So since I’ve outted myself as a big frackin‘ geek, I figured that I would follow up with a glimpse at how deep the vein of geekery flows within me. This past weekend marked the airing of a “very special episode” of Family Guy that I have been waiting for since I first heard about it 3 months ago. I originally heard about it through following Wil Wheaton’s Twitter.
Wait. It gets even geekier than this.
The episode in question was being hyped as a “reunion” show for all the actors from TNG (that’s a geekcronym for Star Trek: The Next Generation). Even the goddess herself, Gates McFadden.
Tangent time. Significant survival note for readers: Do not ever say anything negative about Ms. McFadden or I will have to strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger. And I assure you, you will know my name is Loba when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
Right. So I fire up Hulu.com (because that’s how geeks watch their television) to watch this episode. What I saw, instead of the spectacular “reunion” show I had been promised, was a typically lame Family Guy episode, with smatterings of funny moments deeply embedded in the heart of unfunny, offensive drivel. Oh, and maybe a total of slightly more than 5 minutes dedicated to the TNG subplot.
As Otto yells in A Fish Called Wanda, “DISAPPOINTED!” I will grant that some of the TNG stuff was pretty funny, such as the interaction between Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn when Stewie first beams them into his room. But all in all, it was a big letdown, especially since their scenes were interspersed through a thoroughly lame main plot about Meg finding God through Kirk Cameron. I think the only scene from that plot at which I laughed involved the opening riff from New Kids on the Block’s “The Right Stuff.”
McFarlane, you really let us down in this one, man. You unduly hyped your show with the promise of a TNG reunion. Yeah, you delivered, but in that half-assed way that Columbia Records used to “give” you 12 CDs for a penny. And both times, in the end the final price just wasn’t worth it.
