The FOX network has long been synonymous with its animated sitcoms, and these classic shows had an enormous impact on my childhood development. I can vividly remember purchasing "Futurama" on DVD in protest after the show's cancellation, awkwardly watching the credits of "King of the Hill" before the start of the next show and even deciding not to read Shakespeare's "Hamlet" because I had recently observed an abridged adaptation courtesy of "The Simpsons."
This Sunday, FOX welcomed a new addition "The Cleveland Show" to its animation lineup. A spin-off from "Family Guy," the series follows Cleveland Brown, a supporting character from the original series, as he moves out of Quahog, R.I., and back to his hometown of Stoolbend, Va., with his son Cleveland Jr. Once there, he marries his high-school sweetheart, starting a new family.
"The Cleveland Show" is helmed by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, a comedic pioneer of crude cartoons. "Family Guy" has become notorious for its style of humor non-sequitur cutaways and extremely random tangents. The stories are often absurd and the jokes are consistently vulgar, yet the show is nonetheless a roaring success.
"The Cleveland Show" mimics this comedic style entirely, delivering a similar genre of hijinks and humor. Although "Cleveland" capitalizes on a proven comedic formula, it would have been refreshing to see something new. Watching the premiere felt like a clone of the standard "Family Guy" installment, and although it delivered laughs, the concept is jaded.
One plus that "Cleveland" offers is a diverse cast of characters, which will hopefully help differentiate the program from its predecessor. The series certainly took a few personalities directly from "Family Guy" most obvious is a vulgar infant reminiscent of Stewie yet some truly original characters steal the spotlight. The best moments of the pilot were the brief scenes with a bear, Cleveland's new neighbor. This character makes no sense at all and is hysterical.
The show is, for the most part, gratuitously unoriginal. It has a funny bear, but that is about it. Hopefully it picks up speed in weeks to come, but until then, this B-side "Family Guy" is a lame distortion of a winning formula.
