One of the biggest problems today is the amount of violence in movies and sex on TV. Whatever happened to those good old-fashioned values... on which we used to rely. Luckily, there's the Family Guy (okay fine, enough); it's Seth MacFarlane's brainchild and his attempt to be a Matt Groening. For some, it's a more unrefined version of The Simpsons while for others, it's a comical genius hidden under the guise of self-aware meta gags, toilet humor, and below-the-belt jokes.
It's not just the adult cartoon's attempt at humor that's polarizing for people. It can also be its characters who, over time, have strayed a little too far from their original intended and relatable versions. This is both good and bad; one on hand, it sets itself apart from other dysfunctional family adult cartoons; while on the other hand, it made some characters downright deplorable. Here are 10 of those characters they arguably ruined.
GLENN QUAGMIRE
Sure, Quagmire's funny and meme-able as heck and his lines and jokes are usually one of the redeeming qualities of the show these days, but are we just going to ignore the fact that he regularly commits crimes in Quahog? They're vile alright, and they involve mostly human rights violations and assaults of all kinds. Of course, it's the show's writers to blame for that, but we have come to associate Quagmire's face to those tasteless jokes.
He still has some redeeming qualities, like when he cared deeply about his sister whose partner was a batterer. However, that makes Quagmire all the more hypocritical; doesn't he do similar stuff to the women he hooks up with (or kidnaps)? It's a good thing some jokes about him are quite tolerable, even those that involve sexual innuendos and him being a creepy dude.
CHRIS GRIFFIN
Chris is definitely one of the most boring members of Family Guy and to makes matters worse, he's a main character. That means we have to sit through episode segments about him which often turn out to be some of the most uneventful in Family Guy. Even his counterpart in American Dad, Steve Smith, is miles better and more interesting than him.
Obviously, Chris doesn't even hold a candle to Bart Simpson. The jokes and musical numbers involving him usually fall flat and as a viewer, a lot of us mostly just want his segments to end so we can move on to the next laugh roulette. Beyond that, he's mostly a wallflower and a dull character. He's someone we probably wouldn't mind seeing gone from the show.
HERBERT
The worst part about Chris Griffin segments are not him being himself; it's him being constantly hounded by Herbert, a senile pensioner war veteran who humiliatingly, is also a pedophile. For some reason, it's Chris he fancies the most and while his show segments were hilarious stuff initially, they tend to get... old and downright creepy.
Are we really supposed to laugh about pedophilia on a regular basis now? MacFarlane apparently loves to keep repeating the same pedophile jokes and scenarios for Herbert and Chris and some of them even happen in real life to actual victimized kids. It's like Herbert only exists because Chris exists and he somehow needs to have episodes dedicated to him and Herbert's always there. Too bad that still doesn't make Chris segments funny enough.
LORETTA BROWN
Loretta is Cleveland Brown's wife or rather, ex-wife. They broke up because Quagmire happened. Loretta cheated on Cleveland for the most mundane of reasons: because she believes Cleveland was emotionless and had no personality. Moreover, Cleveland apparently could not provide the passion she desired in their marriage. So, she slept with Quagmire, and Quagmire being an abysmal friend just went with it.
To make Loretta even more annoying, she actually wanted to get back with Cleveland after ruining their marriage. She admitted that she still loves Cleveland... she really needs to make up her mind. Thankfully, Cleveland didn't want her back. Well, jokes on you Loretta because we actually love Cleveland's personality. He even got his own show... which got canceled, but whatever.
BONNIE SWANSON
Another unfaithful character in Family Guy who happens to be worse than Loretta (but not worse than Quagmire). Bonnie is Joe Swanson's wife. Any fan of the show surely knows Joe-- a paraplegic cop who is also one of Peter's friends. Apparently, it's not just Joe's legs that got paralyzed, but also Joe Jr. down below and this was Bonnie's biggest problem.
She wasn't always like that, of course; Bonnie was actually a decent character early on in the show but she became more and more annoying. Her most despicable moment was cheating on Joe sexually (with his consent, though) and emotionally (with Brian Griffin, lol). Because infidelity to your disabled hero husband is more acceptable than divorce, right?
DR. ELMER HARTMAN
We're not even sure if Elmer Hartman deserves the title of a doctor. At one episode, he even reveals that he just Googles all his diagnosis or looks them up at WebMD. Hence, it's not entirely melodramatic of Peter Griffin when he felt violated with Hartman's prostate exam. Yes, he's supposed to be a funny character, but what he came to hyperbolically represent is infuriating.
More than anything, Hartman reminds us of incompetent yet boastful medical professionals. We all know at least one as adults (or none, if you're lucky), there have been many horror stories about them too. Hartman somehow personifies all of them and that makes his character draw more feelings of animosity than he deserves
PETER GRIFFIN
Initially, Peter was merely an imitation of Homer Simpson... but fatter. A good-for-nothing family man who managed to snag a great and rational wife. Over the years, however, Peter's behavior became more and more of a caricature than an actual character you can relate with. He's supposed to be stupid but with the occasional sparks of wisdom and moral compass about him.
It's too bad MacFarlane somehow managed to reduce Peter to a one-dimensional clown who deliberately harms everyone for laughs. He no longer had any depth in the later seasons and some of the things he does are just too exaggerated or violent. Peter went from a likable idiot to an intolerable bully over time; he's no longer someone we look forward to seeing in the show.
LOIS GRIFFIN
If you thought Peter's transformation was terrible, check out Lois.' She was supposedly the sensible and the patient wife who puts up with his failure of a husband and his shenanigans. Now, she's almost as bad as him. She started making fun of Meg too and went from a caring mother to someone who drugs his baby to make him a celebrity.
It seems the writers or MacFarlane will just about ruin any character's traits and personality for some spontaneous out-of-character humor. Not to mention she later became too sexualized and the tone of her voice also changed with a whinier and irritable pitch. Her voice alone should be enough to make your eyes roll when she's in a show sequence.
CARTER PEWTERSCHMIDT
Lois Griffin's father, meaning Peter's father-in-law. For that alone, he hates Peter but that's not why Carter is exasperating. He's actually one of the worst characters in the show and cares little for anyone else but himself. That would have been excusable if only he wasn't so rich and powerful. Sometimes his hate for Peter is not even justified well and are done just for some shock value jokes.
Oh, he's also racist and anti-Semitic but that didn't prevent him from marrying a Jewish wife and cheating with an Asian woman. Carter's also a bad father (even worse than Peter) and doesn't want anyone to be happy, even his own daughter. Perhaps they intentionally made Carter that bad so Peter and Lois would be bearable?
BRIAN GRIFFIN
How the mighty have fallen. Remember when Brian Griffin was the voice of reason in Family Guy and was an intelligent and witty character? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Apparently, he's also Seth MacFarlane's input and views on the show (he even has his normal speaking voice). So, whatever happened to the smart dog we all came to love?
They turned him into a bigot, a hypocrite, a narcissist, a pseudo-intellectual, and a pretentious contrarian who tries to bed any hot girl he sees... including Lois. Quagmire was right when he roasted Brian (though he's not too far off himself). If Brian transforming into that infuriating douche is the joke, then it's starting to get old... and preachy.