Talk:Seth MacFarlane/Archive 1

NOT AN OPINIONS PAGE

Please, don't feel free to talk about whether you think Seth Macfarlane is a genius, whether he's an asshole, whether you think he's a pedophilic rapist, etc. Not on this page. If you have something to discuss about the article, or about contributing to the article, this is your page. If you want to air your opinions about the man to the waiting internet public, go to the IMDb, or to a fansite. For those still in doubt, please read this and this, especially the third paragraph of the 2nd link. Cheers riana 04:00, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

• Yes, please remember that this is a place for discussing edits and other content about this article in a way to better improve it. Take a look at the links Riana has provided to help you get started around Wikipedia. Ajwebb 13:59, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

More info

It would be really nice to know about Seth Macfarlane in a context outside of "he's that Family Guy dude oh yeah he does American Dad! too". What did he do before Family Guy? How did he get on Star Trek? For what else is he notable? jglc | t | c 20:34, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

It has his history before Family Guy, if not particularly notable. He probably got on Enterprise because he was a fan - they have a long history of doing that. See Abdullah II of Jordan and Stephen Hawking, among many others. What more do you want? --Golbez 23:30, July 26, 2005 (UTC)

Maybe something more along the lines of personal information--likes, dislikes, etc.--as opposed to just his entertainment career. If I read somebody stating that nothing about me outside of my job is notable, I'd be somewhat insulted--a person is more than just what they do for a living. For example, the Wikipedia article on Nicolas Cage mentions his interests in mythology, folklore, and comic books; perhaps similar information on MacFarlane is needed? I've heard MacFarlane talk in TV and radio interviews about his love of music, classic films, etc., that was fostered by his parents as he grew up. Maybe we could find some online source that confirms this, so it can be cited and the information added to the article? - Pennyforth 15:56, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Birthplace?

This may be a shot in the dark, but does anyone know definately if Seth MacFarlane was actually born in Kent? I'm from the same general area and know people who are from or have lived there and outside the rare person most families in Kent have their children in nearby New Milford or Sharon; Kent is about midway between the two though in Sharon's favor. Being a western Litchfield County, Connecticut-eastern Dutchess County, New York-ite, I know too much on the matter. Scrabbleship 01:29, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

no mention of macfarlane?

I read the Family guy section, and I didn't notice any mention of Seth MacFarlane. Isn't that a problem since this is the article about Seth MacFarlane? Why is it about Family Guy?! I'm not qualified to edit this, but maybe someone else could help? --Bmk 04:14, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

hack job on "family guy"

Hi, In lieu of my above comment, I decided to just eliminate all the extraneous info about Family guy, and narrow it down so it's actually talking about Seth MacFarlane. I would encourage the author of said hacked out material (which was quite nice writing) to take it from the history and incorporate it into the Family Guy article. --Bmk 04:29, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Seems to me the citation to the reviews that are critical of MacFarlane's brand of humor as exemplified by family guy are not to a reputable source. Frankly, it looks like a reference to just some guy's blog. There have been critiques of Family Guy in more reputable media outlets that should be cited before this. J P M7791 15:59, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Hey, I just added that section since there is plenty of criticism, and I linked to pages on our website because I really didn't want to search for some other sources at the time. I really have no problem with additions, but I sincerely believe that there is no legitimate reason to do away with the section altogether. DizzofDailyRaider 19:12, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Scientology?

I've heard this ridiculous rumour that he's a Scientologist. I couldn't find conclusive proof either way, could someone take up the slack? --Onias 21:44, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure it was just a joke that Matt Stone and Trey Parker made in an interview. 03:13, 25 K00bineOctober 2006 (UTC)

Seth is an agnostic. He made some comments during his Harvard speech about wanting substantial scientific proof that God exists.

Don't you mean Athiest? Racerboy

Seth MacFarlane's alcoholism

I find it surprising that there is no mention of Seth's alcoholism. Sources:

Rolling Stone July 1 article - "My Life As A Dog" written by Seth himself "1995- ..I also get my first taste of Jack Daniels. This is the first incarnation of what will eventually become a crippling addiction."

