Official I hate Seth McFarlane thread

[nobodyspecial]

Thought I would get in early on the action. I wonder how it will correlate with the I hate Beyonce at the Superbowl people?

Anyway, let the criticisms fly.

[Richardo]

1. Hell, I'll get in on the ground floor.

...and I'm not even watching the Oscars.

Word is that he's totally stinking up the joint.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Well, I like his humor. He's good on Bill Maher. eom

[ellenfl]

96. i loved blackadder! eom

[loyalsister]

3. There is nothing funny about Lincoln's

or any other assassination

[nobodyspecial]

5. Too soon?

[TheBlackAdder]

33. Apparently. Perhaps it will be on the next episode of Jeff Ross's 'The Burn'. eom

[MADem]

6. What he was doing was a riff on an old Johnny Carson bit.

JC would tell a Lincoln joke, wait for the groans, and then say "Too soon?"

I thought it was funny--it's not like Lincoln will get all "offended."

[loyalsister]

8. After seeing RW jokes\hopes about

other assassinations, it's never funny.

[MADem]

16. Well, I can't help you understand context, I see.

It's never funny--to you. Seth is not a RW politician. He's a comedian.

Try watching some Carson sometime, if you want to "get" the reference.

Or don't.

[loyalsister]

23. You can't "help" me

because apparently I'm too stupid? The context is not relevant. I didn't think it was funny. I've never appreciated the Family Guy either.

[MADem]

31. You apparently don't care about the source of the material.

Don't go putting the "You're stupid" accusation on ME.

You're the one--you, alone--who created that false accusation out of whole cloth.

I was talking about one of the greatest comedians in American television history, a guy named Carson. You dismissed my comments.

You really should just change the channel since nothing is to your liking--you'd probably be happier.

[loyalsister]

37. For someone who values context

It's odd that you reject the obvious condescending tone of "I can't help you." It's a shame he can't do better than to retread Carson. I tuned him out long ago. I saw a post on FB "where is Lee Harvey when you need him?" Accepting one joke as funny enables the other.

[MADem]

39. Look, I am not interested in getting into an internet pissing contest with you.

You make assumptions about my "tone" that are not in evidence.

That's your issue, not mine.

I still thought the joke was funny--sorry if you didn't.

LINCOLN just won for production design....I'd rather focus on that than argue with you, so you have a nice night.

[JPZenger]

81. The Booth reference was the setup, not the joke

[JPZenger]

82. He did fine (even though I hate Family Guy)

I am not a fan of McFarland or Family Guy, but he did fine last night.

I liked the way he joked about everyone's fears of him. I liked the way he worked his most tasteless joke into a skit that he was going to do, but technically never did (The boobs song that Shatner warned him from the future not to do).

There were just way too many song and dance numbers. I would have preferred more movie clips, personally.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

68. Dave Letterman did a Lincoln assassination joke the other night.

He was talking about the nominees for Best Picture, and said "I hear Lincoln has a shot at it."

Hissss...........

Then Dave said "Too soon, too soon."

Flat joke for him too.

[MADem]

69. Carson wanted Letterman to follow him at TONIGHT, not Leno.

For many years, after Carson retired, Letterman would, on occasion, do a Carson-esque joke and follow it with a little golf swing.

No one realized it until after Johnny died, but those "golf swing" jokes that David did were written by Carson.

[Summer Hathaway]

62. My problem with the line was

that in view of recent events, any 'joke' about being shot in the head is going to fail.

And it did.

[loyalsister]

63. Agreed

I felt that too.

[MADem]

4. I think he's doing a GREAT job!

This is one of the most entertaining OSCAR shows I've seen in a long time--I especially love the music they play when people drone on!

The FLYING NUN skit was hilarious!

[Capt.Rocky300]

9. Me too. I didn't know he could sing.

[MADem]

14. He has an album out--he's got a superb voice.

He's as talented as Orson Welles, but with more self-discipline!

All of those bits on Family Guy where Brian and Stewie sing?

That's him--he sings those songs and he writes them too.

His song for the movie Ted (sung by Nora Jones) is up for an Oscar--he says "Forget it, Adele is gonna win" but it is a good song.

