Adults only!
Once upon a time cartoons were for kids. Once upon a time executive office furniture was used for sitting on rather than racing up and down the corridors, but times have changed on both counts. At least in my house and my office they have anyway! The Simpsons started it, although the humour in that is so gentle and inoffensive you could let your kids watch it safe in the knowledge that the worst they would here is “Cowabunga!” Futurama, the second (and I think better) creation by Matt Groening went a bit further, with a slightly foul-mouthed, alcohol, kleptomaniac robot, a few vaguely sexy scenes and plenty of humour that would have sailed over the heads of any little ones watching…
But you could still screen it, unedited, before the watershed. Seth MacFarlane, the king of adult animation, was the man who single-handedly took cartoons away from children and plonked them squarely into the late-night TV schedules. Plenty of people have levelled plagiarism accusations at MacFarlane, accusing him of ripping off The Simpsons in his show Family Guy. But when did you ever see Marge and Homer sensibly discussing family problems while getting dressed for a heavy night of bedroom bondage? When did any of the reasonably wholesome Simpson kids ever plot to kill Marge, or take over the world, or have any number of homo-erotic dreams about their teddy bear? No comparison.
Family Guy is more than just a collection of close-to-the-bone, off-colour jokes; when was the last time you saw a full song and dance routine reproduced in glorious animation? In fact, apart from the sickeningly-sweet Glee, when was the last time you saw a musical number on TV at all? MacFarlane is a huge fan of the old time musicals and lovingly recreates their style in the now traditional Brian and Stewie episode that you get each series. Yes, it’s rude, crude and ever so slightly gross, but it’s also the most original, amusing and entertaining thing on TV. Make sure the kids are tucked up in bed, open up a beer and enjoy some cartoons; it’s the adult thing to do!
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