The very notion of someone not getting promoted due to their not successfully completing a grade school course is rather far-fetched, so it’s hard to take much of the plot in this week’s episode all that seriously.

When it comes right down to it, what I look for in a comedy is simply whether or not the show is able to make me laugh. Family Guy is usually capable of doing that with relative ease, but I found myself barely making a smirk through much of “Tales of a Third Grade Nothing.”

The little Jurassic Park venture was very nice, as was the cameo by Yosemite Sam, one of my favorite characters from when I was a kid. It’s not often that you see him or anything resembling him in anything nowadays.

“Tales of a Third Grade Nothing” had potential, but fell flat for the most part. I was not only expecting more of the main plot, but also the same of the Stewie/Brian/Frank Sinatra Jr. plot as well. The only thing remotely funny here was the jokes surrounding Andy Dick and some of the other club nonsense. I would like to see Sinatra on more, though. I love the music aspect of the show.

Rating: 6.5

Peter, what’s up with your neck?

From this point on, it was all about finding a replacement dog for Brian who is getting old. Although Peter and Lois never really came right out and said it, we all knew that Stewie was right in his assessment of the situation. New Brian was a great dog, but he was far too happy and pleasant, almost like he was loaded with antidepressants. It got a little annoying and that was the point as Stewie tried to get Brian to return to the house after departing.

Stewie can be a funny little guy sometimes, but he can be a little crazy too, as documented in this episode. When he learns that New Brian has humped Stewie’s favorite toy, it was go time. Stewie kills New Brian, cuts him up into pieces, and takes his body to the curb. It was not only hysterical, but disturbing at the same time.

Every episode of Family Guy features at least one scene where the setup of a joke goes on for too long that you can telegraph how it’s about to play out and this was the case with Quagmire’s date. The woman had a horribly disfigured leg and the way the scene was set up gave away how it would end. This is one of my least favorite parts of the show but is present every week.

Rating: 7.4

The week’s episode dealt with Peter winning a year of free gas. It sounds interesting, but the way in which he won it was incredibly ridiculous: threatening to sue the store because Chris exposed himself to his father. It doesn’t make any more sense now than it did when I saw it.

Stewie at work on the fryer

That being said, much of the episode was a big tribute to the popular 90s movie Home Alone, which featured a child being left behind while the family went on vacation. I liked the movie but I thought the references could have been better. Stewie could have done more to Cleveland and Quadmire, though the end result was quite funny.

Stewie went through some of those same things that Kevin did in Home Alone, though there were quite a few differences. There weren’t enough scenes in a 30-minute episode to be able to really compete to the movie, of course, but it was handled fairly well for the most part.

The biggest thing I didn’t like about “Baby Not on Board” would be a few scenes. They included the one with Joe and his wheelchair and then Peter leaving the car only to see his family crash. Both of those fell flat, with the “Ground Zero” scene being one of the highlights, overshadowing those weaker moments.

Rating: 7.9

With the family gathered around the television for the Oscar ceremony, Mort goes upstairs to use the bathroom, but he finds it occupied by Meg. Sometimes, I can’t believe what goes on on this show, and the moment Glenn Quagmire pops out from behind the shower curtain with a camera in his hand as he films Meg on the toilet, well, that was a little disturbing, albeit very funny.

Unable to use the restroom, the anxious Mort wanders into Stewie’s room and unwittingly climbs into a time machine. When he doesn’t come back downstairs, Brian and Stewie chase after him via Stewie’s time machine.

This episode is loaded with racial, religious, and political humor, much more so than usual. Stewie’s joke about being molested by a priest was great, but I loved the political jokes pointed at President George W. Bush, Senator McCain, and Governor Palin. One joke was about why the U.S. didn’t invade Germany when they knew they were building weapons of mass destruction. Brian looked at the camera and said, “maybe because they don’t have any… OIL.” The other joke was more subtle, just a McCain/Palin election button being worn on a Nazi uniform.

All the controversial stuff aside, one of the things I enjoyed the most was the nod to Back to the Future, my all-time favorite movie. As if the time-traveling stuff weren’t enough, they showed Stewie escaping the grasp of the Nazis just like Marty McFly got away from Biff and the other high schoolers: a make-shift skateboard and a conveniently-placed manure truck.

