Fox’s announcement of a forthcoming crossover between its two biggest animated franchises The Simpsons and Family Guy confirms, if any were in doubt, that both shows jumped the shark a long time ago. Though The Simpsons still boasts acceptable ratings, Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy has been in serious trouble with highly unpredictable ratings and thus, it seems Fox are determined to use their more successful property to try and resuscitate flailing Family Guy. Unfortunately, it seems Fox haven’t noticed that The Simpsons isn’t in the best of health either.
Despite being possibly the most recognisable family on television across the world, The Simpsons have seen reception toward them sour noticeably through the 2000s, with most critics citing the Ninth Season (1997-8) as the end of the show’s golden era. Now as the show hurtles toward its Twenty Fifth Season, something of the spark that made the series’ has gone. While most of us have an iconic Simpsons memory, whether it’s the monorail song, Sideshow Bob’s marriage and attempted murder of Selma Bouvier or discovering Maggie shot Mr Burns, most of those memories belong to the show’s earlier seasons. There have been occasionally memorable episodes recently, but they are inconsistent and few and far between, when previously the show produced repeat belters.
Family Guy is an even direr state of affairs. Younger than The Simpsons and longer reliant upon gags, cut-scenes and a general over-arching lack of storyline, the chaotic lives of the Griffin Family, though entertaining on occasion, today rarely matches the heights of its first three seasons. Peter Griffin’s characterisation has spiralled down from a hilarious buffoon to an outright idiot, reliant upon tired, out-dated humour to make cheap and often offensive gags. Relying upon controversy bait for ratings and forever suffering through comparisons to The Simpsons, Family Guy has perhaps not had the easiest task of producing quality comedy, but of late it completely fails to. Indeed, some of its most successful episodes of late relied upon spoofing the original Star Wars films, rather than original content.
Commentary on both series is now more intently focused upon when they’ll be cancelled, than on what content they’re actually going to produce. There’s no doubt that many, myself included, love some of the characters and will still enjoy watching these shows, but there is always longing for past quality. With every passing season the quality deteriorates even further, and it’s approaching the point where you’re just hoping Fox finally bites the bullet and cancels The Simpsons and Family Guy. There will be fan outcry, that much is certain, both shows have been on the air too long and have too dedicated fan bases not to prompt some kind of backlash once they are finally taken off the air, but it’s a necessary step. The longer the shows continue to worsen, the more damaging it becomes to their reputation as a whole.