Family Guy Presents Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show was a pleasantly odd little half-hour sandwiched between episodes of Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy.
Working with Alex Borstein, who voices Lois Griffin, MacFarlane performed in a nightclub set that included an orchestra and an audience.
MacFarlane has a good singing voice and is remarkably dexterous in the way he can switch in and out of character voices such as Peter and Stewie Griffin. This had the effect of softening some of his trademark outrageousness. He sang a bit of “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music, and while Borstein acted as though she, being Jewish, was offended by the choice, I was just impressed at how well MacFarlane crooned.
A too-long gag in which Borstein made fun of Marlee Matlin’s speaking voice was also rendered considerably less than scandalous by the fact that Matlin was allowed to come onstage and rip into the hosts.
Another uneven segment featured “discarded screen tests,” such as Bea Arthur’s imagined audition for Showgirls and Kathy Griffin trying out for The Piano. Borstein essayed both of these impersonations weakly. MacFarlane, on the other hand, did a terrific Bert Lahr-Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz.
Hedging his bets against viewers who might not stick around for 30 minutes of live actors making bleeped or just plain corny jokes, MacFarlane included some Family Guy clips and character appearances, such as having Stewie introduce commercials for Sherlock Holmes and Ninja Assassin. (Warner Bros. Pictures stepped in as the sole advertiser after Microsoft weaselled out of its commitment.)
All in all, not a great half-hour, but certainly fitfully amusing and unusually good-natured.
Oh, and I want to see Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day.
Did you watch Seth & Alex? How did it stack up in comparison to your favorite cartoon, Family Guy fans?
For more on Seth & Alex: Marlee Matlin on Family Guy gag: ‘Lighten up, people’
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I thought it was fantastic. I think they should make it a regular every week.
Not bad. Had it’s moments. Half hour was more than enough. Seeing it once in a while would be fun and a little different, but not every week.
ANYTHING is better than that horrible Wanda Sykes show. Or Sykes herself.
YES!!
Being offensive just for the sake of being offensive is not funny. I thought Microsoft was showing good taste by backing out. How can anyone find this show funny? Whatever happened to funny shows that were done in good taste?
Yeah! bring back good times and full house. Now that’s comedy!
Fortunately when the long segments started feeling drawn out, they brought out the funniest gags, thus saving the best for last (not something Seth always does). So overall I found this pretty enjoyable, especially since I don’t usually end up laughing that much in half an hour. Even Family Guy and The Cleveland Show rarely provoke that reaction from me, and I’m a pretty big fan of both.
LOL I liked Full House
Good taste isn’t funny. It never was.
So simple, yet so true.
I will show to why that statement is completely UNTRUE.
My joke: Your name is KFED! You named yourself after a washed up celebrity ex-husband! What does that say about you???
No offensive humor necessary, and COMPLETELY HILARIOUS!!!
What’d be really funny is if this actually was KFed.
Uhhhh…Joe….
I’m pretty sure that statement was offensive to KFed. Both the real one and the online imitation. So in what non-rational world was your humor either funny or unoffensive? I thought it was neither.
I totally agree that if you’re looking for something that doesn’t offend, watch Big Bang Theory or Glee.
Try watching Big Bang Theory, Glee. Not offensive, yet 2 of the funniest shows on tv.
what happened the 80s are over and u can say what you want on tv now glee sucks soon to be canceled i hope seth macfarlanes the funniest guy ever
Wow…Way to prove your intelligent point. Obviously correct Punctuation and grammar went out with the 80’s as well.
William, I think Seth’s funny too, but Glee is a good show and you should really learn facts before posting inane comments. Glee is a break out hit at the moment pulling better numbers than expected, and striking hits on the Billboard album and singles charts. Think before you post!
ok why look up a page that is talkin about the comedy special, then procede to bash it sayin that w” who can find this funny or what not” now im not sayin that i find EVERY joke in the best of taste but thats the point, the show is to show u that things in life are not that serious, take a joke, besides, im pretty sure seth mcfarlene and alex dont go to fansites of the shows they hate just to badmouth them. show some intellagince and quit wasting time bashing stuff u obvously dont care about, btw seth rocked this show
I was really impressed with how well Seth can sing. I was also impressed with how quickly he can move in and out of character voices. (Both points you made above.) That being said, I did not watch the whole 30 minutes but flipped back and forth trying to find something else to watch during the painful parts.