This episode of Family Guy had an entirely new opening sequence which was very classy looking. Along with the hilarious moments and a nice tribute to Back to the Future, the show had a lot of very nice action sequences. The action was all animated very well and helped make everything stand out. The only part of this episode I didn’t really care for was the confrontation with Hitler. It just wasn’t all that funny or compelling.

Rating: 9.8

When Peter Griffin heard The Trashmen’s hit song “Surfin’ Bird” play, he immediately got up and began singing and dancing to the song. Sure, it’s a very repetitive song, but let’s face it, Family Guy is a repetitive show, so I found the song rather fitting.

Peter Griffin

After several days of listening to the song at home, Brian and young Stewie plot a Mission Impossible-esque heist. The two swipe the LP from Peter’s hands during his sleep and destroy it the following morning in a scene straight out of Mike Judge’s Office Space. It isn’t often that I see references to this film, but this was a nice one.

Although the plot wasn’t particularly strong during the first half, it really went south once Jesus Christ was introduced. Of all the things you could think of Jesus doing on Earth, it seemed rather lame to let him get caught up in the ridiculous celebrity-driven culture we unfortunately live in today.

“I Dream of Jesus” delivered very few laugh-our-loud moments. The one which comes to mind is Cleveland entering the fifties diner and being sprayed by a fireman’s hose, as a nod to the racial conditions back then. This wasn’t a very inspiring episode of Family Guy.

Rating: 7.2

The seventh season premiere focused on Brian and his failed relationships. After being setup by Lois, Brian met an ultra-conservative woman. I kind of felt bad for Brian after watching that scene. But he eventually found a woman who seemed to have a lot of the same beliefs. They hit it off and as Brian wanted to make his move, Stewie, who had been following him around town, advised Brian to hold back and take the relationship slow.

It seemed like the admirable thing to do, but it cost Brian his relationship with the woman, who ended up falling for Cleveland. It wasn’t long after that that she ended up with Quadmire, just leaving Cleveland with genital warts. I guess Brian dodged a bullet there.

My favorite moment in this episode was the bit between Brian and Stewie when they were talking about who could actually understand what Stewie is saying. A lot of people ask whether or not the family can understand what Stewie is saying.

The show is known for “pushing the envelope”, but sometimes it doesn’t work or the writers rely too much on it and not enough on funny lines. In “Love Blacktually,” the writers didn’t deliver a whole lot of funny moments. I only recall laughing at one or two moments throughout the episode. That scene with Stewie putting his finger in his mouth after touching Brian’s lips was very disturbing… not funny. This is supposed to be a comedy, but the writers forgot about that this time around.

Rating: 6.5

This pack includes:

• Season One (Volume 1)
• Season Two (Volume 1)
• Season Three (Volume 2)
• Season Four Part 1 (Volume 3)
• Season Four Part 2 (Volume 4)
• Season Five Part 1 (Volume 5)
• Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
• Bonus Disc, which includes deleted scenes, an inside the recording booth feature, guest star interviews, storyboards, among other things.
• A ping pong set (Paddles, Net, and Balls)
• A Poker Set (100 Chips, and Cards)
• And a Collectible Carrying Case.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a freakin’ great deal to me.

Also, if you check out Amazon’s Gold Box, you’ll find other Family Guy-related DVDs on sale.

Buy your Family Guy DVDs Today!

I’m trying to avoid getting too involved in the speculation as to whether or not the show will be a success, but judging by the new teaser (preview) from Fox, the show could be good. The bears that live next door could steal the show.

Here’s the plot for the show, followed by the new preview:

Many years ago, Cleveland Brown (voiced by Mike Henry) was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named Donna. Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he’d be there when she called.

Well, this man done her wrong.

Donna’s husband skipped town with another woman, leaving Donna with a daughter and a baby. Now she’s come to Cleveland and offered him another chance at love. Unattached after the Loretta-Quagmire debacle and true to his word, Cleveland joyously accepts and he and Cleveland Jr. move to Stoolbend, VA, to join their new family.

Once in Stoolbend, Cleveland has a few surprises in store for him, including a flirtatious new stepdaughter, a 5-year-old stepson who loves the ladies, as well as a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck couple, a British family seemingly stuck in the Victorian era and a family of bears living at the end of the block.