The Science Fiction Review Humor,TV Family Guy Season 6 Premier – Review

Family Guy Season 6 Premier – Review

October 2, 2007October 2, 2007| StettinStettin| 0 Comment| 3:47 pm
Categories:

Family Guy - Blue Harvest
Let met start by saying that if you are a Star Wars fan, you must watch this episode before you can possibly see any spoilers. If you missed the premier, there are links all over on YouTube, or maybe a friend recorded it on their DVR. Just find a way to watch it, then come back and read this review.

First off, the premise for the episode is that power is lost at the Griffin household and Peter must entertain his family with the story of Star Wars. The opening was pretty funny, but the Bush/Cheney bumper sticker on the back of the Star Destroyer really sets the mood for the rest of the episode. The parallels drawn between the oppressive Empire and United States are pretty obvious.

There are really three types of jokes in this episode: 1) dirty jokes, 2) political jokes, and 3) those aimed at inconsistencies in Star Wars. I think that in the end the cheap shots at Star Wars end up being the funniest. My favorite is the bureaucratic approach to exhaust port flaw in the Death Star. Part of the fun in this episode is discovering which character is playing what Star Wars role, assuming you haven’t watched the previews or looked at the posters. Herbert is probably the most obvious foil for Obi-Wan.

Of course the cheap shots aren’t all aimed at Star Wars, as at the conclusion the Family Guy writers criticize themselves for stealing the idea of a special episode from Robot Chicken (which clips can be viewed at Adult Swim). I think that both episodes are hilarious, but come from two totally different angles. The Adult Swim episode is more like a series of skits which cover a variety of scenes from the various Star Wars movies while the Family Guy premier Dark Harvest covers one whole movie from start to finish.

I was amazed at how much content of the movie made it into the approximate 45 minute run time of the episode, 60 minutes if you count commercials. I am not sure if I have just watched Star Wars too many times or not, because it seemed like they covered almost all of the important scenes. Also, the jokes are funny enough laugh at for at least a second time, as I watched this episode again with a friend a few days later and enjoyed myself. So, if you haven’t seen the episode yet, find a way to watch it or else you are missing out on tons of laughs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you are a human * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Post

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)

November 8, 2009November 8, 2009| StettinStettin| 0 Comments| 1:13 pm

BSG The Plan Movie Cover

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from The Plan except that it was more BSG content, and that I just needed to watch it. The first glimpse I had of it was toward the end of the BSG series finale when there was an ad near the end. At the time I wasn’t sure if it was another series, mini-series, or just a feature like Razor. I was already pumped about Caprica, which came out just a little after the series finale. Because Syfy (formerly SciFi) released The Plan so much later, I had completely forgotten about it until one of my friends told me it was out. (more…)

Read MoreRead More

Falling Skies (2011) on TNTFalling Skies (2011) on TNT

June 23, 2011June 23, 2011| StettinStettin| 0 Comment| 4:49 pm

Falling Skies takes place in a near future alternate reality where aliens invaded Earth and just about destroyed everything. The series opens with a kid describing the first contact and subsequent invasion. All of the major cities and most of the military was destroyed all in one swoop. The series follows a group of resistance fighters that are struggling to survive. Some people want to strike back, but the military commander is convinced that splitting up and going to ground is the best move right now. The main character, Tom Mason played by Noah Wyle, happens to be second in command of a small splinter group. He has three sons, one very little, another in his late teens, and the last one has been captured by the aliens. The general feel seems to be something similar to Terminator and the new Battlestar Galactica.

Tom Mason was a US history professor, so quite often he quotes how some historical battles were won by underdogs. His repetition of this got on my nerves a bit. Another thing that bothered me was that his youngest son wanted to wish for everything to go back to the way it was for his birthday. His son asked if that was OK to wish for and Tom said yes. That really bothered me, because the sooner his kid understands nothing will be as it was, the better. Overall I would have to say the premier was mediocre at best. Some of the acting seemed a bit weak, but nothing terrible. I’ll have to watch the next few episodes so I can form a better opinion.

Read MoreRead More

Isaac Asimov would have been 90 todayIsaac Asimov would have been 90 today

January 2, 2010January 2, 2010| StettinStettin| 0 Comments| 1:00 am

Nobody is sure when exactly Isaac Asimov was born due to poor record keeping. January 2nd, 1920 was the day Isaac Asimov decided to celebrate his birthday. Along with creating the Three Laws of Robotics, Asimov also unintentionally coined the term robotics. It was first used in print when his short story “Liar!” was published in 1941. He was constantly writing in just about every area of literature. I have primarily read his Science Fiction, but he has done textbooks, humor, mystery, non-fiction, and more.

My first exposure to Asimov’s writing was when my father gave me an old worn out copy of I, Robot. I tucked the book away for a few years and eventually got around to reading it. I was so enthralled with the robots that I eventually read every robot book by him and other authors. This naturally led me to read the Foundation series which I also enjoyed, but I’ve always preferred the robot series. The Robot and Foundation books make up the biggest reading project I have ever completed. Aside from those, I’ve read a bit of his autobiography and plan on sampling some of his other writing in the near future.

By the time I discovered Asimov, he had already died. I wonder how much more he could have written had he not contracted HIV from a blood transfusion he received during heart surgery. He died of myocardial and renal complications on April 6, 1992, but the true cause of his death wasn’t publicized due to the stigma of HIV/AIDS at the time. His work has greatly influenced my love of Science Fiction, and for that I am thankful.

For more information on the life of Isaac Asimov, please visit the official Wikipedia post

Read MoreRead More