Family Guy=Old what a cartoon short?

[I.R Joey]

You guys remember that show with the really smart Dog and the really dumb human living together. Now I know one of the old HB people (worked on JB might have been Marmel or one of them) went on to be a big time creative force on Family Guy (maybe even the creator) but the similaritys between the two are scary and I doubt a matter of chance. Anyway

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by I.R Joey
You guys remember that show with the really smart Dog and the really dumb human living together. Now I know one of the old HB people (worked on JB might have been Marmel or one of them) went on to be a big time creative force on Family Guy (maybe even the creator) but the similaritys between the two are scary and I doubt a matter of chance. Anyway

I have never seen it, but you are more than likely right! The saying holds true that there is nothing new under the sun. The premise of the animal being smarter than the owner goes back probably to the beginning of people telling funny stories!

[Mr. Obsession]

Back when Family Guy first started I was thinking about this. If I remember correctly that "What a Cartoon/Cartoon Cartoon" short (it's been along time since I've seen that short) had a similar animation style to Family Guy and the voice of the man and the dog were done by the same actors who do Peter and Brian the dog on Family Guy, I may be wrong but now that I think about it the two main characters from the short (I believe) were named Peter and Brian.

My guess would be that the WaC/CC was (for lack of a better term) a prototype for Family Guy.

[I.R Joey]

Yeah you've got it dude, similar animation style and even the same voice actors. I'm almost absolutely sure now that they where created by the same guy.

[The Mad Hatter]

That would be Seth McFarlane, and he did indeed do the What A Cartoon Short in question. I've seen it, and it's absolutely funny! One of the best What a Cartoons out there. McFarlane went on to work on Partible-era Johnny Bravo, and did some great stuff there too. Why Family Guy is so gawd-awful is beyond me. I think McFarlane ought to stick to slapstick shorts, myself.

[James Harvey]

FAMILY GUY is a show you either really hate or reall ylike. I find that there's no inbetween for a show like this. It's just a bizarre show that has had a couple good gags, the best being the KOOL AID MAN courthouse scene.

[Mr. Obsession]

I love that courthouse scene, the KOOL AID MAN was just so unexpected, it had me rolling on the floor. Family Guy does have it's moments.

Another one I loved, the family's watching a Star Trek rerun -
(I forget exactly how it went)

Kirk: For... this... away mission... I'll... take Spock... Bones... and Ensign Ricky.

Ensign Ricky: Crap.



I'll go back into my little hole now. :)

[I.R Joey]

You're right Hatter it was that dude. Thank you.

[Scythemantis]

Family guy had very shallow characters and unoriginal storylines,but....

Those gags were so hilarious to me that I actually do want the show to come back...yeah,I know,its shallow,but theres nothin wrong with plain old laughing :)

I get enough character development and depth out of all the other shows I watch

[The Mad Hatter]

Those gags were so hilarious to me that I actually do want the show to come back...yeah,I know,its shallow,but theres nothin wrong with plain old laughing

I agree! You don't always have to be deep or touching. Still... I've never found Family Guy funny, because 80% of the material was completely ripped off from dozens of other cartoons. What little originality there was completely hackneyed. And the pacing... they kept throwing so many random things at you at regular intervals, that you came to EXPECT the random things, which is, yes, a bad thing.

I know this show somehow manages to get under my skin like no other, but I refuse to give a plagarist credit for anything.

[Scythemantis]

Thats what a lotta people say,but I`ve never gotten to see any of the shows it rips off from except the simpsons :)

[The Mad Hatter]

Here's a big example... Stewie himself is 100% stolen from a previous underground comic called (I think) Jimmy Doogan. Jimmy has an oval head, wears overalls, is a super-genius and tries to escape/destroy his mother. EXACTLY like Stewie. Stewie may be the best character, but he is shamelessly ripped off.

I remember the whole mis-handled William Shatner thing came from Animaniacs, and there were a few other things that were from South Park. (I can't remember offhand, after the first few episodes I've been avoiding this show like the Black Death.) The Simpsons is just the most obvious example... they've stolen jokes lock, stock and barrel, not to mention the fact that Peter is pretty much Homer.

[Nightwing]

Originally posted by I.R Joey
You guys remember that show with the really smart Dog and the really dumb human living together. Now I know one of the old HB people (worked on JB might have been Marmel or one of them) went on to be a big time creative force on Family Guy (maybe even the creator) but the similaritys between the two are scary and I doubt a matter of chance. Anyway

He's right!! I mentioned this on the old boards when Family Guy first came out. It was easy to make the connection visually because it was one of my favorite What A Cartoon Show shorts. But I curse that day for not remembering the name of the cartoon short at the time. It still escapes me actually. The Dog's name was Steve though. It was great.

[meatwads_friend]

i think famley guy was based on the old cartoon wait till your father gets home i can see simularities there.

