Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane (who, by the way, is young, adorable, and super-talented; thus I love/hate him) is profiled in yesterday’s Times. Interesting personal tidbit I hadn’t known about:
On Sept. 11, 2001, he was booked to fly from Boston to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11. But his travel agent had mistakenly told him that the flight left at 8:15 a.m., not 7:45 a.m. “And I had a hangover from the night before,” he said. He missed the flight, now notorious for its role in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Although shaken by his brush with death, Mr. MacFarlane said: “I think I still pretty much approach everything the same way. There are probably 100 close calls for all of us every year, and we don’t even realize it.”
New episodes of Family Guy will air on Fox starting summer 2005 (yay!), followed by his new series, American Dad, which “involves a conservative agent with the Central Intelligence Agency; his ultra-liberal daughter; a sarcastic, campy space alien with a voice like that of the comic actor Paul Lynde; and a lascivious, German-speaking goldfish, the result of a C.I.A. experiment gone wrong.”
5 replies on “The ‘Family Guy’ guy”
Is it 2005 yet?
I can’t wait for new episodes of Family Guy. I also think the new show they are talkin about sounds funny!
[Peter and Brian have just jumped their car off a flatbed truck like The Dukes of Hazzard]
Peter Griffin: Oh, man. That was great. Hey, maybe next time we can get Meg to be Boss Hogg and Chris can be Anus.
Brian Griffin: Enis.
Peter Griffin: What’d I say?
Brian Griffin: Anus.
[Peter laughs hysterically]
Wow, that is crazy.
Family Guy is now also being shown on the recently retooled TBS network as part of their new “very funny” brand.
Sorry for the double comment but I just noticed the entry ID number for this topic is “911.”
Glad I am not superstitious.
*breaks mirror under ladder in view of black cat*
Uber creepy. The experience, not the return of Family Guy…
Am I the only one who doesn’t find “Family Guy” funny?
The NY Times article was, I though, inaccurate and incomplete. It didn’t mention that “Family Guy” had once had a coveted post-“Simpsons” time-slot, and shed 40% of its audience. Or that it once had a coveted post-“That 70s Show” time-slot, and shed 50% of its audience. The reason it moved around the Fox schedule is because the show got stinky ratings.
Yet, Fox kept bringing back for season after season. Why? That’s the incompleteness: Fox wholly owns “Family Guy.” Profits from “The Simpsons” must be shared with Matt Groening, Gracie Prods., etc.
And why is Seth “Cutie” MacFarlane getting a second show? Because it’s in his contract. In exchange for giving up all interest in “Family Guy,” MacFarlane gets one more animated show from Fox and Fox must air it (a third, if one of the first two is a hit).
Also interesting is that “Futurama” is doing just as well in syndication as “Family Guy.” But no one’s talking about re-upping that show. Maybe because Fox doesn’t own it outright. Gosh, ya think?
No, I’m not cynical about the artistic motivations of Hollywood. Why do you ask?