[Capt.Rocky300]

25. Wow, I didn't know any of that. Thanks.

[Dorian Gray]

77. Ha

I love Orson Wells. Super talented. No self-discipline. (Have you see his California Champagne commercials?)

[TheBlackAdder]

34. He does many of the singing bits and voices on Family Guy.

He does a good Marty McFly.

[xxqqqzme]

66. Count me surprised.

He has a very good voice. I didn't know.

I have always enjoyed his appearances on Bill Maher.

[11 Bravo]

79. That was the biggest surprise for me, as well. The guy has some serious pipes!

[dflprincess]

19. The theme from Jaws nice touch for those who go on too long

And the Flying Nun skit was great

[Logical]

7. Lost your sense of humor at a young age I assume? n-t

[nobodyspecial]

12. No, I'm actually enjoying it

I was just hoping to capitalize on the discontent around here and get a bunch of replies.

[Logical]

17. LOL, ok, I get it now. Sorry. n-t

[nobodyspecial]

22. No worries

I got jealous of all of the Beyonce action and wanted to make sure I didn't miss it this time.

[Logical]

29. Great point! N-t

[northoftheborder]

10. Some of his jokes are truly lame, but I like his ability to keep the pace going in a lonnnng......

....show. And I like his singing.

[Blaukraut]

11. I think he's doing great! Word of advice....

Don't read David Corn, Ari Melber, and to a lesser degree Ezra Klein's comments about the Oscars on twitter. Holy cow, they could suck the joy out of a sunrise!

[nobodyspecial]

26. I'm sure they are about as much fun

as some of the people around here. Being politically savvy can definitely send you into the abyss.

[kwassa]

13. I think he is doing just fine.

He is moving it right along.

How many animators can sing and dance like this?

[avebury]

15. I don't think that he is all that great.

But I also don't think that the show needs to be 3+ hours long either.

edit to add - He looks like the guy that played Peter Brady on the Brady Bunch.

[nobodyspecial]

24. You do realize that the host

has not control over the length of the show, right? Big viewing night so they stretch it out to sell lots of ads for mega bucks.

[avebury]

32. Yeah I realize that. I don't watch commercials,

even Superbowl commercials. I watch as much TV On Demand as possible. Their ads are limited to promoting shows and not products/services.

[truebrit71]

18. He's doing a great job...

Sorry to rain on your parade...

[EastKYLiberal]

20. This is what happens when people like MacFarlane have to water down their jokes. nt

[tridim]

21. I think people are jealous of his many talents.

The guy is good.

[donheld]

27. So YOU hate Seth McFarlane

Who fucking cares?

[nobodyspecial]

36. No, I really don't

Perhaps you should read the thread before replying.

[FarCenter]

28. Who is Seth McFarlane and why should I care?

[MADem]

35. He's Peter, Stewie and Brian Griffin...!

He created Family Guy, American Dad and the Cleveland Show.

He's a freakin' genius!

[siligut]

42. Yes, he is a genius

That's why it's so weird

[MADem]

43. I think this is the best OSCAR show I've seen in awhile.

Then again, SF's humor is grounded in 60's schtick and his point of reference is New England. It works for me as I can relate to both of those.

It's not dragging at all, and he's moving it along as best he can. No long drawn out speeches either, which is wonderful.

If they want this to go faster, they may just have to put some of the "cinematography" and other tech awards over to the "daytime" show that they don't air on network TV, but it's not his fault.

Here comes Seth's song...!

[siligut]

44. Nora Jones sang it too

My gods is she adorable.

I agree, I am enjoying this.

[MADem]

47. Adele won, as Seth predicted.

She wrote the song, as well--it was good, it suited the film, too.

I would have loved a tie, but I guess one a night is more than we often get!

[siligut]

52. Yes, I can't remember a tie before tonight's

Of course, that doesn't mean there haven't been some.

Oooh, Ang Lee won for Life of Pi. Have I said how much I love that movie/story?

