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Description

My name is acc1dental-zhunatic, and I am proud to be reviewing the last part of the MacFarlane trilogy.

CONSPECTUS: Back on “Family Guy”, Peter had a bored, straitlaced, dark-skinned friend named Cleveland Brown. “The Cleveland Show” is a spinoff about Cleveland Brown moving to Virginia with his fat unsociable son Cleveland Jr. to reconnect with and marry his old lover Donna Tubbs, and now her kids, rebellious teen Roberta and smart-mouthed tot Rallo.

HISTORY: I first heard about this series from “Family Guy”. (What’s a show you can say that about?) I began watching it in the middle of my seventeenth year, to bide the time until I was old enough for “South Park”. And now I watch neither.

REVIEW:
CHARACTERS: Cleveland’s a lot more fun than he was back in Rhode Island, and his morals are better than all the other TV dads. CJ is, and there’s no typeface big enough to say this, COMPLETELY UNRECOGNIZABLE from the hyperactive CJ we used to know. It’s clear that Tim the bear was only brought in to make Cleveland look less like a minority in comparison, but it’s also clear that he excels at doing that. And people like to liken this show to black Family Guy, but honestly I see it as a lot closer to black The Simpsons. The color schemes are similar, the kids have a similar age gap, the plots are less unreal, the town is just as bad, and a lot of the supporting cast is a lot like the supporting cast of The Simpsons. E.g., Lester is like Cletus, Terry is similar to Lenny, Principal Wally Farquhar is comparable to Principal Skinner, and Mr. Waterman is a delightful composite of Smithers’ head on Burns’ body.

PLOT: People still like to liken this show to black Family Guy, but I also see it as a lot closer to black King of the Hill. The family isn’t wholly a nuclear one, the town is southern and full of people with quirks, there’s a dad embarrassed by an out-of-shape son, and the situations are very down to earth and full of tragedy half the time.

VISUALS & AUDIO: There isn’t a lot of unrealism in this series, but there is some. Sometimes there are good sight gags, and there were even cutaways at the start for a while. One thing I’d say about this show is that it’s exactly animated enough. Audio-wise, I am not exaggerating when I say this show has the best music in the MacFarlaneverse. Even the most swinging jazz in Family Guy is just about outmatched by the truly rocking rap of this.

FANS: Nobody’s really a fan of this show. Whenever anyone brings it up, it’s usually just to compare it to Family Guy. It’s NERD-0, therefore.

SEASONS: The odd-numbered seasons absolutely rot, but the even-numbered ones are a moderate musical success.

CONCLUSION: “The Cleveland Show” is mellifluous yet mundane, and volant yet vicissitudinous. In smaller words, it’s a very positive Normal: without a doubt, the lowest point in the MacFarlane triangle. And in all, “Family Guy” is like the sixth show overall I’d compare it to. It’s the kind of show that’s worth watching once, but not twice.

Description

My name is acc1dental-zhunatic, and I am proud to be reviewing the last part of the MacFarlane trilogy.

CONSPECTUS: Back on “Family Guy”, Peter had a bored, straitlaced, dark-skinned friend named Cleveland Brown. “The Cleveland Show” is a spinoff about Cleveland Brown moving to Virginia with his fat unsociable son Cleveland Jr. to reconnect with and marry his old lover Donna Tubbs, and now her kids, rebellious teen Roberta and smart-mouthed tot Rallo.

HISTORY: I first heard about this series from “Family Guy”. (What’s a show you can say that about?) I began watching it in the middle of my seventeenth year, to bide the time until I was old enough for “South Park”. And now I watch neither.

REVIEW:
CHARACTERS: Cleveland’s a lot more fun than he was back in Rhode Island, and his morals are better than all the other TV dads. CJ is, and there’s no typeface big enough to say this, COMPLETELY UNRECOGNIZABLE from the hyperactive CJ we used to know. It’s clear that Tim the bear was only brought in to make Cleveland look less like a minority in comparison, but it’s also clear that he excels at doing that. And people like to liken this show to black Family Guy, but honestly I see it as a lot closer to black The Simpsons. The color schemes are similar, the kids have a similar age gap, the plots are less unreal, the town is just as bad, and a lot of the supporting cast is a lot like the supporting cast of The Simpsons. E.g., Lester is like Cletus, Terry is similar to Lenny, Principal Wally Farquhar is comparable to Principal Skinner, and Mr. Waterman is a delightful composite of Smithers’ head on Burns’ body.

PLOT: People still like to liken this show to black Family Guy, but I also see it as a lot closer to black King of the Hill. The family isn’t wholly a nuclear one, the town is southern and full of people with quirks, there’s a dad embarrassed by an out-of-shape son, and the situations are very down to earth and full of tragedy half the time.

VISUALS & AUDIO: There isn’t a lot of unrealism in this series, but there is some. Sometimes there are good sight gags, and there were even cutaways at the start for a while. One thing I’d say about this show is that it’s exactly animated enough. Audio-wise, I am not exaggerating when I say this show has the best music in the MacFarlaneverse. Even the most swinging jazz in Family Guy is just about outmatched by the truly rocking rap of this.

FANS: Nobody’s really a fan of this show. Whenever anyone brings it up, it’s usually just to compare it to Family Guy. It’s NERD-0, therefore.

SEASONS: The odd-numbered seasons absolutely rot, but the even-numbered ones are a moderate musical success.

CONCLUSION: “The Cleveland Show” is mellifluous yet mundane, and volant yet vicissitudinous. In smaller words, it’s a very positive Normal: without a doubt, the lowest point in the MacFarlane triangle. And in all, “Family Guy” is like the sixth show overall I’d compare it to. It’s the kind of show that’s worth watching once, but not twice.