Wednesday, January 13, 2010
TBG TV: FOX's Animation Domination – 01/10/2009
Sunday's Rankings (5-3-2-1 scoring)
(1) The Cleveland Show ("Love Rollercoaster") - I promise I'll only mention this point eight or nine more times this season: when this show plays it relatively straight (instead of trying to be bad Black satire) it's subversively brill…wait, no. Let's not lose our minds here. It still can be pretty damn good, though. The ridiculous invention subplot nailed the infomercial mark and Tim the Bear's throwaway "Ale aboard!" line just killed me. The "Tyra Obama" story was just fine and it led to the "Alaska's greatest exports" bit at the end, so I approve. Good to see the writers aggressively going after Meg Ryan's face, too. That makes them the one-millionth customer or something.
(2) The Simpsons ("Once Upon a Time in Springfield") - Another solid episode in what's been a decent little season. I'd have given it the top spot in a two-show Sunday, if not for…well, see below. Yes, this was another recycled plot (Krusty's show gets a makeover!) but, Anne Hathaway freaking knocked it out of the park as the voice of "Princess Penelope" – the woman who ruins/reveres a certain Jewish clown. And, I'm never opposed to occasionally shoehorning Homer into the secondary story. His was an amusing little aside with a terrific finish (one donut and health care or TWO donuts).
MVP & Quote of the Night: I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I've watched the "Balls Deep" musical sequence from The Cleveland Show, but let's just say the number's probably bigger than a baker's dozen. Cleveland, Jr. gets the MVP nod for somehow channeling the soulful spirit of former Death Row Records artist, Danny Boy. And, the Scottie Pippen cameo? Icing on the cake, kids.
Current Standings
The Cleveland Show – 34
The Simpsons – 30
American Dad! – 21
Family Guy – 21
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2 comments:
Dammit Cam, now I'm going to have to go back and watch TCS. I didn't love it (and enjoyed the Simpsons much more, but that can be attributed in part to nostalgia), but thought it was a solid episode.
I don't know the racial makeup of TCS's writing staff, but I know none of the show runners are black. Not to be too mushy/P.C. but there's a fine line between "black satire" and "borderline racist" when white people make fun of black culture and I don't trust Seth MacFarlane to follow that line. That said, he (or the other show-runners) seem committed to doing a show about a family that actually cares about each other at the end of the day (and it seems a little more respectful of... well... Everything than Family Guy. I mean that in a good way).
Tim is quietly becoming one of my favorite cartoon characters. His "ale aboard" and bear roar at orgasm have made me laugh out loud both times. Now if we can get rid of one-note joke Federline
I bashed "The Cleveland Show" pretty good out of the gate, but I think it's gotten better - although not consistently good.
Tell you the truth, I'd welcome being offended in place of some of the tired "Black gags" MacFarlane has served up this season.
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