Rebecca,
I totally agree, I did the same thing. Some of the things were funny, but being mean isn’t to me. I couldn’t stand to watch the full half hour.
I watched the whole thing, and I really don’t understand where the “mean” thing comes in. In making fun of Marlee Matlin, she was there herself to answer what they were doing, and I thought it was great that she found the humor in it. Sometimes I think we take ourselves way too seriously. Sometimes we need to laugh at ourselves.
This show was seriously, hilarious! The best part was, there weren’t any long meaningless, comercials; just movie trailers…
Thank You!
A movie trailer is a commercial…
Sure, but apparently in Marc’s opinion they’re not “long” or “meaningless”, which seems fair enough.
5 out of 5 stars!
It wasn’t that good. There were a couple of funny moments…but it mostly came off as cheesy, odd, and offensive. Cartoon characters can get away with a lot more than people. Although I was relieved to see Marnee Matlin come on stage and be in on the gag. Otherwise I think I would have been mortified.
I agree with Andrew. Not great. The whole Marlee Matlin skit was pretty bad, even if she collaborated, they gave her lame comebacks, did she write them herself? I really didn’t like the punch line of the Edelweiss skit. I think they’re working in a bubble, they need more contact with the outside world. By the way, it’s Bert Lahr, not Ed Wynn. Right after that, I saw a new episode of FG, and they had 2 awful “jokes”, one about 80s actresses being really ugly, and one about Peter getting his head squashed, I guess Seth found the not-so-hidden online pics of accident and terrorism victims.
After giving up on Family Guy last season, due to it’s over-the-top political “messages”, (and don’t get started on how they always pushed buttons.. I’m aware of this.. but last season was beyond ridiculous) I didn’t have any interest in watching this. I can’t honestly say that this review makes me wish I had watched it, either.
Yet you chose to comment. Curious.
Oh, is there a rule that states you’re only allowed to comment on the things you’ve seen? My bad. Next time I’ll ask for your permission before having, and stating, an opinion. Please forgive me. Just so we’re clear, am I only allowed to read articles written about the things I’ve seen, as well? I wouldn’t want to offend you again. And just to clarify… this is sarcasm, you dolt. Just wanted to make sure in case you were unable to wrap your mind around it.
Thank you next time ask and if your suggestions are good enough you can put them on
Hi Amy, I don’ think we’ve ever met……. but we probably should.
Yep, last time i checked having an opinion on something you haven’t seen, heard or experienced isn’t actually called an opinion. It’s prejudice. You can read articles about whatever you want, but commenting on a show you haven’t seen is like saying a book is boring without opening it. Smart.
In order for it to be prejudice, as you explained, I would have to have never seen a single second of what Seth has done, which I clearly stated wasn’t the case. And actually, I didn’t comment on the show, I commented on the fact that I had no interest in watching it, and that this review didn’t make me wish I had. Saying “I haven’t read that book, and don’t particularly want to,” is not nearly the same as claiming “that book is stupid!” But, nice try.
you didnt ask to put that on amy is booted markgore is now in charge of her comments
This was probably one of the worst things I’ve seen all year. Can you say variety is dead? I hope I can and the networks give up on this kind of crap permanently. And yes I’m a fan of Family Guy.
ditto… really surprised anyone thought this was a good idea.
LOL I’ll have to agree with you…watching Seth on stage was just PAINFUL
It was alright. The best part was Marlee Matlin ripping into Alex after she sang that horrible song, but the whole show was stupidly named since it was nowhere near “live”… I don’t see how it’s a surprise that Seth can sing, he’s obviously talented. Probably one of the most opinionated people in hollywood… may end up being his downfall.
Alex Borstein is my least favorite actor. She somehow managed to be the worst thing about Catwoman, and was even worse on this.
I actually laughed out loud a few times, but other bits were a little cheesy and drawn out. I thought the show was decent and a nice change, but not good enough for a weekly series.
The thing that made me laugh was the failed cowboy/western pilot (with Pat Warburton) theme song. I would love to find that and download it. Very funny
That was probably the only funny part of the show…and a song that kids could actually sing-a-long with.
I laughed all the way through, what a hilarious 24 minutes, hope they make more of these(not weekly though)
While I worship the quicksand Seth MacFarlane walks upon, this special made me pause. It seemed poorly contrived. Definitely not his best.
