Seth MacFarlane-related stories
Family Guy's Quagmire puts Brian in his place
Last night we had comedy done the wrong way (The Cleveland Show) and comedy done the right way on Family Guy. It also showed that Quagmire has some sense and a heart, as he unleashed a very effective rant on Brian (he doesn't like Brian and that view was only worsened earlier in the ep when Brian insulted Quagmire's sister). Here's the scene in its entirety.
Sundays with Seth: Auntie Momma, Jerome and My Morning Jacket
The "All Seth, All the Time" block of animation on FOX is getting stronger every week. I think this may have been the most wholly satisfying episode of The Cleveland Show we've had yet. The show finally knows what it is, the characters are settled in and established, and it even knows where it's going to derive its humor.There's a sweetness to The Cleveland Show that is more reminiscent of King of the Hill than either of MacFarlane's established shows, and I'm glad to see it. My biggest fear was that Cleveland's star vehicle would be nothing more than Family Guy-lite, but after a very rough start, I'm able to see and appreciate it for what it is.
Family Guy may have found their replacement for Cleveland in this week's episode. I hope the boys do find a new "fourth," and I don't think I'd mind if it's the guy they find themselves hanging out with this week. On American Dad, Stan discovers rock music, and he'll do anything to hang out with his new favorite band: My Morning Jacket.
Continue reading Sundays with Seth: Auntie Momma, Jerome and My Morning Jacket
What You Missed Last Night: the most disgusting TV episode of the year
It's episodes like this that make me think the Parents Television Council has a point.*I watched The Cleveland Show last night, and since it's from the same people who bring us Family Guy and American Dad, I know it's supposed to be edgy and daring and a very adult cartoon. But jeez, does it have to go this far? The plot had to do with Cleveland's dad falling for an older woman who came for Thanksgiving whom he later found out was a guy. Not only did we have to endure endless farting by the woman, Cleveland's dad had sex with the her (not knowing it was a guy) and we had endless jokes about fisting and oral sex. Oh, and let's not forget the three minutes of vomiting that Cleveland and his dad did.
Continue reading What You Missed Last Night: the most disgusting TV episode of the year
Sundays with Seth: The problem with wives ... and babies
It was nice to cut back Seth MacFarlane's domination of Sunday nights to only three shows. As much as I enjoy all three shows in a general sense, two-and-a-half hours of MacFarlane's brand of humor was a bit much. I continue to enjoy the growth of The Cleveland Show more and more; I'm beginning to see why FOX went ahead and gave it an early season two pick-up.After a shaky start, we're starting to get a better feel for all these new characters, and I'm finding little things about them to enjoy. It's little things like Arianna's love of confetti that add layers to the character. And while I'm sure it's politically incorrect of me, I find Kendra tooling around in her Rascal absolutely hilarious. That and the over-eating, but all with such a sweet disposition and voice.
Continue reading Sundays with Seth: The problem with wives ... and babies
The real reason Dollhouse was cancelled
Are you still losing sleep over FOX's unsurprising yet tragic cancellation of Josh Joss Whedon's Dollhouse? This may be the melatonin you need.
CollegeHumor has uncovered the true reason FOX nixed the action drama from its airwaves. It needed more room for more Seth MacFarlane cartoons about pop-culture spewing families with anthropomorphic pets and American Idol. I never thought I'd long for the good ol' days was Fox was known for quality programming like Bad Orderlies Caught on Tape 2 and When Lawn Equipment Goes Screwy 4.
CollegeHumor has uncovered the true reason FOX nixed the action drama from its airwaves. It needed more room for more Seth MacFarlane cartoons about pop-culture spewing families with anthropomorphic pets and American Idol. I never thought I'd long for the good ol' days was Fox was known for quality programming like Bad Orderlies Caught on Tape 2 and When Lawn Equipment Goes Screwy 4.
[via Slashfilm]
Super-Sized Sundays with Seth: And a variety show makes ... five?
FOX pushed the boundaries of their Seth MacFarlane-filled Sundays about as far as they could. It wasn't enough to have three animated series already in the lineup, but they had to give him his own "variety show" as well. They bumped The Simpsons to make room for a two-hour block of Seth madness!But that's not all! If you watch new episodes of American Dad, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show AND the all-new Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, we'll throw in a bonus episode of Family Guy absolutely free! The real question is... was America really ready for that much Seth?
I thought I was.
Continue reading Super-Sized Sundays with Seth: And a variety show makes ... five?
Did Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show go too far?
Last night FOX aired Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, and they're getting a little heat about it today. They re-enacted a scene from a Family Guy episode that made fun of deaf actress Marlee Matlin. Then they took it a step further and had Alex Borstein imitate Matlin singing a pop song. No worries though, since Matlin was there to defend herself.
Me? I thought it was funny.
Me? I thought it was funny.
Sherlock Holmes will save Seth MacFarlane
Well, Apple didn't take my suggestion to replace Microsoft as the new sponsor of Seth MacFarlane's comedy special. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stepped up. Actually, it's Warner Bothers Pictures' Sherlock Holmes that'll sponsor the MacFarlane variety special.
