You be the judge. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zZnNsbtsUV0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zZnNsbtsUV0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Any shows that have so many similarities in pretext are bound to bump into one another via gags and jokes once in a while. In both contexts these bits are funny and seem original... copying storylines is another thing..
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Didn't the Simpsons recently rip-off South Park in that episode where Marge plays that WoW type game with Bart?
This issue has already been addressed in an episode of Southpark entitled "The Simpsons already did it" I've always thought of FG as more of a mature Simpsons anyway. Think about the characters. The Dad is fat and stupid, the mom has an annoying voice, the brother and sister are the same age, the 1 year old baby. Funny is funny I suppose.
All of those scenes are taken completely out of context. When you're writing hundreds of episodes, you're bound to have some overlap in jokes. It's like saying The Illusionist and The Prestige are ripoffs of each other because they both have something to do with magic, and contain a sort of "conspiratorial" writing style with some sort of twist ending. Family Guy since the very beginning has always been a series of seemingly random jokes that are usually really subtle references to pop culture. They spend half of each episode on unrelated anecdotal references. If you don't think so, watch an episode and count how many times they say, "You remember that time when you...." or "just like that time we were..." etc. There's very little continuity between episodes. The Simpsons on the other hand has always focused more on episodic plotlines and the characters themselves. Most of the humor comes from the plot itself and situations associated with the plot, not from unrelated references. They're completely different shows if you ask me.
Wow shocking! I saw an interview with the creator of Family Guy (I forgot his name for the moment) and he said he and Matt Groening are good friends and they borrow from each other.
The only ones I consider blatant stealing are: 1. The dog-track sequence because that's a classic Simpsons gag. 2. The Vagina coast guard line, because it's just too on the nose. What are the chances that both of them would use vagina coast guard instead of any other branch of the military.
i am sure if you keep looking for little things you could do that with most any shows, the simpsons have covered so many topics and areas that it would be hard not to come up with something they haven't done. hence the satirical south park episode from a few years back. one thing i will say about family guy i am slowly starting to turn away from the show. that whole 10 minutes (or seemingly 10) scene with the chicken this past week was horrible it was as if they needed some filler to make the time limit. the first time was funny because it was so strange, but now its just bad and i thought it would be over and it still kept going. i had forgotten what the dang episode was about by the time they returned back to the original storyline. american dad on the otherhand has been getting better imo
Yeah, the early Simpsons shows were classics. The newer stuff is okay, but a lot of the jokes are getting repetitive.
