WI: Seth MacFarlane boarded American Airlines Flight 11

[ToastyPancakes]

I'm sure that you guys know about Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show. Well, on the morning of the 11th of September, 2001, Seth MacFarlane was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston. However, with a incorrect departure time (8:15am instead of 7:45am) from his travel agent, he arrived at Logan International Airport about ten minutes too late to board the flight, as the gates had been closed thankfully and fifteen minutes after departure, American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked and at 8:46am, it was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board.

So, what if Seth MacFarlane didn't miss the flight and died in the 9/11 attacks? Would've Family Guy suffered a earlier seasonal rot without Seth MacFarlane? Would've Family Guy been cancelled to avoid suffering seasonal rot? How would this affect the future of adult animation?

 

[Admiral Bloonbeard]

Family Guy WAS already cancelled in 2002 and without him I can't see it come back

 

[Megafighter3]

It's likely the series would actually end up getting cancelled earlier. Like, mid-season depending on the production time and end up pretty much in re-runs on Adult Swim from then on. Without it, there's a good chance that Fox's animation line-up would be very different. If they end up doing one as at this point, I'm pretty sure all they had was Simpsons, King of the Hill and Futurama.

 

[Nivek]

I'm sure that you guys know about Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show. Well, on the morning of the 11th of September, 2001, Seth MacFarlane was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston. However, with a incorrect departure time (8:15am instead of 7:45am) from his travel agent, he arrived at Logan International Airport about ten minutes too late to board the flight, as the gates had been closed thankfully and fifteen minutes after departure, American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked and at 8:46am, it was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board.

So, what if Seth MacFarlane didn't miss the flight and died in the 9/11 attacks? Would've Family Guy suffered a earlier seasonal rot without Seth MacFarlane? Would've Family Guy been cancelled to avoid suffering seasonal rot? How would this affect the future of adult animation?

It's likely the series would actually end up getting cancelled earlier. Like, mid-season depending on the production time and end up pretty much in re-runs on Adult Swim from then on. Without it, there's a good chance that Fox's animation line-up would be very different. If they end up doing one as at this point, I'm pretty sure all they had was Simpsons, King of the Hill and Futurama.

If anything maybe Fox decides to keep Futurama longer, maybe an homage to Seth once is clear he was one of the victims.

We lost this too

 

[A Piece of History]

The Star Trek fanbase would be desperately searching for a show that holds to Star Trek's values after Discovery splits it down the middle.

 

[jamesownz]

Yeah, family guy is finished and retains a very dedicated cult fan base.

Dunno how it effects adult animation going forward, it was pretty influential.

 

[Reflection]

Family Guy would go down as a huge cult classic series and a major "what could have been", as I don't see it lasting beyond 2002 (when it was originally cancelled) and certainly no 2005 revival, where it became a pop culture phenomenon. However, in a way, this would also secure Family Guy's status as a true classic, simply by not becoming a franchise zombie that went really bad later, though it still takes a hit because some of their best and most iconic episodes came after the 2005 revival that would never see the light of day.

This also means no American Dad!, no Cleveland Show (though it was a bad idea to begin with, why make a show based on the most boring character in Family Guy?), no Ted movies, and no Orville. Also, I don't think Robot Chicken would exist, as it launched off of Seth Green's success in Family Guy and MacFarlane is a major contributor to that series. In general, adult animation, satire and comedy all suffer from his early death.

 

[JCC the Alt Historian]

If I can give my two cents.

Alright, if Seth MacFarlane got killed on 9/11, the remaining episodes of Family Guy (the show was on its third season at the time) would probably still continue to air on Fox from late 2001 to February 2002 with the final episode being Family Guy Viewer Mail #1. I'm not sure if Fox would actually air the episode When You Wish Upon a Weinstein or not or if it will go straight to DVD.

The first episode to air after 9/11 was A Fish out of Water, which aired on September 19, 2001, eight days after the attacks. This episode would likely be dedicated in Seth MacFarlane's memory.

 

[Ditzy Vixen (RossN)]

The first episode to air after 9/11 was A Fish out of Water, which aired on September 19, 2001, eight days after the attacks. This episode would likely be dedicated in Seth MacFarlane's memory.

Frasier dedicated their first episode aired after the attacks ("Don Juan in Hell") to David Angell and his wife Lynn.

 

[JCC the Alt Historian]

Frasier dedicated their first episode aired after the attacks ("Don Juan in Hell") to David Angell and his wife Lynn.

I heard about that. Its 9th season premiere, too. RIP to them.

I assume Family Guy would've done the same thing if MacFarlane died on 9/11. It's pretty interesting that David and Lynn were on the same plane that MacFarlane would have been on had he not missed his flight.