Do you remember the first time you saw Peter Griffin fight that giant chicken? Do you remember how much you laughed? I do. At the time there seemed to nothing funnier than a five minute long sequence in which a morbidly obese, bespectacled buffoon battles an oversized cockerel, traversing deserts and cities in the vain hope that one will claim victory over the other through physical might. The utter ridiculousness of this concept, and the sheer balls of the writers who thought they could get away with devoting so much time to so irrelevant an idea, left viewers in awe. It made you wonder where the show could go next.

Do you remember the third time he fought the giant chicken? Or the fourth? I don't. In fact, I find it hard to recall any of the storylines from episodes after about the fifth season. And this week, the DVD for the eighth is released. That's three whole seasons with nothing to show for it.

You could probably argue that I'm treating this far too seriously, that it's a silly comedy show and doesn't deserve this sort of  in-depth criticism. But the thing is Family Guy used to so fresh, so funny. It was the more madcap Simpsons, the more gag-filled South Park. And to see it now, obliquely referring to the random cutaway segments that have seen it reviled and respected in equal measure, is to see a programme in the doldrums. When a TV show in order to fill a joke-shaped gap breaks the fourth wall and has a character talk of their own real-life spinoff, you know it's in trouble.

Now, this wouldn't be so bad if the makers hadn't decided to forgoe all artistic merit of the show and instead sell its soul to the highest bidder. Microsoft were ready to sponsor a one-off Family Guy special to promote the launch of Windows 7 before pulling out due to concerns over edgy material. One of Peter Griffin's friends, Cleveland, has gained his own entirely unnecessary programme, The Cleveland Show, that is due to run for at least two seasons. Last year Seth MacFarlane, its creator and now the highest-paid writer-producer in TV, signed a deal with 20th Century Fox that will bring Family Guy and other like-minded projects to our screens until at least 2012.

MacFarlane isn't alone in finding buckets of money much more attractive than leaving a lasting cultural impact. The Simspons has now been bad for much longer than it's been good, and I'd argue that our own Peep Show would have benefited from a cancellation after the fourth season. You don't have to look far before you realise that true classics, such as Fawlty Towers and The Office, are considered as much because they leave viewers wanting more. It's a shame MacFarlane et al haven't taken note.

All this hasn't mentioned that Family Guy is funny, at times unbelievably. But at best, it's a sketch show. The jokes never derive from the narrative, but from the hilariously arbitrary cutaways (which are growing tiresome to say the least). The episodes' plots are so flimsy and unoriginal that they seem to take your attention away from the joke. The writing is so weak that the storylines become irrelevant.

Everyone loves Family Guy. And I really want to. But it's hard to admire a show that instead of jokes simply refers to popular culture and treats sensitive subjects in an increasingly staid and bone-headed fashion.

Perhaps the show will change, break its repetitive pattern and gain the crown of best animated comedy on TV. But looking at its DVD sales, I wouldn't put money on Seth MacFarlane pulling the plug for quality's sake.

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