If we’re being honest, there’s few people who don’t like a good rivalry. It’s what has fueled sports for centuries, making us more passionate about the competition. There can only be one winner, and to have someone to root against is such a thrilling experience. We love it. We thrive for it so much that it has seeped into just about everything else that has two forces diametrically opposed. For instance, there’s the people who like pineapple on their pizza and those who don’t. There are those who prefer Star Trek or Star Wars (1977), D.C. or Marvel, conservative or liberal ideology.
So much of the world exists as a place to debate why we hold these ideas so high. Among the world of TV, few have been as mythic as The Simpsons and Family Guy: two shows that have aired on Fox with different approaches to similar irreverent humor. It’s often argued that you can’t like both because even within their subtext, they have this animosity towards each other. The Simpsons famously had a gag that references Family Guy’s Peter Griffin as “Plagiarissimo.” Even if it was playful, many saw them as opposition.
But why are they opposed? As someone who obsessively watches The Simpsons, I have found the best explanation to be something that Allie Goertz would say. When we talk about The Simpsons, we mention our favorite episodes. When we talk about Family Guy, we mention our favorite bits. It’s true that the latter has sometimes made worthwhile episodes, but it does feel indicative of Seth Macfarlane’s approach to humor over story, needing to constantly surprise his audience with ribald gags.
When the crossover was announced, one has to wonder what that would even look like. Would it be the burying of a metaphorical hatchet that has given Fox’s Sunday night line-up some meaning for over a decade? Both shows could move on without this feud, but whatever lied within this special was going to be a clashing of tones, where we couldn’t get too sentimental because Family Guy doesn’t go for that. They need to have vulgarity as punchlines, making you constantly say “Wait what?” as the plot goes down its strange rabbit hole.
According to the record books, the episode is part of Family Guy’s 13th season premiere. One can argue that it was because the parallel season of The Simpsons was already full of great gimmick episodes, starting with the mystery episode “Clown in the Dumps” and a later Futurama crossover episode “Simpsorama.” All things considered, it felt like a fair trade though it would ultimately result in one of the most unfortunate decisions that this entire special would face: despite being a story set within the universe of The Simpsons, it was entirely written by the staff of Family Guy.
The one major plus was that it included most of the voice cast from The Simpsons, with exception to Harry Shearer who was “busy” at the time. There was a collaboration to make the various character models overlap without looking too strange. This included darkening Family Guy characters’ eyes and reshaping their frames.
In an Entertainment Weekly article, it was also revealed that they had a handful of rejected ideas that should give some insight into how Family Guy saw things going:
1. Chris gets himself in a jam by winding up with two dates for the ”Big Dance.” And the Simpsons are there.2. It turns out that all of Family Guy has taken place inside a snow globe in Ralph Wiggum’s room.3. What if, like, the babies do something together?4. The Griffins visit Springfield, where they meet Lenny and Carl, spend the entire week with them, and then leave without meeting anyone else.5. Another ”Mr. Plow” episode, but with Quagmire and Brazilian chicks. Could call it ”Señor Plow” if it feels too similar.
It’s telling that some of these ideas use The Simpsons’ central cast sparingly, not allowing this crossover to feel significant. After all, these are two of Fox’s longest running, most influential animated comedy series in the network’s existence. Why wouldn’t you want to go big and bolder than you could with menial cutaway gags?
The story was revealed to focus on Family Guy’s Griffin family visiting The Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield. Over the course of an hour-long episode, wacky hijinks would ensue and it would be the culmination of two shows commenting on how they’re similar and different.
Some jokes, such as The Simpsons having “hepatitis” and The Griffins being “albino neighbors,” are enjoyable jabs at their visual differences. However, it becomes clear how much this is a show written by Family Guy writers fairly quickly. Upon discovering how similar their characters’ motivations are, the father figures (Homer and Peter) break out into a lengthy fight sequence. It’s a Family Guy staple, only Peter has been known to fight a chicken for several minutes as this tangential upset of the ongoing story.
While it makes more sense in “The Simpsons Guy” and allows for wild animation gags, the epic running time (eight minutes) shows why this is an hour long. There were going to be a lot of tangential upsets, and they weren’t always going to be pleasant. This includes a scene where Homer and Peter go about washing cars like sexy teens, shirts tied to reveal their midriff, bathing in the suds as hair metal plays. It’s a gag that works with Family Guy but feels especially strange and uncomfortable on The Simpsons models.
Though if we’re being honest, none of it could prepare you for the gag that caused the biggest stir of controversy. Several promotional videos were released ahead of the premiere, building interest in seeing these two worlds collide. At most, it was an exciting novelty. However, nothing boldly says “This was written by Family Guy people” quite like a gag that featured Bart Simpson and Stewie Griffin doing prank phone calls. It’s a hallmark of The Simpsons and it would be exciting to see what Stewie brings to this gag. What pun would he possibly give? The anticipation builds as they call Moe the bartender.
Amid Bart’s joyful, childlike joke Stewie grabs the phone and says to Moe “your sister is being raped.”
Stop and think about this idea for a moment. Was the joke that a baby just referenced rape? Is it that Family Guy is so vulgar that it forgets to make a joke in the first place? If anything reflected the difference between these two institutions, it was this scene. The Simpsons, even in their more maligned modern era, were meticulous at crafting jokes. There was set-up and pay-off. Everything that made up a joke. Sure, you can argue that this gag had set-up, but it’s the equivalent of a man running out of a comedy set while flailing his arms and saying “your sister is being raped!” People will look, confused, before returning back to life.
