Your Show of Shows (The Cleveland Show)
Encyclopedia
Your Show of Shows is the twenty-first episode of the second season of The Cleveland Show
. It is completely aired May 8, 2011 on Fox
in the United States
. In this episode, When Rallo and his pals Bernard and Theodore perform in the school talent show, their rap about fiscal responsibility is not well-received by their classmates. Meanwhile, after Cleveland gets his own Public-access television
cable TV show, the reviews are less than positive so he takes some tips from the most successful daytime talk shows that appeal to women.
This episode was directed by Oreste Canestrelli and written by Matt Murray, Aseem Batra and Carl Reiner. It received critical acclaim from many television critics, with much of the praise stemming from the main storyline and the cultural references. According to the Nielson ratings, the episode was viewed by 5.31 million viewers and garnered a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic during its initial airing. It featured guest appearances from Will.i.am
and T-Pain
, as well as several recurring voice actors and actresses for the series.
"Your Show of Shows" was originally intended to air as the twenty second episode of the second season of The Cleveland Show, airing a week after the third part of a fictional crossover event between American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, and Family Guy. However just two days before its planned airing, it was announced by the executive of the entertainment division of the Fox Broadcasting Company that the event was pushed back until next season, due to a series of tornadoes that killed nearly 300 people in the Southern United States.
Meanwhile, after Cleveland impresses his co-workers with his impressions, they suggest he take over when an opening of Waterman Cable's Public-access television opens up. However, his show idea fizzles badly. Struggling to come up with a new show concept, Cleveland and the guys decide to make a show to appeal to women which becomes a success.
Despite Rallo, Bernard and Theodore's song striking out with the other students, the parents love it and Cleveland books them on his show. Backstage, Murray arrives with a new song to make amends for making Rallo and his friends outcasts with their classmates that shocks the audience with its obscene lyrics but does result in getting the respect of their friends back. Cleveland is fired from the show by Mr. Waterman but Donna auditions to be his replacement by playing her recorder.
. This would be the first time Reiner wrote an episode on The Cleveland Show. He previously guest starred in the season two episode "Murray Christmas
". Seth MacFarlane, the creator and executive producer of The Cleveland Show, as well as its sister shows Family Guy
and American Dad!
, served as the executive producer for the episode, along with series veterans Mike Henry
and Richard Appel
. This episode featured guest appearances from Will.i.am and T-Pain, as well as several recurring voice actors and actresses for the series.
"Your Show of Shows" was originally intended to air as the twenty second episode of the second season of The Cleveland Show, airing a week after the third part of a fictional crossover event between American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, and Family Guy
. However just two days before its planned airing, it was announced by the executive of the entertainment division of the Fox Broadcasting Company that the event was pushed back until next season, due to a series of tornadoes that killed nearly 300 people in the Southern United States
.
. It was preceded by a rerun of The Simpsons
, and succeeded by its sister show Family Guy
and American Dad!
. It was viewed by 5.31 million viewers upon its original airing. The total viewership of the episode was on par with that of American Dad!, but significantly lower than than that of Family Guy. It achieved a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielson ratings. Ratings for the episode were slightly above that of American Dad!, while significantly lower than that of Family Guy. The episode's total viewership and ratings were significantly up from the previous episode, "Ship'rect", which was viewed by 3.35 million viewers upon its initial airing, and garnered a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
On reviewing this episode Demon TV said:
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
. It is completely aired May 8, 2011 on Fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In this episode, When Rallo and his pals Bernard and Theodore perform in the school talent show, their rap about fiscal responsibility is not well-received by their classmates. Meanwhile, after Cleveland gets his own Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV show, the reviews are less than positive so he takes some tips from the most successful daytime talk shows that appeal to women.
This episode was directed by Oreste Canestrelli and written by Matt Murray, Aseem Batra and Carl Reiner. It received critical acclaim from many television critics, with much of the praise stemming from the main storyline and the cultural references. According to the Nielson ratings, the episode was viewed by 5.31 million viewers and garnered a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic during its initial airing. It featured guest appearances from Will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
and T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
, as well as several recurring voice actors and actresses for the series.
"Your Show of Shows" was originally intended to air as the twenty second episode of the second season of The Cleveland Show, airing a week after the third part of a fictional crossover event between American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, and Family Guy. However just two days before its planned airing, it was announced by the executive of the entertainment division of the Fox Broadcasting Company that the event was pushed back until next season, due to a series of tornadoes that killed nearly 300 people in the Southern United States.
Plot
When Rallo and his pals Bernard and Theodore try to come up with an act for the school performance show, their idea for a karate act fails, the open up to Murray who writes them a song about fiscal responsibility that bombs with the kids at school.Meanwhile, after Cleveland impresses his co-workers with his impressions, they suggest he take over when an opening of Waterman Cable's Public-access television opens up. However, his show idea fizzles badly. Struggling to come up with a new show concept, Cleveland and the guys decide to make a show to appeal to women which becomes a success.
Despite Rallo, Bernard and Theodore's song striking out with the other students, the parents love it and Cleveland books them on his show. Backstage, Murray arrives with a new song to make amends for making Rallo and his friends outcasts with their classmates that shocks the audience with its obscene lyrics but does result in getting the respect of their friends back. Cleveland is fired from the show by Mr. Waterman but Donna auditions to be his replacement by playing her recorder.
