The Cleveland Show (by Seth MacFarlane)

Started by modage, May 16, 2010, 09:20:42 PM

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modage

A Kinder, Gentler Family Guy

Without David Lynch, there would be no Cleveland Brown.

It's a hard fact to swallow, given the easy-going, African American Family Guy character, whose new spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, hits Fox this week, seems a million miles removed from the avant garde auteur. The same can be said for his creator and series showrunner, Mike Henry.

Such a lofty career wasn't always Henry's aspiration. Upon graduating from Virginia's conservative Washington and Lee University, he saw himself as a "social guy looking to make it in business." He settled nicely into an advertising career until he caught a screening of Wild at Heart. It changed everything.

"I realized if David Lynch could put forth such a unique sensibility and make a living at it, then I'm going for it!" exclaims Henry, who promptly quit advertising and embarked on a temporarily less lucrative career as a comedian and writer that eventually landed him on the staff of The Family Guy and now, The Cleveland Show – where you'll find a bizarre, Lynchian cast including, well, David Lynch.

"He's one of our characters," Henry is proud to boost. "He plays Gus the Bartender, who is drawn to look very much like David Lynch and, obviously sounds like David Lynch."

Henry took time out from coaxing his idols into his show to speak with the Writers Guild of America, West Web site about The Cleveland Show's happy, mustache mellowness; about the unique creative process of an animated show where the writers do the voices as well; and about why, every time Cleveland talks, there's a guy on a basketball court somewhere scratching his head and trying to figure out why that voice sounds so familiar.

http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=3802


When/how/why did this happen?   :shock:
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pubrick

it'r not the real david lynch is it? Unless i missed something out of pure cognitive dissonance, it looks like they just wrote another random character, and the WGA ppl just latched onto it to give the write-up a desperately needed semblance of respectability. :/
under the paving stones.

JG

No, its him. He talks about it here. I was initially put off by it, but whatever, its just a seemingly nice guy helping another seemingly nice guy out.

Pubrick

oh, i see..

i guess his overpriced coffee and website subscriptions aren't making what they used to.

also, he's becoming a joke.
under the paving stones.

Neil

I guess it is almost as bizarre as Adam West being a fairly common character on Family Guy.
it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.

ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ

QuoteHenry plans to use his idol in several episodes. Cracks Lynch: "I don't want too much attention on this acting thing. I try to play it down to give Harrison Ford a break."

Good save.
"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye

SamFZGames

Can I just butt in (to this ancient topic) and say that I love The Cleveland Show? I like Family Guy (though I grew tired of it quicker than The Simpsons) but didn't get much of a chance to watch it, but when I heard that David Lynch was in the show, I made a conscious effort to find the time to watch it, and I enjoy it a lot. I actually find it superior to Family Guy in many ways, it focuses more on it's wit and less on random tangents, and doesn't ever go off on South Park-esque political rants the way Family Guy sometimes does, I find it to be a genuinely good show.

It's cool to see Lynch in it, and I love how he's basically David Lynch...but not, the way mayor Adam West was in Family Guy. I'm just beginning season 2 (thank you, American Netflix DNS!) and I'm hoping to see Gus do some more Lynch-esque things. So far he's just an eccentric character in the vein of Lynch, but I think they could get some good Twin Peaks references and whatnot in there if they're clever about it.