Microsoft backed out of Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show when they caught a run through of the program and objected to the humor. Goodness only knows what they thought they were getting with Seth, but it's all water under the bridge now.
Continue reading Sherlock Holmes will save Seth MacFarlane
American Dad renewed for next season
The Fox network cannot risk pissing off Seth MacFarlane. If they do, they run a good chance of suddenly finding most of their entire Sunday night line-up sucking eggs. At least, that's one possible reason for the renewal of American Dad for a sixth season. That pickup gives MacFarlane the renewal trifecta for Sunday nights.Actually, of MacFarlane's three series, American Dad is the best one (although I'm finding The Cleveland Show inching closer to first place). As opposed to Family Guy, the storytelling is more linear than the other two and the jokes actually have some relevance to the plot or characters (I'm on Team South Park regarding that "feud").
The Cleveland Show is also better at linear storytelling and jokes than its predecessor, but it's still not up to the standards of American Dad. Sadly, American Dad will likely live in the shadow of Family Guy and The Cleveland Show for years to come. At least MacFarlane has three chances with Fox to keep on working.
Microsoft backs out of MacFarlane's Fox comedy special
Well, it seemed like an unusual pairing when it was announced. Kind of like oil and water. Well, the oil slick has hit the proverbial fan. Microsoft has withdrawn its sole sponsorship of Fox's Seth MacFarlane comedy special. That's the special that Fox was promoting like crazy yesterday all during the NFL games, the special called Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show. In the grand tradition of show business, though, the special will go on November 8, just without Microsoft commercials. Fox is looking for alternate sponsors. Here's my first call if I'm at Fox -- Apple. Don't you think those Mac/PC ads would send a message to viewers who might still think Microsoft is behind this?
It would also be a brilliant PR move by Steve Jobs and Apple. After all, they could say, "Hey, we're not afraid of the content in Seth MacFarlane's show. We have a sense of humor."
Continue reading Microsoft backs out of MacFarlane's Fox comedy special
The Cleveland Show gets a full second season
Not that the future of this series was ever in doubt, but Fox has extended its original season-and-a-half order of The Cleveland Show to a full two seasons. Given the strong premiere ratings for the show, seasons beyond number two will likely be in the bag. If Fox didn't extend, they'd have to deal with an irate Seth MacFarlane who currently controls most of their Sunday night line-up.Is The Cleveland Show going to end up being more popular than its progenitor Family Guy? Do these ratings simply represent a high initial interest in the new show that will wane over time? I have used the analogy of The Jeffersons spinning off from All In The Family, but did The Jeffersons ever beat All In The Family in the ratings?
Whatever the case, Seth MacFarlane doesn't have to worry about it for at least two seasons, and probably longer.
[Watch clips and free episodes of The Cleveland Show at SlashControl]
Seth MacFarlane also doing Fox variety show
The man who virtually owns Fox Sunday nights, Seth MacFarlane, will be joining Carrie Underwood in what is seemingly Fox's attempt to revive the variety show genre. Didn't anybody learn the lesson of Rosie O'Donnell?The show is called Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show. It'll be broadcast on November 8th and be commercial-free thanks to Microsoft (who will be promoting Windows 7). The special will be a mix of animated and live performances. I've seen Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein (the voice of Lois Griffin) perform together in Family Guy Live and they're certainly better together than anything Rosie could produce.
It's interesting how retro these planned variety shows are going. It used to be that shows like The Colgate Comedy Hour would have live sketches about their sponsors sprinkled throughout the show. I wonder how MacFarlane and company will handle shilling Windows 7. Do they even like Windows 7? MacFarlane strikes me more as a Mac guy. "Mac" is even part of his last name.
How to get lost inside Family Guy's Brian and Stewie
This isn't too far from me, so I should check it out. Someone has mowed a maze into the shape of Family Guy characters Brian and Stewie. And yes, FOX says that they're OK with the Connors family using the characters at their farm.
Looking at the photo, it seems like if you make it to Brian's nose, you're completely lost.
Sundays with Seth: Meet the Crinklesacks and fly with the Smiths
This is the third week of the new FOX Sunday night, so it's time to check in and see how the lineup is shaping up. I wanted to give The Cleveland Show a few weeks to settle down and start to figure out what kind of show it wants to be. The pilot wasn't the strongest, but there was so much set-up involved, you couldn't tell anything about what future episodes would be like.
With Seth MacFarlane now providing a full hour-and-a-half of FOX's Sunday programming, we decided to take a look at all of his shows in a single post each week. At first, I wasn't sure if I was even going to like The Cleveland Show enough to do this, but it's already grown on me. And that's much faster than American Dad, which took more than a year of sampling here and there before I tuned in regularly.
Continue reading Sundays with Seth: Meet the Crinklesacks and fly with the Smiths
And the most influential man of 2009 is ...
... not who you think.AskMen.com has released the list of the 49 most influential men of 2009 (not sure why it's 49 and not 50) and there are several TV people on the list, including FOX News anchor Shepard Smith, chef Mario Batali, and Seth MacFarlane.
But the number one person? The person who AskMen thinks is the most influential? He's from TV too, and he's actually fictional.
Continue reading And the most influential man of 2009 is ...
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