Family Guy: Blue Harvest - DVD Review
TV Squad already did a review of this episode when it was originally broadcast. What follows is a review of the DVD extras.
Extras include:
- Episode commentary by Seth McFarlane and a bunch of other members of the production team (absent are any of the character voices other than McFarlane himself).
- A twelve minute interview of George Lucas by Seth McFarlene on Star Wars, Family Guy, and a variety of other topics including dating.
- A nineteen minute documentary about how much the creators of Family Guy love Star Wars.
- The original animatics for the episode (includes jokes and animations that didn’t make the final cut).
- A Family Guy Star Wars Clip Show (clips from Family Guy episodes which reference Star Wars).
- A generic Family Guy promo for Fox.
Many of the extras on the DVD revolve around how much Seth McFarlane and the staff are fans of the original movie. The documentary revolves around this fact. The commentary revolves around this fact.
There are a few extra scenes on the DVD episode that weren’t in the original broadcast, such as the scene between Luke and Biggs (played in the episode by Joe) which was also cut from the original Star Wars movie and included in the extended re-release.
The animatic version of the show is interesting because it’s a lesson on the differences between a work-in-progress and a final cut. For example, in the animatic at the beginning of the episode when the family is watching television, they’re watching House (or rather, whatever is on after House). In the final version, they’re watching golf.
I found it interesting in the documentary when they were discussing the differences in drawing the regular characters and their Star Wars equivalents. Apparently, Stewie was more difficult to draw due to the increased number of lines and shadows in Darth Stewie. It’s also nice when the creators explain which piece of pop culture they’re referencing, otherwise you feel like you’ve missed something.
I think the best part of the DVD extras was the interview with George Lucas by Seth McFarlane. It is pretty much revealed that George Lucas is somewhat indifferent to the Star Wars phenomenon despite being the creator behind it. I wonder if he feels the same way about Howard the Duck? On the other hand, his kids are fans of Family Guy (his family TiVo is full of episodes) which probably explains his involvement with the making of this parody.
Based on the commentary, apparently Mark Hamill was offended by the line “I am Han Solo. Captain of the Millenium Falcon and the only actor whose career isn’t destroyed by this movie.” They had originally wanted to try and get him to record commentary for the movie but the security guard wouldn’t let him in. Okay, that last line was a joke.
I think this DVD (which will be released tomorrow and we’re giving away today) is worth the purchase if you’re a Star Wars but not a Family Guy fan. If you are a Family Guy fan, then it might be worth waiting for the episodes to be included on the DVD set for the season. Unless you’re some sort of Family Guy obsessive, in which case you may have to get both.
May the Farce be with you.
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