Review: Family Guy “Pilling Them Softly”

Time to kick off a new season of Family Guy! If you weren’t watching the eclipse last night, you probably checked out the season premiere of Family Guy. The Griffins are now entering their fourteenth season, a milestone that very few shows ever reach. While the glory days of the show seem to be behind us now, Family Guy is now in a similar situation as The Simpsons, being able to survive on it’s dedicated fan base and whichever casual viewers happen to tune in. So was his season premiere worth tuning in for? Let’s discuss that.

In “Pilling Them Softly” Stewie is having difficulty focusing at preschool, so is put on ADHD medication, but Brian learns the drugs may also benefit him. Meanwhile, Quagmire takes his culinary skills to television and makes his own TV show, but must take Peter along for the ride.

Last year, we saw Family Guy premiere with a crossover with The Simpsons. While the episode had some funny moments, overall it wasn’t a satisfying experience. George R.R Martin appears in this episode and criticizes Brian’s sci-fi/fantasy creation for basically being a mash up of clichés and a two-thousand page turd. That’s really what last season’s premiere felt like. A mashup of styles that didn’t quite fit together and neither side seemed to benefit.

This season however, it was sort of a swing in a positive direction. While this episode didn’t quite generate the same buzz that The Simpsons episode did, it was very Family Guy. The writing was safe, they stuck to what they know works. There was nothing ground-breaking about this premiere, but I think that’s almost enough. I’ll call a spade a spade, Brian and Stewie’s subplot was boring. The jokes just didn’t connect with me and everything felt expected.

Quagmire and Peter had a better story. It’s something we haven’t really seen from the show before, but sort of felt similar to “The King is Dead” from season two. The episode where Lois directs a stage show, but Peter’s hijinks ruin it for the person who is taking it seriously. Replace the play with a cooking show and replace Lois with Quagmire, and that’s really what you have here. I’ll say that I didn’t enjoy this as much as “The King is Dead”, but there was some solid writing here. There was a montage that was really funny and the dynamic between Peter, Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe were are excellent.

This episode didn’t rely very much on cutaway gags. There were some but l lot of the comedy was focused on the characters. Their interactions are what made the episode fun to watch.

Overall, this was a safe episode. It didn’t step outside of Family Guy’s comfort zone and that’s okay for now. I think for now I’m just happy that the show is back. As the season progresses I’ll expect more. I want to feel surprised, I want the show to make us laugh in new ways. Get creative with the stories. Maybe parody another movie franchise like they did with Star Wars. Get back to doing things that draw in viewers and make audiences laugh. This episode was a little on the boring side, but it’s slightly acceptable.

In season fourteen, I expect there will be a lot of the same. But I always love to be proved wrong. Surprise us this season, Family Guy. Show us why you’ve made it this far. If it’s just going to be more of the same, I don’t think we’re in for a very fun season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what did you guys think of last night’s season premiere? Like it? Not so much? Make sure you let us know! See you next week.