As you might have noticed, the Seth MacFarlane infomercial for Windows 7 somewhat live action comedy show aired last night. Perhaps you have heard me talking about it recently. If you missed it, here was the big news: It didn’t happen exactly as planned. Sure, there was Windows 7 imagery all around, including a bandstand that was covered in the letter “W.” But when it was time to actually get to the advertising portion of the infomercial variety show, the audience didn’t see any Windows related hype. Instead, we were treated to an extended trailer to the new Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Later on, an ad for the film Ninja Assassin was featured. “Where in the heck is the Windows 7 ads,” I yelled, albeit in a more uncensored, “R rated” form. “Do you mean that I just sat through that train wreck for nothing?” Perturbed and filled with frustration, I decided to see what exactly happened to the show. After about five seconds on Google – I don’t hate their products, just the ass kissing — I found out why I wasn’t seeing that familiar flying stained glass window on my television screen: Microsoft pulled out at the last second.

According to several articles, the folks at Redmond revoked their sponsorship because they believed that the show didn’t “fit their brand image.” In other words, Microsoft representatives were unhappy with the show’s content, so they pulled out. In a last ditch effort to save the show, Fox simply replaced the “computer talk” with a few movie trailers. The final product ended up looking a lot like a Family Guy episode, only with a few live action segments and a short sketch about Kermit the Frog possibly being gay. While the computing giant still claims to be on “great terms” with both Fox and MacFarlane, no new project has been announced as of yet.

So where does this leave MacFarlane on the “Finger Poke of Doom” meter? In some ways, the controversy was a godsend for the writer, as it allowed him to air his show without any added awkwardness. After all, a few movie trailers inserted into an otherwise commercial free program seems fairly normal, especially when those trailers carry the “Fox” name. It also makes MacFarlane look even more like a “counter culture hero” to his legions of fans. After all, nothing looks more “punk” than a writer telling a multinational corporation to go … you know. Sure, that’s not exactly what happened, but that is how this situation will be spun. Seth will end up looking the biggest “people’s champion” since The Rock, and Microsoft will end up looking like, well, Microsoft. Everybody wins … well, in the eyes of the fans, anyway.

In the short term, the recent “unpleasantness” will do next to nothing to derail either entity. Microsoft will continue to sell copy after copy of its critically acclaimed  operating system, and Seth MacFarlane will still get big ratings for his television programs. At worst, Microsoft will join the “hate list, ” currently occupied by the likes of Entertainment Weekly, the FCC, the Republican party/George W. Bush, and pretty much all major religions. The main problem here lies with MacFarlane himself. Just like Eric Bischoff before him, each victory, moral or otherwise, is just another reason to stroke his massive ego. When that ego gets to be too large, it manifests itself in some pretty ugly ways. Bischoff’s rampant disregard for reality brought us the Finger Poke of Doom. Will MacFarlane suffer a similar fall from grace? Sadly, all signs still point to “yes.” We are all hoping for a better outcome, but it’s looking doubtful at best at this stage of the game. Our advice? Enjoy Family Guy while you can. At the rate the show’s creator is going, it won’t be around for much longer.