy. The Italian Police are looking through a book of American crimincals.

One page has a picture of Peter Griffin. Under the picture it said "Plagiarismo"

I thought it was funny!

[Therese]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 8:54pm

Yes - then the next page had a picture of the lead character from "American Dad" and said "Plagiarismo di Plagiarismo." I haven't watched the Simpsons much in a while, but when I heard they were doing a Sideshow Bob episode, I made sure to tune in. I think we're going to have to see more of Bob's family someday. Vendetta!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 8:55pm

Vendetta in Italian is....VENDETTA! AHHH!

[Atrias]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 8:57pm

"Fear my scented candles! Sceeennnteeed!"

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 8:57pm

Heh I made an LJ post about that. I think it was a funny joke because lately The Simpsons has been ripping off Family Guy.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 8:59pm

Well, THE SIMPSONS came first - Family Guy ripped them off...

"I wanna play the Phantom of the Opera! The gayest super hero...Fear my scented candles! Ooooo, scented!"

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:00pm

Family Guy is funnier and more clever than The Simpsons ever was.

I still love The Simpsons.
But Family Guy is just that amazing.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:02pm

I love Family Guy. But American Dad is just...bad. And because of it, I have lost a lot of repsect for Family Guy.

Watching American Dad is like watching a bad episode of Family Guy.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:03pm

Yeah but The Simpsons used to have kind of a different brand of comedy. Family Guy ripped them off (edgy animated comedy about a family), but it was definitely a different style of comedy. Like, Futurama is similiar to The Simpsons but it's a different kind of comedy.

But lately on The Simpsons Homer has gotten even stupider, and the plotlines have gotten sillier, the characters have gotten kind of one dimensional and they are doing outtakes. Oh well. I guess when a show runs that long it starts to suck anyway. I think even Family Guy has been subpar lately.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:03pm

I've never watched American Dad for that very reason.
I don't want it to ruin Family Guy for me.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:04pm

PS it's all about The Boondocks now :)

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:06pm

The Simpsons has gotten funnier in the sense that the characters have become caricatures of themselves.

I've always been partial to Simpsons over Family Guy - and American Dad has ruined Family guy.

...and now a joke where Peter sings "I'm a tumor, I'm a tumor, I'm a tumor..."

But in IN MY LIFE, that wasn't a funny joke...

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:11pm

Yeah but it wasn't very funny here either.

Although actually, I did get a kick out of the "I heard a rumor someone has a tumor" line, because it was in a different context than how people presented it (People made it out like it was supposed to be serious but it was a joke and a funny one at that). BUT it's about the edgiest (and funniest) line in the show.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:12pm

And that David Turner makes a face after it like "I know, I'm sorry"

Secrets
There's a little rumor
Someone's got a tumor

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 9:41pm

In many instances FAMILY GUY has copied THE SIMPSONS' plots, but have usually fashioned them funnier.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/11/05 at 11:54pm

FAMILY GUY beats all, hands down.
I wish I liked the Simpsons I think I was permanently scarred by that show when I was a wee one and happened to catch an ep in which Bart mooned..someone or other. At any rate, it was not pleasant watching some pointy-haired fellow bare his little yellow butt.

But holy crap Family Guy is my LIFE!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 12:41am

Margs - I remember that one.

The dad and the son were on some rampage - or the dad was - I think...

[MyMeredithMonster]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 4:13am

I was always a fan of Futurama over Family Guy and FG over Simpsons. American Dad doesn't even fit into my scale because I can't bring myself to watch it.

[Jon]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 9:29am

SIMPSONS first referenced FAMIOLY GUY years ago in the episode where Homer had the magic hammock that enabled him to clone himself. In one scene, the back yard was filled with Homer clones, and one of them was Peter Griffin.

[ckeaton]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 9:51am

Family Guy gets my vote.
I'm not sure that the Simpson's has much of a leg to stand on, other than the broad similarities.

[bta212]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 10:40am

Family Guy has ripped off the Simpsons to the same extent that every stupid husband/smart, long-suffering wife (i.e. every sit-com ever) is a rip-off of the Honeymooners (and beyond that back into the mists of the early variety comedy shows "The Cavalcade of Stars" etc.) Each successful iteration finds some new way to present the situation or some appealingly unique actor(s) to inhabit the template.

Family Guy is superb, and owes no apologies or--IMHO--special debt, to the Simpsons.

Updated On: 12/12/05 at 10:40 AM

[Plum]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 11:39am

No? Non-kiddie cartoons were always a fact of life, huh?

[bta212]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 11:46am

Interesting point--I was approaching it from the structure/content point of view, rather than the specific medium. Sure--Simpsons paved the way for the whole universe of non-child-specific cartoons.

But following the path is different than plagiarizing, no?

[Plum]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 1:19pm

Oh, I didn't say anything about plagigarism. :) But I think it's inaccurate to say Family Guy owes nothing at all to The Simpsons, that's all. I haven't watched enough of the former to judge the two's similarities in content.