You might be right, too. I can't really remember, it's been a long time since I've watched that episode.OuendanCyrus said:
The Big Picture: Dog, Gone
- Thread starter MovieBob
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I'm agreeing that this is most likely a cop-out and everything will go back to normal soon, but there's something that bothers me - we often talk about mature audiences and the need for show-runners to be bolder and more creative, yet the thought that they might not commit to this and especially learning about the immediate fan backlash makes me think we can't accept anything but the status-quo. I agree that Vinnie is conceptually a lame character and that Brian, as pathetic and whiny as he's been for the last few seasons, brought out the best in the show both in the thoughtful, often dark meditations on life as a failed writer and philosophical hypocrite that repulses even Quagmire, and the Hope/Crosby playfulness he has with Stewie. However, back-peddling at this point would not only ruin the long-term relevance of this episode, basically making it pointless, but could seriously damage the trust between viewers and produces - "Bunch of suckers! We can pull anything on them, they won't care!" I hate to say it, but I'm really on the fence on whether he should stay dead.
Then again, Adam West apparently died too ("No one came to MY funeral!" *disappears*) and there's no way they're leaving that plot hole open without looking like assholes.
Then again, Adam West apparently died too ("No one came to MY funeral!" *disappears*) and there's no way they're leaving that plot hole open without looking like assholes.
I first heard Brian was dead because someone posted one of those pics about it on my Facebook newsfeed, a quick run to wikipedia filled in most of the blanks for me, all I haven't seen is the episode itself yet.
Truth be told, I'm not that sad that they killed off Brian. I wish I could say that I was, but I'm not. Actually it makes me really applaud Family Guy for taking a chance and really killing off a main character like that.
In earlier seasons, Brian was one of my all time favorite characters, the witty alcoholic "uncle" character who was more libertarian or just not all that political at all in his initial run ("This is why I don't vote." ~ Brian Griffin) than the left wing, anti-religion radical he later became (basically a less interesting Hailey Smith if she were a dog) due to him basically being a writer's surrogate character, and the only times I found myself caring about him in any story were the fun team-ups he had with Stewie such as Stewie and Brian join the military, Stewie and Brian build a house together, etc. etc.
What DOES bother me though from what I've read though is HOW Brian died...hit by a car? That's it? That just seemed like the writer's spent a whole day trying to come up with something and then at around 11pm once they finished the Chinese Take Out they just kinda went "Okay, fine."
The show started in 1999, it's 2013, that makes Brian (arguably) 14 years old. They could have done an incredibly meta story about him dying of old age, or even (not to invite even more Simpsons comparisons) make him die due to the faults or actions of an existing character.
I dunno, being hit by a car just seems like a weird way for them to go about it.
Will they bring Brian back? I dunno. A small part of me is actually hoping they don't, but with the amount of fan backlash over this it almost feels like they would have to.
Truth be told, I'm not that sad that they killed off Brian. I wish I could say that I was, but I'm not. Actually it makes me really applaud Family Guy for taking a chance and really killing off a main character like that.
In earlier seasons, Brian was one of my all time favorite characters, the witty alcoholic "uncle" character who was more libertarian or just not all that political at all in his initial run ("This is why I don't vote." ~ Brian Griffin) than the left wing, anti-religion radical he later became (basically a less interesting Hailey Smith if she were a dog) due to him basically being a writer's surrogate character, and the only times I found myself caring about him in any story were the fun team-ups he had with Stewie such as Stewie and Brian join the military, Stewie and Brian build a house together, etc. etc.
What DOES bother me though from what I've read though is HOW Brian died...hit by a car? That's it? That just seemed like the writer's spent a whole day trying to come up with something and then at around 11pm once they finished the Chinese Take Out they just kinda went "Okay, fine."
The show started in 1999, it's 2013, that makes Brian (arguably) 14 years old. They could have done an incredibly meta story about him dying of old age, or even (not to invite even more Simpsons comparisons) make him die due to the faults or actions of an existing character.
