‘Family Guy’ is no cheap ‘Simpsons’ knockoff

The humor in "Family Guy" is also about making the audience uncomfortable, and these cutaway sequences are more frequent and linger longer than expected.

As a result, they hold their subjects up and ask why they're so awkward, playing with our ideas about boundaries, appropriateness and restraint. A string of other series that target 20- and 30-something viewers and their sensibilities do the exact same thing: "The Office," "South Park" and "The Colbert Report," to name a few.

"Family Guy's" diversions often parody a film, TV show, celebrity or politician, or satirize something using a piece of pop culture. Significantly, these references do not seek to destroy that which they mock. Instead, they're actually somewhat reverent. These moments make fun of popular culture by acknowledging its importance, even as just a long-forgotten memory.

Some of the references have no point other than to offer nostalgia — and remind people in their 20s and 30s of the popular culture from their childhoods, and how ridiculous, meaningful and hysterical those things were.

The Kool-Aid man, for example, is an utterly ridiculous character, but became iconic despite its inherent stupidity. A talking pitcher of Kool-Aid carrying a facsimile of itself crashes through walls for no particular reason and everyone is thrilled? Seriously? In another one of his appearances on "Family Guy," the Kool-Aid man comes to realize that his habit of smashing through walls is annoying after someone drives a car through his wall.

That he did not learn a lesson or grow is characteristic of the series, which has seen little character development over time.

Some stories do advance, like Stewie killing his mother, but like most animated series, the show will inevitably reset and return to its baseline, the perfect jumping-off point for more references and the absurd story of the week.

"The Simpsons" had a strong run, and occasionally still has its moments. It has also influenced popular culture in a way that "Family Guy" may never do. Still, while "The Simpsons" has aired four times as many episodes as "Family Guy," and while "Family Guy" has been canceled twice by FOX only to be resuscitated, the younger show has managed to eclipse the show it appears to borrow from.

"The Simpsons" now feels like it never really dragged itself out of the early 1990s, leaving "Family Guy" to become "The Simpsons" of the 2000s.

Andy Dehnart is a writer and teacher who publishes reality blurred, a daily summary of reality TV news.

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