Production
"Your Show of Shows" was directed by series regular Oreste Canestrelli, in his third episode of the season. This would be the first episode that Canestrelli would direct since the season two episode "The Blue, The Gray and The Brown". This episode's teleplay was written by series regulars Matt Murray and Aseem Batra. This would be the second time Matt Murray and Aseem Batra have written an episode. The episode's storyline was written by actor Carl ReinerCarl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
. This would be the first time Reiner wrote an episode on The Cleveland Show. He previously guest starred in the season two episode "Murray Christmas
The Cleveland Show (season 2)
Season 2 of The Cleveland Show, an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane, began airing on September 26, 2010 and ended after 22 episodes on May 15, 2011...
". Seth MacFarlane, the creator and executive producer of The Cleveland Show, as well as its sister shows Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
and American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, served as the executive producer for the episode, along with series veterans Mike Henry
Mike Henry
Michael Dennis "Mike" Henry is a former American football linebacker and actor.Henry's football career as a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Rams led him to be noticed by Warner Bros.His most prominent role was as Tarzan in three 1960s movies, Tarzan and the Valley of...
and Richard Appel
Richard Appel
Richard "Rich" Appel is an American writer, producer and former attorney. Growing up in Wilmette, Illinois, Appel developed a love of comedy and dreamt of a career as a comedy writer; he attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. Following in his mother's footsteps Appel...
. This episode featured guest appearances from Will.i.am and T-Pain, as well as several recurring voice actors and actresses for the series.
"Your Show of Shows" was originally intended to air as the twenty second episode of the second season of The Cleveland Show, airing a week after the third part of a fictional crossover event between American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, and Family Guy
Hurricane!
"Hurricane!" is the second episode of the seventh season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on October 2, 2011. The episode plot mainly revolves around the Smith family, who prepare for evacuation in response to an oncoming hurricane. Reluctant to...
. However just two days before its planned airing, it was announced by the executive of the entertainment division of the Fox Broadcasting Company that the event was pushed back until next season, due to a series of tornadoes that killed nearly 300 people in the Southern United States
April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak
An extremely large and violent tornado outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, and popularly known as the 2011 Super Outbreak, occurred from April 25 to 28, 2011. The outbreak affected the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States, leaving catastrophic destruction in...
.
Reception
"Your Show of Shows" was first broadcast on May 8, 2011 as part of the animation television night on Fox. The episode aired on the second spot of the line-up, a spot generally taken by Bob's BurgersBob's Burgers
Bob's Burgers is an American animated television sitcom, which premiered on January 9, 2011 on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series was created by Loren Bouchard and focuses on the Belcher family, who runs a hamburger restaurant. On April 7, 2011, Bob's Burgers was renewed for a second season...
. It was preceded by a rerun of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, and succeeded by its sister show Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
and American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
. It was viewed by 5.31 million viewers upon its original airing. The total viewership of the episode was on par with that of American Dad!, but significantly lower than than that of Family Guy. It achieved a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielson ratings. Ratings for the episode were slightly above that of American Dad!, while significantly lower than that of Family Guy. The episode's total viewership and ratings were significantly up from the previous episode, "Ship'rect", which was viewed by 3.35 million viewers upon its initial airing, and garnered a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
On reviewing this episode Demon TV said:
The opening from tonight’s episode of The Cleveland Show will probably give me nightmares about raccoons for a little while. I can’t seem to get the image of a raccoon holding the skinned off face of Harv Williams out of my head and it was definitely darker humor than I’ve seen on The Cleveland Show in a while.
The demise of “Picking on Raccoons” host, Harv Williams, meant that Cleveland got to try his hand at being a Public-access television star. When Cleveland is trying to be funny, he tells terrible jokes and does horrible impressions, I’m not even sure how his friends find him funny, but he gets a chance to be a daytime talk show host. After his first attempt was received with terrible reviews and he has a mental breakdown in the bathroom, he realizes the best way to succeed in daytime television is to make a hit “chick talk show.” Cleveland shows up on set wearing a pink suit and pink shoes and lists off topics women supposedly love talking about: “kids, mothers, shopping, chocolate, white wine, loneliness, bulimia, drinks” and then has Roberta come on as his first guest to talk about periods and tampons followed by Kendra for the makeover segment. My first thought after watching this bit was that The Cleveland Show was being totally sexist in it’s portrayal of the kind of television women like. Then again, I don’t really watch daytime television so for all I know, Cleveland was right on the mark about what daytime talk shows are like so if that’s the case, that’s some disappointing TV.
At the same time Rallo, Bernard and Theodore enlisted the help of Murray to write them a winning hip hop song for the talent show. This storyline wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite as funny as I expected it to be with the characters involved. They took advantage of some obvious jokes and I’d say the best part was in the actual performance of the songs that Murray wrote for them. I cracked up when they finally came onto Cleveland’s show and performed their updated version of the rap and got Cleveland canceled to the tune of censor bleeps.
I loved some of the little gags that were scattered throughout the episode especially, Cleveland being a Mister Potato Head with Rallo changing his expressions for him. The pacing of the episode overall was done well and for as bad as Cleveland’s jokes were at the beginning, this turned out to be a pretty good episode of The Cleveland Show.