I dunno, being hit by a car just seems like a weird way for them to go about it.
Will they bring Brian back? I dunno. A small part of me is actually hoping they don't, but with the amount of fan backlash over this it almost feels like they would have to.
It was a simulation chair where Stewie mapped out what would happen if he finally actually tried to kill Lois - it didn't end well, which gave the showrunners an excuse not to retread that plotline every episode like in the first seasons.rasputin0009 said:
I admit I stopped watching the show after it got all "political"... but this does seem like a bit of a sucker punch to fans. And if they bring him back the following episode, wouldn't that cheapen the last one?
Or maybe I'm just saying this because I'm still pissed about the follow-up to the South Park episode "You're Getting Old" snapping back to the status quo after only one episodes. Seriously, what the hell?
Or maybe I'm just saying this because I'm still pissed about the follow-up to the South Park episode "You're Getting Old" snapping back to the status quo after only one episodes. Seriously, what the hell?
In terms of the individual episode, this ranks up near the top in terms of being able to effectively relay one of the most difficult concepts in television: death.
There's really two kinds of death in television. Long, strung out deaths due to illness or deathwishing (i.e. being in organized crime or the target of a terrorist organization) are extremely common. Far rarer are the sudden deaths that come without explanation, and this episode effectively used the show's existing framework to manipulate expectations and make it built to transmit the sudden "oh fuck, he's dead" that will make this a key moment in the series. Fox was even smart enough to not release anything about the episode to broadcast the key nature of this sudden change.
The episode starts out normal (albeit in medias res), if a tad racially offensive. We see Stewie's rational for destroying the time machine, which is totally reasonable in light of the numerous time traveling they've done. Brian says, bluntly foreshadowing, "it's the end of an era."
When Brian and Stewie find the hockey goal after junking every component part of the time machine, it looks like the standard story plot device similar to the steroids in Stew-roids and tanning in The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Nothing out of the ordinary at this point other than a generally par episode for the series.
Then Brian is hit by the car.
It's quick. The entire sequence between the car appearing and him laying still on the ground is 8 seconds. And it's not a clean hit. He's ran over by the car and severely mangled up close and is left bleeding in the street. The car, a silver Mercedes with a blank European plate (possibly repurposed from Leggo my Meggo), is never seen again and no driver is seen.
At this point, a part of us is still snikering on the inside they were outside for some much needed exercise and were hit because of it. Brushes with death are quite common with the characters (particularly Brian), as every character except Chris has ended up near-death at some point. The squirrel kick provides some relief to the audience that "everything is going to be fine. It's just going to be another close call." Then it cuts to commercial, similar to prior "tragic" events int he series. In reality, they are signals to misdirect the audiences feelings about how serious this is.
Brian's death is front and center, with no censorship of his mangled body on the table. The entire sequence (minus commercial) is less than two minutes. The death is emotional and humorless, but most of the audience is of the idea that it is still temporary. After all, Stewie can easily rebuild a time machine.
Except he can't, as he discovers with the audience that a key component is no longer available and can't be synthesized. This is when it really starts to set in that this is a real death.
The new character appears at first to be a signal that this is temporary. He's one note and overly stereotypical with his thick New York accent. But he appears to be more substantial as he comforts Stewie. Whether or not he's a permanent fixture in the household remains to be seen, but a new character takes time to develop effectively and compared to the other dogs they've brought in, he's far more likely to meld into the show than most characters.
When Brian and Stewie find the hockey goal after junking every component part of the time machine, it looks like the standard story plot device similar to the steroids in Stew-roids and tanning in The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Nothing out of the ordinary at this point other than a generally par episode for the series.
Then Brian is hit by the car.
It's quick. The entire sequence between the car appearing and him laying still on the ground is 8 seconds. And it's not a clean hit. He's ran over by the car and severely mangled up close and is left bleeding in the street. The car, a silver Mercedes with a blank European plate (possibly repurposed from Leggo my Meggo), is never seen again and no driver is seen.
