The Cleveland Show is, surprise, all about Cleveland

     Last night's episode of FOX's The Cleveland Show is called "There Goes El Neighborhood." Junior's (Kevin Michael Richardson) aunt by marriage, Choni (Rosie Perez, Lipstick Jungle, Pineapple Express), builds a McMansion across the street from Cleveland (Mike Henry). This steals Cleveland's thunder, and ruins his Superbowl party. Confronting Choni, she accuses Cleveland of being racist. Cleveland does his best to prove that that isn't the case, and restore his role as the popular man on his street.

     Props to The Cleveland Show for sticking with continuity. When Junior marries Cecilia (Elia Saldana), and especially after the whole thing is revealed to be a green card arrangement, one does not expect the new Latina characters to stick. Yet, like in other Seth MacFarlance projects, sometimes the characters in The Cleveland Show are allowed to grow and have arcs that extend beyond one episode. Thus, it appears that Cecilia and Choni are poised to stick around, at least for a little while. This alone sets it apart from some of the other sitcoms and animated shows on the air, and boosts the overall quality of the series.

     "There Goes El Neighborhood" continues the trend from the previous episode of poking fun at Latino stereotypes. Cleveland is shown to think that they all look alike and eat lots of tacos. Considering that The Cleveland Show is created by white men, and the titular African American character is also voiced by a Caucasian, viewers may not expect the series to go after race quite so aggressively. In fact, black culture is not a primary element to the show, perhaps owing to the fact that most of Cleveland's friends are white. But adding this new ethnic flavor actually works rather well. And while Cleveland can be as insensitive as Peter on Family Guy, at least he cares what others think, and works to change his behavior. That's at the heart of this episode, though the story thankfully avoids being preachy or too sappy.

     Even better is when Cleveland and Choni come to the conclusion that they aren't racist, but rather, they just don't care for each other. Sometimes, in modern society, conflict can be attributed to larger issues, when it's a simple clash of personalities. It's nice to see the story in "There Goes El Neighborhood" dealt with in such a way, which keeps things light and semi-realistic.

     There is one small complaint about this episode. In an early joke, Cleveland builds a sky box in his living room for the Superbowl party. In the scene showing the party, the sky box is gone. It's not disappointing that the construction, as solid and permanent as it looks, doesn't last beyond this episode, as that is to be expected. But since Cleveland says that he builds it for this specific party, couldn't it have been kept at least through that event? Perhaps that's asking too much of a silly cartoon, but it shouldn't be.

     In the B plot of "There Goes El Neighborhood," Junior sets Cecilia up on a Valentine's Day date, then waffles on whether he wants her to go through with it or not, alternately strong arming and threatening the poor guy who's interested in her. It's cool that the potential date is not a jerk, even though he looks like a jock. And yes, he is more appropriate, going by physical appearance at least, for Cecilia than Junior, but that's not really the point of the story. The question is, does Junior really love Cecilia, and will he make a real romantic play for her? Junior has been shown to be too shy to be overly sexual, and Cecilia, as an older girl, wants more physical aspects of a relationship than Junior is ready to give. His jealousy is understandable, but the two just aren't compatible right now, and hopefully Junior can understand that, whether he eventually decides to seriously pursue his wife or not.

     The Cleveland Show airs Sunday nights on FOX. Since the Animation Domination schedule has more shows than time slots right now, keep an eye on listings for the broadcast time, as it has been known to move around.

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Family Guy Volume Nine funny, but has holes

     FOX's Family Guy has never been released on DVD by season, but rather, by volume. Thus, the latest release, Volume Nine, begins its run with an episode from December 2009, and goes up through October 2010. This mean this set has most of season eight, and just the first three episodes of season nine. However, it does not include the second Star Wars spoof, which aired during this time, nor does it have the banned episode, "Partial Terms of Endearment," which has yet to run in the U.S. Both missing episodes are available separately on their own DVDs, which means that the casual browser begins looking at Volume Nine with quite a bit of skepticism and disappointment.

     Family Guy has actually been less funny these past few years. Sure, they pull out some wonderful specials and events. But the week-in, week-out episodes are just not as soon as The Cleveland Show or especially American Dad!, which air in the same block. This means that Family Guy is past its prime, but usually still makes for an entertaining half an hour.

