Family Dog - Amazing Stories

**Family Dog - Amazing Stories** is episode 170 focusing on the "Family Dog" episode of the television show "Amazing Stories," as part of The Podcastibles miniseries covering the work of Brad Bird. Posted 28 June 2018.

*Note: This only covers the "Amazing Stories" episode. The full "Family Dog" series was only '*created by' *Brad Bird without his direct involvement.*

## Summary

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> Griffin and David review an episode of the 1993 television series *Amazing Stories* directed by Brad Bird: Family Dog. This episode is sponsored by Never Seen It podcast.
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A mid-week bonus episode! Something that #TheTwoFriends wanted to experiment with - a bonus ep that wouldn't be full-length, perhaps about a smaller piece of content, that could be released mid-week just to get it out there.

Holy cow, "Amazing Stories" had a wealth of talent behind the scenes. So many names were on board to direct one episode, or star in one, or animate one... and that brings us to the Family Dog episode of that show. The development of this thing was weird! It took years for it to be made, and get workshopped, and there were licensing deals... good lord, there was even a SuperNES videogame. And the result was great for Brad Bird's career, as he was able to use it to show what he could do. Heck, it established Tim Burton's brand too - happy sunny shiny suburbia sucks!

Is this the beginning of the age of good TV animation, paving the way for "The Simpsons" two years later? Why were all these late-80's early-90's shows about miserable angry people? Is that Edna Mode we hear in one of the voices in "Family Dog?" Say, where did David grow up, anyway?

But seriously...

And, as always: **the "David Is From the UK" bit is RETIRED.**

### Milestones and Ephemera

* the opening credits sequence of Amazing Stories: the most pretentious thing in the history of television
* David, disgustedly: "Must the children's films fuck?"
* Spot the Tim Burton influence! He designed all these Family Dog characters. Also, know that Griffin and David will never ever have another opportunity to discuss Tim Burton on the show. He almost made *After Hours* at around this time - bonkers.
* master of the "Gremlins 2" Gameboy game: David
* master of the "Greendog - The Beached Surfer Dude" Sega game: Ben
* "I can't believe we didn't talk about changing the Disney and Pixar logos in our The Incredibles episode!" Hmm... you mean the 'Talkin' Camp' episode?
* linguistic differences between Britain and USA: aluminium, lift, vitamin, went to hospital, pavement/sidewalk, queuing
* **RED CARD:** Griffin, for screaming directly into the mic
* On the Blank Check schedule: Kenneth Branagh in 2028.
* Moral of *The Aristocats*: everybody wants to be a cat.

### Sponsor

* **Never Seen It** - a new movie podcast! Hosted by comedian Kyle Ayers, he invites great guests to discuss famous movies they'd never seen before! And recurring segments like "Guess the movie based on Kyle's Dad's description of the trailer." Available on iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Family Dog - Amazing Stories. Audioboom. Retrieved on May 12, 2022.