The truth is that I should have known this one was doomed from the start. Even though I’m a fan of Family Guy I passed on The Cleveland Show when it premiered, in large part because Cleveland’s about the last character who should be getting their own show — how about Herbert the Pervert? — but also because, between the talking bear and the new-and-worsened Cleveland Jr., nothing about it seemed to be worth it. I should have trusted my gut.
What I did notice was the continuation of the Seth MacFarlane blueprint for a show. Each edition is a slightly deteriorated copy, but the observation is interesting nonetheless.
The Peter Griffin The original’s a huge idiot, but eight times out of ten he can make anything funny. Iteration #2, on American Dad!, is Stan Smith. I don’t “watch” the show, but I’ve seen enough episodes here and there to know a thing or two about it. Stan’s just a bad head of the family, and I’d estimate that he makes things funny one or two out of every ten times. Not a great batting average for your lead role. As for Cleveland Brown? Nada.
The Lois Griffin Lois is funny as Peter’s doormat, or when she’s making fun of Meg or battling with Stewie. But with Brian, or when her hidden side comes out, she’s kind of a dud. Francine Smith is neither here nor there, really. Stan is so overbearing that it’s hard to see Francine, except maybe when Klaus is coming at her hard. Donna Tubbs I didn’t really get to know, but could she be that different from her predecessors?
The Meg Griffin Meg’s great. There isn’t a joke about her that doesn’t land. She’s just an awesome figment of Macfarlane’s imagination. Hayley Smith is slutty in a hippie sort of way, but I don’t particularly find her adding much to the show; again, Stan is just so overbearing. Roberta Tubbs didn’t appear in the episode I saw, but my understanding of her is that she’s just slutty, in a modern sort of way. Super.
The Chris Griffin Chris interacts well with others: the Evil Monkey, Herbert, Peter, Stewie, Meg, etc. He’s dumb, but boy does he give it his all. I loved when Peter’s father inadvertently got Chris to stop using the bathroom. Steve Smith is a younger version of Stan — just as pathetic and gawky as I’d imagine Stan was at Steve’s age. His friends are kind of amusing, but Steve hits only as often as Stan does. Cleveland Jr. was the annoying jumping kid on Family Guy; he was annoying then, but at least he was tolerable. The new Cleveland Jr. is awful.
The Stewie Griffin Stewie evolved nicely. Back when we viewers didn’t know if the family could understand him and he was constantly hell-bent on killing Lois, I wasn’t a big fan. But between his specials with Brian, his romances, and his career aspirations, Stewie’s always a hoot. Rallo Tubbs is like an early Stewie: mean and mean. I didn’t see the funny. American Dad! is short one kid. Instead there’s Klaus, the goldfish with the German skier brain. Klaus the fish lusting after Francine misses the mark, and aside from a line or two here or there, he’s largely irritating.
The Brian the Talking Dog Brian fails when he gets holier-than-thou. One of the worst stories on the show was when Brian went out to Hollywood. Generally, however, he has a great Meg, Peter, or Stewie insult up his sleeve, and his half of the Brian/Stewie duo is great. Is it gross that he dates human women? Yup, but he’s also not afraid to masturbate to doggy porn. Tim the Bear seems more human than animal, so the character uniqueness is a bit lost. Then there’s Roger the Alien … awesome. Just awesome. If you wondered why I bother to ever watch American Dad!, look no further: Roger. I love him, and am willing to suffer the rest of the show to see what persona he’s up to this time. Roger’s brilliant.
Anyway, I think you can guess my take on The Cleveland Show. As for next week, I’m having trouble identifying a show right now so I’ll have to skip the weekly poll. Feel free to leave some suggestions in the comments below, and hopefully next week’s pick will be something tolerable!
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jan 31, 2011 @ 17:45 EST5EDT
How about the FaceOff competition show on SyFy. It’s really new, but I caught the first episode and it’s at least tolerable.
Iron Chef America? Though, if you’re not a foodie, you probably won’t love it.
*POST AUTHOR*
Maybe, but I might have been more inclined if I hadn’t already tried Hell’s Kitchen and Cake Boss. I know they’re all different, but I did get the impression that I’m not a big fan of cooking shows.
*POST AUTHOR*
Is that the reality show about special-effects make-up artists? It might be tough for me to go into that with an open mind, but I’ll add it to the list. Thanks!