Seth MacFarlane Trivia That Might Surprise You

With Seth MacFarlane's second motion picture coming out in just two days, I decided to take a look at some of this stranger accomplishments.

1. "A Million Ways to Die in the West" was Seth MacFarlane's first novel.

It's becoming more common and more common for authors to be involved in films based on their work.  Stephanie Myers was a producer in the Twilight series, JK Rowling did the same with Harry Potter, but it's rare for Seth MacFarlane to do quite what he is doing with "A Million Ways to Die in the West".  Not only has he produced, written, and directed this film, but he's also given himself the lead role!

2. "Ted" is the highest grossing original R rated comedy of all time.

I think this sounds more impressive than it is, but it's still notable.  To be the highest grossing comedy with an R rating that also happens to not be based on anything is pretty specific.  It's like saying "Alvin and the Chipmunks" was the highest grossing movie released that Christmas that featured singing, dancing, chipmunks and also David Cross.  Still, if we narrow the playing field a bit, "Ted" was still quite successful.  Domestically, it's the 7th highest grossing R rated movie ever.  It's beaten out by three comedies: Hangover, Hangover 2, and Beverly Hills Cop.  It's fairly impressive for somebody's first movie, but he's also had years and years of comedy writing experience.

3. Seth MacFarlane is the highest paid TV writer.

Back in 2008, Seth MacFarlane signed a deal with Fox to guarantee "Family Guy" and "American Dad" would remain on the air until 2012, the deal was determined to be worth over  $100 million.

4. Seth MacFarlane was scheduled to be in American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11th, 2001.

According to a Penthouse interview, MacFarlane says he was supposed to be on American Airlines Flight 11 out of Boston on 9/11.  He apparently was very hungover and had been given the wrong departure time, and when he arrived at the airport, the terminal had been closed.  Here's a quote from a TVShowsOnDVD.com interview.

"The only reason it hasn't really affected me as it maybe could have is I didn't really know that I was in any danger until after it was over, so I never had that panic moment. After the fact, it was sobering, but people have a lot of close calls; you're crossing the street and you almost get hit by a car..... this one just happened to be related to something massive. I really can't let it affect me because I'm a comedy writer. I have to put that in the back of my head."

5. Seth MacFarlane is an Academy Award Nominee.
In 2013 Seth MacFarlane was nominated for a Best Original Song Academy Award for "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from "Ted.  The award ultimately went to "Skyfall", but it's still impressive that he will forever be an academy award nominated song-writer.

6. Seth MacFarlane's voice was in "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"

MacFarlane was the voice of the ectoplasmic entity known as Johann Kraus in the 2008 film "Hellboy II".  In addition to Hellboy, MacFarlane has also done voices in "Futurama: Into the Green Yonder" and "The Drawn Together Movie".

Taboo Television: Cartoons With Banned Episodes That Might Surprise You

Now that Pokémon is on Netflix, I was curious to see if any of the banned episodes made the cut.  There are a total of five Pokémon episodes from the Indigo League that, at one point, have been banned from airing in the United States.  Some where permanent bans, other temporarily.  There are a surprising number of banned cartoons for even more surprising reasons.  Here is a list of a few.  Have one I missed?  Please let me know!

Pokémon: Indigo League

Electric Soldier Porygon

The 38th episode in the original Pokémon series was banned from broadcasting in Japan, and subsequently prevented from ever airing in any other country.  There is apparently a scene where Pikachu thunderbolts some missiles, resulting in some very intense flashing blue and red lights.  The episode caused headaches, seizures, nausea, and numerous other ailments.  According to the voice of Meowth in the American dubbed version, there was an American version created, but after Japan banned the episode, it too was banned.

 Warning, the below video is known to cause seizures.

 

Beauty and the Beach

The 18th episode in the series was removed from airing in the United States initially, and re one time as a "lost episode special".  In this episode, a few female characters enter a beauty pageant.  James, of Team Rocket, wears a suit with inflatable breasts.  James tell Misty maybe someday she will have a chest like his!  There is also a scene where an old man is attracted to Misty in her bikini.

The Legend of Dratini

The 35th episode of the series was also banned from playing in the United States.  In this episode,  a character kind of jokingly aims a gun at Ash.  It has been banned in every country but Japan.

Tentacool and Tentacruel

 After 9/11 a couple different TV series had to change their rotations. In this episode, there is a character that uses military weapons as Tentacruel attacks a city.  There's a shot of Tentracruel attacking a building, which is probably the real reason this episode was banned, yet there is a clip of this episode in the opening that still remains.  This episode was banned again after Hurricane Katrina.

The Tower of Terror

This one just seem silly, but I guess they all do.  The 23rd episode in the series was temporarily removed around 9/11 because it features some ghost Pokemon scaring people in a tower...

Talespin

The final episode, number 65, of Talespin was for having terrorists in it.  The main character, Baloo, is tasked with delivery a package to some government official, but the package is actually a bomb.

I tried to upload the episode, but it was removed before I could even copy and paste the link here.  Disney doesn't want it going out.

Gargoyles

In the eighth episodes of Gargoyles, one of the Gargoyles, Broadway, is playing around with their cop buddy's (Elisa) gun and accidentally shoots her.

Ren and Stimpy