Reviewed by Jami Ferguson
Pack your bags for a shipload of Family Guy fun! Peter goes overboard writing a children’s book, Chris travels to the past for a titanic-sized history lesson, Stewie impregnates himself with Brian’s DNA (don’t ask)…and the Griffins meet the Simpsons in the d’oh-nuttiest crossover event of all time. It’s an outrageous and uncensored complete season, featuring celebrity guest voices Liam Neeson, Allison Janney, Jeff Garlin, Julie Bowen and and more rude humor, crude jokes and things (good and bad) you’ve never seen in any other show.
Show (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)
Family Guy is primarily the story of the Griffin family. Peter (voiced by creator/Executive Producer Seth MacFarlane) and Lois (Alex Borstein) have three children. In addition to talking dog Brian, they have teenagers Chris (Seth Green) and Meg (Mila Kunis), and baby Stewie (also Seth MacFarlane). If you’ve never seen Family Guy that is enough information to get started. You’ll quickly figure out the personalities of the characters but I recommend starting at the beginning if you have the chance. Family Guy is a big fan of inside jokes and crazy storylines so you’re missing a lot of you start with season thirteen.
Family Guy is often distasteful and inappropriate and is certainly not a show for everyone. You have to like off color humor. Every season I’m surprised to see which A-list celebrities lend their voices to an episode. This season Alison Janney, Jeff Garlin and Liam Neeson are among the guest stars.
Season thirteen contains the following episodes:
Disc One
- “The Simpsons Guy” – Peter’s has made people angry with his comics so the family gets out of town. They are stranded in Springfield (state unknown) and end up being houseguests of the Simpsons. Homer and Peter find they have much in common….except their beer.
- “Book of Joe” – Peter becomes the public face of Joe’s children’s book “The Hopeful Squirrel.” Brian meets a beautiful runner and soon becomes dangerously obsessed with the runners high.
- “Baking Bad” – Lois and Peter open a cookie store but Peter soon turns it into something she never expected.
- “Brian the Closer” – Peter and Brian fight for a rope, leaving Brian disfigured. His new teeth give him a spectacular new look and a career in real estate naturally follows.
- “Turkey Guys” – Brian and Peter got drunk and ate the Thanksgiving turkey and must replace it at the last minute. Although the turkey is hard to find, it’s even harder to get it home with Peter’s combination of bad luck and bad decisions.
Disc Two
- “The 2000-year-old Virgin” – Peter and Lois run into Jesus in the Quahog Brookstone store. Jesus tells the guys that he’s a virgin and Peter takes it upon himself to get Jesus laid.
- “Stewie, Chris & Brian’s Excellent Adventure” - Chris is performing poorly in school and is in danger of repeating the 9th grade. Chris’ future hinges on a history test and Stewie and Brian use the time machine to show him the past.
- “Our Idiot Brian” – Meg prepares to take the SAT and she worries that she won’t score well. Brian is a writer and seems smart, so she asks him to take the test for her.
- “This Little Piggy” – Meg is feeling low when a photographer asks her to model. It is no surprise that he’s only interested in one part of her body, it is a surprise that the one part is her feet.
- “Quagmire’s Mom” – Peter’s birth certificate reveals that his first name is Justin. With his new first name comes a new personality that causes a lot of problems. Quagmire is arrested for statutory rape and must appear in front a judge. On the stand, Quagmire blames his promiscuous mother who has now found God.
- “Encyclopedia Griffin” – After recovering Stewie’s stolen tricycle, Peter opens a detective agency in the garage. Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe are on board to solve children’s crimes.
Disc Three
- “Stewie is Enciente” – Thinking Brian has been different, Stewie devises a way to impregnate himself with Brian’s litter.
- “Dr. C & The Women” – Quagmire gets Meg a job at the airport working for the TSA. Cleveland counsels Lois but to Peter’s surprise he says Peter is the problem in their relationship. The guys don’t like his advice so they threaten him and he disappears.
