Family Guy is a popular show. It has legions of fans who have made it an institution. Once it gets dark outside you can almost certainly find an episode on TV somewhere, and it’s popularity doesn’t seem to be waning. I personally feel it’s hit and miss style of throwing everything on the wall and seeing what sticks makes for an inconsistent show. But credit where credit is due I watch the show all the time, and digging into this set was a generally very pleasant experience.

The show continues on in this ninth volume, which is anchored by one of the better episodes Family Guy has ever produced. ‘And Then There Were Fewer’ is clearly the gem of this collection as it is the inspiration for the box art and menu screens. The set also has some pretty solid special features and, annoyingly, an episode from The Cleveland Show.

Interestingly though this set doesn’t follow along with any typical season order. It includes the end of the eighth season and the beginning of the ninth. I am not sure when the show jumped off of season based sets, but this odd organizational decision makes for a rather frustrating time when looking for specific episodes from specific seasons.

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There’s nothing wrong with collecting action figures or sporting the classic “I’m Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?” T-shirt when you’re well into your 30s, right? Of course not. It’s just that now, instead of riding My Little Pony and making out with Barbie (or vice-versa), they maintain a silent vigil over your work cubicle…and your teacher won’t make your put a piece of tape over “hell.”

So cubicles and teachers everywhere will be excited to know that Fox has announced a line of limited-edition, Comic-Con-exclusive products based on their most popular franchises.

Executive Vice President of Fox Consumer Products, Robert Marick, says, “Comic-Con is a great place to engage our most passionate fans and we want to reward them with unique and special offerings that they won’t be able to acquire anywhere else.” What better way to make your co-workers jealous or finally impress Meg in accounting?

Toys, T-shirts, comics, and more will be featured at booth #4313, and a full list can be found below the fold.

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With Comic-Con in San Diego coming next month it stands to reason we will start to get a better idea of what film, TV and comic book creators and studios are going to be bringing to the show. Today the news comes from Fox, who will be brining 13 shows down to San Diego and in particular will be showing off their brand new Steven Spielberg pre-historic time travel drama Terra Nova.

Other shows making an appearance at the Con include the animated Napoleopn Dynamite, Awake, Bones, Bob’s Burgers, The Finder, Allen Gregory, Glee, Bones, Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and Futurama. So basically, it’s pretty much the Seth McFarland show with a bit of Spielberg thrown in for good measure. Plus, it will be nice to see Stephen Lang get to play a good guy finally.

Oh yeah, those kids from Glee will be there too. Plus, and this isn’t related to Fox, Twilight will also be in attendance and taking over Hall H this year as well. Good times.

Click through for Fox’s schedule. Comic-Con in San Diego goes from July 21 – 24. Of course, as we were last year, we’ll be there this year to bring you all the fun.

So, check back early and often right here for all your Comic-Con 2011 news, reviews, interviews and more.

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• Supercut of the week: Every time Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet call out “Jack!” and “Kate!” in 1994′s Titanic. Hint: it’s more than you think.

• Got a free afternoon or 6? Try to hunt down and watch all 50 of the most insane B-Movies out there. Surprisingly, most of them are already on Instant Netflix.

• If you love reading/writing scripts, then you probably don’t have the money for an iPad. If you did, you’d want the FDX Reader, the first-ever script reader for Apple’s tablet.

• We may have written up something about this in the past, but this fan film about Wolverine Vs. The Hand is pretty spot-on. If only Hugh Jackman wasn’t too busy fighting robots, he could work on a script like this.

• Fox’s Family Guy is tired of being that hot girl who you won’t date. They’re now marketing to fight for an Emmy, of which they currently have none.

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Before you flip your collective lids, the Family Guy creator isn’t taking on another live action venture into the residents of Bedrock. Instead, Macfarlane is working with Fox on a brand new animated series based on the modern Stone Age family.

While Macfarlane’s still fighting the PTC on whether or not his show should still be on the air, it looks like he’s getting the full support of Fox to work on a weekly animated Flintstones show. From THR:

Much will remain the same about the cartoon that aired in primetime on ABC from 1960-66, but the creator of Family Guy and The Cleveland Show says some updates will be necessary: “What’s the animal version of the iPod?” he said. “That’s the kind of thing we have to think about.”

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Starting with the cultural phenom that is The Simpsons in 1989, Fox has been the undisputed king of prime-time animation. They have given us King of the Hill, Futurama, Family Guy and American Dad, but they maintain a reputation of being corporate monsters who will kill any show that doesn’t meet their insane expectations. Even going as far as trying to murder two of those classic shows in their primes and snuffing out The Critic before it’s time.

So fans of the wonderful new show Bob’s Burgers have had the nagging fear in the back of their heads that Fox doesn’t quite get it. Well fear no more Bob’s Burger-philes (or is it Bob’s Burgonians?), Fox has renewed the show for a second season.

This is fantastic news because Bob’s Burgers is the best animated show currently running in the Animation Domination line-up on Sunday nights. Family Guy has lost it’s way, The Simpsons is solid, but has lost the spark that made it must watch TV in the 90′s, and the less said about The Cleveland Show the better. Only American Dad seems to be firing on all cylinders these days, and even that show doesn’t match the consistency Bob’s Burgers has shown in its short run thus far.

Until they gets off the Seth MacFarlane bandwagon, Bob’s Burgers is the last, best hope for Fox’s reign as prime-time animation king.

