So I’m watching last night’s all new “Family Guy” episode on Hulu Plus (yes, I cannot wait a whole week, so I pay the $8 and still have to watch commercials) over my breakfast cereal this morning. It opens with a somewhat tired plot with Stewie and Brian getting into their typical time-traveling shenanigans. There are, of course, the usual jokes that would be considered racist and unacceptable, this time about Native Americans, but that everyone lets slide because “Family Guy” is an equal opportunity offender. It seems animations are allowed all sorts of FCC breaks that live human actors are not.
SPOILER ALERT
They killed off Brian last night. I’m watching it unfold and it makes no sense. Animated series are supposed to remain unchanged for all eternity! They are the one constant in our lives! They will always be there, exactly the same as we found them on every previous Sunday night. We should be able to drift in and out of watching them over the years and still be able to follow the story lines 100% of the time. That is the benefit of choosing to loosely watch an animated comedy versus a show with a story line that actually progresses. The more I think about it, though, “Family Guy” has actually bucked this norm multiple times. Bonnie finally had that baby and Cleveland left and got his own show. Those are some serious plot alterations for a genre that isn’t supposed to have very many at all. So seeing another regular character removed, albeit a main one as opposed to just a recurring one, is a shocker, yes, but not as eye-popping as it might appear if you were to look at the data.
Brian’s character was quickly replaced by the end of the episode with another dog sporting a classic Northeastern accent, like Jon Stewart doing an impression of a Jersey Shore guido, aka Tony Sirico of “The Sopranos.” What worries me most about this transition is that the dynamic between the characters, and of the show as a whole, will inevitably change. Brian’s character brought a lot of balance to the somewhat low/middlebrow humor of Peter’s blue-collar working man character. Brian’s stereotypical depiction of an elitist New England intellectual liberal added a new dimension to the show. They’ve even run episodes built around making fun of that (see: episode where Lois called Brian a contrarian). This new character, Vinny, has yet to establish himself in the family, but I don’t really get the sense that he will really add that sophisticated narcissism of a know-it-all, Brown University educated Snoopy look-alike that we’ve all come to love. Granted we should give the new guy a chance, but perhaps after a bit more mourning since we have been fans of the same 7-year-old Brian for over a decade. But I’m worried Vinny won’t be able to balance out Peter as much. Or maybe he will become to Peter what Brian was to Stewie as of late. Lots more shared plots and hilarious antics, but less time travel. Basically, I’m concerned the diversity of personalities on the show has just taken a big hit.
