Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars the voices of Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Mike Henry, Danny Smith, Adam West, Patrick Warburton, Lori Alan | Written by Seth MacFarlane, David Zuckerman, Mike Henry & a cast of thousands
UK certification UK 15 | UK RRP £28.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 600 minutes | Directed by Peter Shin & others
OK. First things first. This isn't Season 7. This is the remainder of Season 5 and episodes two to eight of Season 6 (the one that launched with Blue Harvest) and you may well have seen them all on BBC3.
Mind you, when did already seeing them stop you buying Family Guy? It's a series that you can dip into time and time again. While it's slightly annoying that this three disc set only features 12 mixed episodes (and no repeat of Blue Harvest which you'll still need to buy separately if you haven't already done so) the makers do at least make up for it with the sort of extras list that should be the benchmark for all future DVDs. Look at that running time: 600 minutes of Family Guy funny business and bonus material. And all of it worth watching.
As mentioned in a previous review (for Season 6, which was really most of Season 5, etc — you may see a pattern emerging here), Family Guy is not the "poor man’s Simpsons" that it's often dismissed as. The Simpsons may, indeed, lance popular culture on a regular basis but Family Guy does it in steamroller fashion, happily bludgeoning its hilarious way through the cultural references as well as assorted taboos. Or in the case of the Brokeback-inspired campfire song "Cowboy Butt Sex", both simulatenously. It's not subtle, it's not a great Mother's Day present, but it is, for the most part, exceptionally bloody funny.
This collection of episodes covers many subjects (immigration, life in a wheelchair, what happens when you eat 30 burgers in one sitting) with the usual asides, plus in those extras and, particularly, the 100th episode, another chance to see some of the show's finest moments. They also strike back verbally against South Park, which has had a few pops at Family Guy over the years. Sure, it might not be as deeply satirical as Stone and Parker's creation but it's cut from roughly similar cloth and there's certainly room for both in the hearts of the fans. Just not in the hearts of the people creator Seth McFarlane interviews in the 100th episode. Never mind, for the rest of us, those next 100 can't come soon enough.
EXTRAS ***** Seriously, this is what all DVD releases should be like. Per episode commentaries, decent and interesting featurettes, loads of deleted scenes, favourite scenes, a music video (for "I'm Huge & The Babes Go Wild") as well as 71 minutes of Family Guy Live at the Montreal Just For Laughs comedy festival... Giggity. Giggity. Goo.