Family Guy: 10 Biggest Changes Made To The Show

Is Family Guy the same show it was in the first few seasons?

By Jay Anderson /

Family Guy has become almost the anti-Simpsons over the years. Despite a heap of similarities between the two, Family Guy has gone the route of shock comedy while the Simpsons have played it safe, for the most part sticking with telling stories with obvious morals and lessons to be learned. Family Guy had some of that at the start, but over the years, it has changed - some say for the better, some say for the worse. There's no question, however, that compared to its earlier seasons, Family Guy is now a completely different show. Peter has gone from dumb but caring to just plain dumb, while since Stewie "killed" Lois the defining side of his character has been changed drastically. Meg has been featured less and less, Chris has the same problem, both have gone from being somewhat typical teenagers with real life problems to one-note characters with about as much screen time as the Greased Up Deaf Guy, and Brian has become an almost unlikable character. Those are a lot of changes, and frankly, none of those listed are for the better. That's not to say that the show hasn't improved in some areas. For starters, Peter's job change (which we'll get to in more detail shortly) made a lot more sense within the world of the show. The animation has improved over the years, and we've at least been spared further Conway Twitty cutaway "gags." The "Laugh It Up, Fuzzball" trilogy of Star Wars spoofs may have been the high point of the series, and any time James Woods appears, it's always good for a laugh. When considering the biggest changes we're looking at the entirety of the series, at both on screen and off screen changes. Be it in character or approach, here are ten of the biggest changes made to Family Guy over the years.