For the record, Family Guy jumped the shark for me about mid-way though its 3rd season. This isn't to say that the show hasn't remained entertaining, but I think I can speak for a high percentage of fans when I say that there was a time when the opening credits rolled and you were legitimately excited because you knew you were in for a half hour of hilarity. That time has passed but, after 9 seasons and counting, Peter, Lois, and the rest of the gang can still make me laugh.
Lately, the show has been developing a legitimate rivalry between Brian and Glenn Quagmire. The Q-Man, as he laid out in no uncertain terms, hates Brian for...well...the way he lives his life and everything he believes in. He's given Peter's best friend a savage beating and even run him over with a car. Brian has combated this in recent episodes by stealing the woman of Glenn's dreams and bedding his transexual father...it's a sordid affair. So let's settle it once and for all. Who is the better character?
BRIAN GRIFFIN
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Greatest Moment:
If it tells you anything about my sense of humor I'm partial to Brian's Sneakers O'Toole set up but I really don't feel like that counts. Finding a great stand alone moment for Brian is tough because his greatest strength is being a straight man for Stewie. However, after a lot of deliberation, I think any time you can rip on Michael J. Fox, Rick Astley, Chuck Berry, and Steven Speilberg all at once...you've got a winner in my book.
GLENN QUAGMIRE
Greatest Moment:
Unlike his competitor in this particular article, Quagmire can be his own destructive force when not being a facilitator to Peter or Cleveland (when he was still on the roster). Trying to choose the Q Man's greatest moment was no easy task to say the least...but in the end, I can't think of a better time than when Glenn was "checkin' out some of that internet porn..."
Unfair partiality factor:
I have to be honest...In the interest of fairness, this may have been a loaded conversation. I've never liked Brian as a character and Quagmire basically summed up my feelings of him in a recent episode.
Head to Head Consideration:
Neither character is particularly redeemable, but then again you could say that about any character on the show with the possible exception of Brian's son. Brian is an alcoholic douchebag and Quagmire is a reckless sex-fiend. They are both funny in their own right but Brian is really more of a straight man further allowing the antics of characters like Peter or Stewie to shine. Quagmire is an excellent facilitator that can add insanity to any character or situation on the show (even if he's on his own).
Trey Parker and Matt Stone (ie-comedic geniuses) once said Family Guy is frustrating because it has all the potential in the world to be a great show, but it continues to lean on inter-changeable jokes that don't derive from the plot of a particular episode. I'm probably wrong about this, but I can't remember one time in 9 seasons of shows that Quagmire set up a random cutaway gag. If you took away that element of the show, you're still left with a great collage of scenes. If you took Brian away from the show completely, I don't think you would lose anything.
The Winner: The Q-Man!
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| awwww riiiiiiight!!! |
So there you have it...This has been Curtis and until next time we'll continue to ponder the unfathomable questions of the universe...such as: What is the deal with Chris' selective social awareness? You're telling me he's smart enough to deduce that Peter is degrading an African tribe by making a high priestess play the part of Elaine in his own personal remake of a Seinfeld episode but he still hasn't fully figured out that Herbert is a pedophile past anything more than a sneaking suspicion? I don't get it.
