*Emphasis added.
Geez, boinky, make up your mind.
You're right that Family Guy isn't the greatest thing out there. Sometimes it seems like they writers have watched old Simpsons (or Lucy, or Andy Griffith even) episodes for plot lines, but it's what they do with the material that makes the show enjoyable. Plus, the cut-aways, asides, and flashbacks often appeal more to viewers 25-35 years old than anyone else.
A few things reffed off the top of my head: Good Times, The A-Team, Sanford & Son, Kool-Aid Man (plus a number of 70s-80s commercials/characters), KISS, and Peter turning into "the cleavage of Charlotte Rae"-- Mrs. Garrett from Facts of Life--in the "Viewer Mail" episode. Also, they're not afraid to pay homage to older source material like The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady, Alfred Hitchcock, or the Road Movies of Crosby and Hope (in "Road to Rhoad Island").
And it's often the little things that crack me up--like when a rival fisherman puts up a sign in Peter's fishmarket booth that reads "I HAD SEX WITH ALL THESE FISH." And the Griffin's hometown is Quahog. A quahog is a type of bearded clam. Need I say more? It was these things and others that made me tape the original episodes and show them to friends after the show had been cancelled (winning new fans in the process). Sure, the new shows probably won't live up to all the hype, but I know I'll be watching.
Also, I would like to state that I liked Futurama from the beginning. I sent one of my best friends a Word doc highlighting gags and quotes from the first episode (I wonder if I still have that?).
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Chicken Feather Bed Bugs Bunny Hop Sing Out Side Street Walker Texas Ranger Cookie Dough Boy Wonder Years