Crossover episodes, while often occupied by a ferocious marketing campaign and communicating subtle hints at desperation in terms of views, are always fascinating because we're almost guaranteed to see the best of what each separate parties, characters, and programs bring to the table. It was only a matter of time before two of animation's most popular, and runaway successes, were to see their characters and neighborhoods conjoined for one episode. "The Simpsons Guy," which comes amid Family Guy's thirteenth season and The Simpsons twenty-sixth, opens by showing Peter Griffin working for the newspaper as a comic book writer and illustrator, creating single-square comics focusing on the goofiness in life. When one of his strips veers into misogynistic territory, the Griffins dart away from the controversy in Quahog, Rhode Island to the more tranquil and good-natured environment of Springfield, where the Simpson family live.
The Griffins make their first stop at the Kwik-E-Mart and are greeted by Apu, who, along with Homer Simpson, introduces the Griffins to the delicacy of doughnuts. After the Griffins' car is stolen, they find themselves stranded in Springfield and are taken in by the Simpsons. Soon enough, Homer and Peter are best friends, with the remainder of the Simpson family connecting with their age/gender-appropriate counterparts: Bart and Stewie are amused by each other's interest to wreak havoc on the neighborhood, admittedly in different ways in terms of level of threat, Lisa becomes intrigued by Meg and attempts to make her more confident in her ability and presence, and Brian and Chris try to find Santa's Little Helper after losing him on one of their walks.
When the episode starts to hit its narrative stride, we learn that Peter's signature beer, Pawtucket Patriot Ale, is just a basic ripoff of Homer's favorite beer, Duff. When this happens, we, in turn, get an episode that parodies on the reality and real-life controversy of Family Guy being a ripoff of The Simpsons. We get fights, a bitter court case, and more irreverent humor before the two patriarchs of each family realize they can live together and exercise their own plans so long as they stay "half-an-hour away from each other" (but not after a gruesome fight) This may be the funniest juxtapositions that I have yet to see in a crossover episode.
"The Simpsons Guy" is just about the best crossover between America's biggest animated programs that could be made, under the criminally-concise runtime of about forty-three minutes. Because of this, character relationships are identified in a manner that is barely more than an acquaintance in our mind. And even key characters do not connect in ways we would've envisioned, like Lois and Marge having very little, if any screen time, together, and the relationships between Bart and Stewie being examined in such a brief, blink-and-you-miss-it manner.
Still, it's difficult to complain too much, given the obvious runtime constraints the writers were under when creating this episode. To be fair, the key aspects are examined in a manner that at least reminds us of the core character traits we love about each member of the family, and even the blending of both shows' specific types of humor comes out in the best way. Case and point, The Simpsons captures the more genial, satirical side of the American family and society with a sense of innocence and the occasional irreverence, whereas Family Guy has blatantly predicated itself off of dirty-minded, foul-mouthed, and controversial buffoonery since its inception.
"The Simpsons Guy" is a solid Television affair, given how long the superfans of each respective program presumably waited for something like this. However, as one views each characters' brief but humorous interaction, and how quickly the episode races past, it almost seems as though we need a feature-length film to capture the aura and personality of these characters and relationships efficiently.
Voiced by: Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Mila Kunis. Directed by: Peter Shin and Dominic Bianchi.
The Griffins make their first stop at the Kwik-E-Mart and are greeted by Apu, who, along with Homer Simpson, introduces the Griffins to the delicacy of doughnuts. After the Griffins' car is stolen, they find themselves stranded in Springfield and are taken in by the Simpsons. Soon enough, Homer and Peter are best friends, with the remainder of the Simpson family connecting with their age/gender-appropriate counterparts: Bart and Stewie are amused by each other's interest to wreak havoc on the neighborhood, admittedly in different ways in terms of level of threat, Lisa becomes intrigued by Meg and attempts to make her more confident in her ability and presence, and Brian and Chris try to find Santa's Little Helper after losing him on one of their walks.
When the episode starts to hit its narrative stride, we learn that Peter's signature beer, Pawtucket Patriot Ale, is just a basic ripoff of Homer's favorite beer, Duff. When this happens, we, in turn, get an episode that parodies on the reality and real-life controversy of Family Guy being a ripoff of The Simpsons. We get fights, a bitter court case, and more irreverent humor before the two patriarchs of each family realize they can live together and exercise their own plans so long as they stay "half-an-hour away from each other" (but not after a gruesome fight) This may be the funniest juxtapositions that I have yet to see in a crossover episode.
"The Simpsons Guy" is just about the best crossover between America's biggest animated programs that could be made, under the criminally-concise runtime of about forty-three minutes. Because of this, character relationships are identified in a manner that is barely more than an acquaintance in our mind. And even key characters do not connect in ways we would've envisioned, like Lois and Marge having very little, if any screen time, together, and the relationships between Bart and Stewie being examined in such a brief, blink-and-you-miss-it manner.
Still, it's difficult to complain too much, given the obvious runtime constraints the writers were under when creating this episode. To be fair, the key aspects are examined in a manner that at least reminds us of the core character traits we love about each member of the family, and even the blending of both shows' specific types of humor comes out in the best way. Case and point, The Simpsons captures the more genial, satirical side of the American family and society with a sense of innocence and the occasional irreverence, whereas Family Guy has blatantly predicated itself off of dirty-minded, foul-mouthed, and controversial buffoonery since its inception.
"The Simpsons Guy" is a solid Television affair, given how long the superfans of each respective program presumably waited for something like this. However, as one views each characters' brief but humorous interaction, and how quickly the episode races past, it almost seems as though we need a feature-length film to capture the aura and personality of these characters and relationships efficiently.
Voiced by: Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Mila Kunis. Directed by: Peter Shin and Dominic Bianchi.