Being stuck at home in quarantine, working, paying bills, going insane..... things have been quite depressing to say the least. With all of the craziness going on in the world right now, nothing beats revisiting some of my favorite TV shows from my youth. Streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, are all God sends in this chaotic world we're all living in. It provides us with a little escape from all of the madness, and chance for all of us to reach our 'happy place'. In a world where there were less responsibilities, less stress, and certainly more innocence.

"Nostalgia is a hell of a drug"

For me, I've been spending my quarantine revisiting a lot of episodes from the "Golden Age" of Family Guy. While not as well known (nor as exalted) as the "Golden Age's" of other iconic long running cartoons; such as shows like The Simpsons, Spongebob Squarepants, South Park, etc. that have also been on the air for 20+ years now, Family Guy's time in the sun seemed to have unfortunately already set. In the same way The Simpsons' "Golden Age" of Seasons 3-8 have become immortalized in pop culture; due to it's clever writing, great humor, pop cultural references, relatable characters, and the clever political (but not overly preachy) messaging, is how many fans of television are starting to look at the "Golden Age" of Family Guy. A show that was once lauded as merely a "Simpsons ripoff", 'soulless', 'unoriginal', and 'too pop culture focused', has seen a remarkable turnaround in public perception in the last 5 years or so.

Perhaps it's because people are starting to recognize that the negative attributes that people once lauded at the show for were because of the ill fate of what happens in 'long running' television shows. Also, the "power of nostalgia"; as those that grew up with Family Guy in the 2000s are now all in their 20s & early 30s. Thus, many (including myself) had began to return to the older seasons of Family Guy, acting as a sort of 'escape' from this dark prism that is known as 'adulthood' (and try mixing in adulthood with global pandemic, a truly dangerous concotion). With all of this it's clear to most, including the show's most ardent critics that it..... well..... was a fundamentally different sitcom than what it has now unfortunately become. The show in it's own respected "Golden Age" had; great writing, dynamic characters, episodic plots that actually made you care for the characters, some decent political messages that weren't too preachy & too painfully obvious, and overall was actually quite funny:


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Saberspark usually does great retrospectives, and this dissection into the rise, peak, and fall of Family Guy, is no exception. I would say that the general consensus on the "Golden Age" for Family Guy would be Seasons 2 through 7. Season 1 was still good, but being the inaugural season meant natural 'growing pains', of sorts. Season 8-9 had their fair share of moments and good episodes, but this was the start of the decline. Actually, really the start of the decline would've been more in Mid Season 6, during the peak of the 2007-2008 Writer's Guild Strike, but I'm still content on calling seasons 6 & 7 safely "Golden Age" as the quality of the writing didn't suffer that much. However, the decline in quality became more noticeably during Seasons 8 & 9; Seth Macfarlane was swamped with many other projects and the show was approaching it's 10th birthday, so like with any piece of long running television eventually the quality naturally fatigues. By Season 10, it was simply the point of no return for good quality in the show, and it hasn't really recovered ever since. Just take a look at this WatchMojo list for the "Top 10 Best Family Guy Episodes":


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You'll notice that all of the episodes listed were all before Season 10. The bulk of them were from Seasons 4 and 6 (the 'core' of the "Golden Age"). Anyhow, I can gush about the "Golden Age" of Family Guy all day ;D. What were your favorite season of Family Guy? I'll have a poll for you guys to answer, for everything upto Season 9 in particular. Please feel free to contribute to the conversation as well!

Season 3 (aka "Volume 2" on the DVDs). I have good memories of watching the DVD on summers. The joke quality was really "on the ball" that season, and the style was a good compromise between the cheesiness of 1-2 and the edginess of 4-6.

It was a tough one but I went with Season 4, particularly because of the episodes Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High, Blind Ambition, The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire, Breaking Out is Hard to Do, Jungle Love, Patriot Games, and I Take Thee Quagmire. The last few episodes of that season was released as a movie (Stewie Griffin: the Untold Story).

Season 3 (aka "Volume 2" on the DVDs). I have good memories of watching the DVD on summers. The joke quality was really "on the ball" that season, and the style was a good compromise between the cheesiness of 1-2 and the edginess of 4-6.


Good choice. My two favorite seasons are 3 & 4! Did you ever watch Family Guy during the intermediary Adult Swim era? That's how I was first exposed to the show.

It was a tough one but I went with Season 4, particularly because of the episodes Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High, Blind Ambition, The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire, Breaking Out is Hard to Do, Jungle Love, Patriot Games, and I Take Thee Quagmire. The last few episodes of that season was released as a movie (Stewie Griffin: the Untold Story).


I have to agree. If I HAD to choose, I'd probably opt for Season 4. It was easily the most balanced in comedy and storylines. Also some of the best political satire in the show came from this season, PTV being a noteworthy example 8).

The first 3 seasons are gold to me.

The first 3 seasons are gold to me.


I agree 8). If you had to choose, which one of the first three seasons would you pick? My favorite of the first three seasons is probably Season 3.

I agree 8). If you had to choose, which one of the first three seasons would you pick? My favorite of the first three seasons is probably Season 3.

That's a tough one between season 2 and 3. The show was more funny and grounded during the first few seasons. I'm not saying the show was a masterpiece, but there was something special about it that made people fall in love with it. Not to mention, the characters were actually likable back then. I miss the innocence the show used to have.

Seasons 2-6 will always be untouchable classics. Season 7-9 was the decline in quality for the show but there are still good episodes. Season 10 was the point of no return; Family Guy will never go back to it's glory days.

That's a tough one between season 2 and 3. The show was more funny and grounded during the first few seasons. I'm not saying the show was a masterpiece, but there was something special about it that made people fall in love with it. Not to mention, the characters were actually likable back then. I miss the innocence the show used to have.


I agree. Those were the two seasons that I was introduced to, as I used to watch Family Guy (in secret) on Adult Swim back in the early 2000s. Season 1 was also pretty good, but like with any first season it's where the showrunners and writers are trying to 'find their groove'.


Seasons 2-6 will always be untouchable classics. Season 7-9 was the decline in quality for the show but there are still good episodes. Season 10 was the point of no return; Family Guy will never go back to it's glory days.


I agree. I think Season 7 was still pretty good, and I would still define it as 'Golden Age'. Maybe not the 'core' of the golden age, like seasons 3-6, but still 'Golden' nonetheless. But yeah, definitely by seasons 8/9, things were on the downhill, but there were still some standout moments (one of my favorite Family Guy episodes being "Road to the Multiverse", as an example). What's your favorite season if you had to choose?