As you can guess, this caused controversy. Macfarlane would claim that the joke was “pretty funny… in context.” Similarly, a spokeswoman for Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) would defend the gag by claiming “I think the show is making it clear that rape is not funny by how they are positioning the joke."
Another major selling point of the crossover was building up excitement for watching these two works collide. After all, it has joked that together they had almost 40 seasons of comedy to mine from, and who wouldn’t want to see what would happen when these worlds collide? Macfarlane would claim that the key to a great crossover was not so much the story, but what they would do together.
Which resulted in a fairly memorable run with Entertainment Weekly. There were three collector’s edition cover releases that paired the characters together in different orders. Homer and Peter were together, as was boys Bart and Stewie, and girls Lisa Simpson and Meg Griffin. To be honest, the covers weren’t the most inspiring, but this was sold as a groundbreaking moment, and it would only be given further credos by a series of articles inside, including “Best Crossover Ever,” where the creators Macfarlane and The Simpsons’ Matt Groening would stumble around Groening’s house, eventually getting an interview across.
The whole idea was to build a sense of playfulness between the two, that they owed each other for their success. Some things do become clear in these interviews, including how Macfarlane plays like a wild puppy, eager to lick your face and constantly be the center of attention. Groening, while a willing participant, feels more calculated in things, never giving too much into jabs at Macfarlane. These were two highly influential comedic minds, and even the way they approached marketing seemed to differ.
Another thing to consider going into “The Simpsons Guy” is that Macfarlane’s reputation in comedy was at a middling point. Following some success as a movie director with Ted (2012), he was having issues finding ways to keep his goodwill alive. In 2013, he received divisive reviews for his job hosting The Academy Awards. In 2014, he released his second movie as director, A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), which was considered a major drop-off, labeled one of the worst movies of the year with Razzie nominations to spare. More than anything, this lead to questioning if his Midas touch was fading. Mind you, the film came out around the time that “The Simpsons Guy” was reaching its key period with major footage releases and interviews.
I will openly admit something here. I have watched almost every episode of The Simpsons multiple times. I’ll even rewatch that dull Moe’s Rag episode just because I love the show that much. While I can acknowledge its faults, I still am drawn to something about the show’s core that makes me keep coming back.
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| Oh yeah, and Bob's Burgers and American Dad also have cameos |
Which is to say that I’ve only ever watched “The Simpsons Guy” once. It’s in part because it never shows up in Every Simpsons Ever marathons on FXX, but also because it’s frankly a low point in the show’s history. While I think it was a great get for Family Guy, it’s warping another show into perverse gags that don’t provide any deeper insight. Family Guy probably could’ve done this crossover without having to get The Simpsons to sign off. They exist more as gags, rarely finding a substantial reason to have these worlds collide. I’ll admit that Family Guy as a show has some charm, though there is a reason I only ever have a curious itch every few months to watch it.
Was this the monumental achievement that audiences had expected? Like I just said, it’s not even close. I think the rape joke perfectly reflects why these two shows have remained a dividing point for fans. There are those who like their satire with endearing characters who grow and show signs of humanity. Then there’s Family Guy, who remains mocked for just cutting to the joke without any elaborate build-up. More than The Simpsons, South Park had their own run of criticism with the memorable “Cartoon Wars” episodes.
Contrary to what Entertainment Weekly said, this wasn’t the best crossover ever. Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club put it best in the website’s Worst TV of 2014 entry when claiming:
Given the years of playful rivalry between the shows, the novelty of a Simpsons/Family Guy crossover episode should have been enough to carry “The Simpsons Guy,” in which the Griffins flee Quahog and wind up in Springfield. From the lazy, awkward results, it seems the Family Guy writers were hoping fan service could substitute for actual quality. Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin are such compatible cartoon buffoons, their pairing offered “Simpsons Guy” its best shot at justifying its existence, but they actually suffer the episode’s worst indignity.
I couldn’t put it any better. As someone who plans to cover every gimmick episode of The Simpsons, it’s difficult to ignore this one even if it’s largely faded from my memory. What should’ve been a chance to recognize shared DNA and have some meaningful debate about two cartoon juggernauts ended up being a series of bland gags, only memorably by their offensiveness.
The truth is that I am sure it would’ve worked with more of a collaborative force. Even then, it’s like dumping oil into water by the end, and some things don’t exactly mix all that well. You’ll notice their differences. It’s not like “Simpsorama” where we’re dealing with two shows with deeply rooted endearment for their characters. Family Guy has gotten mileage out of assaulting Meg for being ugly and fat. The Simpsons would be considered heartless if they ever did that. In fact, the one episode where Lisa thought she was fat was one of the more serious explorations of weight issues that the show ever did.
I am aware that Macfarlane would do his own crossover featuring all of his animated creations in “Night of the Hurricane.” Part of me is curious to see if his own world can gel together without falling apart. Maybe one day I will choose to cover it just to expand this column a little further. Then again, I believe his style has grown thin with each new developed project. The same can’t be said for Groening, who remains meticulous with his sign-offs and I can’t help but admire that about him.
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