Review: Family Guy – “Acts of God”

Spoilers Below

The story begins with an outing to a Patriots game. The gang is delighted to be joined by their old friend, Cleveland. The Patriots end up losing to what many could consider an act of God. As a matter of fact, that’s who they blame. Peter and his friends embark on a journey to literally find God, and learn why he hates the Patriots so dearly.

The guys search high and low. They seek the help of Carrie Underwood, as well as journey around the world, but it isn’t enough. Back at the Clam, it seems all is lost. In their sorrow they are visited by an old acquaintance who turns out to be the answer to their dilemma.

“Acts of God” was pretty entertaining. Some of my more favourable episodes are the ones that have Cleveland return to the group. The gang just doesn’t seem complete without him. He brings a unique kind of comedy that was developed during the run of the “Cleveland Show” and incorporates into the Family Guy formula. It makes the show feel fresh and it adds flavour to the humor.

This episode only had the one running story, and I enjoyed that. I like when there is a central focus, and plenty of content to pack into a story. While the episode focused on Peter on the gang, there were a few good appearances from the rest of the family. We had a joke at the expense of Meg, we had some funny conversations between Stewie and Brian, and this episode had bits and pieces of all the good things.

The cutaway gags weren’t some of the most memorable. There were only a couple that really made me laugh, one of which was a joke about the cutaways themselves. The best humor in this episode came straight some character interaction and the situations the guys got into. For example when they are travelling the world and they end up in Jerusalem, they poke some fun at Judaism, and I’m ashamed at how hard it made me laugh.

What was lacking in this episode was the final act. The last seven or eight minutes were pretty boring in my opinion. Admittedly, the rest of the story requires some NFL knowledge, which I’m lacking. As a Canadian boy, hockey is more up my alley. But even quality of humor seemed to take a dive as the episode was wrapping up. Everything just felt rushed. Despite that, this is one of the most enjoyable episodes I have seen in a while.

Overall, great episode. It felt like a modern twist on an older episode. If you’ve been watching the show since the beginning, I think you’ll appreciate the elements that were put into this episode. In the future I hope they do similar things. Besides the ending, I didn’t find much I could complain about. Hopefully the rest of the season can carry some similar momentum!

So, what did you guys think of “Acts of God”? Am I being too generous? Agree with my opinion? Give me some feedback, it’s always great to hear from you guys. Enjoy the rest of your week!