Last night may have been the world premiere of Robot Chicken’s third Star Wars special, but the stormtrooper jokes and Ewok references are far from over, as the third installment of the Family Guy Star Wars specials hits DVD and Blu-Ray. Ready for the best news of all? We’re giving a copy away!

Following the trend, this film is a direct spoof of Return of the Jedi, titled It’s A Trap!. Expect some amazing cameos from genre actors like Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Carrie Fisher, and a few more surprises we won’t even spoil.

How do you win a copy? It’s easy! Just follow @theflickcast on twitter, tweet out that you want a copy of It’s a Trap on DVD, and answer the following trivia question correctly.

Who does the voice of the Rancor in “It’s A Trap”?

•    Jon Stewart
•    Rush Limbaugh
•    Bill Mahr
•    Jay Leno

In what feels like a George Lucas joke arms race, Seth Green’s Robot Chicken and Seth McFarlane’s Family Guy have been going neck and neck with their own Star Wars specials. The good thing is that there is no real loser, as both productions share much of the same talent, and we all benefit.

Hard to believe, but coming up this month is the third installments of both Robot Chicken and Family Guy’s specials. It’s A Trap, McFarlane’s Return of the Jedi spoof will be hitting DVD and digital download on December 21st, but Green has him beat by mere hours, as Robot Chicken: Star Wars III airs on Adult Swim December 19th at 11:30.

All of your favorite characters are back for the special, like Donald Faison as the Stormtrooper, Breckin Meyer as Boba Fett, Seth McFarlane as Palpatine, and countless other voice actors lending a hand.

Check out the very first promo for the special after the jump and be sure to tune into Adult Swim on December 19th.

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Just when you thought it couldn’t get any funnier, Seth McFarlane and his band of miscreants are at it again, as they round out their Star Wars trilogy with Family Guy: It’s A Trap!

Taking on the events of Return of the Jedi, here’s the full rundown from Apple:

Clear some space for the third chapter of the funniest freakin’ trilogy in the galaxy! Once again, the Family Guy alliance travels far, far beyond the beyond the boundaries of good taste to bring you an outrageous sci-fi spoof filled with hilarious humor, adequate animation and a happy ending (giggity). So get ready to experience the lighter side of the Dark side with Peter Solo, Chris Skywalker, Princess Lois, Stewie Vader… and some surprising new faces. May the laughs be with you!

Let’s hope that this is a large enough success for the team to take on the new Star Wars trilogy next, as we all know how much those are ripe for satire. Check out the trailer after the jump and catch It’s A Trap on Blu-Ray, DVD, and digital download on December 21st.

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It may be taking a bit longer than someone like Blake Lively, but Mila Kunis has some rising stock in Hollywood. A few flops may have held her back, like American Psycho 2 or Max Payne, but with the tandem success of Family Guy and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Kunis is becoming quite the name in the comedy world. Now she’s teaming up with another recent comedy favorite, with his outrageous SNL popularity, Justin Timberlake.

The two are teaming up for the upcoming sex comedy Friends With Benefits about a two friends that try to master then art of “stringless sex”. Of course, things don’t go as planned, and one falls for the other. Who will it be?

The interesting part of the film is it’s R-rated nature. In the newest red band trailer, you get plenty of vulgarity from both Kunis and Timberlake. And yes, ladies, Justin even sings a Semi Sonic song.

Check out the NSFW red band trailer after the jump, and check out Friends with Benefits in theaters on July 22nd.

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For those Family Guy fans who have been impatiently waiting for the next installment of their Star Wars parody series, you need wait no longer. Seth McFarlane and crew have taken on the last film of the original series,  Return of the Jedi.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced that the new film, Family Guy: It’s a Trap! will be available right in time for Christmas. It will be available in both Blu-ray and DVD formats. Those lucky enough to get into the Comic-Con panel received a 10 minute preview of the new spoof and from various reports it doesn’t disappoint. The rest of us will unfortunately have to wait  until December to get a glimpse.

The press release is touting an all-star array of guest stars including Adam West and Carrie Fisher. We also have the privilege of having Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn reprise their Star Trek roles once again. For those who have not purchased the previous two films, it was also announced  that they will be releasing a triple-pack of all three Star Wars spoofs.

If you are willing to wait, there is a chance that they will follow suit of their last release, Family Guy: Something Something Something Darkside, and utilize Family Guy: It’s a Trap! as next season’s finale. There is no report about what special features will be available or whether there will be any other special editions released concurrently.

Look for Family Guy: It’s a Trap! on December 21st when it hits stores nationwide. For more Family Guy news keep it here at The Flickcast.

Since the announcement of Hulu’s pay service (aptly titled Hulu Plus), the big question on everyone’s mind is simple: Why pay for a service that I was getting for free? Well, we’re happy to say that it’s definitely worth it. The worth became apparent to me as I stood in a 45 minute line at Comic-Con in San Diego and passed the time by watching episodes of Family Guy and The Office.

You may be saying to yourself: “I have plenty of videos on my iPhone so who cares.” and before today I could agree with you. There is something incredibly freeing about having access to the handful of movies or TV shows stored on your iPhone. The wonderful new Hulu Plus app gives you instant access to every episode of hundreds of different TV shows and movies.

Unlike previous streaming technologies, such as Slingbox, that required WiFi, the videos streamed seamlessly using the 3G network and the quality was on par with any video purchased in iTunes. Another concern that usually pops up with programs like this is how it will handle multitasking when faced with oncoming texts and phone calls.

Hulu Plus performs admirably by reloading the video where you left off, rather than restarting from the beginning.

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