     That said, there are a few gems in Volume Nine, even as Family Guy has begun suffering creatively, over all. "Peter-assment" is about unwanted sexual attention. "Brian & Stewie," the special 150th episode, takes the two popular characters to a whole new level of familiarity in a weirdly dramatic installment, absent any of the series' trademark cut scenes. "Quagmire's Dad" is introduced, and gets a sex change. "Excellence in Broadcasting" sees Brian (Seth MacFarlane) give Rush Limbaugh (himself) a second look. "And Then There Were Fewer" reveals a recurring character to be an evil killer in an extended murder mystery, using many returning guest stars, meaning that Quahog won't ever quite be the same.

     The special features are a mixed bag. Deleted scenes are included on all three discs. FOX includes an episode of the spin-off, The Cleveland Show, with an introduction by star Mike Henry, which is nice for those who haven't checked out the funny series, though what Family Guy fan hasn't at this point? Side-by-side animatics are interesting, but don't really show anything that hasn't been seen before.

     One of the good bonuses is "Brian and Stewie: The Lost Phone Call," which is pretty much a deleted scene, but a specific and funny one, separated out from the others. There is also a Making Of special for "And Then There Were Fewer," a featurette called "The History of the World - According to Family Guy," which is exactly what you would expect, and a look at Family Guy at 2010's Comic Con. All of these are good additions. It's just a shame that there aren't more of them.

     The cover art for Volume Nine is kind of fun, if you liked "And Then There Were Fewer." It is designed completely around that episode, ignoring all others. One almost wishes that "And Then There Were Fewer" had its own release, using this packaging, and Volume Nine incorporated elements of many of the episodes included. But then again, who wants to spend the money on yet another DVD, when it's easier to package them in volumes?

     For viewers who are already fans of Family Guy, Volume Nine is a must have to complete the collection. Casual fans will be annoyed about the missing stuff, but it is possible to get it by shelling out a bit more money. The TV browser may not find Volume Nine a good entry point for the series, nor will it make any 'best of DVD' lists this year. So it's an OK release that has its niche, but not one opening any new doors.

     Watch new episodes of Family Guy Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.

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The Cleveland Show longs to be "BFFs"

     For the third season premiere of FOX's The Cleveland Show, "BFFs," Cleveland (Mike Henry) is forced to reexamine his friendship with Peter Griffin (Seth MacFarlane), the guy he left behind on Family Guy after getting his own spin-off. Cleveland learns Peter comes to town, but doesn't call. Unable to reach Peter, Cleveland confronts him in person, but Peter says they need to grow apart. Cleveland takes his new friends camping, hoping to form more lasting bonds. But when they are captured by hillbilly rapists, it's Peter who comes to the rescue.

     This is a neat premise because not many spin-offs hark back to their roots all that often. Not only does The Cleveland Show revisit familiar faces and characters from Cleveland's previous series, but it explores what happens to friendship when one moves away. Sure, when the two series do crossovers, it's nice to see the pleasure the characters get from seeing each other again. But what happens when it's not a special event? The Cleveland Show seeks to answer that question, and does so quite well, despite the return to the status quo at the end of the episode.

     "BFFs" is also an incredibly meta episode of the series. Not only does Cleveland talk about Peter, and revisit his old neighborhood, but Cleveland's wife, Donna (Sanaa Lathan), reflects on the housewives of all of the Animation Domination housewives. Also, someone calls Peter "Animation Domination's Peter Griffin."  It's hard to break down the fourth wall more than that.

     There are numerous references to Family Guy, from a picture of Peter and Cleveland with Quagmire making out with Loretta in the background, to Peter's cell phone call tune, to the evil monkey that lives in Chris's closet coming with Peter to save the day. It's a fun treat for those who are fans of both series. For those who aren't, sorry.

     It's a little weird, and not in a good way, that Ric Flair (voicing himself), a professional wrestler, runs the friendship camp that Cleveland and his pals attend. It comes out of nowhere, and there isn't really a reason that the character is Ric Flair. It could be almost anyone, preferably someone more recognizable, and the joke would have the same effect.

     In the B story, Rallo (also Henry) attends a two year reunion at his day care, where Donna is made to feel inferior by the other mothers. Donna enters Rallo into a Quiz Bowl to prove her parenting skills, but learns that there is more to life than the other superficial mothers would have you believe. Mildly amusing, but the whole concept of the day care reunion is out of left field, especially as it is treated like a high school reunion by Rallo.

     Overall, "BFFs" is a very funny episode of The Cleveland Show, better than most weeks. Which makes it a great kick off for the third season. Watch The Cleveland Show Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

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Family Guy presents "Episode VI: It's a Trap"

     FOX's Family Guy parodies Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, so it is inevitable that a version of Return of the Jedi follows. Last night's ninth season finale brings "Episode VI: It's a Trap," the awaited Jedi knockoff, which is actually already out on DVD, and has been since December. If you've seen the original movie, the plot is familiar, if condensed to around forty-four minutes. Luke / Chris (Seth Green) rescues Leia / Lois (Alex Borstein) and Han / Peter (Seth MacFarlane) from Jabba the Hut / Joe (Patrick Warburton). From there, they travel to a planet near the still-under-construction new Death Star. Luke visits his father, Darth Vader / Stewie (MacFarlane), on the thing, and together they defeat the Emperor / Carter (MacFarlane). On the planet below, Han, Leia, Chewbacca / Brian (MacFarlane), and the other rebels take out a shield, so that Lando / Mort (John G. Brennan) can destroy the Death Star. The rebels party with the Ewoks.
 
     While the basic plot does follow the George Lucas movie, what makes Family Guy's version different, besides casting familiar characters in the roles, is all of the jokes sandwiched in. For instance, The Emperor and Darth Vader bait Luke by commenting how Seth Green is a terrible actor. For viewers in on the joke that Green voices Chris, it is highly amusing to watch the tension build in Luke / Chris until he erupts. To be fair, after the Jedi parody is complete, the Griffins do have a debate as to whether Seth Green or Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is a bigger douche. For fans of meta humor, this conversation may be the funniest thing in the entire hour.

     Another memorable joke in this episode is a live action sock puppet standing in for the additional creatures added to Jabba's palace in the special edition of the movie. The Rancor that Luke fights in Jabba's pit is replaced with conservative talk radio pundit Rush Limbaugh. Meg (Mila Kunis), who is often teased as the most ugly, disliked character on the show, is the Sarlacc monster. Above the Sarlacc pit, there is an extended sequence of characters glancing at each other. On Endor, the stormtroopers use actual bicycles, which upsets Pee Wee Herman when his is stolen.

     Apparently Family Guy, despite its extensive cast, has run out of characters to stand in for the Star Wars people, as MacFarlane draws upon his other TV shows in this special. Both Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker) and Roger (MacFarlane) from American Dad! are cast as Admiral Akbar and a Death Star officer, respectively, while Tim the Bear (MacFarlane) from The Cleveland Show is, appropriately, an Ewok, and Rallo (Mike Henry) is Wedge Antilles. It is lucky for MacFarlane that he has other TV shows to draw from, since the Star Wars franchise has so many characters.

     At the very end of this episode, the characters avow that they will not be doing the prequel Star Wars films, and Peter says that he thinks The Cleveland Show will be handling them. Is this a joke, or true? Three major characters from The Cleveland Show already appear in the Family Guy Star Wars parodies, but might they be recast for another trilogy of special episodes? It is hard to imagine how the spinoff cast would be appropriate for such a series, but MacFarlane may be daring enough to give it a try. Or it could just be an offhand comment, a slight insult to a sister series.

     "Episode VI: It's a Trap" lives up to the previous two installments. Whether MacFarlane does any more Star Wars parodies or not, he has finished a great feat with humor and excitement. Fans of both Family Guy and Star Wars should be left satisfied.

     Family Guy has been picked up for a tenth season, and will return to FOX next fall.

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Article first published as TV Review: Family Guy - "Episode VI: It's a Trap" on Blogcritics.

The Cleveland Show presents "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang"

     On the second season finale of FOX's The Cleveland Show, Cleveland Brown (Mike Henry) and family travel to San Diego Comic Con to premiere Cleveland's comic book he has labored on for years, Waderman. The story is inspired by an incident in high school where Donna (Sanaa Lathan) fell in a fountain, and while Cleveland was removing his shoes and socks, someone else rescued her. At the event, Donna is disturbed to learn that an old Blaxploitation movie she made entitled Hot Cocoa Bang Bang, also the name of this episode, in which she bares her breasts, is screening. Speaking to director Robert Rodriguez (of Sin City and Grindhouse fame, voicing himself), she tries to get the film to go away, but he refuses, so Waderman and Cocoa take Rodriguez on.

     This episode is quite a bit of fun, poking the humor in a number of different genres, including comic books, sci-fi, Blaxploitation films, and others. Besides the obvious bits about Cocoa, Cleveland Junior (Kevin Michael Richardson) realizes that Comic Con is now used by broadcast networks to promote any number of shows that have no business being at the event, and so plays off of the event itself. Junior raises an army of geeks to try to take back their convention, leading them in a bloody war for control of Comic Con. Ironically, while the geeks wear costumes from Star Trek, Star Wars, Avatar, Batman, and others, it is the network execs that display actual sci-fi abilities, such as a killer alien stalk that shoots out of one man's mouth. So perhaps Comic Con is the right place for executives, after all?

     While confronting each stereotype, The Cleveland Show uses their elements to battle them. For instance, while Donna is trying to stop Cocoa from seeing the light of day, she falls back into the Cocoa character. This lets the audience in on the joke, proving no one at The Cleveland Show is actually against the conventions they go after, but rather, are fans of them. It's an ironic sort of humor, and one Seth MacFarlane, co-creator of The Cleveland Show, as well as creator of Family Guy and American Dad, does well.

     Any series that visits Comic Con would be remiss without sticking in some fun cameos, and The Cleveland Show does not miss the opportunity. A number of actors lend their voices to play versions of themselves in brief sequences, including Danny Trejo (Machete), Emily Deschanel (Bones), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), and Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse). In perhaps a coup of coups, The Simpsons's Comic Book Guy (Hank Azaria), a nerdy character from another cartoon that also airs on FOX, pops up in what he himself dubs the "Worst. Cameo. Ever."

     Although Seth MacFarlane struggles for originality with three simultaneous series on the air (on the same night on the same network, no less), each of his shows does have a unique perspective. To find out what The Cleveland Show's is, tune in next fall when the series begins a third season on FOX.

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Article first published as TV Review: The Cleveland Show - "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang" on Blogcritics.

The Cleveland Show Tells Both "A Short Story and a Tall Tale"

     This week's episode of FOX's The Cleveland Show promised both "A Short Story and a Tall Tale". Really, you could often apply that description to any episode of the series, or any episode of any of FOX's Animation Domination shows. However, this being a Seth MacFarlane production, it's logical to assume that somehow the episode title should be offense, even if it doesn't appear so at first glance. Having watching the half hour, I can tell you that both the short and tall references are about height, and they lead to one of the most bizarre fight scenes ever shown on television.

     To set the scene a little, Cleveland (Mike Henry) and his wife, Donna (Sanaa Lathan), are given tickets to the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Of course, on the way to the game, Cleveland takes every possible easy pot shot at the city itself. While there, Cleveland insults a number of the players, including LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, and others I haven't heard of because I don't watch basketball, all voiced by themselves. At least that proves they have a sense of humor about themselves. The players decide to follow Cleveland home and get even for his taunts.

     At the same time, Cleveland's five year old son, Rallo (also Henry), has fallen in with a gang of midgets, believing them to be children. The midgets somehow think Rallo is an adult. If this wasn't a cartoon, there is certainly no way the plot would work, yet somehow it kind of does. Rallo stands one of them up at the altar, and they also want revenge. Even the gathering of the troops plays on mythical stereotypes. If MacFarlane hadn't already proven he is an equal opportunity offender by going after every other group first, the short American community may be offended. Heck, they still might be.

     Through a comedy or errors, the midgets and NBA players end up fighting each other on Cleveland's front lawn. Offensive? Incredibly, but then again, so were many of the things leading up the fight. Hilarious? Also, yes, though certainly not in any way that is politically correct. It's a good thing people watch this show and laugh in the privacy of their own homes, or it would have no viewers.

     If you think any of the above sounds funny, then I have a show for you. Watch The Cleveland Show Sunday nights at 9:30 p.m. on FOX. If you don't find midgets fighting seven foot tall athletes amusing, then stay away. You likely won't like any other episodes, either.

Article first published as TV Review: The Cleveland Show Tells Both "A Short Story and a Tall Tale" on Blogcritics.

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The Cleveland Show celebrates Halloween... a week late

    FOX made a bad move this year by airing The Cleveland Show's (along with the rest of the network's Animation Domination lineup) Halloween special, "It's the Great Pancake, Cleveland Brown", a week after Halloween.  Sure, if they had aired it a week early, that would have been ok.  People anticipate, and get in the mood for, holidays before they occur.  But I've never heard of a network running holiday specials so long after the day has passed before.  I realize that FOX has commitments to baseball, but if they were going to go ahead and make Halloween episodes of everyone's favorite animated series, they should have been put on the air before Halloween, even if it wasn't on their normal night.

     That being said, last night's The Cleveland Show was not a bad episode.  Funny, yes, at times bizarre, but not bad.  A couple of memorable gags were shown.  Upon returning home and finding his house toilet papered, a carved jack o'latern volunteers to Cleveland (voiced by series co-creator Mike Henry) what happened.  Roberta (Reagan Gomez-Preston) claimed not to know what she was (barely) dressed up as, and replied off handedly that she might be a ghost.  Later, in the same costume, she made ghost-like sounds for no apparent reason.  Kendra (Aseem Batra), clad far too skimpily, chased Lester (Kevin Michael Richardson) down the street, as Lester frantically tried to remember their safe word.  Cleveland attended David Carradine's funeral, laughed at seemingly dirty words, then cried when he found out that auto-erotic asphixiation could be fatal.  Sure, some those things were silly, and the latter was a bit wrong, but all elicited chuckles.

     The main plot focused on Cleveland Jr. (also Richardson), Cleveland's childish, dorky son from his first marriage.  Junior wanted to go trick-or-treating dressed up as a pancake, but Cleveland told him that fourteen was too old for such things, and ordered him to stay home and pass out candy.  Junior went out in a rare act of defiance, and was bullied for it.  After that, he agreed to listen to his father as Cleveland transformed him into someone cool, but was still picked on.  Finally, partially at the urging of Junior's step-mother, Donna (Sanaa Lathan), Cleveland realized that he had to let his son be who he was.  But he did not have to allow bullying.  Cleveland and his friends dressed up as other breakfast foods and accompanied Junior on a revenge mission to egg the bullies.  In a last toungue-in-cheek remark, Cleveland admitted he couldn't protect his son from what might happen to him at school the next day.

     The B plot involved Rallo (also Henry) loosing a tooth, he thinks from eating too muich candy, and hiding it under his pillow.  The youngster is shocked and terrified to discover that the tooth is replaced by a quarter, not knowing about the tooth fairy, or realizing that he hadn't managed to slip the gap in his smile past his mother's notice.

     And that pretty much sums up The Cleveland Show.  Cleveland is a loving father, who is a bit too self-obsessed, and thinks he's right far more often than he is.  He often doesn't consider consequences.  Yet, somehow there is a sweet family drama here.  More so than on Family Guy, Cleveland has to be a parent, ironic, considering the title.  It's found it's own niche.  The neighborhood is a little less refined than the show it spun off from, and there aren't as many off-topic side scenes, and Cleveland has proven itself more than a carbon copy.

     The Cleveland Show will never replace Family Guy, nor rise to it's popularity.  But it's worth a watch.  The Cleveland Show airs Sunday nights at 8:30pm.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

The Cleveland Show ends first year

     Seth MacFarlane's latest contribution to Fox's Animation Domination, The Cleveland Show, paid ample homage to it's origin, Family Guy, during last night's first season finale, "You're The Best Man, Cleveland Brown".  Yet, despite appearances by Peter and Quagmire (both voiced by MacFarlane), and someone calling Rallo (co-creator Mike Henry) "the black Stewie", the show definitely stands on it's own.  Sure, it's always nice when the shows crossover, when did on last week's Family Guy, but Cleveland is also it's own thing, and not just the black version of anything.

     Last night tied up one of Cleveland's (also Mike Henry) loose ends from his previous series: his wife, Loretta.  She died a few months ago, as addressed in another episode, and it was time to read her will.  It's nice that the show bothers with continuity such as this.  In it, she left everything she took from Cleveland in their divorce to their son, Cleveland Jr. (Kevin Michael Richardson), with one caveat: nothing was allowed to go back to Cleveland.  Which is too bad, because the generous boy shares the wealth with everyone else.  Cleveland, the poor, miserable, every-guy, who bad luck seems to follow, handled it better than he has plenty of other things.  Besides, he was distracted by the second plot.

     Cleveland's mother and father decided to come back to town and get re-married.  The best joke in all of that was when his mother called Cleveland his father's only son, and we got a montage of all the half-brothers that Cleveland has out in the world.  That could make for a successful spin-off all it's own, and when the writing starts to get stale, a never-ending pool of new characters to pull from.  But for now, the plucky Cleveland, not unlike Charlie Brown, as referenced in the title, took his lot in life and made the best of it.

     And that is why the show works.  Cleveland knows who he is, and he is an original character.  Joined by a slew of side characters who are rapidly growing on me from week to week, I can see why a second season was ordered before the first even aired.

Animation Domination certainly decks something

     Sunday marked the end of 2009 episodes of Animation Domination (or, Seth McFarlane & The Simpsons Night) on Fox.  Let's look at the results.

     The Simpsons, the only holdout against giving the entire night to McFarlane's series of practically the same shows, absconded the Christmas theme for an episode about Bart wanting a baby brother.  Homer (Dan Castellaneta), of course, would have none of it, and all of Bart's (Nancy Cartwright) attempts to trick his parents into it failed horribly.  So he went and adopted an orphan.  The episode had some of the best gags in a long time, from the boys dressed as the South Park kids, to the montage of famous brothers (many voiced by the actual celebrities portrayed).  For those who argue that the show has passed its prime and it so longer as good as it once was, I think this episode joins the ranks of recent ones proving them wrong.  Besides, without Simpsons, could we really take another McFarlane clone?

     All kidding aside, McFarlane's latest creation, The Cleveland Show, is actually fairly funny, just like his other shows, although some of the novelty of the original has long worn off.  This episode went all out for the holidays, even adding a new theme song, with a few fun throwbacks to the show it spun off from.  Cleveland does get to deal with reality of a broken family, though, and for the Christmas drama, Cleveland (Mike Henry) had to find his new stepkids' father and get him to come home to restore the yuletide spirit.  This show tries to be edgy, with Cleveland's boss proclaiming "Hide the silverware!" when his dark skinned employee arrived, but ends up being a bit too silly to be offensive.  My only real complaint about this episode was letting neighbor, Arianna (Arianna Huffington), an uber-religious bear, drop character to enjoy letting the reindeer watch her have sex with her husband, Tim (McFarlane).  Continuity, people!

     Family Guy really kind of skipped the holiday, too, but was ok for it.  Peter's (McFarlane) father-in-law, Mr. Pewterschmidt (also McFarlane),  lapses into a coma, Peter gets to take over his multi-billion dollar company.  Like most episode, the main plot isn't what makes the show.  This one was full of great gags.  For instance, while the town's bar is called the Thirst Clam, apparently it's strip club is the Fuzzy Clam.  When Mr. Pewterschmidt collapsed, he said he was having a "heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack, you oughta know by now", reference to legendary Mr. Billy Joel.  The doctor at the hospital, as well as a surprise pop up at the end, was none other than Hugh Laurie playing his popular fox character House, from the television show of the same name.  Jim Parsons also made a guest appearance as his character, Sheldon, from The Big Bang Theory.  Plus, there were some great Scooby-Doo moments.  And let's be honest, moments are what Family Guy is all about.

     The best of the night was probably American Dad.  It felt like a bizarre series finale for Stan (guess who?  McFarlane), though the rest of the cast didn't get the same payoff, and the series isn't ending.  This episode apparently takes place outside of the show continuity.  Stan and Francine (Wendy Schaal) had sex in a church on Christmas, and so are left behind as the rest of the congregation, including their children, are raptured into heaven.  Stan blames Francine for seducing him, and she leaves him and ends up as Jesus Christ's girlfriend.  Seven years later, as the end times come to an end, Jesus asks Stan to help him rescue Francine from the anti-Christ, and we see what is really in Stan's heart.  It was incredibly trippy, weird, and wonderful.  One of the best episodes of the series thus far, which is saying something, as Dad is probably consistently the best of the Sunday night lineup at present.