-Adam Carolla has said that Seth's shyness prevents him from talking infront of crowds sober.

-Seth mentioned his alcoholism in passing on his Dinner for Five appearance.

-Seth often shows up to live events drunk (ie. the Stewie movie premiere) He even drinks on talk shows using a coffee mug. He's admitted this on Craig Ferguson.

-He carries a flask of Jack Daniels in his jacket. He was drinking from it during a speech he gave at Stanford. There's a picture of him holding the bottle of Jack.

-Seth has said on a Family Guy DVD extra feature just how easily he could be a complete alcoholic.

-On "Too Late With Adam Carolla", a caller asked Seth what the best thing about working on two shows was. His responce: "It's doesn't give me enough time to face the truth about myself, which would be disastrous". One could infer that he was reffering to his drinking problem.

-Seth's life is supposed to be similar to Brian the Dog's. Brian is an alcoholic.

-Seth also smokes pot. When asked during an interview what he would do if he could go back in time, he stated that he would've tried pot earlier in his life (college).

-There is speculation that he's a coke addict as well, however this has yet to be collaborated. Anyone know for sure? Rumour has it that he only made American Dad for booze and coke money. Again, rumour.

I'm pretty sure Seth is clean drug-wise, but he probably does drink some. 70.225.33.129 20:56, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Random Seth information

-No mention that he was romantically linked to ex-Bachelorette contestant Anne-Michelle Seiler (WireImage has images of them together for several months at award ceremonies) and Christa Campbell.

-There's no mention of his Emmy win for the song "You've Got Alot To See" from episode: Brian Wallows Peter Swallows.

-On the commentary for "Road to Rhode Island", Seth claims that he quit smoking, however his MySpace says that he still smokes, so who knows.

-No mention of the fact he's a strong Democrat who's anti-George W Bush. He's said this in numerous interviews, commentaries and articles including one interview where he was asked how he was like Stewie. Near the bottom, he states that unlike Stewie, he doesn't get easily angered over things, except GWB.

-I got the impression from some of his interviews that he's a bit of an environmentalist. Brian the Dog (his alter-ego) drives a prius and recycles fervantly. Seth brought up the environment and the homeless problem in an interview where he commented that the government should have better things to concern themselves with than censoring cartoons. Anyone have conclusive evidence of this? Know what kind of car he really drives?

-Seth on his relationships: "I have some Brian type issues from time to time — looking for the right person — but I date as much as the next guy". Says it can be difficult to discern people's intentions. Source: The Daily Princetonian

-Seth on college: "I suppose if I had gone to college in a place like New York City, I would have just been cowering in a corner somewhere the whole time." (Further proof of his extreme shyness)

-His favourite musical is the Sound of Music. He's stated this plenty of times.

- At age 5, he had a dog named Hannah that died. When doing sad voice recordings, he often thinks of that time when he first learned about death.

-Seth on what he'd like to do before he dies: "I would love to write a Broadway musical."

-Seth on his favourite books: "Flatland was a great book... Edwin Abbot. I gotta say – I went nuts over A Brief History of Time, the Stephen Hawking book. I'm sort of a sucker for that type of stuff."

-Seth on his favourite movies: "I gotta give it to The Sound of Music. I'm sorry. I know that's, like, a lame answer, but I f***in' love The Sound of Music. It's The Sound of Music... It's not like it's some obscure independent film. There are those who would be expecting me to say Caddyshack – which is number two..."

-Seth: (his favourite piece of music)"There's a Johnny Mercer/David Raksin song called "Laura" that just always got me right in the gut, ya know?"

I'm sorry I don't have all the sources printed here. They're easy enough to find though if you look up the quotes on Google.

