seth mcfarlane

When I was in college, FOX aired a show called Get a Life. In it, Chris Elliot played a 30-year-old paperboy who lived with his exasperated parents and just refused to grow up. It was a weird little show, but it had its moments.

If you were a fan of that show, you'll like The Winner. Think of it as a less-creepy version of Elliot's show, with just as many funny moments. And for those funny moments, you can thank Rob Corddry.

The former Daily Show correspondent stars as Glen Abbott, who is currently the richest man in Buffalo, but in this show, he looks back fondly at 1994, when he came of age... at 32. Yes, the voice over method is a bit of a takeoff of The Wonder Years, but the show isn't really a parody of that.

A little over one year ago I mentioned that Brian and Stewie of Family Guy would be starring in their own online talk show. Tonight, before you settle in with a bag of Skittles and jar of moonshine (or whatever snacks you happen to enjoy) to watch the Oscars, head over to FOX.com to see Up Late with Stewie and Brian, a ten-minute, online-only talk show featuring an interview with Rob Corddry about his new show, The Winner (also created by Family Guy's Seth McFarlane and Ricky Blitt). The show will be available starting at 5 p.m. PST.

If you haven't had a chance to check out The Winner, you can watch some of the episodes online before they air on TV in March. I caught one episode, and while it wasn't perfect, I think the series might have potential. I like the premise of a developmentally arrested thirty-two year old with a teenage best friend, and Corddry is a goofy and likable leading man. I'm willing to give it a chance to grow on me.

OK, I think I have just about exhausted all of my press tour material. But I got a few quotes here and there which I really wanted to include somewhere, even though they weren't enough to merit their own posts.

So, here are five random quotes from my week in Pasadena, presented for your amusement:

1. "Yes. It's called 25. It's like 24, except there's one more." - Chris Rock, when a reporter asked him if he was working on a new show. One of the other reporters actually responded to this by asking, "Are you serious?"

Say it isn't so!

OK, I'll say it: it isn't so.

Seth McFarlane is currently under negotiations with FOX about his new contract. The current contract runs out in early 2007, and McFarlane still hasn't finalized a deal with the network even though the new season is supposed to start filming (um...drawing?) very soon. Variety reports that the production offices are currently closed.

But I say the network and McFarlane make a deal. The show has been a hit and an important show for FOX since coming back, and I don't see them letting it slide away (again). Though wouldn't it be interesting if FOX for some reason didn't renew the contract and NBC picked it up? I don't see that happening, but that would be a cool twist and an instant hit for the Peacock network.

When it comes to animated series, I am always interested in looking behind the curtain to see how it all comes about. Particularly the voice talent, as many of these people (Seth McFarlane, Dan Castellaneta, Billy West) do a variety of voices for just one episode. Now, thanks to YouTube, we get to see a little bit of that behind the scenes material at the Family Guy studios.

The video features Seth McFarlane (Peter Griffin and Stewie, among others), Mila Kunis (Meg) and other company members as they do their lines for an episode of the series. What's interesting to see is how many times these voice actors go through their dialogue to get it right. What is also interesting is the fact that many of these actors perform their lines solo; I always pictured a lot of back and forth between the actors. Despite how many times the lines are read, and whether or not the readings are in a group or solo, the end result is fairly smooth when you watch the final episode on TV.

To see the video, check after the jump.

[Thanks to Michael at betapundit]

At a recent speech given to students at Stanford University, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane alluded to the "Cartoon Wars" two-part episode of South Park which ruthlessly took aim at Family Guy for using easy humor and being written by manatees. Anyone who has read interviews with McFarlane has probably guessed that he didn't really have a problem with the episode, stating, "they sh*t on everybody like we do." Spoken like a true satirist, says I. Besides, I'm looking forward to a Family Guy where they take a few shots at South Park. I'm not here to root for one team, I just like watching the battle.

In the same speech, McFarlane also spoke about censorship, and that the interference of family advocacy groups would only get worse. Despite their different approaches, this seems like one thing both South Park and Family Guy have in common.

[via South Park Studios] 

I know how you feel. Really, I do. A TV show comes along that seems so obvious in its mediocrity you can't fathom why so many people enjoy it. You list myriad examples of how the show is sub-par, or a blatant rip-off of another show, or too reliant on "easy" jokes, but no one will listen to you. They just keep watching and touting the show as if it's some work of genius. It's enough to make you go insane and eat your own face.

Family Guy may be popular, but there's still a lot of people who don't like it. My feelings on this subject are paradoxical. I like Family Guy, but I still have to agree with people who say the writing isn't always up to snuff, and that the show relies too heavily on pop culture references as a substitute for humor. Brian has a line in one episode that always makes me cringe: describing New York City, he claims it's "like Prague, sans the whimsy." Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like some college freshman trying to sound smarter than he is.

Somebody has created a blog which points out examples in which Family Guy has stolen from other shows. The blog just went up recently, and I have to say I'm having trouble trying to figure out if he's serious about this or is just having a bit of fun with a show he doesn't like. I'd like to think it's the latter, because the examples he has given so far don't really stand up to scrutiny, at least not in my mind. Case in point: I'm fairly certain images of the Grim Reaper have been used in cartoons before, I don't think Family Guy stole it from South Park. Speaking as someone who enjoys the show but isn't blind to its flaws, I have to say there's a lot of examples this guy could have used that would have proved his point better.

However, maybe, just maybe, he actually does like Family Guy, and this blog is a way to satirize those people who nitpick at every detail of the show and call it a rip off, rather than accepting that Family Guy samples from the same pop culture grab bag as everyone else. I don't know, I'm still scratching my head.

[via Cartoon Brew]

It looks like Rob Corddry may be following in the footsteps of other Daily Show alums Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert and getting his own gig. It was announced today that Corddry has been cast in the title role of FOX's new comedy pilot Becoming Glen.

From the mind of Seth McFarlane, Glen tells the story of a guy in his forties who recalls the good days (his thirties) while he was still living with his folks. I'm glad Corddry has hit it big with something and landed this, but part of me secretly hopes this fails so he stays with The Daily Show. I like him too much as a correspondent. He may not be the only change though. His brother Nate, who just recently joined TDS, was cast last week in Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.