There have been a lot of uneasy vibes floating around the offices of TV Squad HQ about the elevation of Family Guy to Best Comedy status by this year's Emmy nomination committee. I'm not speaking for the entire group, but it does feel a little out of place earning a nomination that even The Simpsons couldn't score in its 20 year history. It's like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Michael Jackson for writing "Heal the World" and completely snubbing Nelson Mandela. But no one is more unhappy about the news than pop culture's official lifeguard, Bill O'Reilly.
He called out Seth MacFarlane's cavalcade of cartoon pop culture for winning the nomination during his "Reality Check" segment.
Now I'm no big fan of Family Guy, but I do appreciate what MacFarlane and company have tried to do with their little slice of Sunday primetime. But after watching this, I'm praying and hoping that Family Guy wins the Emmy for Best Comedy, just to shut guys like O'Reilly up.
Well, maybe it would only shut him up for about five seconds, but that would be the sweetest and most serene five seconds of this or any other lifetime.
The same thing goes for when Keith Olbermann dumps on The Lawrence Welk Show: The Next Generation for being too wholesome.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-24-2009 @ 3:14PM
Dave said...
I was also disappointed to see Family Guy get nominated. That show is one of the most vile, crude, garbage programs to air since Married With Children. And that's not a compliment.
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7-24-2009 @ 3:27PM
kyle86 said...
I was disappointed to see Dave got a computer. He is one of the most vile, crude, garbage commenters since nougat885, and that's not a compliment.
7-24-2009 @ 3:47PM
MarcDom7 said...
You say "vile and crude" like it's a bad thing.
7-24-2009 @ 3:49PM
Yesenia said...
In regards to the Simpsons not being able to get nominated in the Best Comedy series category, an animated show can choose to submit itself to either the animated series category or comedy series category. The Simpsons only tried twice back in the 90's to submit to the comedy series category and were unsuccessful, so they never tried again.
Granted that was during some of their best seasons, but it was a very new policy to allow animated into that category and maybe people werent open to that yet. anyway, The Simpsons never again submitted to that category, so its not really true to say that theyve never been able to be nominated as best comedy series in their 20 year run, since they only tried 2 years.
I think with the changes in the nomination process this year, if The Simpsons had submitted, they would have been nominated as well, maybe even instead of Family Guy.
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7-24-2009 @ 3:51PM
Rocketboy said...
I was also disappointed to see Family Guy get nominated. That show is one of the most vile, crude, garbage programs to air since Married With Children. And that's not a compliment to Married With Children. Because that show was funny.
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7-24-2009 @ 4:06PM
Travis Bell said...
I think it's great to see a show like Family Guy up for an Emmy. Shows me that these award shows aren't so far up their own asses to recognize a funny show when they see it.
Is Family Guy rude and crude sometimes? Sure, but it's funny as all hell. I know they won't win it, but damn, it's a nice thing to see them even be nominated.
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7-24-2009 @ 5:19PM
David said...
To have a show helmed by an outspoken atheist be nominated for an emmy is an important step toward our progress.
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7-24-2009 @ 6:28PM
Usama said...
I'm not sure if you mean to imply anyone still following a religion is stagnant in terms of our progress as a species, or if you're simply happy that the Emmys are recognizing athiest artists' works.
7-25-2009 @ 12:43AM
bruce said...
Usama, why can't it be both?
Religion, and those who follow it, are a bane to human society, and since they all have vested emotional and financial interests in preserving religion, it's nice to see a non-religious person acknowledged for contributing to society (as much as Family Guy does). Religious people always contend that they have a monopoly on societal contribution, morality, values, etc. Which is not only untrue, it's quite the opposite. I avoid outwardly religious people like the plague because they are so blatantly unethical and immoral - they can justify any action (murder, rape, theft, mutilation, torture, you name it) as doing "the work of god" and no matter how bad it is, they "Know" that the "Truth" is the creator of the universe loves them and will forgive them and be proud of them no matter what they do. After all, they took the time to pray, they wear the ugly, stupid clothes, and they gave money to a religious institution. So they're superior no matter what they do.
Even if you're only "a little" religious, you're holding back the development and well-being of mankind, and you should be ashamed of yourself no matter how nice it makes you feel to believe the creator of the universe loves you, listens to you, watches over and interacts with your life, and will give you eternal pleasure once you die. Yeah that would make me happy too, unfortunately it's absolutely ridiculous.
That being said, I always have to remind myself that religion is a genetic disease, not a choice, and it's not nice for me to blame people for things out of their control, even though they are still responsible for their own actions.
8-19-2009 @ 5:47AM
K48JG69C said...
I think it's brilliant that Family Guy's been nominated - a show should be recognised for showing its views on religion and, more importantly, having the courage to do so. Obviously it's going to be against many people's beliefs, but episodes like 'Not All Dogs Go to Heaven' at least give you something to think about, another perspective on atheism. It's probably the first cartoon that's done that, too. I'm not saying "everyone should follow everything Family Guy says", because I don't see that ending well, there's a good chance we'd all be dead. But the show should be given respect for challenging the subject of religion - it's one of the toughest subjects to deal with. And they didn't really do it in an offensive way, so anyone who can pull that off deserves to be nominated for an award, in my opinion.
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