

Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story
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Rich M.
> 3 dayIll preface this by saying Im NOT a fan of the Family Guy; by which I mean Ive never seen the show, not that I have anything against the show. Just never got around to getting into it, yknow? I am, however, a lifelong, diehard (insert more hyperbole here) fan of Star Wars. Im hoping that anyone whos a fan of both has already purchased this or has seen it, so this review is geared sort of toward my fellow noobs to Family Guy. So, for 20-something bucks, this seemed like a good buy. Some cheap entertainment on Blu-Ray, no less! Well, the picture quality, as many others have said, was not something that justifies a blu-ray treatment. I mean, were not talking Pixar here, guys. Its a cartoon. I got the regular DVD of Archer and it was frankly kinda gorgeous. I was more impressed by the quality of the Archer DVD than I was by the Family Guy Blu-Ray. As far as the box sets treatment of Star Wars, I honestly cant remember a Star Wars scene that was left out of this! It literally tells the whole story of the original Star Wars trilogy in like an hour and a half. With lots of parody, of course. A lot of it is funny. A couple parts made me LOL Out Loud (tip of the hat to Monk... miss ya, man). But a few of the jokes were taken too far (by that, I mean they went on too long). Im told this is kind of common with Family Guy, and maybe its Seth MacFarlanes sense of humor, but some of the jokes went on WAY too long. Like the Obi-Wan character singing the majority of Ive Had the Time of my Life with dancing stormtroopers in the background (gobbling up precious minutes). Without wanting to get into spoilers, there are a few other gags that just drag on and on. If youre a fan of this, then youve got it made. I just found it irksome. One of them was actually really funny, but my smile fell after the gag passed the 45 second mark, or what seemed like it. All in all, though, I WAS entertained by this. The opening crawls were hilarious. I may have peed a little. There is strong language, but my 7 year old (DONT JUDGE ME!! IVE NEVER SEEN THE FAMILY GUY!) barely noticed and enjoyed watching the shows (though I feel so dirty). Thankfully the sexual innuendoes flew RIGHT over her head. But there are those, too. So thats something. :) I also think I would have gotten MORE out of this set if I had any familiarity with the Family Guy characters. Never having seen the show, and seeing as how the Star Wars characters are portrayed by these characters, I think I missed a very important (and presumed) aspect that may have really entertained or charmed someone else. Im emotionally and socially hobbled by my lack of Family Guy familiarity. So theres the disclaimer in long form. :) Bottom line is, hey, its like 20 bucks. If youre a Star Wars fan, itll be very nostalgic and probably asks some of the questions youve been asking for 30 years. Often I said to myself Yeah.. why IS that?? when a character pointed out a glaring inconsistency or error in George Lucas writing/science/sense of reality. It was fun. And it was 20 bucksish. Do consider the DVD version, though. I dont know the price difference, but if its significant, know that the quality difference is not. May the Schwartz be with you all. And no, the Schwartz is not involved in the plot of this film.
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Jesse C.
Greater than one weekpurchasing this dvd box set was one of the worst decisions I have ever made. Even as I sat in front of my laptop watching episode after hilarious episode, I could faintly hear the sound of all my ambitions and dreams come tumbling down around me. Within fifty-two hours of the fateful package from Amazon.com arriving in my university mailbox, I had watched all 28 episodes at least once, the eight with commentary twice (once without, once with) and all the special features. thats roughly 14 hours, or ten hours more than I ended up sleeping during that period. If you have anything important to do, I urge you, do not buy this product. However, if you love non-sequiteur, surrealist comedy and you wont be too saddened by, say, flunking genetics, buy this box set. Buy this box set if its the last thing you do.
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kschepps
> 3 dayThe box says it comes with a digital copy, but it doesnt support UltraViolet/Vudu. The equivalent it supports is Pocket Blu which no longer supports any platforms according to their customer support. It also says it supports a physical Digital copy through iTunes and Windows Media Player, but I dont use those platforms. It wasnt advertised to have a digital copy when I bought it. Im not going to give this a bad review because of it. It just got me excited for nothing. I enjoyed the parody to get me ready for the real Episode 7
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ITGurl
> 3 dayThis is my second copy of Vol. 1. The box was slightly damaged on the first copy and it bothered me so much I had to get a new one. I remember when Family Guy first debuted on TV thinking that the idea of a talking baby was ridiculous so I never bothered to watch the program. Then one day I was on YouTube looking at videos and saw a hilarious clip of Family Guy featuring Stewie. I started watching the program after that and was completely hooked after a couple of episodes. I own all the volumes of this show and look at them often laughing hysterically. I would love to choose my favorite characters but that would be impossible since they are all so funny. If you havent watched this program, you are cheating yourself out of an extremely funny and witty show.
