We’re back with more TV elitism. If you’re a listener of The Tournament Podcast, then you’ve heard a lot of our opinions on TV, but the state of the industry and the merits of the content itself. It’s no secret we’re both big fans of the the media landscape as a whole, and picking apart that landscape is truly one of our favorite things to do. Since we don’t get too into it in the episode itself–save for a brief aside about James Woods’s insane descent into conservative politics–I thought that the blog post might be a good place to fight for Family Guy as a cornerstone of American television.
If you’re a Family Guy Freak like us, then you know it’s a miracle that the show is still on television at all. After surviving not one, but two cancellations, the show finally found its footing with the George W. Bush generation of young liberals in the mid-aughts. To be a fan of Family Guy is to be a coastal elite, a person who revels in obscure references to movie musicals of the 1950s while simultaneously giggling at a fart joke. It speaks to such a specific American, and I would argue that that American is one who is just as obsessed with pop culture as the show is (the running Conway Twitty gag is proof of this).
I could go on and on about why I think Family Guy reigns supreme at the top of the Adult Animation kingdom (and about why I think Seth MacFarlane is just as much of a genius as somebody like Walt Disney), but we have to get to the episode eventually. There are a million ways we could talk about Family Guy in a tournament style, but we stuck with the old standard to dissect the show’s roster of characters.
I’ve been such an insider on this show from the very beginning of its second renaissance, so it’s tough to be objective about what the general public might know about the Griffins and their extended social circle in Quahog. While we’re both predicting one Stewart Gilligan Griffin to take the cake on this one, I think it’s safe to say that any of MacFarlane’s characters–four of which are the top four seeds–are prime for a victory.
So who’s victory shall it be, then? Shall it be Stewie’s? What about his best friend Brian (Rupert is his lover, NOT best friend)? How about Peter, the titular Family Guy? Could a Mike Henry character like Herbert sneak a win? And then there’s Adam West, one of the most brilliantly bizarre characters in television history. There’s only one way to find out. And that’s to vote.
Opening Round: Monday 8/1 & Tuesday 8/2 (until 10 pm PST)
Elite Eight: Wednesday 8/3 (until 10 pm PST)
Final Four: Thursday 8/4 (until 10 pm PST)
Championship: Friday 8/5 & Saturday 8/6 (until 10 pm PST)
Winner Reveal: Monday 8/8 on a brand new episode of the podcast!
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