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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pedro thy master (talk | contribs) at 14:04, 1 November 2009 (→History on TV). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The first and second seasons of Family Guy were made starting in 1999 after the Larry shorts caught the attention of the Fox Broadcasting Company. Its cancellation was announced, but then a shift in power at Fox and outcry from the fans led to a reversal of that decision and the making of a third season. After that, it was officially cancelled.

Reruns on Cartoon Network drove interest in the show up, and the DVD releases did quite well, selling over 2.2 million in a year and renewing network interest. Family Guy returned to production in 2004, completing three more seasons (for a total of six seasons) and a straight to DVD movie, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. The show has completed airing its seventh season and is in its ongoing eighth. The show is contracted to make new episodes until at least 2012.[1]

History on TV

Creation

Main article: Larry shorts

In Family Guy Live in Montreal, Seth MacFarlane stated that he wanted an animated show to impress a girl. Seth MacFarlane wrote the first episode of what would become Family Guy for Cartoon Network's The Cartoon Cartoon Show. Steve, an anthropomorphic dog that would later become Brian is found as a stray by Larry, a fat, idiotic man who would later become Peter and is taken in. In the span of two episodes, many characters that resemble Family Guy characters (for example, a flirtatious pilot that becomes Glenn Quagmire) are referenced. Due to the target audience of Cartoon Network being children, the Larry shorts were significantly tame in content, relative to Family Guy. Family Guy as we know it today premiered in the United States on the Fox Broadcasting Company on January 31, 1999, after Super Bowl XXXIII.

This episode attracted 22 million viewers. The show premiered as a regular series in April and ran for six additional episodes until the season finale in mid-May. The first season had seven episodes which introduced the show's main characters. The second season began on September 23, 1999, and suffered competition from other shows. After only two episodes of the second season, Family Guy was taken off the network's permanent schedule and shown irregularly thereafter. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the second season which contained 21 episodes. The third season contained 21 episodes and began airing from July 11, 2001 to February 14, 2002.

During its second and third-season runs, Fox frequently moved the show around different days and time slots with little or no notice and consequently, the show's ratings suffered. When Family Guy was shown in the UK, and when the DVDs were subsequently released there (November 12, 2001), the seven episodes of the second season that were produced for season one were included with the first season, balancing them out with 14 episodes each. This resulted in latter DVD releases to be labelled incorrect to their original American season (e.g. the Family Guy: Season 6 DVD features Season 5 episodes).

There was a great deal of debate and rumor during the second and third seasons about whether Family Guy would be cancelled or renewed. Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled at the end of the second season. In an attempt to convince Fox to renew the show, dismayed fans created websites, signed petitions, and wrote letters; some even sent diapers and baby food to the network to "save" Stewie.

A shift in power at Fox resulted in the ordering of thirteen new episodes forming the basis of the third season. Keenly aware of the uncertainty of the show's future, the writers referenced the uncertainty in several episodes, specifically The Thin White Line, where Fox let them say the word "fuck" (at 15:55 into the episode) for the first time without being hidden by background noise like a bell. It was instead bleeped. Family Guy also had to deal with a very tough time slot competing with Survivor and Friends having aired on Thursday Nights at 8:00 PM ET, which was mentioned (along with 2nd cancellation) in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.

During the third season, Fox announced that Family Guy was cancelled for good.

In March 2007, comedian Carol Burnett filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that it was a trademark infringement for her Charwoman cleaning character to be portrayed on the show without her permission. Besides that, Burnett stated that Fox violated her publicity rights. She asked for $6 million in damages.[2][3][4] On June 4, 2007, United States District Judge Dean Pregerson rejected the lawsuit, stating that the parody was protected under the First Amendment, citing Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as a precedent.[5]

On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", through a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, MacFarlane, and Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution, and unspecified damages.[6] Because "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star", without commenting on that song, Bourne argued that it was not a First Amendment–protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc..[7][8] On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.[9]

In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement upon actor Art Metrano filing a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature "magic" act involving absurd, faux magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy".[10] Metrano's suit claims this performance is protected under terms of the United States' Copyright Act of 1976.[11] 20th Century Fox, MacFarlane, Callaghan and Borstein were all named in the suit which is ongoing.[12]

In March 2007, comedian Carol Burnett filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that it was a trademark infringement for her Charwoman cleaning character to be portrayed on the show without her permission. Besides that, Burnett stated that Fox violated her publicity rights. She asked for $6 million in damages.[13][14][15] On June 4, 2007, United States District Judge Dean Pregerson rejected the lawsuit, stating that the parody was protected under the First Amendment, citing Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as a precedent.[16]

