Image Credit: FOX
Fox’s Animation Domination lineup debuted last night with four season premieres. The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad all unleashed cartoon chaos. But were they any good? Let’s go show by show…
The Simpsons’ “The Falcon and the D’ohman”
After 22 seasons of The Simpsons, you’d think that even the most dedicated fans would be tired of Bart and Co. Not I, my friends. Tonight’s episode gave me plenty of reasons to watch the show’s 23rd season. In the season premiere, Wayne, a former U.S. secret agent turned detached security guard at Homer’s nuclear power plant (voiced by former 24 star Kiefer Sutherland), is charmed into a friendship with his dimwitted coworker and later has to save Homer from an old Ukrainian enemy who kidnapped him.
Funniest moment nominee: “How are you going to find him?” Marge asks Wayne. “Homer is implanted with several highly powerful tracking chips,” he responds. Marge wonders, “How did that happen?” “I put them out in a bowl and he ate them,” he replies. Ha! Fat jokes!
Verdict: This is why I still love The Simpsons. Tonight’s episode featured goofy bar humor and a Kim Jong-il musical. What a combo, right? And I laughed at both.
The Cleveland Show’s “BFFs”
Season four of the Family Guy spinoff finds Cleveland in a sad place after he discovers his old friend Peter Griffin came to visit his Stoolbend, Va., neighborhood for four days and didn’t even try to see him. Cleveland takes an emotional drive back to Quahog, R.I., to find out why his buddy dissed him.
Funniest moment nominee: When Cleveland rings the Griffins’ doorbell, Stewie asks Brian, “Has he been canceled already? He doesn’t get to just come back!”
Bonus funny moment: When Peter finally speaks to Cleveland, he explains, “My phone died… of AIDS.” With his arms folded, Cleveland retorts, “AIDS is no longer a death sentence.”
After Peter tells him that they were never really friends, Cleveland decides that he and his crew should attend Ric “The Nature Boy” Flair’s friendship camp. Wooo! Canoes! Cleveland and friends are then kidnapped by a gang of back-country woodsmen. But Peter saves them from hillbilly rape (“Let go of my Negro,” he yells), later saying that a psychiatrist revealed his fear of rejection and that he dumped Cleveland before he could be dumped himself.
Verdict: I geeked when I first found out Cleveland was getting a spin-off years ago and I’m equally elated I can laught at him and his family now. I’ll definitely tune in this season.
It all comes down to a heartbroken hipster and an ex-vampire slayer. For me, Tuesdays have generally been non-essential TV nights (sorry Gleeks!), but that changes this year thanks to New Girl and Ringer, two shows that are as promising as they are different. Unfortunately, they fall into the same time slot, which means one must inevitably end up on my DVR. Find out which one below and then share what you plan to watch on Tuesday nights in the comments!
