I have never seen anything like the two-part STAR WARS spoof that FAMILY GUY trotted out for its latest season premier. If this show wasn't light-years ahead of THE SIMPSONS already, it surely was with this incredible saga. I cannot imagine how many weeks or months went into piecing this mini-epic together. The plot has FAMILY GUY patriarch Peter Griffin (voiced by show creator Seth McFarlane) telling his family a variation on the original Star Wars story with himself as Han Solo and everyone he knows standing in for the other characters. His wife, for instance, is Princess Leia, and their dog is Chewbaca. Baby Stewie is Darth Vader, of all people. Keep in mind FAMILY GUY is a Fox show, and 20th Century Fox owns the STAR WARS movies, so McFarlane was able to avail himself of music, sound effects and images from the original STAR WARS movie. The seamless integration of these authentic STAR WARS bits in this cartoon turns this two-parter from an ordinary TV cartoon into something else entirely. If you haven't seen this, make sure you watch for it. It marks a turning point in the history of TV cartooning. Obviously, subsequent episodes will never be able to live up to it, but they need not. I think McFarlane wanted to kick THE SIMPSONS' ass for the season starter. If you saw the season starter for THE SIMPSONS, I am sure you will agree. A sidenote: When Peter has finished spinning his STAR WARS yarn, he and son Chris, voiced by the highly versatile Seth Green, argue briefly but sharply about a Cartoon Network show called ROBOT CHICKEN. Chris, who loves the show, points out ROBOT CHICKEN did a spoof of STAR WARS long before FAMILY GUY's version, while Peter disdains and dismisses and insults ROBOT CHICKEN. Green is the creator of ROBOT CHICKEN. Talk about an inside joke. Maybe the greatest inside joke ever perpetuated. What a perfect ending to a perfect yarn.
Review of Blue Harvest
