i still believe you can group most of these shows in the same bucket ..
they all are animated series about families satirizing the american way of life .. not much more to it than that.

Simpsons ... probably the cleverest of the bunch (including Futurama)

King of the Hill ... more grass roots .. more realistic. (it's funny because it's true)

South Park - deliberately awful animation .. allows them to get away with a lot more than they otherwise would. Seems in your face on the surface but there is a lot of cleverness under the shock value ... it really takes the piss out of (i love that UK phrase :)) sacred american icons.

family guy .. is a show that desperately runs around recycling the scraps from the shows above .. everything i've seen on it - i've seen before .. but handled much more deftly by the origionals.

i thought it was so painfully bad I'm actually suprised anyone likes it ...

again .. i'm not trying to shit on the people who do like it ... they obviously see something i cant.

Family Guy's audience is stoner college students, they're who brought the show back from cancellation (and why I'm a fan). South Park is for people who keep up with the news cuz its a very "topical" show. Simpsons, yes, is for anyone and everyone... that's kind of the point of the show. It satirizes society in every sense, that's what made the show great.

I really do hope that they bring the Simpsons to an end after the movie. In its heyday, it was a great show, quite likely the best on (American) television. Now... it's played out. I can't even bring myself to watch the newer episodes. It just seems like the pale shadow of something that was once great.