From The Vaults: Family Guy Volume 7 DVD Review

With a house full of relatives over the holidays I have not had as many opportunities as I would have liked to watch new stuff, so I will tap into the release of Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side on DVD and Blu Ray and post the review I did on Switchplanet for Family Guy Volume 7, which has become my most watched set out of all of the Family Guy releases…It still makes me laugh as much as the first time I watched these episodes…Especially Peter singing “Surfing Bird”!

After all these episodes, what is there left for the Griffins to do? Well, they could create a reality show like Jackass, resulting in serious injury to all or Peter could get injected with the “Gay” gene in the name of scientific research, or Brian and Stewey could time travel back to World War II era Germany in Stewey’s Time Machine…you get the point.

Seth MacFarlane and crew add another 13 episodes to the Family Guy collection from seasons 6 and 7. Instead of a standard Seaon DVD release, Family Guy sticks to their practice of releasing collections that cross seasons. These episodes stick to the formula that has made Family Guy such a success and honestly, Volume 7 doesn’t miss a beat. These episodes such as when they decide Brian is getting too old so Peter picks up “New Brian” to replace him are just as funny as any prior season.

There is enough extras packed in to satisfy even the most die hard Family Guy…uh, guy on Volume 7. Leading the way is a collection of Commentary tracks featuring Seth MacFarlane accompanied by different cast and crew members for every single episode. MacFarlane is extremely funny and manages to make sure that every commentary track has a steady flow of conversation, information and above all, jokes. These guys sound like they have as much fun creating the show as we do watching it. On a few tracks there were so many people crammed onto the track that there were some instances of talking over each other but overall these are entertaining tracks. Also on the set is a collection of 3 animatic versions of episodes. Basically these are a dry run with rough animation. They are quite interesting to watch and to get a better idea of the work that goes into creating an animated episode. This set also includes a collection of 29 animated scenes that were cut from the final episodes. These vary in quality as some were cut for time and some just didn’t really make the cut. Family Guy Cribz is my favorite extra as it is a guided tour through the Family Guy Studios, showing both the writers and animators at work…and play. Take Me Out to pLace Tonight is a piece on the relationship the show has formed with Frank Sinatra Junior over the years, as well as Seth Macfarlane’s facination with Rat Pack Music and how he incorporates it into many of the show’ episodes. Finally, wrapping up the extra features is footage from Comic-Con 2008 and a Family Guy Art Show. Along with the commentary tracks each episode has the option to be watched in a sort of Director’s Cut uncensored version or the originally aired television version… I recommend going with the uncensored. As usual, this collection has a ton of special features, very few of which are throw away pieces or promotional fluff.

Over a hundred episodes and still going strong, Family Guy is still my favorite adult animated show out there. It is everything funny about the Simpsons and South Park mixed together and topped with Seth MacFarlane’s mastery of comically stretching a moment to that point of awkward and uncomfortable. If you don’t believe me, check out the scene where Peter tries to throw a dead frog out of Chris’ window…pure comedic genius. IF you like Family Guy then you will love this set as this season had some standout episodes (I think I will go rewatch I Dream of Jesus as soon as I hit the “publish” button!) The uncensored versions of the episodes are hysterical and will have laughing constantly. Definately go out and buy this one, as it is extremely rewatchable.

Episodes:

Back to the Woods
Play It Again, Brian
The Former Life of Brian
Long John Peter
Love Blactually
I Dream of Jesus
Road to Germany
Baby Not On Board
The Man with Two Brians
Tales of a Third Grade Nothing
Ocean’s Three and a Half
Family Gay
The Juice is Loose!

Bonus Features:

29 Deleted Scenes
Three “Animatic Episodes” With Optional Commentary
“Take Me Out to pLace Tonight”
“Family Guy CRIBZ”
“Comic Con 2008”
“Family Guy Art Show”
Optional Cast & Crew Commentary On Every Episode

Family Guy Volume 7 is available on DVD now, courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.