On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", through a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, MacFarlane, and Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution, and unspecified damages.[17] Because "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star", without commenting on that song, Bourne argued that it was not a First Amendment–protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc..[18][19] On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.[20]

In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement upon actor Art Metrano filing a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature "magic" act involving absurd, faux magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy".[21] Metrano's suit claims this performance is protected under terms of the United States' Copyright Act of 1976.[22] 20th Century Fox, MacFarlane, Callaghan and Borstein were all named in the suit which is ongoing.[23]

Live performances

Seth McFarlane and some of the other writers and voice actors on the show have begun to perform in "Family Guy LIVE!", which have been enormously successful theater shows. The show usually begins with a read-through of a script from a classic episode from the series, with all of the original voice-actors performing their character's lines, and then moves onto a performance of some songs from the show's history. Towards the end, there is a Q & A session and a clip is shown from one of the new, unaired episodes. There have been performances in New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, and Chicago[24]. Even though an aired episode is usually only 22 minutes long, the script-reading of an episode of the same length can last as long as an hour with all of the pauses for laughter to subside and constant asides to the audience.

References

  1. ^ Goldman, Eric (May 5, 2008). "Big New Deal for Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Carol Burnett sues over Family Guy cartoon cleaning woman". Associated Press. San Francisco Chronicle. March 16, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Comedian Burnett sues Family Guy". March 17, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Carol Burnett v. "Family Guy"". The Smoking Gun. Courtroom Television Network. March 16, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Carol Burnett suit thrown out". Los Angeles Times. June 6, 2007. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  6. ^ Bourne Co., vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Broadcasting Company, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainement, Inc., Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc., The Cartoon Network, Inc., Seth MacFarlane, Walter Murphy (United States District Court, Southern District of New York October 3, 2007), Text.
  7. ^ Hilden, Julie (October 31, 2007). ""The Family Guy" Once Again Tests Parody's Limits: The Copyright Suit Challenging the Show's Use of "When You Wish Upon a Star"". FindLaw's Writ. FindLaw. Retrieved December 9, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  8. ^ "News Corp. Wins Suit Dismissal Over 'Family Guy' Song (Update1)". bloomberg. {{cite web}}: Text "uber 3, 2009" ignored (help)
  9. ^ Kearney, Christine (March 16, 2009). ""Family Guy" wins court battle over song". Reuters. Retrieved March 17, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Magician sues over cartoon Jesus". Cortle. June 12, 207. Retrieved August 29, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  11. ^ Surette, Tim (December 7, 2007). "Family Guy sued ...again". TV.com. Retrieved December 9, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  12. ^ Arthur Metrano, vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Seth MacFarlane, Steve Callaghan and Alex Borstein (United States District Court, Central District of California December 5, 2007), Text.
  13. ^ "Carol Burnett sues over Family Guy cartoon cleaning woman". Associated Press. San Francisco Chronicle. March 16, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Comedian Burnett sues Family Guy". March 17, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Carol Burnett v. "Family Guy"". The Smoking Gun. Courtroom Television Network. March 16, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Carol Burnett suit thrown out". Los Angeles Times. June 6, 2007. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  17. ^ Bourne Co., vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Broadcasting Company, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainement, Inc., Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc., The Cartoon Network, Inc., Seth MacFarlane, Walter Murphy (United States District Court, Southern District of New York October 3, 2007), Text.
  18. ^ Hilden, Julie (October 31, 2007). ""The Family Guy" Once Again Tests Parody's Limits: The Copyright Suit Challenging the Show's Use of "When You Wish Upon a Star"". FindLaw's Writ. FindLaw. Retrieved December 9, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  19. ^ "News Corp. Wins Suit Dismissal Over 'Family Guy' Song (Update1)". bloomberg. {{cite web}}: Text "uber 3, 2009" ignored (help)
  20. ^ Kearney, Christine (March 16, 2009). ""Family Guy" wins court battle over song". Reuters. Retrieved March 17, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Magician sues over cartoon Jesus". Cortle. June 12, 207. Retrieved August 29, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  22. ^ Surette, Tim (December 7, 2007). "Family Guy sued ...again". TV.com. Retrieved December 9, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  23. ^ Arthur Metrano, vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Seth MacFarlane, Steve Callaghan and Alex Borstein (United States District Court, Central District of California December 5, 2007), Text.
  24. ^ 'Family Guy' hits the road - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety
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