I could barely stomach watching this episode 1 SINGLE TIME. I know Family Guy is well known for it's risque humor, but at least it was generally used to great effect and actually made me laugh. Even if they made fun of mormons (I am a mormon) I still found myself laughing. That's just a broad example, but you get the point.
This was NOT one of those episodes. I hated it, all the humor was completely crass, all the characters went from likeable despite being hateable to just vile. Especially Brian, Peter, Quagmire, and Joe, and that's pretty much all the major characters of this episode. I hate Brian anyway, but he just keeps sinking lower than the combined opinion of me and Quagmire.
Anyway, the plot is bad even for family guy, it paints all the main characters in an even more negative light than usual. First off, Peter shoots Quagmire on purpose for no reason, so it's no surprise that Quagmire is pissed to the point of ending their friendship. But what is even worse is that the oh-so-surprising reconciliation involves Joe and then Quagmire shooting Peter back, I'm confused, how is that a solution even for Family Guy. On top of that, Brian is even more petty and selfish than usual and once again exploits his son.
Bad plot aside, the jokes just weren't funny. The only joke I found to be funny was "The Love Boat with Somali Pirates" joke, but all the rest were just plain mean spirited or lazy, coupled with the lazy plot of the show. One specific joke that made my stomach churn was the "Sideways for Attention, Longways for results" joke. That one wasn't in the slightest bit funny. Suicide is a very personal issue to me, not because I've attempted it or anything, but just the subject matter. Someone said that to me in the wake of an actual suicide and I felt like beating him up. I don't mean to bring so much attention to that story or myself, but even out of context, it's just mean-spirited and unpleasant.
That being said, though, this didn't ruin Family Guy for me. There have been plenty of great episodes that I really like to this day and that still make me laugh, even their sense of humor makes me laugh. Ultimately, this episode is one bad apple in a generally good bunch, and Seth McFarlane didn't write this episode, so you can't really blame him for it. Still though, after one single time, I avoided it like the plague. It's a bad episode, but not quite show-ruining bad. And frankly, thank the lord (no pun intended).
Review of Brian's a Bad Father
