mhg83

With the recent controversy surrounding Family Guy/ Sarah Palin, my dad and I had a debate as to whether Seth Macfarlane crossed the line with the jab at Palins son Trig. He thinks that Plain has enough power to get advertisers to pull out of the show and eventually get FG canceled . I argued that it'll just be a temporary controversy and FG will still be around. There was the whole Letterman debacle and he's still on the air.

What do you guys think?

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TA_FlpnYNaI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TA_FlpnYNaI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Giantrobo

Seth takes shots as "everyone". Anyone who watches knows this.

I saw the ep and although I thought the joke was lame, I'll admit I laughed. But you know, although I believe taking direct shots at Sarah is fair game; I don't get the need to take shots at the kids.

This will blow over and the show will remain.

UAIOE

What do I think? I think Palin got burned by the woman who voiced Ellen.

“My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.”

TheBigDave

I like Palin, but she can be too quick on the "outrageously outraged" response. Sometimes she should let it go. This is a pretty weak controversy.

On the other hand, the only reason for that lame "joke" was to take a cheap shot at the Palins. Family Guy hasn't been funny or relevant in a while. MacFarlane throws in a few lousy jabs at Republicans so he can appear on Maher and Olbermann. It's pathetic.

Count Dooku

Please explain how this was a jab at Trig Palin.

Trig Palin was never mentioned by name.
The name PALIN was never spoken in the episode.
Trig Palin is a baby boy with Downs Syndrome.
The character Ellen is a teenage girl with Downs Syndrome.

Ellen says that her mother is the former governor of Alaska and that her father is an accountant.
Sarah Palin is a former governor of Alaska, but she is not THE ONLY former governor of Alaska.
Todd Palin, Sarah Palin's husband and Trig Palin's father, is not and has never been an accountant.

All anyone can claim is that "the joke" indirectly reminded people that Sarah Palin has a child with Downs Syndrome, and since Sarah Palin spent the two weeks before this Family Guy episode aired talking very publicly about having a child with Downs Syndrome, that reminder cannot by any rational standard be considered an attack.

Count Dooku

Sarah Palin had by Thanksgiving 2008 to get her family off the stage and out of the public eye. She didn't do it, and now they get to live their lives as the butt of jokes --and it's absolutely justified.

Fist of Doom

It was patently obvious. How many other former Alaskan governors had children with Downs Syndrome? Really, is this a serious question?

Practically every politician brings their kids onstage - hell, the Obamas had their kids interviewed on network TV (60 Minutes or 20/20, I can't remember). Does that make them "fair game"?

I didn't watch the whole Family Guy episode, so I don't know if it "went too far," but in general I think every politician's kids should be off-limits for any sort of commentary.

Giantrobo

You can't be serious. Like I said, I saw the ep....that one line in bold above is a clear shot at Palin and her family. Even Bill Maher's audience got the meaning from the clip. I get that Sarah Palin can get too uptight about this stuff, but don't pretend Seth wasn't taking a piss at her family.


Oh I see. I guess that makes it ok....

RoyalTea

Drav3n

family guy has ripped on everyone and everything already, so who really cares about them ripping on sarah palin and her kid? its a fuckin CARTOON show! fuck, people need to lighten up!

Look at south park. They been around almost 13 years now, and w/ all their controversy, nothing has happened except give them more publicity and success.

fuck sarah palin. she might have a child w/ downs syndrome, but she will still be remembered as one of the biggest retards ever in this world!

TheBigDave

Has Family Guy taken any shots at Obama? I'm not arguing, just wondering. I've only seen a few episodes in the past year or so. But off the top of my head, I don't remember them ripping Obama or his family. Were there some I missed?

Vipper II

I still have yet to understand how the "joke" is a shot at Palin's son. It seems to me that it's more of a shot at her, instead. In any event, she's a perfect example of 15-minutes-of-fame-seeking people.

arminius

It's one retard making fun of another, isn't that legal?

Super X

I haven't been watching the show enough recently to know. Is it in some way relevant to the discussion in this thread?

arminius

Yes.

Super X

Thanks for the insightful, well-considered response.

RocShemp

While I go Google who the hell is Sarah Palin, can someone tell me if youtube has a clip of the joke that offended her.

EDIT: Nevermind. I see the first post has a video. So is that it?

TheBigDave

Well, a couple people have mentioned that Family Guy goes after everyone. If that's true, they must have gone after Obama. There's been plenty of material to work with over the past 2 years. But when it comes to real life political figures, I only remember them taking cheapshots at Republicans.

Super X

Fair enough. I was thinking it was more about the appropriateness of the joke, not who the show takes shots at.

darkside

I finally watched this so called controversial episode and was shocked how mild it was. This was the least offensive episode of Family Guy I have ever seen. The shot at Palin was a toss away joke in an episode that showed people with down syndrome are just like everyone else except they have super human strength. It is ok for Rush to use "satire" when saying retard several times according to Palin, but not a show known for it like Family Guy.

dan30oly

As much as I generally dislike Family Guy, every so often there's a bit on there that's funny enough to get me to keep watching (it just hasn't been the same since Fox brought it back). I actually missed this "joke" as I absolutely could not stand the whole Chris' date plotline and I ended up fast-forwarding thru at least half of this episode (skipped the 15 minute stewie song as well).

After as horribly unfunny as this episode was I think I'm officially done with Family Guy.

dhmac

Family Guy is satire. So I just wonder if Sarah Palin actually knows what that word means.

mnementh

Isn't it bad enough that Palin named her child Trig Paxson Van Palin?

Vipper II

My thought exactly. As if the Down Syndrome thing weren't enough, being named after a type of math gives the kids all they need to poke fun.

Groucho

Considering that the actress playing the character has Down Syndrome, and the mild nature of the "joke", I don't see the problem. MacFarlane sums it up well in the clip shown in the OP.