Summary of "Blue Harvest - Great Spoof!": I thought this episode was awesome! MacFarlane and the others at Family Guy really nailed this episode, successfully merging the humor of the series with the Star Wars movie. Fox did a great job on the DVD as well, providing some good bonus material, including an entertaining conversation with George Lucas. This is also the first TV release from Fox that includes a Digital Copy, allowing you to quickly, and easily, transfer the movie to iTunes, or a Windows Media Player file. I wrote an in-depth explanation of the process over at TVGuide.com, and I'd recommend you read that for more information.
There's also a special edition set for this release, which includes a T-shirt, 20 page collector's booklet featuring the art of Blue Harvest, some limited edition trading cards, and some 3-D glasses for watching the special 3-D fight scene.
Fox has also let me know that this episode will not appear on a future volume release, so you should pick up this DVD if you want to own the episode. (read entire review)
Summary of "Volume 5 - Great set!": Okay, this is what all the Family Guy sets should be like. Commentary tracks on all the episodes, some cool featurettes, deleted scenes, animatics with commentary tracks - this is awesome. I've never been a fan of animatics, because I view them as unfinished episodes, but adding commentary tracks from the animators and directors made these worth watching. Finally, I have a reason to watch an animatic!
The commentary tracks were good, especially the track with Drew Barrymore. Wow, that was funny, especially the part where she...well...you'll have to listen to it yourself. You'll find out a lot about Drew, and Seth, and the activities they've done together. I enjoy commentaries that deviate from the on-screen action, but get back on track with there's something interesting to talk about.
The first few Family Guy sets were so-so, but the recent ones have been top-notch. (read entire review)
Summary of "Volume 3 - Love the sound": I think everyone knows I'm a fan of this show, hell, getting Family Guy on DVD was one of the reasons I started the site. The news that the show would return was music to my ears; my favorite show was coming back! I'll admit to being a little worried that the show would be different; maybe some of the cast wouldn't return and the voices would be different. That didn't happen, and the show picked up right where it left off. If anything I think it's improved, certainly in the animation.
The animation isn't the only thing to improve; Fox has done a great job in delivering a better Family Guy DVD set. The audio has been dramatically improved, going from a Dolby Surround to a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, but they've also improved the extras. There are 10 episodes with commentary tracks, a really nice featurette on the return of the show, and other interesting material. Fox's love for the series is more apparent with the release of this set.
My only complaint, and one already voiced by a number of readers, is the price of the set. Volume 1 contained 28 episodes for $49.98 ($1.79/episode), while Volume 2 contained 23 episodes for $49.98 ($2.17/episode). Now Volume 3 contains 13 episodes for $39.98, which puts the price per episode at $3.08. Yes, this set is better than the previous ones, but the average consumer knows they're paying more money for fewer episodes; it looks like the studio is making a cash grab. I think Fox should have waited until the season was over before releasing the set. On the other hand, it was the potential of DVD sales that brought the show back, so it makes sense they would try to make as much money off it as possible. Hey, it's a lot cheaper than the equivalent of 3 episodes on Stewie Griffin for $29.98. (read entire review)
Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (Unrated) - Crippled review (9/24/2005)
Summary of "Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (Unrated) - Crippled review": I enjoyed watching the movie, and it'll be interesting to see some of the changes that have to be made when it airs on TV. For those of you who think Fox is going to rip you off by including it on a future Family Guy release... you're right. Except you should view this as a way to get the director's cut before the watered-down cut, not as a ripoff down the line. This release will have better material in it and is worth owning.
I'm quite pissed Fox sent out crippled versions of the disc to reviewers. I can understand they want to protect the movie against piracy (and please don't email me to say you found it online - I don't care), but sending a crippled product out for review is just going to result in a crippled review, like this one. Hey, maybe the video on my disc is more compressed than the one you'll buy, and maybe it won't have the problems I mentioned, but you're reading this review and you may say, "Eww... there's bad compression?" and they'll lose a sale (no, it's not bad enough that I'd say you should skip buying this; it's only a few scenes). (read entire review)
The Freakin' Sweet Collection DVD - Sweet! (12/15/2004)
Summary of "The Freakin' Sweet Collection DVD - Sweet!": While I don't usually like "best of" releases, this one has a lot going for it. Not only does it include a look at American Dad, but MacFarlane talks about the new season of Family Guy for a bit, and we have new commentary tracks to listen to. It's also priced low enough that fans shouldn't feel gouged at the till, and the new content, including the original "Road to Rhode Island," should be enough to justify a purchase of the disc.
