| Family Guy | |
|---|---|
| Season 8 | |
  DVD covers for Volumes 8 and 9 | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox BBC Three (episode 21) |
| Original release | September 27, 2009 – June 20, 2010 (UK) |
| Season chronology | |
The eighth season of animated television series Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in twenty-one episodes from September 27, 2009, to May 23, 2010, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It ran on Sunday nights between May and July 2010 on BBC Three in the UK. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog.
Starting with this season, the show is animated using Toon Boom Harmony.
As of season eight, the series entered its seventh production season. Production season seven was executive produced by Chris Sheridan, David Goodman, Danny Smith, Mark Hentemann, Steve Callaghan and series creator Seth MacFarlane. The season's showrunners were Hentemann and Callaghan, both of whom replaced previous showrunners Goodman and Sheridan. It was the last Family Guy season to be broadcast in 4:3 and in standard definition.
The season received negative reviews from critics, who cited a lack of original writing.[1] More positive assessments revolved around the "tail end of the season," which "threw out all its old conventions and tried something remarkably different."[1] Season eight contains some of the series' most acclaimed episodes, including "Road to the Multiverse",[2] "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side"[1] and "Dog Gone",[3] as well as some of the most controversial episodes, including "Extra Large Medium", "Brian & Stewie", "Quagmire's Dad" and "Partial Terms of Endearment," which was banned from being aired on American TV, but has been released on DVD (as both a standalone episode and as part of the complete season set) and saw broadcast in the UK on BBC Three.[4][5][6] It was the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation and a Genesis Award for television comedy, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.
The Volume Eight DVD box set was released in Region 1 on June 15, 2010, Region 2 on November 1, 2010[7] and Region 4 on August 17, 2010. Eight of the twenty-one episodes are included in the volume. The remaining eleven episodes of the season were released on the Volume Nine DVD box set in Region 1 on December 13, 2011, and was released in Region 2 on May 9, 2011, and Region 4 on June 15, 2011. Two other episodes were released independently on DVD.
- ^ a b c Isler, Ramsey (June 2, 2010). "Family Guy: Season 8 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 23, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
coltonemmywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Genesis Awards – Winners and Nominees". The Humane Society of the United States. April 24, 2010. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
- ^ Abramson, Dan (February 15, 2010). "'Family Guy' Mocks Sarah Palin's Son Trig For Having Down Syndrome". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ Roberts, Soraya (May 5, 2010). "'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane slammed by Parents Television Council for 'feces-eating' show". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on May 8, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ Cullum, Paul (August 13, 2009). "The Banned 'Family Guy' Episode". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ "Family Guy: Season 9: 3dvd (2010): DVD". hmv.com. January 3, 2011. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.