Family Guy Returns

I had a nightmare this weekend.
I dreamt that I was watching the first new episode of Family Guy in 3 years, and it sucked. The voices were different, the dialogue was forced, the jokes were flat. In other words, it had become a sitcom. It was a huge relief when I woke up and figured out that it was just a dream. But then I got to thinking...

We've been waiting 3 years for new episodes. 3 years. Now, not all FG fans have been waiting this long. The group is split into two separate but friendly subdivisions: First, there's the hardcore fans. The fans that watched the first episode after the 1999 Super Bowl and never looked back. The fans that watched as many shows as possible, sometimes under the influence, and had VHS tapes with the original commercials and everything. I am proud to say that I fall into this category. The other half (which actually takes up far more than half of the fan base) consists of fans that never really caught the originals, but woke up to it with the Cartoon Network re-runs and the DVDs (which, in my opinion, is the best show to have on DVD-- ultimately watchable, any time, any episode). Thankfully, this second group of fans was so large, the network was forced to un-cancel the show (a network first).
Now where was I?
Oh yeah-- 3 years in waiting to watch this show, less if you're a newcomer, but it's still a long wait. Is there really any show that can live up to this hype? Think of the last episode of Seinfeld and what a letdown that was. That show had been in production for all of 2 months. This is 3 years. That's almost 5 years!
I know I should give [FG creator] Seth McFarlane more credit. He is, in today's world of pop-culture, a genius. And I don't just throw that word around lightly (OK, so maybe I used it a few times about Sir Mix-A-Lot a few years back, so sue me). A mind like his all but ensures that the season is going to be a huge success, and all my fears will be eliminated. It will be raved about by the original fans, the second wave and even the third wave. FOX executives will look moronic and smart at the same time (kind of like Coke's "New Coke/Coke Classic" debacle of the mid-80's). World hunger will be cured, polio eradicated (again), and Chevy Chase will make a comeback.
The last three I made up, but you get the picture. The three year wait ends this Sunday, at 9PM, and I'm really looking forward to it.
But I'm still scared.

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