Family Guy: Gift of the White Guy

Grade: B-

In this Christmas Family Guy special on Hulu, Peter Griffin (voiced by show creator Seth McFarlane) has to find a gift for his company’s white elephant gift exchange, and Stewie (also McFarlane) tries to turn over a new leaf, so he can stay off the naughty list.

Just like the Halloween special, this appears to be a regular episode that was arbitrarily called a special and put on streaming. 

This is a somewhat stronger entry than the last one.The Brian (again McFarlane)/Stewie b-plot was stronger and more unexpected than they usually are. There are a couple truly funny moments. Also, Peter’s logical-minded boss Preston Lloyd (The Orville’s Peter Macon) is in this, and he is always fun. (It has occurred to me that he is Peter’s fifth boss, man, Peter has gone through a lot of them).

However, this does have another worn out Peter/Lois (MadTV/The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Alex Borstein) storyline where it does not really focus on their relationship, but it still feels toxic and worn out. 

Also, this wholesale recycles a subject for a joke from an earlier Christmas episode and not as well.

Recommended if you are a fan of the show that still watches, but not a standout or entry point.

Family Guy: Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater

6.5/10

In this Hulu exclusive special, Peter Griffin (voiced by show creator Seth McFarlane) and friends try to help Joe Swanson (Seinfeld's Patrick Warburton) win a in a pumpkin competition against his rival Patrick McCloskey (Glenn Powell). Meanwhile, Stewie Griffin (also Seth McFarlane) decides to bring his teddy bear Rupert to life with unforeseen consequences.

Yeah, this was clearly a regular Halloween episode that the executives decided to dub a special. There is nothing notable about it, and there was no attempt to give it anything of a kick to it involving the holiday (unlike that hour-long Christmas special they did a while back that intentionally had that extra oomph.) 

The stories themselves are just kinda there. However, this is fairly funny with decent jokes in it. 

Yeah, anyone could've voiced Powell's character, but he is good at doing a cocky guy. Also, I liked McCloskey's over-the-top douchey pumpkin-themed attire. Some people may be annoyed that Rupert isn't voiced by the usual guy who occasionally does Rupert in Stewie's imagination. I won't spoil who does it, but it made me think "Huh? That was a surprise choice."

Kinda recommended. It's nothing outstanding, but it has its moments and makes for an alright episode of Family Guy.