The Simpsons has been on the air for 20 seasons and is considered the archetype for American animated satire. This is so much so that Southpark even had an episode called Simpsons did it, because every prank they tried the Simpsons had already covered. This is why it is hard to compare Simpsons to Family Guy and choose one over the other. Let us begin with the Simpsons, an average suburbia bound American lower middle class family that lives in Springfield(anywhere) USA. The mom stays home, the overweight and slightly dumb father works in a job he is inadequate for and has children he can't quite support, one boy and one girl. They even have the standard one cat and one dog family pets, and have 2 ten year plus cars leaking in the driveway. The Simpsons children reflect a societal trend in our schools today. The daughter Lisa, like many in school now, is far outperforming her brother who feels strangled by authority and prefers acting out socially to studying. Marge, Homer's wife has a strong but subtle role in the family hierarchy, using nagging to have her agenda achieved. Homer enjoys drinking low quality beer and spending time at his bar Moes, or watch TV with the family surrounding him. As a couple the Simpsons were always considered racy because of their preference for late night snuggling and intimacy. Through the decades the Simpsons family has tackled many issues, pollution, health care, braces, divorce, affairs, faith, vegetarianism, politics, and numerous others.
With the introduction of Family Guy to the airways the Simpsons has changed their pace of how each episode plays out. Pre Family Guy, the Simpsons had more of a character based story line. Bart would have an entire episode about his Dennis the Menace antics with Principal Skinner and Caretaker Willy. Post Family Guy the Simpsons now has a much more random and sporadic story lines bouncing from one to another much like Family Guy.
The above description of the Simpsons would almost be word for word the basic description of Family Guy. An inadequate/idot and fat father working in a job he is ill prepared for. They live in a specific town in Rhode Island called Quahog. His lower middle class suburbian househould has one daughter, one son and one pet. However, they have an additional child, which if they were both on their second marriages would really reflect a new social trend. The dog, Brian can speak and so does the baby Stewie, and their antics is a mainstay on Family Guy, often involving singing and dancing routines. The stay at home mom, Lois, also nags but is not respected like Marge is and is constantly facing misogynistic verbal abuse from Peter. Family Guy casts their daughter Meg, in a dim way, making her socially inept, misunderstood and awkward. She is treated a lot like the Simpsons daughter Lisa, sans wits and intelligence. Chris, like Bart, acts out and participates in pranks but it also in a much more childlike manner. Bart does have a certain refinement to his prankdom that 20 years on the Simpsons will achieve. Like the Simpsons, Peter drinks a cheap beer, enjoys his local tavern the Drunken Clam, and spends much too much time watching TV with his family. As a couple the Griffins are just as apt to love making as the Simpsons, but Family Guy pushes the nudity and degree of sex further than Simpsons ever did.
Which brings us to their differences, which mainly lie in the execution of the show. Family Guy, as a show is much less linear with interruptions from flashbacks, flash forwards, and ties to various pop culture references. Family Guy tackles much more socially edgy subjects like pedophelia, being born gay, alcoholism, reverse feminism and clear political preferences. As an adult I find the subtle references in older Simpsons episodes even more humorous because they were far above me when I was an adolescent. However, I find the newer Simpsons episodes less witty and slightly bland. The Treehouse of Horror episodes are always worthwhile as they parodied "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" last season, but otherwise I have been decreasing my avid following of the Simpsons. Family Guy, in contrast, always peaks my interest. It is raw, fresh, unpredictable and much easier to play as a drinking game. I am always left thinking I can not believe Family Guy just did that and have to call my friends and discuss it, or watch it again. Overall Family Guy and Simpsons are two very different kinds of animated popular satire and each enrich and entice social discussion in their own unique ways. If I had to pick a preference now it would be Family Guy, but my heart and childhood will always belong to the Simpsons family on Evergreen Terrace.