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.
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?
This 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.
At 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, FamilyGuy, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Here's the TV lineup for tonight (all times Eastern).
ABC has a Secret Life of the American Teenager marathon all night.
This 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.
At 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.
USA has a Monk marathon all night.
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.
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.
At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
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 
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