9/11 Section

I was wondering who thought that part was unencyclopedic. It seems notable. Just H 04:30, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

If you see this section as unencyclopaedic then maybe it could be included in a trivia section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.21.128.1 (talk • contribs) 05:39, 2006 December 10 (UTC)

With out some explanation on the talk page, the template:Unencyclopedic serves little purpose. Since the section seems ok to me, I am going to remove the tag. —MJBurrage • TALK • 18:25, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Did Seth get married?

Getty Images is refering to actress Jessica Barth as Seth's wife (Spike Tv 2006 Video Awards). Can anyone confirm? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.203.42.76 (talk) 20:14, 12 December 2006 (UTC).

WHY DOES THE PICTURE NOT GO IN PROPERLY??

I say this article should be locked

I realize a lot of people aren't that fond of Mr. MacFarlane, therefore some of them will vandalize the page. I think it is best that someone protect this page from future editing. Just a suggestion. MichaelGriffin 18:58, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm currently working on a proper and expanded version of this article and I was planning to request a semi-protection after I'm done. Nat91 01:45, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Removing Criticisms

Hey, sorry, I deleted the critcisims section, and I got a notice , saying that I did not put in a reason in the edit summary. Whoops. The reason I deleted it, and the reason why I think it should be deleted because the criticisms do not seem to be from a major media source but the rantings of one person. And if you look at the name of the site dailyraider.com, and see who was the person who put the criticisms in the first place, it was a dizzofdailyraider.. so I guess I will delete that bit again, but put in these reasons in the edit summary box. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 132.206.72.82 (talk) 19:46, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

ETA: I just made the change, if the reason I listed is not valid enough, sorry, and pelase put it back in. I am not a seth macfarlane fan, I just found that the "criticisms" seem to be more of a personal grudge or rant.

I started that section because there is criticism for him and to deny such is utterly pointless, I linked to stuff on the webpage I write for because it was convenient and I knew who wrote everything as opposed to other sites where it would actually require effort to find some of the stuff. DizzofDailyRaider 03:16, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

RE: DizzofDailyRaider Isn't it self promotion to include and link to your own personal "opinions" or baseless rants? I mean if your own musings are allowed to be put into the criticisms section, I could start up a blog detailing how awesome Seth Macfarlane is and include that in the praise section. I actually took a little look into that site, and found an interesting thread topic in the forum. http://www.dailyraider.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=882 hm... So it seems you folks at dailyraider have a history of messing around in wikipedia. I dunno if that is one valid reason to remove the criticism section, but it does make your motives suspect. 132.206.72.204 14:47, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Please see WP:COI and WP:RS, which resolve this debate handily. -- TedFrank 17:39, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

The "criticism" section is based only on the opinion of one website/person. It should be removed per WP:COI and WP:RS as mentioned above. Nat91 19:24, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Then may I remove the section? I am afraid if I do so, then the user DizzofDailyRaider will merely re-insert it in. What should happen then? And as suggested below, I could just put a note to refer to the criticisms of family guy page. However it seems that article too has been marked for using improper sources, but on the other hand I do notice at least the sources are more relevant or proper than the soucres on that page. 132.206.72.82 16:16, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

ETA: I see my post was unnecessary, sorry about that. I suggest though that this page be put into protection soon, because I have a feeling the dailyraider folks will come back and re-edit it again. 132.206.72.82 16:24, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

There is, however plenty of criticism that meets WP:A standards if someone wants to make those edits. -- TedFrank 08:20, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't think that should be here because there's already an article about that. It'd be kind of repetitive. Nat91 17:53, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree, this belongs in "see also", not a bloody one-line "Family Guy has been criticized a great deal [citation needed]"- seriously, that's pathetic and totally not wikipedia material. --24.27.18.94 18:59, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

I removed the criticism

I think this page should be locked. Too many people are editing it as they see fit and not actually adding information to the article. 70.225.74.67 15:08, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Edit warring on the infobox

There's been considerable back and forth on this page in the last few days, and a big chunk of disagreements since semi-protection in early December, and nobody seems to be talking about it, outside of edit summaries. Would those making all these reverts care to discuss their positions? BusterD (talk) 21:50, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