Okay, who else is excited about the new season? Let's hope they give it a decent time slot this time. (read entire review)
Summary of "Volume 2 - The final episodes...": This set brings the entire run of Family Guy to a close. I'm going to miss you old friend. The good news is that with strong sales of the first set, Fox and MacFarlane are considering a direct to video release for the series. This is exciting news for any fan, because the show now has a chance to live on. When this may happen is anyone's guess, as MacFarlane is working on an animated movie as well as a new TV show. (read entire review)
Summary of "Volume 1 - bin Laden bye bye": I've been waiting for this release for a long, long time. Family Guy is probably my favorite animated show of all time, and I was vibrating when this set came. I thought there could have been more extras in the set, but like the true fan I am, I was just happy to have the show on DVD. I would have preferred non-promotional interviews over the commentary tracks on the 8 episodes. I fell asleep during one of them and skipped the last 4, and I like commentary tracks! The second set is due to be released in early September.
Blue Harvest Package Art for Regular and Special Editions
The other day Fox sent out the press release for Family Guy - Blue Harvest, a January 15th release coming in both a standard edition and a Special Edition treating you to collectible packaging, a t-shirt,... (read entire news item)
11/05/2007
Press Release for Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest Standard & Special Edition DVDs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE GRIFFIN CLAN SPOOFS
THE FIRST STAR WARS MOVIE
DVD Debuts January 15 from Fox Home Entertainment, Featuring
Never-Before-Seen Footage, Commentaries, Interview With... (read entire news item)
10/29/2007
Star Wars Parody Episode Gets Its Own DVD
Fox will release "Blue Harvest," the Star Wars episode of Family Guy to stores on January 15. The disc includes new footage, and a peek at the show's next Star Wars spoof.
Family Guy kicked off on... (read entire news item)
9/17/2007
Last-Minute Picture Change For 5th Volume DVD Package (Also: Rear Art)
Tomorrow's release of Family Guy - Volume 5 on DVD has undergone a VERY last-minute cover art change! We first got wind of this last Thursday, when a reader named "Chris" e-mailed us, having noticed... (read entire news item)
8/18/2007
Full Press Release & Hi-Res Package Art for Family Guy - The Freakin' Party Pack
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IT'S NOT JUST FREAKIN' SWEET... IT'S FREAKIN' HUGE!!!
FAMILY GUY
FREAKIN' PARTY PACK
The Perfect Collection For The Ultimate "Family Guy" Fan, This 18-Disc Set
Features... (read entire news item)
7/16/2007
What has 17 DVDs, A Ping Pong Set, Cards & Poker Chips? The Freakin' Party Pack!
Fox Home Entertainment is preparing to announce a one-of-a-kind DVD release: The Family Guy - Freakin' Party Pack will be coming out on October 30th, and it's pretty unique! It will contain DVDs first... (read entire news item)
6/22/2007
Full-Size Box Art for Family Guy's 5th Volume
When we posted the press release a couple of weeks ago for the Family Guy - Volume 5 DVD collection, we were able to bring you a very small picture of the box art at the bottom of the release. Now the... (read entire news item)
6/09/2007
Freakin' Sweet Press Release For Volume 5 Gives All The Details!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SICK, POLITICALLY INCORRECT AND FREAKIN' SWEET!
FAMILY GUY
VOLUME FIVE DVD COLLECTION
Featuring 13 Episodes From The Hilarious Fifth Season, Three-Disc Set
Includes... (read entire news item)
6/04/2007
Early details on Volume 5
A retail friend just emailed us with early details on Family Guy volume 5. The 3-disc set will include the first 13 episodes from season 5, plus the three-part arc that was on "Family Guy Presents Stewie... (read entire news item)
4/24/2007
60% off volumes 1-4 - Today only!
Amazon has Family Guy vols 1-4 (all 4, not individual volumes) on sale for $71.99 - that's 60% off the regular retail price. Just like the Buffy set last week, this is a ONE DAY ONLY sale, and it's likely... (read entire news item)
9/03/2006
Volume 4 Artwork
We've obtained artwork for Family Guy volume 4 from a retailer. It's not the best-looking thing, but at least you know what the artwork will look like. This is the same art that was used for the UK "Season... (read entire news item)
8/17/2006
Stewie is Back - Volume 4 Info!
Fasten your sofa belts for another fiendishly futile attempt at world domination for Stewie-and a diaper full of fun for "Family Guy" fans around the globe! Boasting laughs as big as Peter's waistline,... (read entire news item)
6/13/2006
Family Guy blog says release coming in the fall
Steve Gomez-Montes wrote us with a hot Family Guy tip the other day; volume 4 should be out in the fall. The information comes from the Family Guy blog, and they have some other information about the... (read entire news item)
3/15/2006
Exclusive FG content on American Dad release
Fans of Family Guy will want to pick up the April 25 release of American Dad: Volume 1; there will be some exclusive content packaged with the set. The initial shipment of DVDs will contain Family Guy:... (read entire news item)
2/12/2006
UMD News: More Of Peter Griffin On Your PSP...Freakin' Sweet!
It's been a while since we've had a TVShowsOnPSP update (mainly because nothing's been happening!), so we've got a pair of announcements for you today. One of them is the UMD-format release of Family... (read entire news item)
11/30/2005
New Family Guy Release Says More DVDs Are Coming Soon!
