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Sundays with Seth: A night of criminal activity

Family Guy: Dial Meg for Murder
I'm not sure if it was by bizarre coincidence or divine -- by which I mean Seth MacFarlane -- intervention, but all three MacFarlane episodes this week were mired in illegal activities. 'Family Guy' saw Meg go from a sweet innocent teenaged girl into a hardened criminal, Cleveland Brown inadvertently became a drug trafficker, while Stan Smith found himself overwhelmed with a drug problem of his own.

And in both 'The Cleveland Show' and 'American Dad,' we got reminders that marijuana isn't really a drug. 'The Cleveland Show' listed for us where we can get it legally (with a prescription), while 'American Dad' mocked the notion of someone becoming addicted to pot to the point they would need rehab.

At least 'Family Guy' kept it simple. Drugs weren't an issue throughout the entire episode, though Meg was certainly acting like she was on drugs. What she was really doing, though, was acting out over years of abuse by everyone around her.

Continue reading Sundays with Seth: A night of criminal activity

What's On Tonight: Grammy Awards, Pro Bowl, Brothers & Sisters

American DadHere's the TV lineup for tonight (all times Eastern).

  • BBC America is showing Alfred Hitchcock movies all night.
  • At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  • CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then The Grammy Awards.
  • NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7, followed by Saturday Night Live Presents: Sports All-Stars.
  • FOX has two new episodes of 'Til Death at 7, then new episodes of The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad.
  • ESPN2 has more of The Winter X Games at 7.
  • At 7:20, ESPN has The Pro Bowl Game.
  • At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Classic.
  • There's a new Big Love on HBO at 9.
  • Food Network has a new Iron Chef America at 9, then a new Worst Cooks in America.
  • TLC has a new Cake Boss at 9.
  • History Channel has a new Ax Men at 9.
  • At 10, Travel Channel has two new episodes of 101 Chowdown Countdown.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Sundays with Seth: A horse is a horse, uness it's The Rock

Dwayne
Between The Rock's bizarre guest appearance on Family Guy, and Stan's dirty deed on American Dad, it was a strange week in the twisted mind of Seth MacFarlane. But in a twist M. Night Shyamalan would be proud of, it was Family Guy's Meg Griffin who had the most memorable stand-out moment of the night. Uncomfortable, but memorable.

We also got the first episode of American Dad in the 16:9 widescreen ratio for the first time, and they didn't take advantage of the change to make any modification to the intro sequence at all, or spotlight it in any self-aware way. I still wish last week's epic could have been in widescreen, but with Family Guy now the only holdout on Animation Domination, the whole thing feels a little weird. Shouldn't the marquee show for Seth MacFarlane be in widescreen before its offspring?

Continue reading Sundays with Seth: A horse is a horse, uness it's The Rock

What's On Tonight: Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, Worst Cooks in America

  • The SimpsonsABC has a Secret Life of the American Teenager marathon all night.
  • TCM has W.C. Fields movies all night.
  • At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  • CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7.
  • NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, then the Jets vs. the Bengals.
  • At 7:30, FOX has a new episode of The OT.
  • At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, followed by new episodes of The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad.
  • Food Network has a new, two-hour Iron Chef America at 8, then the series premiere of The Worst Cooks in America.
  • At 9, Syfy has Sea Beast.
  • At 10, A&E has a new episode of The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty.
  • IFC has two episodes of Arrested Development at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Sundays With Seth: Christmas and the Rapture

American Dad: Rapture's DelightThis week may have featured our first Christmas with the Brown family over on The Cleveland Show, which would have normally been enough to elevate it to the top MacFarlane show of the night. But American Dad took itself someplace so bizarre with its Christmas special, that I spent most of it stunned that I was even watching American Dad.

Of the three shows, Dad was always the one that stayed with the characters and avoided trips into fantasy. Wacky asides and over-the-top shenanigans are a staple of Family Guy and have proven a smaller, but still important, part of The Cleveland Show. So I was left with my jaw hanging open when the Rapture kicked in and people started flying off to heaven.

Admittedly, I've not seen every episode of American Dad, so maybe this isn't as surprising an episode as I thought it was. It was, however, a simply fantastic episode.

