Family Guy or The Simpsons or American Dad or South Park

which do you prefer?

if you had to watch one of this episodes , which would you choose?

having problems which to choose as a favourite , so which is yours?

The Simpsons in it's prime was easily better than any of McFarlane's work, even now I'd still consider a better 30 minutes entertainment than the other two

I think both have gotten worse in recent years, but Simpsons at its peak is a lot funnier than Family Guy at its peak. Some of the best episodes of the Simpsons are some of the best written episodes of TV, not just comedy or cartoons. Family Guy has its moments but is a lot less consistent than Simpsons even when Family Guy was its best.

The first 10 series of the Simpsons are arguably the funniest TV of all time. Consistently brilliant and full of wit, satire and genius comic timing and amazing slapstick.

Family Guy can be funny but the South Park episode, Cartoon Wars ruined Family Guy a bit for me.

Favourite Simpsons' episodes that come to mind:

Homer eats the insanity pepper
Homer's half brother shows up
The softball team
Homer becomes union boss
The monorail
The Cape Fear homage with Sideshow Bob
Hank Scorpio

I'll be thinking of others all day now that I should have included.

I have the top rated Simpsons episodes from IMDB bookmarked, and just make my way through it. I have gone back and watched the Hank Scorpio one a few times though as it is so hilarious but doesn't seem to ever be on TV.

For me it's South Park. I do enjoy all four and wonder if you should add Futurama to the list as it's on a par with The Simpsons for me.

South Park by some distance for me. The first 4 series of The Simpsons were as funny as any comedy I've seen but it's gone on for over a decade too long and has reached the stage where I change the channel if it's on. Family Guy is ok'ish, has some funny moments but is too random and tends to go for shock humour but on a very watered down manner compared to South Park which isn't afraid with who or what it targets. Haven't seen American Dad.

Nothing has ever reached the peaks of The Simpsons for me. Then South Park, American Dad, Futurama and Family Guy (which I do still really like but it lacks cohesion).

As mentioned the first 8-10 series/seasons of The Simpsons were superb television but then it just fell off a cliff. You Only Move Twice, Cape Feare and Last Exit to Springfield are my favourite three episodes. To mix a great story with comedy is very difficult to do I imagine.

I prefer American Dad! to Family Guy now. The funniest Family Guy episodes are funnier than the funniest American Dad! episodes I think but AD relies on a story to carry it through whereas Family Guy lacks any real "substance" these days and relies on naff cutaway gags. My favourite AD episodes are either Phantom of the Telethon or Meter Maid. They also do funny Christmas episodes, especially the one with the rapture.

Likeable characters win these things for me. South Park is insanely good, but I dont ever get that nice feeling about myself watching it, which I can for The Simpsons. I think Simpsons lasted longer than 10 seasons, but nowadays they are very hit n miss, and more miss. Occasionally, just occasionally, its funny again. Its still nice to watch though because I love the characters so enjoy their lives.

My favourite sitcoms are judged on humour and love of the characers. Whilst I dont have that kind of sentiment with American Dad, I like their characters whereas Family Guy hasnt had that for a long while. 

They certainly got it right when they wrote Book of Mormon by the way, top quality theatre.

Simpsons at it's prime and even a few seasons either side of it's prime wins and by a long way at that. They were so much more genius than the others that it's not even really a contest. Maybe South Park can come the closest in some aspects. The thing is Simpsons did it all while staying clean too. That's not to say I don't enjoy the humour of the other series mentioned but so much of the time, especially Family Guy, they rely on just outrageous things to try and be funny like Meg and Chris making out in the closet. That had me laughing at the depths Family Guy would stoop to to try and be funny more than at the episode itself. With spin-offs like the Cleaveland Show, I honestly think they're just seeing how lame they can make a show and get away with it and still have people watch it, that's how bad it is though it does have the swingingest intro song.

Family Guy also sends out the worst messages in that the inconsistency in the main characters leads to them all having done something unforgivably horrific at some point so in the world of Family Guy it's like all these things are ok. In South Park things like that are mostly confined to a few characters you'd expect it from so to me it's not trying nearly as hard to make offensive/wrong things acceptable. That said I've still watched a lot of Family Guy and some of the random cut-aways have touched on things that I thought only I found funny.

Regarding the cartoon wars thing, I wish Family Guy had had a response so there could have been a proper war.

At its peak, definitely the Simpsons. Some great episodes listed above by Superfly, and I'd also add my personal favourite 'Hurricane Neddy' (the one in which a hurricane, while harming other Springfield residents only moderately, completely wrecks the home, livelihood and faith of Flanders and causes him to have a mental breakdown), as well as the one where Homer becomes the regional Krusty impersonator - can't remember the name of that one!
 
The writing was so brilliant and it annoys me when I see people who are only familiar with the dreadful, dead material the show has been putting out since more or less the turn of the century pigeon holing it as a childish cartoon aimed at simpletons. It might be that now, but it wasn't back in the day! Sad to see it going on as it is now, really.
 
Family Guy is slowly going the same way. Getting less and less funny with each series and boring us all with these stupid Star Wars 'specials' way too often. But between, say, series 4 and 7 it was excellent and hilarious at times.
 
Have never really got in to South Park and have only really just started seeing much at all of American Dad quite recently. Both are decent and have their moments, but are quite a way off the other two, for me.

Simpson's all day long for me..............But I love King of the hill the most out of all of them....

Has to the Simpsons. From season 2-9, it was champion, and one of the best things that was ever on TV. Sooooooo many great episodes.

The 90's Simpsons. Original and hilarious.

Older Simpsons episodes are right up there with some of the best TV episodes of all time, the new ones are just poor. Youtube "Simpsons back to winnipeg" and compare that 20 second clip to a new episode and you can see the superiority of the older ones straight away.

South Park has never had a dip in quality because it's topical, whatever happens in the news goes straight in to the show and keeps itfresh and relevant.

Family Guy...it has it's moments but isn't as funny consistantly as the other two.

just Google homer quotes and its brilliant writing . i do like family guy and south park . American dad ok but not great . futurama got some very funny episodes but its Simpsons at its peak defiantly the best

Simpsons has been the most consistent. Last exit to Springfield (homer becomes union boss) is easily the best episode. Still funny and original today
Family guy had its peek in seasons 4-7 imo. Tailed off desperatley last season but the latest ones are a slight return to form.
American dad is ok. South park is still satircally superb. KOTH tops the lot, funny as. Mike Judge's new series of beavis and butthead was good too. Taking the pish out of jersey shore etc was brilliant.

Its hard to say as Im a fan of all 4 shows. What I want to know (and its been partly answered) is where there are crossover shows. I have seen the South Park Cartoon Wars episode which rips Family Guy and has Bart Simpson in, I have seen Homer Simpson in a couple episodes of Family Guy and Peter Griffin in a few episodes of The Simpsons. Has there been anymore? Specifically have Family Guy ever had any South Park references in? Or have The Simpsons done South Park? Has American Dad featured in any of the shows?

Yeah sorry, really long winded question there...

American Dad have had a few characters in Family Guy, Stewie once mistaking Stan for Joe. Then the third Star Wars one ended up using loads of American Dad characters because they ran out of Family Guy characters.

Thats just reminded me of the Family Guy episode where Joe gets his legs back then proceeds to jump out of bed and mimic the American Dad theme tune.