Not sure about others, but I was simply combining alike descriptions, and once inserted lists. Only reasons given for removal of lists is that they were "garbage" and don't "look right". XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 22:03, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

Occupations

I am posting to seek consensus on Seth MacFarlane's notable occupations. As a biography of a living person only notable occupations should be added. Further, occupations not sourced in the body of the article should not be in the lead. Flat Out let's discuss it 01:30, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

We're dealing with one disruptive editor, not an absence of consensus on policy, IMHO. BusterD (talk) 01:33, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

Agreed BusterD, merely meeting my obligations :) Flat Out let's discuss it 01:38, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

MacFarlane is most certainly known as a voice actor. Stop removing that from the infobox. Binksternet (talk) 01:51, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

What about activist which you have added back in?Flat Out let's discuss it

@Binksternet:, voice acting falls under the general category of acting, so listing that would be redundant when "actor" is mentioned in description. XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 01:56, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

Based on the article as it stands, cartoonist, activist, comedian don't seem to be supported as occupations.Flat Out let's discuss it 02:28, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

I would say cartoonist is supported (or heavily implied) within things like "Family Guy", "American Dad", and "Cleveland Show". One could also say it is contained within "animator". XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 02:40, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

I'd say it's covered by animator. There is reference in the body that suggest he wasn't a notable cartoonist "After college MacFarlane was hired at Hanna-Barbera (then Hanna-Barbera Cartoons) based on the writing content of The Life of Larry, rather than on cartooning ability. He was one of only a few people hired by the company solely based on writing talent.[3] He worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons series."Flat Out let's discuss it 02:43, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

Activist does seem to be supported by the article body, however that along with the others mentioned by Flat Out (cartoonist, comedian), along with television host are all WP:UNDUE weight to be mentioned in the infobox or lead. Only his most known occupations belong there, not everything he has ever done in his life. STATic message me! 02:51, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

It seems he is a notable activist, but I didn't feel it was an occupation. Do we have consensus to remove cartoonist, activist, comedian? Flat Out let's discuss it 02:56, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

I would only keep comedian out of those of anything. XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 03:46, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

There is no reference to him being a comedian in the article body. Comedy writer yes, comedian no Flat Out let's discuss it 03:55, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

In that case go ahead and remove comedian, voice actor (since it is contained within actor), activist, and cartoonist. XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 04:01, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

I dont think there is consensus to rm voice actor, but I have taken out the other three and inserted a note.Flat Out let's discuss it 04:09, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

So remove television host? Yes or no? Seems to be incredibly WP:UNDUE weight. Yes he hosted a few one night shows and award shows. But he is not significantly known for hosting any one TV show for a significant amount of time, like Ryan Secrest to American Idol.STATic message me! 05:04, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

• Support Flat Out let's discuss it 05:07, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

Support removal of television host XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 14:29, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

Net worth parameter for infobox

I had reverted the edit by User:Monterrosa which cited the $150m figure as net worth as being cited by CelebrityNetWorth.com. That editor restored the infobox parameter, using MSNBC Money as a source. However, the MSNBC citation presented doesn't say $150 million, it says $100 million, and that's sourced to... CelebrityNetWorth.com. I see no compelling reason why the infobox should make a claim with only CNW as a source. It doesn't meet WP:IRS, based on previous conversations on WP:RSN. I'm inclined to delete the $150m claim altogether, based on WP:BLP. It's contentious and not cited by RS. BusterD (talk) 06:37, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Comedian and Cartoonist

Hi there, I was just wondering if by any chances can add comedian and cartoonist to his occupations since clearly he does those things (especially the comedian part, he's really funny.). And he's also listed on the comedian page (List_of_comedians#M) and on the cartoonist page as well (List_of_cartoonists#Notable_cartoonists). Thanks for your understanding.