[MADem]

55. Best Actress....Funny Girl and Lion in Winter!!

There has been only one tie in the history of this category. This occurred in 1969 when Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand were both given the award. Hepburn and Streisand each received exactly the same number of votes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Actress

[Ian David]

30. I like him, but I'm wondering what went wrong tonight. n/t

[iiibbb]

61. The Oscars is mission impossible

[fishwax]

38. He's been fair to middlin' (to pretty good) -- but the show overall has not been great

Seth has had some good lines and a few misses. He's had a chance to show that he's got quite a range of talent. But the show as a whole has been a bit saggy,

[fishwax]

59. must admit -- it picked up a bit in the second half, though

[proud patriot]

40. I love Seth so BOOOO !

[siligut]

41. Reminds me of a repug, if I didn't know better

Weird

[MADem]

45. Harvard Humanist of the Year.

You aren't very good at guessing, I am afraid. This is part of the reason why I admire the guy so much:

Political views
MacFarlane is a supporter of the United States Democratic Party.[43] He has donated over $200,000 to various Democratic congressional committees and to the 2008 presidential campaign of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama.[101] He has stated that he supports the legalization of cannabis.[102]

[edit]Gay rights support
MacFarlane came to support gay rights and gay marriage after a family member wondered aloud whether his gay cousin's homosexuality could be "cured".[43] The incident angered MacFarlane, who said in a 2008 interview in The Advocate, that such a statement "was fucking horrifying to hear from somebody that you love".[43] He credits his parents for raising him to be a logical person.

MacFarlane is passionate about his support for gay rights.[43] He said it is "infuriating and idiotic" that two gay partners "have to go through this fucking dog and pony act when they stop at a hotel and the guy behind the counter says, 'You want one room or two?'". He went on to say, "I'm incredibly passionate about my support for the gay community and what they're dealing with at this current point in time".[43] MacFarlane continued, "Why is it that Johnny Spaghetti Stain in fucking Georgia can knock a woman up, legally be married to her, and then beat the shit out of her, but these two intelligent, sophisticated writers who have been together for 20 years can't get married?"[43] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_MacFarlane#Political_views

[siligut]

46. No, I know

I know, that's what is so odd. I think it may be because he looks like Donny Osmond.

[MADem]

49. To me, he looks like a late fifties/early sixties TV star.

Not feature for feature, but kind of a Bill Bixby in My Favorite Martian vibe!

[siligut]

54. Hmmm, maybe that's the look he is going for

My feeling is starting to catch up to my brain.

And yes, I can see a resemblance.

[MADem]

56. I think so--he loves that era! nt

[name not needed]

48. Solidly liberal.

[siligut]

50. Yes, I know, I still can't shake it

Oddest thing really. Sorry, until I update Adobe Flash, I can't watch videos.

[ButterflyBlood]

65. LOL you have obviously never seen Family Guy

Seth is a liberal to the core.

[elleng]

51. Sounds good to me tho I've only seen about 3 minutes of him.

Is it the writers too???

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

53. I think he's doing a good job

I'm not a fan of Family Guy, but I like American Dad.

Yeah, he had a few "fffffooooohhh" jokes, but it's ok.

[MADem]

57. OMG--MICHELLE OBAMA!!!!! Intro'ing best pic!!!!

With each branch of service repped behind her!!!!

[MADem]

58. ARGO!!!!! And FLOTUS had the envelope!!!!! nt

[ellenfl]

95. they did a lousy lighting job on michelle. eom

[MADem]

97. She looked great nonetheless....it was a live feed.

Kind of hard to compete with the professional stage lighting at the purpose-built Hollywood venue--any other location would look less impressive I guess.

The service personnel repping all four branches was a very nice touch, too, I thought.

[ellenfl]

111. they could have bounced some light so she didn't have a '5 o'clock shadow'.

otherwise, she looked awesome. great dress! the rw is all up in arms about how much that dress cost the taxpayers.

[MADem]

113. You'd think they'd be "up in arms" about what Iran did to the dress!

Worst photoshop ever!!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/25/michelle-obama-oscars-dress-iran

[iiibbb]

60. Did the Oscar people not watch any Family Guy... Seth is restrained if anything

sheesh

[ButterflyBlood]

64. Seth is an awesome progressive

He skewers right wingers like crazy on Family Guy all the time.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

108. Like when he had Limbaugh guest on the show?

and kissed Rush's ass?