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Toby Hamill
Greater than one weekI wont talk about the movie. If you like family guy youll like this and if you think family guy stinks then this will not change your opinion. I debated how much getting the blu ray would be worth it and I can tell you it is WELL worth it! The sharpness is incredible on the picture and like the sound is also top shelf. I dont have this on DVD to compare it to, but comparing it to Blue Harvest on DVD this blu ray BLOWS AWAY the DVD. So, if youre already set on buying the movie, if you have a blu ray player pay the extra couple bucks and get the blu ray version. You wont regret it, at least as far as clarity and sound is concerned ;)
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Bret Haines
> 3 dayEven if you arent an avid Star Wars fan, I think you will still enjoy this remake of the Star Wars trilogy. But for fans, you will definitely appreciate the attention to detail in recreating key scenes from the original while enjoying the twisted dialog from the Family Guy characters. My only regret was that they ran out of the more memorable characters when they got to Yoda. But that is a minor problem and one that was somewhat out of their control since the second two installments were an afterthought based on the success of the first show. Yoda does have one of the best lines in the Trilogy when he describes the tree that is strong with the dark side of the force as basically a strange element from the original story that stops the show dead.
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W
Greater than one weekThis is my favorite show ever and I was very upset when fox cancelled it. Fox is the reason the shows ratings went down because no one could find it. I would always go to see it and it would be on a different timeslot.I really dont think it is right to compare family guy to the simpsons. Yes, they are both about families but no one compares every live-action sitcom about families. And although the simpsons is a classic, and i love it, i have never laughed harder at any other show than at family guy. The show is written brilliantly and few comedies have been written on the same level as this show. It is a must buy, Ive never talked to anyone who hasnt like the show and thats including my mother and grandmother. The show definately steps over the politcially correct liine, but the way they do it is hilarious. Almost every line in this show has its own punch line, and I recommend this dvd set for anyone and the next one also, which I have pre-ordered. Every episode on both dvds is a classic in its own right. Buy the dvd sets and support Seth MacFarlanes comical genius.
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Robert W. Moore
> 3 dayAbove all else, FAMILY GUY is a funny, funny show. I almost always watch TV, DVDs, or video when I eat my meals, but I have discovered that it isnt entirely safe to do so while watching this show. It is funny to a degree that simply isnt compatible with eating food. What is amazing about the show is that while on one level it will strike just about any viewer as a semi-ripoff of THE SIMPSONS (just check all the SIMPSONS references in other reviews--it is almost impossible not to compare the two), it nonetheless manages to come across as remarkably fresh and--paradoxically--underivative. Although the show uses a number of voiceover artists, the majority of the voices are supplied by only two actors: Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein (who will be familiar to fans of MADTV). It isnt fair to say that MacFarlane is the Matt Groening of FAMILY GUY, since Groening does so much less in the SIMPSONS. MacFarlane is the creator of the show, voices most of the male characters, and is one of the main writers. Alex Borstein voices most of the female characters and is also a writer. FAMILY GUY is THE SIMPSONS on speed and with a bawdy streak. Like the Simpsons, the show recreates a small town and introduces a host of characters. Like most people, my two favorites are Stewie, the one-year old evil super genius who also doubles as the youngest Griffin, and Brian, the talking family dog, who is also exceptionally literate and an alcoholic. Unlike THE SIMPSONS, where Lisa and (usually) Marge are voices of reason, absolutely no one on FAMILY GUY really has their stuff together. Brian, Meg, and Lois are relatively sane, but all can exhibit bizarre behavior at key times. Brian can serve as the voice of reason, but his drinking problem can get out of control at inopportune times. This show is absolutely NOT for the children. There is a huge amount of sexual humor, frequent references to genitalia, and the next-door neighbor is a sexual predator. The show was designed with a late nighttime slot in mind, and it shows. Much of the humor is scatological, and there really are no sacred subjects. To be honest, when the show goes off color, I generally find it to be less funny than in the more primetime moments. Much of the humor becomes ritualistic (a detractor might say formulaic). For instance, whenever any character uses the phrase like the time you know you about about to get a flashback. Transitions can be rapid, unexpected, and exceedingly weird. And unlike THE SIMPSONS, when they introduce a song, it is almost always exceedingly funny. Just dont try to eat and watch FAMILY GUY at the same time.
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Illya Allman
> 3 dayNot quite as good as I remembered....but still Family Guy, so how can you loose? Shut up Meg!
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DERVISH888
> 3 dayI am a huge fan of The Family Guy and have been looking forward to buying this DVD ever since I heard it was coming out. I just finished watching this DVD and am in shock at how Un-Family Guy it was. It didnt even seem like I was watching The Family Guy. It appeared as if it was a different show with The Family Guy characters. It seemed as if it was written and thrown together over a weekend. I honestly think I laughed once.....maybe. I cant even remember at this point. I am a loyal Family Guy fan and will continue to love and watch the episodes on Fox. I have never missed one episode. Alas, my advice to you is to put this in your Netflix queue right now. Youll be thankful you did when the movie is over and youre dropping this into your mailbox.