- “#JOLO” – Peter finds a lost child in an unusual place. Following Peter’s example of doing without thinking, Joe quits his job, leaves his wife and takes the guys on a spontaneous road trip to Niagara Falls. When they reach the Falls the guys learn that Joe isn’t a happy as he seems.
- “Once Bitten” – After biting Peter, Brian is sent to obedience school but in the end an obedient dog is not what the family wants.
- “Roasted Guy” – Peter asks to be roasted by his friends and then gets angry about their jokes. He walks away from Cleveland, Joe and Quagmire and finds a group of women to be friends with. After Peter learns what women are really like, Lois helps him seek revenge.
- “Fighting Irish” – Quagmire celebrates his 1,000th conquest by holding a festival called Quagfest. Lois volunteers in Stewie’s classroom. Everyone is sick of hearing Peter claim that he could kick the crap out of Liam Neeson.
- “Take My Wife” – Lois tricks the guys into going on a Couples Retreat and gets more out of the trip than she bargained for. At home, Carter watches the kids and tries to teach them about the good old days before electronic devices.
"Family Guy" continues to entertain throughout season thirteen. This type of humor isn’t for everyone. If you enjoyed the previous seasons you’ll probably be happy with what this season has to offer. It is simple mindless fun. Although it is a running story line you don’t need a detailed knowledge of the past seasons to enjoy any episode. Be warned though, this is not a show for children. The character Quagmire is reason enough that only adults should be viewing this type of humor.
Video (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)
"Family Guy’s" DVD has enough bright colors and clean lines to satisfy. I’m sure the difference between DVD and Blu-ray would be remarkable. Since the show is not available on Blu-ray I feel like I’m not missing the sharp picture I never had.
Audio (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)
"Family Guy’s" Dolby Digital 5.1 mix can handle anything the show has to offer. The show is mostly dialogue and laughter but there are a few car chases and explosions with realistic sound effects.
Extras (3 out of 5 stars)
Be advised, the commentaries are not found from the extras menu, but from within each episode. They are easy to miss. The three disc DVD sets contains some fun features and crowded commentaries.
Disc One Extras
- Deleted Scenes for all five disc one episodes, available individually or with play all function.
- On the Road to Springfield: The Making of “The Simpsons Guy” (12:42) - A behind the scenes featurette with cast and crew interviews. The Family Guy crew expresses their admiration for the Simpsons and both teams talk about how they came together and overcame challenges for the season opener.
- Audio Commentary on “The Simpsons Guy”
- Audio Commentary on “Turkey Guys”
Disc Two Extras
- Audio Commentary on “2000-Year-Old Virgin”
- Audio Commentary on “Stewie, Chris & Brian’s Excellent Adventure”
- Animatic – Full episode animatic on “Stewie, Chris & Brian’s Excellent Adventure” featuring voice track.
- Deleted Scenes for all six disc two episodes, available individually or with play all function.
Disc Three Extras
- Audio Commentary on “Once Bitten” – Commentary by Executive Producer Steve Callaghan, Director Joseph Lee, Producer Kim Fertman, Writer/Executive Story Editor Anthony Blasucci and Animation Associate Producer Brent Crowe.
- Audio Commentary on “Roasted Guy” - Commentary by Executive Producer Rich Appel, Co-Executive Producer/Writer Andrew Goldberg, Director Joe Vaux, Producer Shannon Smith and Storyboard Artist Annie Brown.
- Baby Ways (2:23) – A montage of Stewie clips.
- Who Let the Dog Out (2:14) – Brian’s highlight reel.
- Deleted Scenes for all seven disc three episodes, available individually or with play all function.
Summary (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)
The bottom line is that if you like "Family Guy" and you’ve been wanting more – season thirteen delivers. This is a fun show to watch and own and I do revisit random seasons from time to time. I have to be careful that my seven year old doesn’t catch a peak of quagmire’s depravity or hear Stewie’s inner monologue. If you’re a fan of the show, I recommend purchasing the DVD set.
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