Cartoonist is already covered within "animator", and comedian would need to be supported in the article with citations. XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 03:26, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

But Animation and cartoonist are two completely different occupations since animation is simply character movement and a cartoonist is drawing the characters which he has done in his shows, his comic strip and when he worked at Hanna Barbara. While for comedian it doesn't need to be supported by a citation when people like Raven-Symoné and Drake Bell have no comedic background in their lives, yes they appeared in sitcoms but no performing any jokes in front of a live audience like he has done in the roasts, SNL, The oscars, and when he did stand up at college. Thanks for understanding. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr. Planck (talk • contribs) 04:16, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

I added comedian along with a refernce, even though a reference really would not need to be added. --- Dpm12 (14 February 2014 at 4:15 PM PST)

Comedian is one of the occupations that should be on his page. Everyone see's him as a comedian whether is at the roasts or the Oscars or even when he did it at during college. I know you guy's are trying to make Wikipedia a reliable source but i just can't stand to see that tiny gripe on the page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:E000:96C0:AF00:DC19:C1F:CB9B:D9 (talk) 03:43, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

First of all, not quite everyone sees him as such. Second, it might not be WP:DUE weight since it's not really something he's known for doing professionally. Being a comedian is not the same thing as making things intended as humorous in cartoons and movies and such, and I have a feeling you might have gotten the two confused.

I would have no problem with addition of "humorist" in the first sentence. Subject's approach to humor is certainly something NOT mentioned in the lede which deserves reader attention and is well documented inside the article. BusterD (talk) 04:16, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

The laundry list right now is overlong, IMHO. I'd prefer instead the more concise and embracing "humorist, performer, and media executive". But that's just my 2 cents. BusterD (talk) 04:24, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

I'm guessing by "laundry list", you mean list of occupations, Buster? It is lengthy but not really WP:UNDUE. From other articles on television cartoon show creators I've read (i.e. Danny Antonucci, Stephen Hillenburg, Mr. Warburton, Butch Hartman, Craig McCracken, Joe Murray, etc.), it seems to be the standard to at least include animator, director, producer, and writer as they all are actively involved in those parts of the show. Humorist could also be included, given how much of his material is in the comedy genre. XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 04:33, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 May 2014

{{Infobox person Change this to this {{Infobox comedian Conno87 (talk) 14:07, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

Not done: MacFarlane isn't just a comedian. Also, changing it to infobox comedian will lose some of the information in the infobox. Strikes me as an WP:IFITAINTBROKE situation. Mz7 (talk) 14:30, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 May 2014

Under "Film Career," there should be information in a new article about Seth Macfarlane's new series he's executive producing for the Stars network, "Blunt Talk" which it set to premiere in 2014 with 20 episodes ordered. JoelAtkinson51 (talk) 19:53, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Please provide a source. XXSNUGGUMSXX (talk) 20:21, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Seth Macfarlane: Swingin' in Concert

Seth Macfarlane did a special on the Epix channel in 2011 called "Seth Macfarlane: Swingin' in Concert" wherein he performed many songs all of which were part of his album "Music Is Better Than Words." No mention of it is made within the article. There was an article about it in the New York Times. Ehoch326 (talk) 05:48, 17 June 2014 (UTC)EH

Suggestion: New subsection under Activism for Reading Rainbow

Seth MacFarlane agreed to match the Kickstarter of Reading Rainbow for up to $1 million. Basically, every dollar after the $4 million mark will be matched up to the $5 million mark. I feel that after he officially makes that generous donation, a subsection should be created under Activism. Thoughts?

Possible counter-argument (slippery slope): This might lead to putting every investment he makes under an ever-increasing Activism section.

Semi-protected edit request on 12 December 2014

can you guys, change the numbers of the Holiday for Swing on the discography section to its current position. thanks. 63.92.244.121 (talk) 03:51, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

 Not done you have not given the "current position" or provided a reliable source for such a change. Snuggums (talk / edits) 03:55, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

References

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Seth MacFarlane/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

The creator of Family Guy. TheBlazikenMaster 17:22, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Last edited at 17:22, 1 November 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 22:03, 3 May 2016 (UTC)