Original: The Simpsons (FOX, 1989-present)
Matt Groening’s seminal animated sitcom follows a middle-class family living in the fictional town of Springfield. Most noted for its satirical humor, The Simpsons is one of the most critically acclaimed shows of all time and has won heaps of awards, including 27 Primetime Emmys. The titular family includes fat, obnoxious oaf Homer, way-out-of-his-league housewife Marge, book-smart daughter Lisa, lazy troublemaking son Bart, and infant Maggie, along with their dog, Santa’s Little Helper. Springfield is populated by a host of other crazy characters, including eccentric news anchor Kent Brockman and Homer’s drinking buddies Lenny, Carl and Barney.
Rip-Off: Family Guy (FOX, 1999-present)
Seth MacFarlane’s raunchy animated satire now occupies a very different comedy niche from The Simpsons, but initially many of the similarities between the two shows were quite alarming, particularly when regarding the characters at Family Guy‘s center. The show, set in fictional Quahog, charts the misadventures of the middle-class Griffin family, including fat, obnoxious oaf Peter, way-out-of-his-league housewife Lois, book-smart daughter Meg, lazy son Chris, and infant Stewie, along with their dog, Brian. Quahog is populated by a host of other crazy characters, including eccentric news anchor Tom Tucker and Peter’s drinking buddies Joe, Quagmire and Cleveland. Of course, there are some major differences in the personalities of the characters. For example, Maggie doesn’t talk in The Simpsons, while Stewie is a criminal mastermind smarter than anyone else in his household.
Just How Bad Is It? 7/10
The similarities between the two shows are certainly not accidental, particularly at the outset; it seems crystal clear that MacFarlane wanted to riff on a popular TV sitcom in hopes of hitting it big. Having said that, the show did originally get the ax, perhaps partially due to its countless similarities to The Simpsons. Thankfully, the resurrected Family Guy has quickly become its own animal, using cutaway gags and shock value humor to make an impact as opposed to the stinging political satire of The Simpsons.
Especially in recent years, Family Guy has become infamous for its raunchy, off-brand humor, while The Simpsons has become known for more politically correct, family-oriented humor. MacFarlane later debuted yet another show lifted from the same mold – FOX’s American Dad, which has been airing since 2005. Luckily for MacFarlane, the people behind The Simpsons seem to have reacted to his shows with amused acceptance rather than outrage – in fact, MacFarlane and Groening have worked together to bridge their programs; Family Guy and The Simpsons will collide next year when the Griffins pay a visit to Springfield.
