Celebrating Family Guy’s 100th Episode

9 days and counting…

The countdown to Family Guy’s 100th episode is in full swing for me. I’m a big fan of the show and the anticipation for the 100th episode is very exciting. Looking back now, the possibility of the show to successfully reach such a milestone seemed almost inconceivable.

When Family Guy debuted in 1999, it had a significant impact on the animation industry with its provocative humor, outrageous cutaway gags and “anything goes” mindset. Since then the series has taken everyone on an astonishing ride. Family Guy was cancelled twice; once in 2000 and again in 2002. However, strong DVD sales and the large viewership of reruns on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim convinced FOX to resume the show in 2005. It is the first cancelled show to be resurrected based on DVD sales. And now a mere 8 years later, we’re here to celebrate what was once unimaginable…100 episodes!

The show’s break-out star, Stewie Griffin is a matricidal infant so it’s only fitting that he reaches his “lifelong” mission in this milestone episode titled “Stewie Kills Lois”. In the 100th episode, Lois and Peter go on a cruise, leaving Stewie and the family behind. When Stewie gets upset with Lois for leaving him at home, he vows to carry out a diabolical plan. When Brian challenges him to actually do it, Stewie stows away on the ship, finds Lois and….well I guess the name of the episode says it all.

The 100th episode is set to air on Sunday, November 4th!

Dumbledore’s Gay!

Alright so as we all know by now, our beloved wizard Albus Dumbledore is (or was) actually gay. During the last leg of J.K. Rowling’s book tour in NY, Jo announced the true sexuality of Dumbledore. Jo conducted a brief reading of the Deathly Hallows, which was followed by a questions and answers session. A young fan asked Jo whether or not Dumbledore ever found true love in his life, to which Jo replied, “Dumbledore is gay”. Followed by gasps from the audience, Carnegie Hall soon erupted in applause. Moreover, his “love interest” if you will, was none other than his greatest rival, Gillert Grindelwald.

What do I have to say about this? Big freakin’ deal…

So the guy’s gay. Does this change my opinion about him? No. Is this interesting news? Yeah of course, especially for devoted Harry Potter fans who have relentlessly wondered about Dumbledore’s non-notable love life. But that’s about as far as it goes.

Of course this revelation has ignited huge debate amongst many groups of people and communities. There are, and always will be, naysayers in society that frown upon homosexuality. But that is the world we live in and unfortunately, it’s an inevitable battle that will continue.

However, to all the devote Harry Potter and Dumdbledore fans, I don’t think we should judge Jo or her characters based on this new revelation. We have been religiously reading Harry Potter books for years now, why should our opinions about the books, about Jo, and about Dumbledore change now? Take a moment and think about the kind of man/wizard Dumbledore was. He was an advocate and champion for the rights of house elves, giants, werewolves, muggle-borns, merpeople, centaurs, and even alternative marriages, such as that of Lupin and Tonks. When he fought for the rights of the above mentioned groups, did we as readers frown upon his actions and opinions? Did we think any less of of Jo or Dumbledore because they encouraged equal rights for all? I didn’t think so.

All in all, fans of J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series should consider this new discovery about Professor Dumbledore as simply novel information and insight about a wonderfully mysterious character that we have grown (and hopefully will continue) to admire.