Family Dog is one of those shows that has remained a question mark in my mind ever since it aired, for one season, back in the early '90s. I was in high school, and had been a huge fan of both Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton for many years before that, so when I heard they were both involved with a new animated sitcom, I couldn't wait to see it. However, I was incredibly disappointed in the show, and found it arduous and bland. As the years have gone by and I hear occasional praise for the show, I wonder if maybe it was actually better than I thought. Something tells me Present Day Adam may have enjoyed Family Dog much more than High School Adam. Of course, if they'd release the damn show on DVD, I'd be able to know for sure. In the meantime however, we can all thank this YouTube user for posting the original "Family Dog" short which first appeared on Spielberg's Amazing Stories. The series was created by Brad Bird (The Simpsons), and I have to say, I like what I saw on YouTube. According to this, though, Bird was not involved with the actual series that spawned from his original creation.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-21-2006 @ 11:01PM
GC in CA said...
The original Brad Bird episode of "Family Dog" aired in 1987 to great acclaim and almost immediate talk of turning it into a series. When that series finally appeared -- in *1993* -- it was everything you would expect it to be after six years of executive interference, focus group testing, Brad Bird's departure, and the collective anticipation of fans who had come to expect absolute greatness: Complete crap. "Ren and Stimpy" had risen and fallen, "The Simpsons" were going strong and already established as a TV classic, and when the neutered "Family Dog," based on a short that was truly brilliant and inventive and a loving tribute to great animation from the past, arrived, it was not only a disappointment, but a slap in the face of the people who had begged for it for years.
I'm glad someone put the original up on YouTube, so that we can marvel at what might have been.
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6-22-2006 @ 1:42AM
TVSeriesFinale said...
I don't recall much about the series expect it wasn't very good. I did however make a point of taping the original Amazing Stories episode way ack then. My wife and I still quote it from time to time. Very well done.
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