[TheMightyFavog]

112. Seth is convinced that Rush is just playing a character.

He hints at it in the commentaries on a number of episodes.

[Common Sense Party]

67. Not my cup of tea.

I thought he was boring and trying too hard.

[trumad]

70. He was terrific..

of course some old turds may not think so.

[cali]

71. I thiough his hosting was so-so, but I think he's a flippin' genius.

[reformist2]

72. He was terrible. At the end all he was doing was the segue to the commercial break. Sad...

And NO, he's not a genius. His songs are almost always terrible. What was his opening number? 'Nuff said.

[HappyMe]

74. He's incredibly talented.

He had to water down his kind of humor. I think he did a great job. I usually fall asleep during the Oscars. Not last night.

[WolverineDG]

75. I didn't think he was remotely funny

but then I don't like presenters who laugh at their own jokes. The funniest part of the extremely over-long opening segment was the sock puppet recreation of "Flight." I thought the boobs song was ok, glad the actresses played along with it. But overall, he did a very poor job. I wanted to like him, but Jesus....

The "banter" was so awful, it made me wonder if there had been any read-throughs or rehearsals at all. Samuel L. Jackson all but called "bullshit" on it in his segment with the other Avengers stars.

[smirkymonkey]

115. He was boring.

I was actually kind of embarrassed for him. He just wasn't that funny.

Kind of cringe worthy.

[DainBramaged]

76. I turned him off

he sucked.

Made the whole night suck he sucked so bad.

[Auggie]

78. The guy can't tell a fucking joke -- his timing is terrible. He was aweful.

[Union Scribe]

80. All I know is if he said most of that shit on DU

under an alias there would be fifteen threads in Meta calling for his head on a platter. Talk about sexism, holy shit.

[RZM]

85. I like his personal appearances a lot more than Family Guy

Never liked that show. Just didn't think it was funny

But it's been quite popular, so he must be doing something right.

[Paladin]

83. At His Worst As MC, He Was Still Better Than Whoopi Goldberg..... (nt)

[Apophis]

84. I like all of the "who is Seth McFarlane" posts.

Everyone knows who Seth McFarlane is, including infants and my 90 year old grandmother with dementia.

[pipi_k]

87. Until a couple

of weeks ago, I had no idea who he was. The very first time I ever saw him, he was doing a morning show from the West Coast announcing the Oscar nominees.

I thought whatever jokes he made were lame beyond belief.

Upon reading this thread, I was sort of mystified as to why people seemed to be defending him so vehemently until someone mentioned his political leanings.

Aha! LIBERAL!!!!

Well, that does it then, right? The same jokes coming from a Conservative would no doubt be stupid, boring, and lame to many here.

So, OK. He's a Liberal. I still don't like him, and I don't base my opinion of people's talents on what political party they belong to.

Anyone who does like him...fine. Whatever floats yer boat.

But really...I don't think it's sporting of the people who do like him to accuse those of us who don't like him of being humor impaired or whatever.

[Apophis]

91. His jokes can be sexist and racist at times.

I don't know any liberals in my social network who make those types of jokes.

[hedgehog]

92. At times?

[Apophis]

94. Touché.

[pipi_k]

93. Me neither...

which is why some of the attitudes here are sort of puzzling.

Those same "jokes" would be condemned if they came from a Conservative mouth.

So many people call him a genius.

I dunno. Must be me. I've seen "Family Guy" and found it rather obnoxious.

And that ugly little Stewie baby...can't stand him.

OTOH, my idea of comedic genius is someone like Johnny Carson...Lucille Ball on "I Love Lucy"...

[MadrasT]

103. Never heard of him

I think American Dad is hilarious though I rarely see it as I do not have pay TV

[cbdo2007]

86. I thought he did as good as you can do hosting the Oscars.

It's a tough gig and most people fail miserably....therefore, I've got to give him credit for not failing miserably.

Loved the Lincoln/John Wilkes Booth joke and the follow up. hahahahahahahahahahaha He is a pretty funny guy.

[MADem]

98. I liked the Old School musical numbers, as well as the guest singers.

Bassey! Streisand! And they were both great!

I really liked the show--we're still taking about it round my house!

