by Abel Horwitz
Daily Lobo
An ongoing joke for those who work for the TV show "Family Guy" is that they never know whether they've been canceled.
The first new episode in three years aired Sunday night. Titled "North by North Quahog," it lived up to expectations and treated fans with an eccentric, vulgar, tasteless and, above all, hilarious episode.
"Family Guy" has a sketchy past. With all the crude jokes, below-the-belt humor and the ever-constant, vague pop culture references, the Fox network didn't know how to handle the show. Episodes were played out of order, some never aired, and those that were shown on television were heavily censored.
After three seasons and a dwindling audience, Fox decided the show had run its course and canceled it in 2001.
But "Family Guy" is a Cinderella story. The show's fans snatched up the complete set of DVDs, and the show began to air in syndication on Cartoon Network and TBS, giving it higher ratings than when it was on Fox.
Seeing its mistake, Fox ordered 38 new episodes, handing creator Seth Macfarlane the promise of a strong following and the uncertainty of when Fox will cancel "Family Guy" again.
Macfarlane aims to push the limits as far as he can.
In "North by North Quahog," Lois and Peter Griffin find their relationship has lost its spark, prompting them to go on a second honeymoon. To get a posh room in a Manhattan hotel, Peter pretends he's Mel Gibson, only to be discovered by part of Gibson's "cult" and chased all the way to Mount Rushmore.
The storyline is weak, but that's never been a problem. The appeal comes from the random scenes, ranging from a clip about the time Peter forgot how to sit to the extremely vulgar clip where Gepetto attempts to have sex with Pinocchio.
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The best part was that it was exactly what fans wanted.
Minor characters, such as the boy with the upside-down face and the ever-popular creepy old man, popped up throughout to deliver one-liners galore.
While the show is not appealing to the majority of people, it has found a rabid following.
"Family Guy" might find itself canceled before all 38 episodes air, but they are certain to be put on DVD and aired on Cartoon Network at some point in the future.
The cycle will continue.
