Season Review: Family Guy Season 16

16 candles down the drain?

When Family Guy came out in 1999, audiences were unsure what to make of it. Most of us believed it to be a blatant rip-off of the then dominant The Simpsons. Once viewers gained their first taste of Seth MacFarlane’s off-the-wall humour and abundant pop culture references they were hooked- well, there was that minor cancellation after season two, but we don’t talk about that. For the series to last 16 seasons is a testament of how well it has been received. This year reaching the milestone of 300 episodes solidified its place in animated sitcom history. Though, honestly, nobody expects the show to run for as long as The Simpsons have or will. So, how much longer can we expect Family Guy to last? It truly depends on the quality of programming they offer us and with a recent announcement that there will be the seventeenth season at least, they must be doing something right.

Actually, they did plenty of things right. While we may be past the days of Evil Monkeys and Star Wars parodies, season 16 managed to pull off a few wins. The episode “Send in Stewie Please” retooled sitcoms as a concept. The commercial-free episode featured two characters in one setting for its entire duration. While a bit of a risk, it turned out to be the highlight of the season. A Christmas special titled “Don’t Be a Dickens at Christmas” was as charming as a seasonal episode should be. “Three Directors” gave us something new, with the same plot being produced in the signature style of three popular film directors which shall not be soon forgotten. While an episode commentating on millennials, “HTTPete” showed us that Family Guy’s humour could still be relevant in a new generation.

Even with some significant triumphs this season, there was a lot of inconsistency. The whole season is full of ups and downs, and Bubbleblabber scores ranged from 9 all the way down to 3. Out of the twenty episode season, seven episodes scored at a 5 or below. Most of those falling numbers are connected to traditional style Family Guy episodes, not the specials. Which forces us to question if the format of the series is wearing off on fans? After all of these years, a lot of the stories and jokes have become predictable. You know when a joke lands it is bound to resurface, sometimes as many as 4 or 5 more times in a single episode and often the joke didn’t need to land in the first place. There is also a serious issue with many of the shows third acts. Conclusions seem to be a rough spot for Family Guy and the endings often feel rushed or unfinished. Without original concepts and special events, there probably would not have been living in the series years ago. And, even this year’s three-episode saga failed to impress audiences.

Despite the flaws of the traditional plots, the truth of the matter is Family Guy is still full of creative original ideas. Seth MacFarlane continues to produce entertaining content whether on his flagship series or his other projects. For Family Guy to continue its relevance it may be time to really shake things up in season 17. Off the top of my head, it would be interesting to have an entire season set in space or medieval times, but I’m sure MacFarlane could come up with a much better idea than myself. The point is, different and unexpected is what we come for the show for and when we get predictable programming it leaves us wondering if Family Guy is on its last legs.
As for the score, the inconsistency I mentioned created a bit of an issue. Parts of the season were brilliant while others, not so much. Therefore, I thought it would only be fair if I rounded out an average of each individual episodes score. The resulting number is fair and represents season 16 of Family Guy well.