DVD Review: Family Guy Season 14

 

Season 14 of Family Guy continues to follow the pattern the show has followed for years. A story of the week, with pop culture and/or political jokes thrown in throughout the episodes. It is really the formula that has worked for the show for years, and they seem to be content with it. By now, the show has been around long enough that people know whether they like it or not. I personally still find it entertaining, although I do not think it is as good as it was during its original run on FOX before it was canceled and brought back. The DVDs do have the advantage of being uncensored, so the jokes can be a bit edgier and they do swear a lot, including dropping more than a few f-bombs throughout the season. The big "special" episode of the season was the season finale where Brian and Stewie travel to India to meet a call center worker that Brian falls in love with over the phone. There are some Bollywood references and a spoof of Slumdog Millionaire. 

For those who get the DVDs, the extras include commentary tracks on select episodes and deleted scenes for every episode. The deleted scenes are accessible from the extras menu on the main screen for each disc, but if you want to listen to the commentary tracks, you have to go into the menu for each individual episode menus, then go into the extras menu for the specific episode. So, it is not extremely convenient. The commentary tracks do not include any of the cast members, usually the writer and director of the episode and one of the producers (not Seth McFarlane). They are good, but not a must listen to. There is also a full animatic/storyboard sequence for one of the episodes.

Overall, the show is still good, even if it is getting a bit long in the tooth now. If you are a fan you will probably like this season, even if you do not love it as much as you have in the past. If you have never liked the show there is nothing about this season that is likely to change your mind.