At this point, a part of us is still snikering on the inside they were outside for some much needed exercise and were hit because of it. Brushes with death are quite common with the characters (particularly Brian), as every character except Chris has ended up near-death at some point. The squirrel kick provides some relief to the audience that "everything is going to be fine. It's just going to be another close call." Then it cuts to commercial, similar to prior "tragic" events int he series. In reality, they are signals to misdirect the audiences feelings about how serious this is.
Brian's death is front and center, with no censorship of his mangled body on the table. The entire sequence (minus commercial) is less than two minutes. The death is emotional and humorless, but most of the audience is of the idea that it is still temporary. After all, Stewie can easily rebuild a time machine.
Except he can't, as he discovers with the audience that a key component is no longer available and can't be synthesized. This is when it really starts to set in that this is a real death.
The new character appears at first to be a signal that this is temporary. He's one note and overly stereotypical with his thick New York accent. But he appears to be more substantial as he comforts Stewie. Whether or not he's a permanent fixture in the household remains to be seen, but a new character takes time to develop effectively and compared to the other dogs they've brought in, he's far more likely to meld into the show than most characters.
There's really two kinds of death in television. Long, strung out deaths due to illness or deathwishing (i.e. being in organized crime or the target of a terrorist organization) are extremely common. Far rarer are the sudden deaths that come without explanation, and this episode effectively used the show's existing framework to manipulate expectations and make it built to transmit the sudden "oh fuck, he's dead" that will make this a key moment in the series. Fox was even smart enough to not release anything about the episode to broadcast the key nature of this sudden change.
Even if they stick to it, it's hard to feel much loss in a show where stuff like the following clip is a normal thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgTrFT68nSE
I mean, Peter seems to have a personal relationship with Death himself. They could easily write themselves out of it, or just be lazy and just have him come back with no explanation at all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgTrFT68nSE
I mean, Peter seems to have a personal relationship with Death himself. They could easily write themselves out of it, or just be lazy and just have him come back with no explanation at all.
The only two times Stewie did cloning: 1) the clones melted after a period of time (24hrs?) and 2) it was an accident that caused him to make an "evil Stewie" that cut off Brian's tail and shoved it down his throat.TechTim said:
So, it's possible he could do it if he's gotten the kinks out. But as it stands right now, he's not perfected cloning just yet...
Good to know you pay attention to sports, Bob. Having multiple interests is healthy, and at the very least now I know that my occasional jabs won't be automatically ignored (17 SECONDS!!!)
I'm kind of surprised that there was a backlash on this. As a pretty big fan of the show not that long ago, I didn't know that there were still new episodes airing anymore.
Vinnie died on the way back to his home planet.
Aside from that nonsense, wow this show is getting hatefully bad. The opening scene was an extended racist joke about Native Americans, which is bad enough to begin with... but to air it in close proximity to Thanksgiving, of all times? That's just pathetic.
Aside from that nonsense, wow this show is getting hatefully bad. The opening scene was an extended racist joke about Native Americans, which is bad enough to begin with... but to air it in close proximity to Thanksgiving, of all times? That's just pathetic.
Ach. I was rather hoping they'd put poor Meg out of her misery. It's gotten rather difficult to watch the abuse that poor character gets.
Furthermore, replacing the dog with... Another dog doesn't sound like such a hot idea. It just makes it all rather meaningless, doesn't it? Perhaps it was meaningless all along... But then agai-
---Look at you, Muspelheim. What are you doing? This is related to Family Guy. What did you think?
We will likely hear of any genuinly interesting developments worthy of note in the future. Do somethung useful and feed The Id.---
Welp, suppose you're right, Super-Ego. I hope for interesting developments. And cheers in advance, Bob, since I know where to listen for them!