[Dpm12]

88. Seth MacFarlane

I have always thought was cool. I think people are just upset with his sense of humor on the Oscars. I love Family Guy and American Dad! Now, I agree that picking Seth wasn't probably the best choice, but the AMPAS knew what kind of jokes he did and should have known that he would do those jokes. I though Seth was a pretty good host though. If you watch Family Guy frequently (I do) then you are familiar with his sense of humor. The old, mostly conservative audience who watches the Oscars and see him would think he isn't funny because he has a liberal show, with a sort of liberal sense of humor. It brought a nice blend of MacFarlane humor to the Oscars. Overall, 8/10

[Jamaal510]

89. I liked his movie "Ted" and his show "American Dad",

but I think I outgrew Family Guy. I used to like it a lot, but now I just find it to be a little too silly. The chicken fights drag on too long, Peter Griffin acts goofier than ever, everybody in the family hates Meg for no reason, and it seems like half of every episode consists of flashbacks.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

101. Pre-cancellation Family Guy was terrific

Just consistently laugh out loud funny.

After it came back after the original cancellation, it just lost a lot. Too many "Brian as a Real Person" plot lines.

[Jamaal510]

109. I know that my mother gets annoyed every time there's an episode of him

falling in love. She gets creeped out by the idea of a dog wanting to go out with a human.

[The Straight Story]

90. If he was a poster here.....

There would be a meta thread or more a day about him and he would be banned.

[MADem]

100. And the irony is that he's done more to elect Dems than the entire membership here combined, I'll

bet....at least the "active" members. I am CERTAIN that if you took the loudest crew of Don't say this/don't do that people, his contributions to our cause would steamroller theirs.

He's given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Dem candidates, and he's a passionate gay rights activist. I'm sure all that factored into FLOTUS's decision to take the Best Picture presentation gig.

But you're right--some people don't understand irony or context, and they like to be authoritarians and make DU suck.

I tire of the Lowest Common Denominator approach to discourse. It makes the place suck a bit.

[ButterflyBlood]

110. His style of humor does not work with internet trolls

Which is a problem. Too many think they are hilarious imitating him, but it only works in the TV or film medium.

Check out this BRUTAL hit on right wing xenophobes:

Oh and this:

[Iwillnevergiveup]

99. There were too many crass moments for me

I think the Academy got Seth up there to insure that the movie industry continues to appeal to the younger crowd. Hated the boobs song and Shatner was totally misused. He can be hysterically funny.

Ang Lee and Daniel provided some badly needed class. But I'm old - what do I know?

[MADem]

114. I watched with a ninety year old woman who loved every "bit"

and thinks McFarlane is the greatest thing since sliced bread. She loved every number, and roared at the first one.

"He can do it all! Best Oscar in YEARS, I tell you...YEARS!!!"

The sixty-ish plus crew in the room and the whippersnappers in their fifties didn't have any trouble with him, either.

I think it's just a "sense of humor" thing. Either you get where he is coming from, or you don't. I don't think anyone can be compelled to dislike him if they like him, and if people don't like him, they probably just never will.

The French say Jerry Lewis is a genius. I think he's less amusing than the Stooges, who are still funny in small doses.

[ecstatic]

102. Interesting experiment...

I didn't watch, but this time around the controversy seems to be surrounding FL Obama's appearance....

[sfpcjock]

104. No, the guy's a great singer, probably better than Sinatra and...

should be included in each year's show, but comedy? Fugetaboutit... you can't laugh at your own "jokes".

http://www.salon.com/2013/02/25/don%E2%80%99t_blame_seth_macfarlane/

[Rider3]

105. He wasn't that bad!

I thought he did a decent-enough job. Yeah, maybe a little crude in some spots, but overall? I think he did well and better than many people thought he would.

[sfpcjock]

106. He needs a few years of mellowing on the shelf, IMO...

That "close to Lincoln" line about a movie that was the best encomium we could have (and clearly best picture) was too dense for me. He's not horrible, but loving women at his age is not the only qualification for presenter.

[The Blue Flower]

107. He can go too far, but is a creative genius

My daughter and I loved the Von Trapp Family Singers bit last night with the uniformed nazi bursting in and saying "They're gone!" A pure Family Guy-type moment.