Customer Reviews

Family Guy, Volume Eight

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Look at this point if you're still going to complain how the show is not funny since the earlier seasons I can't blame you, in fact I agree with you. I think Family Guy has gone a little downhill yes but I still like it for what it is. Besides I think most customers visiting this page are actually interested in this volume DVD, the episodes it contains and they should know what to expect out of those 3 discs. If you're just here to complain well beat it, it's just a television show right? Maybe it's not as funny to you but I still get a good laugh out of watching the show and think it's still more entertaining than most of what is on television right now. Vol 8 has the seven remaining episodes of season 7 and the first eight of season 8 for a total of 15 episodes.

Here are all of the episodes on Vol.8:
1. FOX-y Lady
2. Not All Dogs Go To Heaven
3. 420
4. Stew-Roids
5. We Love You, Conrad
6. Three Kings
7. Peter's Progress
8. Road To The Multiverse
9. Family Goy
10. Spies Reminiscent of Us
11. Brian's Got a Brand New Bag
12. Hannah Banana
13. Quagmire's Baby
14. Jerome is the New Black
15. Dog Gone

It seems that even if some fans of the show didn't enjoy this season as much as the others ones they generally agree that there are a few great episodes on Vol 8 such as "Road To The Multiverse" and "Stew-Roids". I also liked "Quagmire's Baby" and "Three Kings". I don't think Family Guy is done just yet but if they don't do something soon then it could be the end of the show. Fans brought the show out of cancellation and could very well put it back to that status. I don't think vol 9 will be that much better as I've seen most of those episodes ( "Brian & Stewie" was just a painful one to watch).

And yes they still haven't done anything about the "volumes" DVD and you don't get a full season here, it's disappointing but that's what they've been doing since season 4 when they decided to split a season in two DVD's boxed set and I guess it's what Fox will continue to do so for future DVD releases. Yes I've bought this DVD even if I'd like actual season sets to be released because I enjoy Family Guy. I just wish they wouldn't charge as much for only 15 episodes in a cheap package, basically the same as season 7's, I also hope they don't discontinue the DVD version with the cover on it like they did for season 7 after a while that was just disappointing. There are still some good episodes on this Volume DVD, the show is not what it once was but it's still decent. 3 stars.

The episodes on volume 8 are funny, but for me the show really started going downhill at volume five. That said, I do still like it, but I dont see the show lasting too much longer, at least being watchable. I also agree with what was said in an earlier review, Gay Stewie is NOT funny anymore, I miss when Stewie was all about trying to kill Lois and world domination. Somehow the writers manage to keep the show just funny enough to make me keep buying, but I dont laugh out loud as much as I used to and lots of the jokes are just not funny or just in bad taste. Its kinda sad that some of the funniest recent FAMILY GUY moments were when they were on the CLEVELAND SHOW (which completely sucks by the way). I am glad I waited and bought this set at only $14.99, cause the show isnt worth much to me anymore.

After watching volume 8, I think I'm done with buying Family Guy sets. I may still rent them from Netflix or something, but I'm glad I waited until the price came down into the mid-twenties on this one before buying it.

Family Guy has gone downhill, and badly. What used to be a show that made me burst out laughing in most of its episodes has degenerated into something where the most I'll get out of it is a chuckle and a sense of anger about what these guys have started thinking is funny. To the writers: graphic violence isn't funny. Why is there so much of it? For the record, I liked the graphically violent movie Hot Fuzz, so it isn't the gore per se that bothers me. It's that they try to play it for laughs, and I can't think of a single time that it hasn't been way more gross than funny (incidentally, this is one of the reasons I don't enjoy South Park as much as I could). Even bits that I thought were funny, like the guy who eats the Peppermint Pattie and has to make an arduous journey back home from the frozen mountain top, include this garbage for no reason. When that one ended with the guy engaging in graphic cannibalism, I think I might have even said out loud, "And we're back to this s@#! again."

Evil Stewie was much funnier than Gay Stewie. Goofy Jerk Peter was much funnier than Completely Stupid Peter. When I watch some of the older episodes, I still laugh out loud, often. Even some of the jokes that I didn't think were all that great back then seem like comedy gold compared to most of the junk in this series.

To top it off, the show has become almost unbearably preachy. The episodes about legalizing pot and where Meg finds religion didn't even seem like they were *trying* to be funny. They just felt like somebody on a soapbox ranting. At least when South Park gets preachy (one of the other big reasons I don't like that show), they keep the jokes going. It's telling and sad that one of my favorite moments of this DVD series was when Quagmire lays into Brian and enumerates the many ways that he's a complete jerk.