Continue reading Sundays With Seth: Christmas and the Rapture

What's On Tonight: White Christmas, Jacksons, Oprah, Aqua Teen Hunger Force

  • Dexter/CalifornicationAt 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, then a new, two-hour Extreme Makeover and Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special.
  • CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7
  • NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, then the Eagles vs. the Giants.
  • FOX has two new episodes of Brothers at 7, followed by new episodes of The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad.
  • At 8, AMC has White Christmas.
  • Lifetime Movie Network has The Christmas Hope at 8.
  • At 9, CBS has a new Cold Case.
  • A&E has the series premiere of The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty at 9 (two episodes).
  • Also at 9: Showtime has the season finale of Dexter, then the season finale of Californication.
  • At 10, Biography has two new episodes of William Shatner's Raw Nerve.
  • IFC has two episodes of Arrested Development at 10.
  • At 11:45, Cartoon Network has the season premiere of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, followed by new episodes of The Venture Brothers and Metalocalypse.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Sundays With Seth: The best little dry cleaners in Virginia

American Dad: G-String Circus
Hey look, Scrubs is back early!

Oh wait, never mind. That's just Donald Faison on American Dad. How could I have possibly gotten those two things mixed up? I don't know why, but I still get a kick out of guest appearances on animated shows, particularly when the actor who plays the actual character jumps in to do their own voice, as Faison did here.

Plus, it was an interaction with Roger. Ah, Roger. Let's talk about what has to be the single greatest presence of all three Seth MacFarlane shows. I probably don't mention him enough, because sometimes he's not as integral to the plots of AD. But, he's always a huge part of the laughs. As soon as he waddles into a room, you just wait for the zingers or the costume or the antics that will send you off your rocker. His turn this week as a "madame" was sheer brilliance.

Continue reading Sundays With Seth: The best little dry cleaners in Virginia

What's On Tonight: Simpsons, Desperate Housewives, A Dog Named Christmas

  • The Amazing RaceUSA has a Monk marathon all night.
  • At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  • CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then a new Amazing Race and the movie A Dog Named Christmas.
  • NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Ravens vs. the Steelers.
  • At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, then new episodes of The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad.
  • Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, followed by a new Iron Chef America.
  • HGTV has Behind The Magic: Disney Holidays at 8.
  • Also at 8: HBO has the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert.
  • At 9, Showtime has a new Dexter, followed by a new Californication.
  • At 10, Nickelodeon has a new Glenn Martin, DDS.
  • At 12:30AM, Cartoon Network has a new Metalocalypse.

Check your local TV listings for more.

What's Adam West watching?

It's funny how Adam West has had a post-Batman career making fun of himself and creating some memorable characters in the world of animation, especially his work as, well, Adam West on Family Guy. There's no mistaking that voice. In this clip below the flesh-and-blood West urges us to watch the FOX Sunday night animation lineup.

Sundays with Seth: Auntie Momma, Jerome and My Morning Jacket

American Dad: My Morning StraitjacketThe "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's On Tonight: 60 Minutes, Next Iron Chef, American Dad

  • Curb Your Enthusiasm
  • At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and Three Rivers.
  • NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Eagles vs. the Bears.
  • FOX has a new Brothers at 7.
  • Lifetime has the movie Unstable at 7.
  • Syfy has the movie Lightning Strikes at 7, followed by the movie Fire From Below.
  • At 8, ABC has the American Music Awards.
  • FOX has a new episode of The Simpsons at 8, then new episodes of The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad.
  • At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Contemporary.
  • HBO has the season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9.
  • Showtime has a new Dexter at 9, followed by a new Californication.
  • Food Network has the season finale of Next Iron Chef at 9.
  • History Channel has two new episodes of Cowboys & Outlaws at 9.
  • At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Titan Maximum.
  • At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Venture Brothers, then a new Metalocalypse.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Sundays with Seth: The problem with wives ... and babies

American Dad: Shallow VowsIt 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

What's On Tonight: The Prisoner, Next Iron Chef, Curb Your Enthusiasm

  • The Venture BrothersAt 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  • CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case.
  • NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Patriots vs. the Colts.
  • At 8, FOX has a new episode of The Simpsons, then new episodes The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad.
  • PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece Contemporary.
  • AMC has the premiere of The Prisoner at 8.
  • Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then a new Next Iron Chef.
  • Also at 8: Lifetime Movie Network has Ann Rule's Everything She Ever Wanted.
  • At 9, HBO has a new Curb Your Enthusiasm.
  • There's a new Dexter on Showtime at 9, followed by a new Californication.
  • History Channel has a new WWII in HD at 9.
  • At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Titan Maximum.
  • At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Venture Brothers, then a new Metalocalypse.

Check your local TV listings for more.

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.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.
[via Slashfilm]

Super-Sized Sundays with Seth: And a variety show makes ... five?

Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy ShowFOX 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?

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