Anyone under the age of thirty is probably familiar with the name Seth MacFarlane. For those who have no idea who I am talking about, a brief introduction: Seth MacFarlane is the highly successful and extremely controversial writer, director, animator, voice actor, and occasional singer responsible for such shows as Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Comedy. He is perhaps best known, however, as the innovator of the “Manatee Joke;” a random sight gag, pun, and/or obscure pop culture reference from the 1980’s that has little or nothing to do with the plot of the episode. To his supporters, he is a visionary that is willing to push the proverbial envelope in order to elicit a reaction. To his detractors, however, MacFarlane is little more than a pompous ideologue that is more concerned with pushing political beliefs than entertaining the masses. Still, controversy does indeed create cash. As long as MacFarlane’s shows bring in ad revenue, Fox will keep showing them, whether people like Matt Parker and Trey Stone like it or not.

So what is left for MacFarlane to conquer you ask? The all-American format known as the variety show, of course. Co-written by comedienne/voice actress Alex Borstein, Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show is slated to feature a hodgepodge of animated musical numbers, sketches (both live and animated), and various celebrity cameos. Oh … And it’s nothing more than a sixty minute advertisement for Windows 7. According to Microsoft’s Gayle Troberman, the special will use “the cast of Family Guy in some interesting ways that integrate the product messages. You’ll see us deeply integrated into the content.” Many long time fans of MacFarlane are shocked by the announcement. As for us, well … it’s really not quite as simple as that.

Now let us be perfectly clear here: We have absolutely no problem with this special. As many fans of the Free Line already know, we are big fans of capitalism. What confuses us, however, is the use of the Family Guy characters in order to push a product that is extremely unpopular with the target audience. Theoretically, this is akin to writer Greg Daniels buying airtime during The Price is Right in order to advertise The Office. Sure, some might set their DVRs, but most will be either confused or annoyed at such a stunt. The reason for this is simple: The Office is generally not geared towards the type of person who watches The Price Is Right religiously. Any attempt to “win over” said audience will be met with, at the very least, disdain and anger. Sadly, we see the exact same thing happening here.

…And there you have it. We will have much, much more on this subject tomorrow. Until then, we bid thee a fond adieu.