Yesterday saw the release of Family Guy - Volume 3 on DVD. Enclosed within it was a double-sided insert in which Fox revealed their upcoming plans for Seth MacFarlane shows on DVD (our thanks to all... (read entire news item)
9/27/2005
Clips from DVD-movie
Here are some fun clips from Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story which comes out today:
Body shaving with Stewie
http://broadband.foxhome.com/familyguy/090105/familyguy_closeshave_hi.asx
http://broadband.foxhome.com/familyguy/090105/familyguy_closeshave_hi.mov
http://broadband.foxhome.com/familyguy/090105/familyguy_closeshave_hi.wmv
http://broadband.foxhome.com/familyguy/090105/familyguy_closeshave_lo.asx
http://broadband.foxhome.com/familyguy/090105/familyguy_closeshave_lo.mov
http://broadband.foxhome.com/familyguy/090105/familyguy_closeshave_lo.wmv
... (read entire news item)
9/26/2005
Free Fox DVD (Eps Of American Dad, Arrested Development & Stacked) With Circuit City's Stewie: Untold!
Tomorrow (9/27) sees the release of Family Guy - Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, which is our Pick of the Week at the moment. This is a DVD premiere of material that hasn't aired on TV yet, and when... (read entire news item)
9/21/2005
Volume 3 Artwork!
Fox was very kind to send over the artwork for the third Family Guy volume coming on 11/29. Don't forget about Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story coming next week. (read entire news item)
8/15/2005
TV Screens for Volume 3
Fox has made some "TV Screens" advertising the third Family Guy volume, so we wanted to share them with you (we know how much you loooove Family Guy). We still haven't seen the covert art, but we'll post... (read entire news item)
8/06/2005
Corrected Vol 3 Info
Okay, here's the story. We posted information on the third volume of Family Guy and then started receiving emails asking about the last 3 episodes on the volume. Those episodes make up the upcoming direct-to-DVD... (read entire news item)
8/03/2005
Volume 3 Release Info! (updated)
Fans will have to wait no longer for the next Volume of Family Guy on DVD! The hilarious first part of Emmy nominated Season 4 will have you laughing like you've never laughed before. Edgier and more... (read entire news item)
7/08/2005
Stewie Griffin: DVD Art
Following up on our PSP artwork post from the other day, here's the DVD artwork: (read entire news item)
7/06/2005
Stewie Griffin: PSP Artwork
Fox has made the artwork for the PSP (UMD) release of Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story available to us. The title is already available at Amazon.com for $20.99.
We'll post the DVD... (read entire news item)
6/29/2005
DVD movie officially announced!
Fox has officially announced the direct-to-DVD title Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story Unrated.
In this exclusive 83 minute DVD premiere, featuring brand new, never before seen content,... (read entire news item)
6/20/2005
Direct-to-DVD title announced
Technically this falls out of the scope of the site, since we only cover TV shows being released to DVD, and this is a direct-to-DVD title, but it's Family Guy, and there are exceptions to every rule...
Fox... (read entire news item)
10/29/2004
Freakin' Sweet Cover Art!
We've already brought you the full details on the Dec. 14th release of Family Guy - The Freakin' Sweet Collection, and now we have the very funny cover art as well. Enjoy! (read entire news item)
10/26/2004
Full Details for The Freakin' Sweet Collection
We told you yesterday that Family Guy - The Freakin' Sweet Collection: The Best of the Family Guy is coming to DVD on 12/14/2004. Now Fox Home Entertainment has sent over the details of this release.... (read entire news item)
10/25/2004
Pre-Election Surprise! Osama bin Laden found...on new Family Guy DVD, that is!
When Family Guy - Volume 1 was released on DVD (back in April, 2003), the fans rejoiced. Sales went nuts, and a 2nd box set was released five months later, containing the rest of the series. Sales continued... (read entire news item)
12/06/2003
Family Guy creator talks about the show
Thursday afternoon I spent a few minutes talking to Seth MacFarlane about the rumors that Family Guy will be put back into production. The strong sales of the DVDs, and the stellar ratings on the Cartoon... (read entire news item)
11/19/2003
Strong DVD sales could resurrect series
When Gord Lacey created TVShowsOnDVD just over 2 years ago, one of his goals was to help get Family Guy put onto DVD...a sentiment I shared with him completely! Now, seven months after seeing this dream... (read entire news item)
6/01/2003
Lucky There's A Family Guy!
Lucky for Fox, that is. Video Business magazine has published this article (free registration required to view) describing the success of the recent Family Guy - Volume 1 release, and discussing the... (read entire news item)
4/21/2003
Seth MacFarlane Interview
I had the pleasure of speaking to Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, last week. We talked about the show, the DVD set and what we can expect from him in the future.
Read the interview (read entire news item)
12/11/2002
Season One News!
April 15th, 2003 is a happy day here at TVShowsOnDVD.com. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will be releasing the first season of "Family Guy". This 4 disc set contains commentary on 8 episodes (2 per... (read entire news item)
