Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars the voices of Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Patrick Warburton,
Adam West, Mike Henry, Patrick Stewart, Carrie Fisher, Drew Barrymore | Created by Seth MacFarlane
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 332 minutes | Directed by Peter Shin & others
'
Happy Halloween, fuckface!' – Peter Griffin
Is there anything better than Family Guy on DVD, uncensored and in-your-face? Apart from a £161,000,000 win in the Euromillions draw, then no there isn't.
So, Season 11. Eleven years? Really, has Family Guy been going that long? Well, yes and no, ... this is actually 14 episodes from the second half of the show's NINTH season. The Family Guy box set releases here in the UK have never corresponded to the show's US season running order. But that doesn't really matter – at least we still get to see the show.
In spite of being cancelled twice by Fox, Family Guy has not only survived, it's thrived and even spawned The Cleveland Show and sister show American Dad! And 11 years in, Family Guy has lost none of its edge. No subject is off limits. Incest? Yup, you've got it – witness siblings Meg and Chris making out in a closet in the Halloween episode. Sexism? Racism? Homophobia? Yup, yup and yup ... there's plenty of all three, plus a touch of homicide and cannibalism too.
The highlight of this season, for me, is a very funny (and clever) sequence where Brian – who, believe it or not, is now a bestselling author – appears on Real Time With Bill Maher. On the actual show itself, with the real Bill Maher, and special guests Arianna Huffington and Dana Gould. It's brilliant stuff. Also great is the two-part Christmas special, Road to the North Pole, in which Stewie plans to kill Santa Claus. Elsewhere, Lois takes up foxy boxing, Meg develops a crush on Joe, Stewie and Brian mess around with the space-time continuum and Peter continues to be a childish, drunken moron. Oh, and Death makes another guest appearance.
There are those who complain that Family Guy has been going too long, and that it's lost its edge, along with its smarts (the some complaints have been levelled at The Simpsons and South Park). Even creator Seth MacFarlane has said he feels the show has been running too long, and that he should have ended it a few seasons back. I have to disagree. Family Guy, for me, still obeys the first rule of a comedy – it makes me laugh. And that is all that matters.
EXTRAS ★★★ Disappointingly, there are no episode commentaries this time. There are a bunch of deleted scenes, plus scene animatics for two episodes. There's also a bonus episode from Season 2 of The Cleveland Show, plus clips-to-go and nine downloadable songs for mobile devices.