[Cyclops]

How could we contact Cartoon Network and tell them this would be a good series. Assuming I'm not the only one who wants this to be a series.

[mobo85]

I've seen Larry and Steve, and there is a definite influence there. It featured a talking dog who was smarter than his dimwit master.

Although Seth McFarlane obviously made a lot of changes (adding more characters and doing a satirical comedy show for adults instead of an old-fashioned slapstick cartoon for children), the stupid man/talking dog idea is there. He even performed the voices in the same way he eventually would those of Peter and Brian on Family Guy!

[meatwads_friend]

does anyone actually remember wait till your father gets home or am i the only one

[Allen's Nickname.]

Originally posted by meatwads_friend
does anyone actually remember wait till your father gets home or am i the only one Yes. And no, Family Guy was not spun off of it. And, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home could have just been done in live action. The use of animation was pointless.

[Auro]

Oh No!

Oh No!

Oh No!

Ohhhh Yaaaaaa!

ROFLMAO I love the Family Guy! I can't wait to get the first season on DVD :D And hopefully the second will be released in the states too!

[livingfruitvirus]

I loved Larry and Steve. But Family Guy is its own entity. The characters were simply altered, then more were added as said above. And both Larry and Steve were voiced by Seth MacFarlane, just like Peter and Brian on Family Guy.

I doubt this will be a series. Seth MacFarlane was part of the original Johnny Bravo/Cow and Chicken crew, who all left Cartoon Network in bitterness. Some of them (like Butch Hartman and Steve Marmel) work at Nickelodeon now. Seth is actually going to be starting a new live action sitcom for FOX with the producers of Titus.

[Sharklady]

> The premise of the animal being smarter than the owner goes back probably to the beginning of people telling funny stories! <

Or at least as far back as Peabody and Sherman (another toon suspected of being a partial inspiration for 'Familiy Guy'. Stewie has been accused of being based on the genetically-altered lab mouse Brain.)

[Brainatra]

Originally posted by Sharklady
> The premise of the animal being smarter than the owner goes back probably to the beginning of people telling funny stories! <

Or at least as far back as Peabody and Sherman (another toon suspected of being a partial inspiration for 'Familiy Guy'. Stewie has been accused of being based on the genetically-altered lab mouse Brain.)

Whoa, whoa, *whoa* there, missy...

I thought we agreed Stewie was a ripoff of *Snowball*...and *also* to some extent Brain. Let's keep our plagarism sources accurate, shall we? ;-)

Question: is "Family Guy" being released to DVD (per someone's comment)? Hmph... I'd have figured its only future is joining its Fox predecessor/cohort "The Critic" in eternal reruns on Comedy Central.

-B.

[Rei]

I've also noticed that Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, and Van Partible tend to work on their projects together so chances of seeing any of them on CN do look slim. But about Steve Marmel, I've heard that name before and not on cartoons, I think I've seen him on old premium blend episodes on Comedy Central. Can anyone confirm this for me?

[Sharklady]

> Stewie has been accused of being based on the genetically-altered lab mouse Brain.)

Whoa, whoa, *whoa* there, missy... I thought we agreed Stewie was a ripoff of *Snowball*...and *also* to some extent Brain. Let's keep our plagarism sources accurate, shall we? ;-) <

I just said the accusation has been made- I didn't say it was any truer than any of the others.

Actually, so many things have now been done in books, movies, TV and comics, that I doubt anybody could invent any character that didn't bear some resemblence to somebody else somewhere.

[Spiky_evil]

Originally posted by I.R Joey
You guys remember that show with the really smart Dog and the really dumb human living together. Now I know one of the old HB people (worked on JB might have been Marmel or one of them) went on to be a big time creative force on Family Guy (maybe even the creator) but the similaritys between the two are scary and I doubt a matter of chance. Anyway

I do remember seeing this and thinking! wow! what a resemblance to family guy, the voices were simular, the comedy was, and it was really good, as someone said earlier, i beleive it was just an early prototype of family guy.

[livingfruitvirus]

Yeah. Steve Marmel has done stand-up on Comedy Central before.

[Brainatra]

Originally posted by Sharklady
> Stewie has been accused of being based on the genetically-altered lab mouse Brain.)

Whoa, whoa, *whoa* there, missy... I thought we agreed Stewie was a ripoff of *Snowball*...and *also* to some extent Brain. Let's keep our plagarism sources accurate, shall we? ;-) <

I just said the accusation has been made- I didn't say it was any truer than any of the others.


I know....

Actually, so many things have now been done in books, movies, TV and comics, that I doubt anybody could invent any character that didn't bear some resemblence to somebody else somewhere.

Valid point, I suppose... though even factoring in the aforementioned similarities of Family Guy with other shows/characters/etc., it still came off as rather unoriginal to me (the similarities between Peter Griffin and Homer seem to go a bit beyond the usual "bumbling idiot father" sitcom stereotype to me...).

-B.