TVSquad

Seth MacFarlane might have one of the most overrated shows on television right now (in my personal opinion, of course), but he hasn't let that cloud his realism when it comes to its future.

He of all people realizes that the best shows are the ones that left people hungering for more long after they left the airwaves. You following me, Scrubs?

MacFarlane told the Edmonton Sun and TV Guide Canada's resident TV junkie Amber Dowling that he has seen the future of Family Guy's finale and hopes it will come to an end while it is still on top.

When it comes to Family Guy, I really tried. I honestly gave it my best shot. I watched the Sunday episodes, the late night reruns on Adult Swim, and even some of the DVDs from my college-aged brother's collection, including the famed feature-length Star Wars parody. I watched until my eyes started planning a prison break from my skull.

I wanted to like it. It's goofy, occasionally satirical and completely unafraid to be silly and bat#*$& crazy. Alas, I couldn't take it. I didn't find it funny or entertaining. The jumps to the pop culture flashbacks made the whole thing disjointed and screwed up the continuity. The characters are as two-dimensional as the paper the Korean sweatshop animators draw on for each episode. The way the show just drags on certain jokes is downright irritating. We get it. Peter hurt his knee jumping out of The A-Team van. A prom night dumpster baby musical number would be hilariously tragic. It's the one and only time I ever rooted for Cartman in an episode of South Park.

That doesn't mean the show's creator deserves the same contempt.

(S06E12) As a result of adopting (and by adopting, I mean bird-napping) a parrot from the veterinarian's office, Peter becomes a pirate. The sad part was that it wasn't even International Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day.

Actually, that's not really what the episode is about. It's more about Chris' pursuit of a vet intern named Anna. While Chris' pursues Anna, he gets advice from Peter and the gang (which, as the history of the show has proven, is never a good idea).

The pirate segment of the episode wasn't very good and seemed out of place. Fortunately, it was very short. Despite its use in the promos, it was kind of forgettable. I did enjoy the car chase bit involving "sugar cane, tobacco and spices". The car chase itself seemed like something of a cross between a pirate movie and a video-game.

(S06E11) Brian learns that he had an illegitimate 13-year-old child from a previous relationship (voiced by Harvey Fierstein). The child is dropped off at the Griffin household and Brian now has to raise him.

It should be noted that this season has been shortened to 12 episodes, most likely due to the writer's strike. The season finale will be shown next week. The remaining unfinished episodes will be part of next season's broadcast.

(S06E07) This is the last new episode of Family Guy to be aired until the strike ends, whenever that is. After Meg nearly dies during the flash flood, in a change of character, Peter becomes overprotective of Meg when she starts dating a medical intern. In a B plot, Brian and Stewie buy a dilapidated house as an investment in hopes of fixing it up.

The show began with a rainstorm and some Hurricane Katrina commentary (which admittedly isn't exactly a hot topic anymore), particularly with Cleveland being shoved into the sports stadium. I also like the continued Superman references. This week had Dean Cain wearing a shirt with the emblem.