Fox cartoons

During the more than twenty-year existence of the FOX Broadcasting Network, there have been many successful prime time animated series and Fox cartoons. The first and most famous of these, "The Simpsons", was the first such series since the end of "The Flintstones" in the 1960s. With the 5 successful shows, 885 episodes of the shows have aired. With the failing shows, only 49 aired.

Controversy

FOX cartoon series have been the subject of controversy. Most notable have been the controversies stirred up by "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" for their approach to comedy and for the coarse language and jokes that some have said are too raunchy for network TV. These shows have been some of the most risque material aired on FOX. FOX has also been accused by some groups of corrupting children with cartoons ostensibly for teens and adults. In Venezuela, The Simpsons has been taken off the air due to its content. In Russia, Family Guy and The Simpsons were banned.

Ratings Successes

*The Simpsons TV-PG - TV-14, currently on FOX
*Family Guy TV-14, TV-PG, currently on FOX and Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)
*American Dad! TV-14, TV-PG, currently on FOX and Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)
*Futurama TV-PG, TV-14, currently on Comedy Central; 4 episodes has been aired as of March 23, 2008 on Comedy Central
*King of the Hill TV-PG, currently on FOX

Ratings Failures

*The Critic 1994-1995; 23 aired episodes, 9 in limbo:The Critic premiered on ABC in 1994. After one season, it was brought to FOX. It received critical acclaim, being the only television series to ever be reviewed on Siskel and Ebert, in which it received "Two Thumbs Up".

Upcoming Shows

*Class Dismissed Unknown, will be on FOX
*The Cleveland Show Unknown, will be on FOX

Network scheduling practices

FOX has in the past been known to "sacrifice" a show less favored by certain network executives by placing it in the 7:00pm (Eastern/Pacific) time slot on Sundays which is often overrun by NFL games or postgame shows. The frequent preemptions and variable scheduling usually lead to low ratings which gives network executives a pretext for cancellation. This happened to "Family Guy" (although it was revived in 2005 after DVD sales proved successful) and "Futurama" among other shows. This expensive practice may have now ended as during the 2006 NFL season FOX scheduled the 7:00pm hour for football overrun and the post-game show.

Movies

Many of the FOX cartoons have had movies made of the TV series.
*"" (direct-to-video; later split up into three episodes for syndication)
*"The Simpsons Movie"
*"" (direct-to-video)
*"" (direct-to-video)

Unreleased

*"The Family Guy Movie" (tenative title) Talks have begun for a theatrical Family Guy movie.
*"" (direct-to-video)
*"" (direct-to-video)

Release and Air Dates

2005

*September 27, 2005: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (on DVD)

2006

*May 21, 2006: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (on TV)

2007

*July 27, 2007: The Simpsons Movie (in Theaters)
*November 27, 2007: Futurama: Bender's Big Score (on DVD)
*December 18, 2007: The Simpsons Movie (on DVD)

2008

*March 23, 2008: Futurama: Bender's Big Score (on TV)
*June 24, 2008: Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs (on DVD)
*November 4, 2008: Futurama: Bender's Game (on DVD)

2009

*TBA: Futurama: Bender's Game (on DVD)

Crossovers

*"A Star is Burns" - (The Simpsons and The Critic) In this crossover, the Simpson family enters a movie festival judged by Jay Sherman. This episode caused a controversy for fans of the both the shows. Another major critic of this episode is the actual creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening. He took his name out of the credits in result of his reaction.

*"Lois Kills Stewie - (Family Guy and American Dad!) In this episode, Stan Smith and Bullock get in a Mexican standoff with Stewie and Brian only to fail to complete the mission. This episode is the conclusion to the 100th episode, Stewie Kills Lois.

In many episodes of the 5 shows, the shows have mentioned each other. King of the Hill has been referenced in The Simpsons (Bart Star) and Family Guy (Petergeist.) The Simpsons has been referenced in Family Guy (PTV and 8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter.) Family Guy has been referenced in The Simpsons ( and The Italian Bob.) American Dad! has been referenced in The Simpsons (The Italian Bob and Family Guy (Meet the Quagmires and Blue Harvest.)

References

[http://www.fox.com/thesimpsons/] [http://www.fox.com/familyguy/]