Which style for the show did you prefer? (for those here who actually enjoy the show, I know a lot of people hate it, yet a lot of others enjoy it; it's one of those divisive shows)

Pre-cancellation (1999-2003) was still edgy but had more of a corny and cute sense of humor; these seasons were culturally tied to the Y2K era. If the show stayed cancelled, or if Seth died had he not missed that 9/11 flight, I bet it would be raved about in online nostalgia threads to this day alongside Futurama and Mission Hill.

Post-cancellation (2005-now) is crasser and edgier, with more lines crossed and overlong jokes, etc., and more tied to the Classic 2000s plus 2010s. The change in the show is perhaps a metaphor for our society being more cynical in 2019 compared to the late 90s/early 2000s. :P

Lol, seems Family Guy is so irrelevant now that nobody's responding to this thread.

The pre-cancellation was better because it was more fresh.

The show ran on too long. It's incredibly formulaic, once you figure out the formula it's not that funny anymore. I don't get why they ruin the legacy of their show by making it run so long.

I prefer the new ones. Btw the Lois voice probably was based on Rosemary from Hong Kong Phooey: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bpxnWAkHfRo

These "eras" are pretty shallow and don't really give a good image on how show is actually is made out. It sounds like they weren't made by a fan of the show

I would actually call the season that aired immediately after the re-air, season 4, easily the best of the show. It's the best showcase of the show's quick, snappy and random humor. It's also neatly located in a portion of the show before the characters started their flanderizations but also didn't feature the ugly and stilted feel of the first 3 seasons. It was an organic and fun ride.

Most fans would agree that the best part of the show from season 2 up to 7, it started to fall a little apart in season 8 and bottomed completely out in season 12 when the show fully reached the deep end of edgy jokes and asshole, unlikeable characters

So yeah, I won't vote to the poll since it shamelessly lumps its best seasons and tries to pretend it's the same era as the later ones.

I like the first few seasons post cancellation (2005-2008/9 ish), but it started going downhill and less funny this decade. I still watch it though, but either I'm getting older or the humor has changed. The first few seasons were more targeted toward the Gen X audience, which is why there were a lot more references to the 1980's pop culture. It seems like they don't really do cutaway scenes as much like they used to.

These "eras" are pretty shallow and don't really give a good image on how show is actually is made out. It sounds like they weren't made by a fan of the show

I would actually call the season that aired immediately after the re-air, season 4, easily the best of the show. It's the best showcase of the show's quick, snappy and random humor. It's also neatly located in a portion of the show before the characters started their flanderizations but also didn't feature the ugly and stilted feel of the first 3 seasons. It was an organic and fun ride.

Most fans would agree that the best part of the show from season 2 up to 7, it started to fall a little apart in season 8 and bottomed completely out in season 12 when the show fully reached the deep end of edgy jokes and asshole, unlikeable characters

So yeah, I won't vote to the poll since it shamelessly lumps its best seasons and tries to pretend it's the same era as the later ones.


Yeah I agree with that. I watched it upto about 2010, and I would say I stopped enjoying it a year or two before that, so not all post-cancellation seasons were bad.

Season 1-7 Family Guy are the only seasons that are worth watching.

These "eras" are pretty shallow and don't really give a good image on how show is actually is made out. It sounds like they weren't made by a fan of the show

I would actually call the season that aired immediately after the re-air, season 4, easily the best of the show. It's the best showcase of the show's quick, snappy and random humor. It's also neatly located in a portion of the show before the characters started their flanderizations but also didn't feature the ugly and stilted feel of the first 3 seasons. It was an organic and fun ride.

Most fans would agree that the best part of the show from season 2 up to 7, it started to fall a little apart in season 8 and bottomed completely out in season 12 when the show fully reached the deep end of edgy jokes and asshole, unlikeable characters

So yeah, I won't vote to the poll since it shamelessly lumps its best seasons and tries to pretend it's the same era as the later ones.


THIS. While I agree with the OP that the pre cancellation seasons were on a whole supremely better than the post cancellation seasons, things didn't automatically change over night. Season 4 is easily the most balanced in its humor, storylines, genuine character tropes, pop cultural references, and other aspects that made Family Guy so great in the 2000s. Seasons 2-7 of Family Guy are equivalent to seasons 3-8 of The Simpsons.

Now that you mention it..... I think I'm gonna go on a Season 4 Family Guy binge right now ;D

THIS. While I agree with the OP that the pre cancellation seasons were on a whole supremely better than the post cancellation seasons, things didn't automatically change over night. Season 4 is easily the most balanced in its humor, storylines, genuine character tropes, pop cultural references, and other aspects that made Family Guy so great in the 2000s. Seasons 2-7 of Family Guy are equivalent to seasons 3-8 of The Simpsons.

Now that you mention it..... I think I'm gonna go on a Season 4 Family Guy binge right now ;D

I see what you mean. However, the eras of Family Guy could maybe be more accurately divided like this.

Classic era: 1-3
Middle era: 4-Mid 6
The rest: Late 6-now

I put the dividing line at mid season 6 because that's when the Stewie Kills Lois episode happened which people say should've been the finale. After that, s6 started having more "Writer's Strike" episodes which fans believe was the full decline of the show. Also s7 had the five-minute gag of Conway Twitty and other much-hated moments among fans, kinda surprised you included it in the best years.

The Disney universe episode is great. Lois was so beautiful as a Disney princess. It's from fall of 2009, but 8th season, so 2009/2010. I would say for sure I like 2005-2010 more than the original run. I'd have loved a full-length Disney-esque adaptation of Family Guy (without the antisemitism however and Meg should be a normal human, not a cross with an octopus). Maybe such a makeover could save the franchise at least in a movie form.

Maybe such a makeover could save the franchise at least in a movie form.


