'Family Guy' Season Premiere: When Peter Met Homer

Adam Reynoso ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

After years of both poking fun at one another and fans arguing about which is better, two of the most popular animated series finally got to meet in one of the best hours in both series’ most recent years. Yes, Family Guy‘s Peter Griffin (and Co.) paid a visit to Springfield and met the titular Simpsons in a crossover that looked at both shows and poked fun at the similarities, while also establishing that both have their own styles and brand of comedy as well.
The setup is pretty standard for the usual Griffin family outing. Having angered the town with his sexist comic strip, Peter (Seth MacFarlane) and the Griffins decide to take a road trip until the city moves past the comic. After getting their car stolen, the Griffins find themselves in Springfield, where they’re welcomed by Homer (Dan Castellaneta), who takes the family in until they find their car. From there, the episode follows the hijinks both families get into.

From the beginning, the episode is clearly a Family Guy episode, with the self-awareness and comments about how their trip to Springfield feels like a one off thing. It has everything that makes the show work, all while incorporating everything great about The Simpsons. Both comedies are at their best in this special and it makes it that much better for the audience. It’s an extraordinary to see these two worlds come together and actually interact with each other. The episode makes it a point to set up each family member with their counterpart, even going so far to match Chris (Seth Green) with Maggie (Yeardley Smith), who both enjoy pacifiers.
One thing fans will undoubtedly notice is that the episode definitely has the adult tone more in line with Family Guy than The Simpsons, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Rather, it allows the characters from The Simpsons branch out and take part in the usual, crude humor the Griffins normally take part in. One sequence, involving a car wash, Homer and Peter, goes to places The Simpsons would go just because of the content, which makes it that much funnier. In the scene, Homer and Peter are attempting to see who stole the Griffins’ car by having a car wash for stolen cars. In doing so, they do the car washes in daisy dukes and tied up tank tops, with all of their rolls hanging out. It’s over the top and perfect.

The episode makes it a point to make sure to divide its time pretty evenly between characters. The only exception is the time spent on Lois (Alex Borstein) and Marge (Julie Kavner). That was one of the things the episode could’ve used. They may not be the most exciting characters, but Lois tends to have a fun, edgy side every once in a while and it would’ve been interesting to see that rub off on Marge. Another weak link was the scene between Lisa (Yeardley Smith) and Meg (Mila Kunis). However, one of the highlights was seeing Lisa help Meg find something she was good at, and when it ends up being the trombone, it’s even funnier to see Lisa’s reaction and jealousy, wanting to keep that as her own. The rest of the characters have funny storylines, including Stewie’s (Seth MacFarflane) new friendship with Bart (Nancy Cartwright), in which Stewie tortures his bully as he normally would, and Peter and Homer’s shenanigans in the town.
The season premiere has been in the making for a while now and it was well worth the wait. While it seems like a one-time deal, it would be an idea that could warrant another visit, granted it’s up to par with this episode. Another highlight was seeing the crisper, cleaner animation Family Guy has adopted in the more recent years used for The Simpsons. Just as well, viewers should keep an eye out for cameos from other FOX animated characters.
Overall Episode Grade: A-