I'm giving this two stars instead of one because there are still some sparks of funny left in the show. But if they can't do better than this, then maybe it's time to hang it up and move on.

family guy used to dance on the political fence. this season is 100% political something tells me i wont be buying volume 8.
in volume 7 and 8 ,seth macfarlane ( who used to be on every commentary track before volume 7) BARELY has time to grace us with his presence for even 20 minutes at a time every episode.he instead leaves it his underlings. i think seth only did a few, and he was in a sound booth every time.before he was on just about every commentary track. whats wrong seth? family guy not good enough for you???

I have been a fan of the show since it's ORIGINAL debut after the Super Bowl in 1999.

Course, how they have done the DVD releases it is NOT right that you can NOT get a complete season in 1 DVD package.

The episodes in this DVD are NOT up to normal "Family Guy" standards. No stand out episodes. Only a couple of episodes "Fox-y Lady" & "Brian's Got A Brand New Bag" have jokes I want to rewind to see again.

Uncensored. Unlike when they just slapped curse words in "The Empire Strikes Back" straight to video release where most of the curse words were just there because they could get away with it but they did NOT work. In Volume 8 they do work & go along with the story script.

Of these episodes notable for me "Three Kings" with the "Star Wars" figurine bit & of course Richard Dreyfess & the late Roy Scheider together again for the "Jaws" references. This episode aired of course after Roy's death in 2008. "Family Goy" episode has 2 "Star Wars" saga references & also an "Indiana Jones" reference. The "Spies Like Us" episode "Spies Reminiscent Of Us" good idea for an episode & good to see Dan & Chevy were used.

Now, we can complain again the DVD makers went cheap with the horrible plastic cases. You have an episode list but not like in the older DVD releases you get NO information on that episode. Cheap plastic disc holders.

Normal extras on the DVD package.

Family Guy has been one of my personal favorite shows of all time, I wish it could go on forever but I know one of these days it will end TV will become unbareable again. This new release contains the more recent episodes of family guy, primarily the 8th season. The show is still funny and the stories are becoming a bit better compared to a lot of the other new episodes. The improvement is in the writing and creativeness with some of the episodes. A good example would be the episode "Road to Multiverse" which is one of the greatest Family Guy episodes in recent years. I have noticed that the cursing in this show has become more relevant. Every episode on this set drops the F-Bomb at least once in every episode and its kinda weird that they think its become necessary now. I still think its a great buy if your a Family Guy fan (like me) but the price is a little ridiculous.

This volume is slightly better than 7, but it is still a far cry from what Family Guy used to be. The few clever lines and gags are buried in ridiculous segments and storylines. The Star Trek actors segment is just silly. There is nothing clever or funny about it. They have a 50 year old woman talking and acting like someone who would've been dead for most likely the last 20 years. Decent episodes like "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven," "Peter's Progress," and "Hannah Banana" are ruined by crummy endings. One episode that is very clever and original is "Road to the Multiverse." "We Love You Conrad" is another good one mainly because I like the air-headed Jillian character. "Three Kings" is a fun change of pace and "Dog Gone" has its moments (good ones as well as head-scratching ones). "Stew-roid" and "Jerome Is the New Black" are the better ones from the mediocre rest. When a clip showing the Flintmobile on the World's Wildest Police Chases is the highlight of a volume, that is pretty bad.

Disc 1
1. "Fox-y Lady"--Lois becomes news anchor for Fox News and is put on an assignment to investigate Michael Moore. Meanwhile, Peter and Chris collaborate on an animated show "Handi-Quacks." When Lois was running with her Fox contract, I thought she was going to fall and hurt her knee, but it didn't quite go that way.
2. "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven"--Peter: "That's right folks, it's going to be a Meg episode. Stick around for the fun...here's the clicker, no one would blame you." Meg is bedridden with the mumps and finds religion from Kirk Cameron's televangelist show. Brian admits to being an atheist, so in the hopes to cure him, Meg blabs it on the news making Brian Quahog's enemy #1. The ending where Meg and Brian patch things up is a bit too easy, I think, and the ending is stupid. It might actually have worked with Bob Newhart and the wife from his first television show in bed ala the last episode of "Newhart." Meanwhile, Stewie kidnaps the Star Trek cast. That part is lame. The actors act like kids (note: The actor who played Capt. Picard is the voice of Avery Bullock on American Dad, so the characters are the same). This episode had potential with the atheist theme, but fell completely flat.
3. "Episode 420"--Brian campaigns for the legalization of pot. When Lois's father promises the publication of Brian's novel in exchange for him switching sides, will he sell out?
4. "Stew-roid"--Joe's baby girl beats up Stewie so Peter pumps him up with steroids. Stewie: "It doesn't matter how you find the pot of gold, all that matters is that you beat the leprechauns." Connie, the most popular girl in school, goes out with Chris as a challenge. when he disses her and becomes a jerk like the popular guys, Connie and Meg concoct revenge.
5. "We Love You Conrad"--I like the non-praying mantis (maybe he's an atheist). Jillian is engaged to a great guy who speaks French (Jillian: "He also speaks Orange!" Derek: "Mandarin, honey." Jillian: "Mandolin!") and Brian is jealous even when he starts dating Lauren Conrad.

