Features and I blame See be ee wrong with thesnew cult of “rando n_.comed By Liam Britten I. seems like every day on Facebook, someone wants to show me a new video on YouTube, and it always gets accompanied by a message like this: “dood, check out this new vid, its totally random lol.” Totally random. Not totally “funny” or totally “good,” but totally random. Among teenagers and college age people, random has come to replace the words “good” and “funny,” and now represents both qualities in a single word. And I’m afraid I don’t much care for it. It no longer matters how clever or original or funny something is anymore, it’s all about how random it is. For this surge in randomness at the expense of quality, I blame one thing: Family Guy. That’s right, I said it. Family Guy is ruining all forms of motion picture comedy, whether it is on television, in film, or even just internet videos. And who’s to blame for Family Guy ruining quality viewing? You, that’s who. You, the viewing public, who are content to settle for mediocrity in entertainment, and ask nothing greater of television, are ruining comedy for me. There, I got it off my chest, and it feels good. Now, when I blame you for this whole “random” thing, don’t take it as me saying that I’m better than you. Odds are I am, but that’s beside the point. The point is that we as the viewing public have unfortunately decided that we’re tired of comedy that requires thinking. We just want to chuckle at some fat guy with a funny New England accent, and call ita day. Some people call Family Guy “surreal,” but I’d say “lazy” is a better word for its bland, low-brow writing. Family Guy assumes that the viewing public are just a bunch of mindless buffoons who will accept whatever is put in front of them, and every time you 14 watch that program, you are validating their cynical views of the masses. The structure of Family Guy needs no explanation. It is simply a group of vignettes about lovable oaf and Homer Simpson rip-off Peter Griffin, whoalways says “remember that time when I... [insert something completely unrelated to the rest of the episode].” That’s basically what the show’s all about. An episode never really goes anywhere and its characters completely lack charisma and never really do anything, they just keep saying “remember that time when...” This structure makes Family Guy the most formulaic, predictable show on television (then again, CS7 may be a greater offender in terms of being formulaic). What’s really interesting is that Family Guy is supposed to be random, but its randomness is predictable. I guarantee you that 90 per cent of Family Guy’s flashback vignettes are about one of the following: a) a 1980’s TV show, b) an obscure celebrity, or c) an ill-considered job choice for Peter. Tell me I’m wrong. You know I’m not. What really pisses me off is when Family Guy fans think that their stupid show is somehow comparable to the greatest comedy show ever made: Monty Python's Flying Circus. People think that just because both shows have vignettes that deal with unpredictable subject matter, somehow Family Guy is the heir apparent to Monty Python’s very big shoes. But Monty Python was a much deeper and more complex show than Family Guy could ever hope to be. Where Family Guy’s jokes are almost always disposable and inconsequential to the plot of an episode, Monty Python always did their best to make sure that CONTINUED ON PAGE 21 Dare 2BDigital The Online Learning Challenge Dare2BDigital is an online event. Audience members and student tearns compete in a series of challenges to win prizes. You can play. It’s easy! www.dare2bdigital.ca CAMPUS.CA