I must agree with you. As a fan of family guy I was sadly disappointed with this special. And Alex’s imitations were very poor. Maybe he is a little too stretched for material now that he has three shows and now this special. Not a good example of his talent.
Not great, but not bad. I would take this over SNL anytime.
Scorpio9094 I agree wit you. I laughed more times in that half hour than I have laughed at SNL this whole season so far. For those people that don’t watch Family Guy I really don’t understand why you watch the half hour special? Go watch reruns of Family Matters because that is a show more in your wheelhouse.
i don’t understand why edelweiss would be offensive to jewish people. In the sound of music it is sung against the nazis and for the pride and unity of switzerland.
You haven’t paid enough attention when watching The Sound of Music, if you think all those Austrian people were singing to the greater glory of Switzerland.
you mean Austria. Being anti nazi does not mean you are pro jews. Austrian were not pro jews. And Alex’s argument did not involve a movie, it was based on reality. Unfortunate that they used the genocide as a reason for her to be happy to be almost the only jewish female standup. it’s like, yay I am queen of the castle because all my relatives are dead!
The Cate Blanchett exchange was the funniest part of the special.
I enjoyed it a lot, Seth and Alex did an amazing job together, they really have great onstage chemistry, Walter Murphy and the orchestra had their moment, , I wish it would have been an hour long, but since there are people complaining about this half hour maybe I understand why they did it. But I really think they really made some great live TV.
EPIC FAIL. They just rehashed some skits in the show done years ago, threw in some weak jokes, and basically showed the world seth mcfarlane couldn’t write his way out of a wet paper bag
I thought the show was great but I also think it should be 1 hour slot!
I laughed ’til my sides hurt, hilarious and i hope another happens sometime. The Matlin bit was great, Borstein is a stand up pro. Wow there are a lot of people who cant differentiate between Comedy and Reality, somebody actually quit Family Guy a year ago, did NOT watch the special yet must get on here to giva an opinion…?
What are you, the opinion police? Welcome to America where everyone can comment on anything regradless if it bothers you or not.
very funny…very talented man!
very funny should have been an hour oh yeah i’m a fan of the cleavland show and family guy
Why all the surprise at MacFarlane’s singing voice? He sings most of the songs done in FG episodes, and does them quite well. The man is obviously a huge fan of musicals and enjoys displaying his singing ability.
What part was funny? It wasn’t outrageous. It wasn’t offensive. It sure wasn’t funny. It wasn’t even mildly amusing. Just stupid.
So what exactly was funny to you?
I like how you state an opinion and try to play it as if it was a fact.
Anyways, good show, could do with less trailers, and FFS Microsoft… you pull out of this but that ad in Europe was approved? what now that that happened you’re now a saintly company?
A lot better than expected! Boy, based on this review, you’d think ‘Family Guys’ offensiveness were something out of the ordinary. Everybody knows Seth MacFarlane makes his jokes out of offending people.
This variety show was amazing. I wish they would do more. The singing was great, I LOVE THAT THEY USED KERMIT THE FROG! The Jew joke wasn’t that necessary…but hey, it’ll do, it’s Family Guy after all.
Can I just point out that Bert Lahr was the Cowardly Lion not Ed Wynn.
Meh. Sounded like half an hour of throw-away material to me.
I mean, they stretched a 10-second Matlin gag into a 4-minute skit. That’s “jumping the shark” territory.
you obviously don’t know the meaning of “jumping the shark”, especially more retarded to hear it referred to a show that’s only been on 1 episode lol
Kermit the frog screaming “screw you!” was the best! And Alex doing Rene Zelweiger (sp?) and Seth as the cowardly lion was funny. And Seth has an amazing voice…he should record something and make his next gazillion dollars.
i’m a huge fan of family guy, but i have to say the special was just painful to watch. the matlin gag wasn’t just in bad taste, it was also really stupid and unfunny. alex borstein needs to just stick to being a voice character. seth is funny and talented, but the special just doesn’t work well. better of staying with the animation.
As Caty said, EW – Bert Lahr was the cowardly lion, not Ed Wynn. Ed Wynn is probably best know to (younger) audiences as Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins.
I Love Family Guy and Seth. Meh on Alex. But the ’special’ was anything but. Very self-congratulatory and bland.
Stick with voicing the animation.