Family Guy: The Freakin' Sweet Collection (2004)

3 Stars (out of 4)

'Guy' Humor

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

At first many viewers wrote off "Family Guy" as a "Simpsons" knock-off,and to some degree it is. But it has an appealing cheapness and awillingness to venture into even darker territory. It uses an amusingrecurring flashback device, and it has the talking dog and baby, who aremore articulate and intelligent than the grown-up humans. But itultimately lacks the humanity of "The Simpsons."

This DVD features five of "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane's personal favorite episodes, including one that was never aired (When You Wish Upon a Weinstein) and one that was originally censored (Road to Rhode Island).

Other episodes include: To Love and Die in Dixie, I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar and Lethal Weapons.

The disc contains a preview of McFarlane's latest brainchild, "American Dad," and McFarlane talks about making the fourth season of "Family Guy" at the same time as "American Dad."

Besides voicing Lois, my friend Alex Borstein was one of the show's staff writers. The busy McFarlane provides voices for Peter, Stewie and Brian. Other voice artists include Seth Green as son Chris, Mila Kunis as daughter Meg, and Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson.