Which Version Was The Worst?

The Cleveland Show, S04E08

Cleveland showcased the different versions of The Cleveland Show as broadcast around the world.  These included Mexico, Italy, Germany, and Japan.

As soon as I heard Cleveland explain what the episode was going to be about, I wasn't expecting anything good.  My prediction turned out to be mostly true, the majority of the jokes at various countries being more boring than they were anything else.  Usually when a show attempts to throw their characters into a different setting than normal, it's a good chance to be entertained at how they act in another environment, but I couldn't find much humor in it at all.

The story about Junior's quinceanera was probably my least favorite, but that's not saying much.  The best thing was that Sofia Vergara made a guest appearance, and I found out that she has a pretty good singing voice.  I just like her in general, so it helped me not roll my eyes at the story completely.  I also liked when they did a fake commercial break that featured Consuela advertising her "perfume" called "No."  But it was just really Lemon Pledge.

The next story set in Italy was the least annoying of them all.  It focused on the rivarly between Junior and Rallo, which was certainly a big reason why.  I really liked seeing Rallo in all those outfits.  He was so cute in both what he was wearing at the retirement party and when he was getting a new suit.  Rallo is adorable in a little hat.  Speaking of that retirement party, it was little funny when that guy made a joke about "Crime Warner" and Cleveland snapped his fingers to have that guy shot.  Then he blamed it on a heart attack as they took his body away.  It's rare to see Cleveland in a position of power where he's that scary.

My favorite part of that story was when Junior came crying to Cleveland after he had found Larry in the tub:

[Junior] Daddy! Daddy!  Rallo drowned Larry the leopard!

[Cleveland] Just put him in the dryer.

[Rallo] He had my friend Walt killed!

[Cleveland] So you're even.  Now go on outside and play.

Another quote I liked was when Rallo was admiring himself in the mirror:

Damn, I look good.  Probably gonna die in this suit one day.

Finally, I liked the end of the story, for some reason.  There was something funny about that dramatic music as Rallo couldn't get Donna to save him and Cleveland putting on that jacket, gloves, and hat so that he could take the two out for a "drive."

The story about the writers wasn't that interesting.  The best thing about it was that it wasn't very long, so they could move on to something else.

The story in Japan, was disappointing too.  I had expected it might be my favorite, but it was just okay.  No one's Japanese version was very funny, except maybe Tim.  He had those "anime eyes," and he looked pretty cute.  I didn't care too much about the robot or anything else that was going on.  However, I had a hard time ignoring the fact that Cleveland was dressing up as a pile of shoes at work.  I know it's all supposed to be jokes and stuff, but the nerd in me was like, "You'd never see a pile of shoes like that there.  They would be neatly lined up."  It's too bad I just couldn't enjoy that joke or any of the others.  I won't get another chance to watch Cleveland and the crew in Japan again (I hope).

Even though I didn't like this episode, I'm just happy it wasn't a disaster.  I've seen some pretty bad stuff on this show, and I could have seen them doing worse with these different countires.  All the stories were mostly cheesy, but not in a way I thought was particularly clever or fresh.  I don't mind seeing something poking fun at stereotypes (it's usually a good way to reduce them of their power), but I'd rather see them presented in a way that's a bit different.  When you see the same thing about Italians, for instance, eating tons of spaghetti a thousand times, it's not really going to make you laugh.  Or maybe, even though this is a comedy show, that was the goal of this episode: you get so many bad jokes thrown at you, you just end up being too bored to be offended.

Toys And Steve's Virginity Are Here To Stay

American Dad, S07E18

Stan took Steve to lose his virginity in Mexico because he wanted Steve to grow out of playing with toys.  They failed to find a suitable whorehouse to facilitate that and also got kidnapped by some drug cartel.  They only managed to escape when Steve used his imagination through a toy made from parts he found in their cell.  In a side story, Roger wanted to steal a bottle of Rain Duck from Greg and Terry to enjoy with the steak dinner Francine made.  All of his attempts failed, so Francine had to get it herself, but Roger had planned all alone to get rid of Francine and have the meal to himself.

It's episodes like these that make me think that Steve and Junior from The Cleveland Show are so similar.  They both are teenage boys who refuse to grow up and continue to play with toys.  I would have preferred that Stan fight Steve and his "army" toys over and over again, rather than have had Stan listen to Klaus' plan.  Taking a teenager out of the country to get laid seems a little extreme just because you don't like him playing with dolls.  Steve seemed to love the idea, but I think if he and Stan had succeeded it would have somehow warped him.  It would have at least taught Steve that it was okay to buy sex, and possibly he would have never bothered to seek companionship based on mutual affection.  So in a sense, the fact that every whorehouse they went to was disgusting and horrifying was a great thing.

I just wish that they didn't have to portray Mexico in such a horrible light.  I don't know which of the places they went to (that were shown) was worse, but I especially disliked when everyone was vomiting on the streets.  I also don't understand why anyone besides Stan and Steve needed to puke at that particular moment.  It seemed unnecessarily gross.  Even if it was for a joke about horchata (I've never tried it, so that one goes over my head), I think it was excessive.

I had hope for them to enjoy nicer trip when Stan and Steve were taken in by a group of people in a car, until they all took out guns on them.  But truth be told, it's always risky to take a ride from a stranger no matter what country you're in.  It was just a little ironic because just before Stan and Steve knew they were in danger, the man said that most of Mexico is wonderful.  At least that line suggests that the writers aren't completely trying to make Mexico seem unpleasant.  I just wish things had turned out differently, but I guess their troubles were vital to Stan allowing Steve to continue playing with toys.

I was glad, too, that Steve had such a great imagination because I don't know what kind of food they were fed in their cell, but it didn't look like anything good.  In Steve's mind they could be eating food that was recognizable and weren't surrounded by rats and roaches.  I also didn't like looking at the toilet paper tube, roach-headed, rat skeleton-armed toy that Steve made. So glad that he could picture it as something less creepy and nasty.  If I had to watch Steve the whole time shaking that monstrosity of a toy around throughout the end of the story, I'd have had to look away most of the time.  Especially with its roach head (I can't stand those things).

Because of my repulsion of "Pedro," I couldn't blame Steve for throwing the thing out when they got away from their captors.  I liked that the fantasy version of Pedro was outraged, though.  Plus, he said that line that you hear at the end of the episodes: "Bye, have a beautiful time."  That was kind of cute.  It made me like the ending of the episode a lot more.

As far as the Roger story went, I can't believe that I didn't suspect that it was all going to be a setup by Roger.  From the beginning, I wondered why Roger would bring a really nice wine (that he obviously loved) to a steak dinner that Francine claimed was going to be for her and Stan (did she have no idea that he went down to Mexico?).  I guess I got distracted at his attempts to steal the last bottle from Greg and Terry that I started to ignore the why.  He wasted all this time making a device with dominoes and other triggers throughout the house just to take out their electricity.  What a rip (not in a way that made me laugh).  After Roger was failing like a champion, I was glad to see Francine get the damn bottle in a quick minute.  But I was pissed that Roger set her flying away on a giant wrecking ball.  Not another story where he just screws over someone and gets to reap the profits at the end!  Freaking Roger.  I love him because he provides fantasy and creepy humor, but I hate how he is frequently exempt from consequences.  He needs to pay more often!

This may be an episode I would come to like after watching again.  It lacked a lot of the usual annoyance I find when the stories concentrate on one of Stan's plans (or Klaus', really).  It would have been better if Roger was a little funnier, but at least he wasn't portraying himself as another obnoxious persona and was more or less playing himself this time.  However, it would have been even better to see Roger get away with less in the future.  The joke of Roger screwing people over for his own selfish needs is really starting to wear thin.

No Debate About It--Leslie Is A Winner

Parks And Recreation, S04E20

Leslie finally had her debate for city council.  Bobby, despite having no idea of how to improve Pawnee, was a considerable opponent for her and her attacks upon his character only made her look like a bully at first.  Leslie did her best to present herself in the best light, but Bobby was the favorite of both the audience and the moderators.  Bobby looked like he had the debate in the bag when he claimed that Leslie's victory over him would cause the Sweetums factory to be sent to Mexico, killing the largest supplier of jobs in town.  However, Leslie won over the crowd (even Bobby) with a heartfelt closing statement that displayed her passion and drive to make Pawnee better and her determination to work toward that goal until the end.  Outside of the debate, Chris suggested to Ann that they try to date again, while Tom tried to convey to Ann that he deserved another chance too.  Andy also had to entertain Leslie's supporters while Ron had to steal cable for them to watch the debate on TV.

I felt bad for Leslie that she started to look like a monster when she told the harsh truth about Bobby.  However, Paul Rudd is just so adorable as Bobby, I can see how the audience was swayed by his positive, yet childish manner when he answered the questions.  It really spoke to the idea that a lot of voters are simple people who aren't smart enough to notice the difference between competent and charismatic.  Leslie has her own charm, but that was being stolen by the other female candidate, Brandi, who chose to copy Leslie in both fashion and policy.  I wanted to punch Joan when she made it seem like Brandi and Leslie were essentially the same.  Despite all of these roadblocks, Leslie pulled through with an amazing speech.  Even I was a little moved by her closing remarks.  I guess it's because she was being treated like some kind of heartless jerk and hadn't been given a fair chance to shine, so I was just happy to see her get the result that she deserved.

I kinda wish that Ann had thought about taking Chris back, but at least Chris didn't seem too bummed about her rejection.  I also felt bad for Tom who isn't the douche that he sometimes acts like.  He is sweet (although a bit creepy at times), so I was glad that he still has some hope to win Ann back one day.  But Ann was smart to break it off with him after him telling such intimate details over the radio.  What the hell, Tom??  He needs to kick that nervous and insecure habit fast.  He could be good for Ann, if only he toned down the "swag" as April put it.

I was disappointed Ron didn't have much of a chance to shine beyond being super handy in stealing cable.  He said he would pay for it later, and he went up the electric pole like it was something he did every day.  I thought he might get arrested before he finished that job, but luckily the siren we heard in the background wasn't meant for him.  Inside the house, Andy was pretty cute in the way he acted out his favorite movie scenes.  He has incredible energy.  I would have gotten tired of doing that after a few minutes.  He was so animated and lively about the movies he was talking about even Donna felt moved during his rendition of Babe.  Andy may be a dork and a moron, but he's too loveable for you to hold that against him.

I'm excited to see what impact Leslie's debate will have on her campaign.  She may have killed in the debate, but something easily could come up before the election day to damage her (especially with that high-priced campaign manager that Bobby has).  Hopefully, it won't be something that Leslie and her friends can't handle.  They are really becoming an unstoppable team!  I know it would never happen, but it would be the greatest show if you could take all the Parks and Recreation department and put them in the White House.  I'm just saying, a sequel to this show could be Leslie in the White House!  I'd gladly watch that!