Nah, bud. Family Guy needs to go in all formats. The show been lost its identity. It doesn't know what it wants to do by this point. The sooner its completely cancelled, the greater it'd be off, bruh.

I see what you mean. However, the eras of Family Guy could maybe be more accurately divided like this.

Classic era: 1-3
Middle era: 4-Mid 6
The rest: Late 6-now


Thats a good way of putting it. Seasons 1-3 represented the Y2K Era, while Seasons 4-6 represented the Classic 2000s.


I put the dividing line at mid season 6 because that's when the Stewie Kills Lois episode happened which people say should've been the finale. After that, s6 started having more "Writer's Strike" episodes which fans believe was the full decline of the show. Also s7 had the five-minute gag of Conway Twitty and other much-hated moments among fans, kinda surprised you included it in the best years.

Yeah come to think of it, you're right. Season 7 was the first 100% post Writer's Strike Season of the show, which is what most fans (including myself) attribute as the start of the decline (In fact I wasn't really thinking. When he said season 7, I thought he was referring to season 6 in particular). Because of the damage that the strike had on many television studios, FOX notwithstanding, McFarlane had less resources to help make the show's production as efficient and good as quality as it used to have. Especially true since McFarlane was heavily involved in the strike.

You can maybe say that the infamous season 6 of Family Guy's "Stewie Kills Louis"/"Louis Kills Stewie" episode montage was the equivalent to season season 9 of The Simpson's "The Principal and the Pauper", in which these episodes provided a stark contrast to the character tropes that we had all become accustomed to and in retrospect signaled a sharp decline in the following years.

Seasons 2-6 remain the classic era of Family Guy, and arguably the most balanced in the series, with season 4 being the best showcase of that.

FG Season 1: 90s
FG Season 2: 90s/00s hybrid season
FG Seasons 3-7: 00s
FG Season 8: 00s/10s hybrid season
FG Seasons 9-17: 10s

Season 18 will air in the Fall of '19 which will make it a 10s/20s hybrid season and if the show keeps going Season 19 will be a 20s season.

You can maybe say that the infamous season 6 of Family Guy's "Stewie Kills Louis"/"Louis Kills Stewie" episode montage was the equivalent to season season 9 of The Simpson's "The Principal and the Pauper", in which these episodes provided a stark contrast to the character tropes that we had all become accustomed to and in retrospect signaled a sharp decline in the following years.

Seasons 2-6 remain the classic era of Family Guy, and arguably the most balanced in the series, with season 4 being the best showcase of that.

True, but the difference is that Stewie Kills Lois unlike Principal and the Pauper was considered a great episode by fans. Fans just believe it should've been the finale at the 100-episode mark, because after you've done a story like that it creates a "Where do we go from here" effect. Plus the show's quality suffered shortly afterward due to the Writer's Strike, and never fully recovered.

Lol, seems Family Guy is so irrelevant now that nobody's responding to this thread.

I couldnt vote easily.... No option for "NEITHER"

Ah man!!

True, but the difference is that Stewie Kills Lois unlike Principal and the Pauper was considered a great episode by fans. Fans just believe it should've been the finale at the 100-episode mark, because after you've done a story like that it creates a "Where do we go from here" effect. Plus the show's quality suffered shortly afterward due to the Writer's Strike, and never fully recovered.


While that is true, I was speaking moreso on the latter episode in which Louise (well really Peter, but you get the point) kills Stewie. Even though the episode ends as merely a virtual video game Stewie created for the 'LOLs', it still seemed like a major character reversal in relation to Louis and (to a lesser extent, but still) Peter in how they reacted to Stewie. Stewie was the voice of reason in the show for the audience, but to characters in the universe was just a toddler whom was occasionally 'naughty'. This was the first time in the show's run where Stewie was portrayed as having a genuine sense of power & fearlessness as he attempted to kill his mother. Thus, he seemed much more as an actual threat than he ever did prior, and it resulted in his folks being left up to destroying him.

Once again, the 'It was just a dream/simulation/imagination/etc.' cliche is prevalent and I get where the writers were coming from. And in all honesty, I loved the two part special when it came out and even to this day. But I can't stop noticing the sudden shift in character roles in that particular episode, despite it being a very good episode, especially as that is considered not only one of the greatest episodes of the series but (as you said) the episode(s) where they should've ended the series at. After that episode is when the quality of the show starts to noticeably dip, and character roles started to become more noticeably 'Flanderish' and less organic than they were in the golden age seasons prior to the Writers Strike.

Most mid/late 2010s culture is not worth referencing anyway so they should've called it a day in 2013 or 2014 at the latest. :)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fe/Glenn_Quagmire.png/220px-Glenn_Quagmire.png


He is such a hilarious character on the show. ;D

Found this thread from Macfarlane Universe, having this very same discussion:

https://macfarlaneverse.boards.net/thread/1422/era-family-guy

Found this thread from Macfarlane Universe, having this very same discussion:

https://macfarlaneverse.boards.net/thread/1422/era-family-guy

Interesting discussion, though it's weird to me that they included season 7 in the golden age. I mean, that's the season with Brian being more preachy with his atheism, the 5-minute Conway Twitty cutaway, and the Aquaman r*pe scene. I remember fans hating on s7 real harsh when it first aired.

Interesting discussion, though it's weird to me that they included season 7 in the golden age. I mean, that's the season with Brian being more preachy with his atheism, the 5-minute Conway Twitty cutaway, and the Aquaman r*pe scene. I remember fans hating on s7 real harsh when it first aired.


Good points. Season 7 still had its fair share of good episodes. "I Dream of Jesus" and "Family Gay" are two of some of my favorites in the series.

This was actually posted the other day ;D:

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What's your opinion Zelek?