Furthermore, replacing the dog with... Another dog doesn't sound like such a hot idea. It just makes it all rather meaningless, doesn't it? Perhaps it was meaningless all along... But then agai-
---Look at you, Muspelheim. What are you doing? This is related to Family Guy. What did you think?
We will likely hear of any genuinly interesting developments worthy of note in the future. Do somethung useful and feed The Id.---
Welp, suppose you're right, Super-Ego. I hope for interesting developments. And cheers in advance, Bob, since I know where to listen for them!
First of all, South Park is no longer on Netflix, only Hulu Plus (The South Park Movie is still on Netflix however). I know it's an older picture for Netflix but your going to confuse a lot of people.
OT, however, I was surprised they chose to kill Brian. I didn't see the episode myself, but Vinny does look ugly. I was really expecting them to kill Meg; she really doesn't do anything, everyone (in the show) hates her to some degree, and I would assume Mila Kunis would want to be focusing more on Movies rather then the show where she's a Butt Monkey.
OT, however, I was surprised they chose to kill Brian. I didn't see the episode myself, but Vinny does look ugly. I was really expecting them to kill Meg; she really doesn't do anything, everyone (in the show) hates her to some degree, and I would assume Mila Kunis would want to be focusing more on Movies rather then the show where she's a Butt Monkey.
This made me want to watch Moviebobs in-depth perspective on the latest iteration of My little pony, not because of the brony fandom, but because of how it have developed from straight self-contained episodes to continous story-arcs.
Although I know he is somewhat carefull around the subject, and probably do not know enough to talk about it without creating discontent. And alot of other people have tried the same, although noone with the experience that Bob have in strange animated shows.
But If he found the time to do the research there is at least two-three episodes in there.
Yes, offcourse I am a fan of MLP.
Although I know he is somewhat carefull around the subject, and probably do not know enough to talk about it without creating discontent. And alot of other people have tried the same, although noone with the experience that Bob have in strange animated shows.
But If he found the time to do the research there is at least two-three episodes in there.
Yes, offcourse I am a fan of MLP.
Who cares?
Not to be over cynical about a show that made cynicism its motto, but I don't think, for a moment, this stunt is going to stick. This is as permanent as when DC tried to kill Batman, and Marvel did the same with Captain America. Remember that episode that ended with Stewie "finally" killing Lois? How permanent was that? In a couple episodes, it will all be revealed to be a dream, Ryan will be resurrected with pseudoscience (or even magic, since the show is not above that), his ghost will became a regular character or the new dog will be replaced with someone that is pretty much just exactly like Ryan.
I give it 3 episodes. If in the next 3 episodes Ryan does not reappear within the main cast in one way or another I will consider myself corrected. in any case, I won't particularly care about that since I don't watch the show regularly to begin with...
Not to be over cynical about a show that made cynicism its motto, but I don't think, for a moment, this stunt is going to stick. This is as permanent as when DC tried to kill Batman, and Marvel did the same with Captain America. Remember that episode that ended with Stewie "finally" killing Lois? How permanent was that? In a couple episodes, it will all be revealed to be a dream, Ryan will be resurrected with pseudoscience (or even magic, since the show is not above that), his ghost will became a regular character or the new dog will be replaced with someone that is pretty much just exactly like Ryan.
I give it 3 episodes. If in the next 3 episodes Ryan does not reappear within the main cast in one way or another I will consider myself corrected. in any case, I won't particularly care about that since I don't watch the show regularly to begin with...
Ok, you win the prize for having drifted furthest from the correct spelling of "Brian" in this thread.hermes200 said:
OT, I don't watch Family Guy (or much TV in general) but I was interested to see that this made a small news story in the UK. Clearly a much bigger deal than I thought it was!
Damn. Small lapsus there...MetalMagpie said:Ok, you win prize for having drifted furthest from the correct spelling of "Brian" in this thread.hermes200 said:
OT, I don't watch Family Guy (or much TV in general) but I was interested to see that this made a small news story in the UK. Clearly a much bigger deal than I thought it was!