Disc 2
6. "Three Kings"--The Family Guy characters parody Stephen King novels "Stand By Me" (with Meg as the dead body), "Misery" and "The Shawshank Redemption." Joe's character is crippled in each segment. An OK change of pace but the ending to "Misery" was a bit weak.
7. "Peter's Progress"--Madame Claude tells Peter and the gang who they were in a past life. She tells the story of 17th or 18th century England when Peter was the founder of Quahog. Lois's character is called Lady Redbush (ha!). King Stewart the Turd exiles Griffin Peterson to America so he could marry Lois Redbush. The ending was stupid.
8. "Road to the Multiverse"--Clever episode where Brian and Stewie visit parallel universes that show Family Guy in such styles as The Flintstones, Robot Chicken, and Disney.
9. "Family Goy"--Lois finds out her mother is Jewish. At first Peter embraces Judaism until the spirit of his strict Catholic father tells him he will BURN!!! I n this uncensored episode, you get to see Peter's...um...peter.
10. "Spies Reminiscent of Us"--Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase move into Cleveland's old house and Brian and Stewie find out they're actually spies. Meanwhile, to prove he's funny, Peter and the gang start an improv act. This episode is lame.
11. "Brian Has a Brand New Bag"--This episode is embarrassingly bad. Brian dates a 50 year old and his family gives him grief about it. It makes no sense. She was 50 in 2009 when the show aired, so she was born in 1959. She spent her adolescence probably watching the Brady Bunch and her late teens at the discos. She wouldn't use old fashioned words like "chesterfield." They make her character as though she was born in the 1910s. Ridiculous!

Disc 3
12. "Hannah Banana"--Stewie has to see Miley Cyrus in concert and threatens Brian's brothers and sisters to get him in (that was pretty funny). Chris captures the evil monkey and he becomes a father figure. The end of the Miley Cyrus thing was a bit much.
13. "Quagmire's Baby"--The Flintstone police chase clip might be the highlight of this entire volume. Quagmire's baby girl is left on his doorstep and she is cramping his style. Meanwhile, Stewie experiments with cloning. The Quagmire/baby thing was unoriginal.
14. "Jerome is the New Black"--The gang thinks they've found a replacement for Cleveland until Peter finds out he once slept with Lois. Also, Quagmire lets Brian have it! Dang!
15. "Dog Gone"--Brian is excited about being honored by the Rhode Island Society for Special Literary Excellence until he finds out the "Special" is for "special ed." He gets drunk and hits and kills a dog. He buries the carcass but is racked with guilt. When he confesses, he is alarmed that no one cares and starts a movement for animal rights. The meeting is lame. They end up wanting to eat Brian, whatever! Anyway, it is up to Stewie to make Brian see he has value to his family. Meanwhile, Consuela ("need more lemon pledge") becomes the Griffin's maid and drives Peter nuts.

Family Guy has been one of my personal favorite shows of all time, I wish it could go on forever. This new release contains the more recent episodes of family guy, primarily the 8th season. The show is still funny and the stories are becoming a bit better compared to a lot of the other new episodes.

Family Guy, when on form, is the funniest show on television. However, this season is more inconsistent. Episodes like Road to the Multiverse and Quagmire's Baby are absolutely fantastic, but when the show manages to make the Buzzkillington joke (a joke about a man who kills a mood with bad jokes) old, the message is clear: the show is starting to run out of ideas.

Worth seeing for it's best moments, but there is a lot that pales in comparison.

The funniest show on tv.....at a great price. I have all but vol 9 which is too be out real soon. If you want a good laugh at a good price get The family guy.