Review: The Cleveland Show - Love Rollercoaster

(S01E11) While Cleveland and the boys down at the bar were trying to come up with the next great invention, Roberta was learning a lesson in what it's like to not be gorgeous. And who better to teach her the lesson than Jane Lynch. With Glee on hiatus until sometime in 2147 -- at least it feels that long -- I'll take what Lynch I can get. And she was great here as a bitter teacher ... wait, that sounds familiar.

I think she was woefully under-utilized, though, as the storyline involving her never really achieved any resolution. More specifically, it started as a storyline for Roberta, became a storyline for both Roberta and Cleveland, Jr. and yet it was really only Jr. who got a somewhat satisfying conclusion. Of course, I'm probably just bitter that Lynch didn't show up again.

It does make me wonder just how naive Cleveland, Jr. is that he didn't recognize Roberta in the "Tyra" fat suit, but his entire family did. Actually, no one at school noticed either, so maybe it's a statement as to how observant Cleveland, Donna and Rallo are that they picked up on who it was right away.

Poor Cleveland, Jr., it was sweet of Roberta to let him down gently. It was a great touch that her postcard to him "from Alaska" started listing things you'd find online or in an encyclopedia about the state. Roberta doesn't know anything about Alaska, but her heart was in the right place.

The lesson she learned from Ms. Eck (Lynch) was to find her value and heart inside, rather than relying on her body and beauty to get by in life. Great slideshow showcasing some celebrity beauties before and after. Particularly frightening was Meg Ryan. I still would have liked some resolution on the Ms. Eck storyline though, rather than just abandoning it completely to focus on Jr.'s perspective.

I don't know if anything can top Jr.'s impromptu song, "Balls Deep in Love," to his family. I'm not sure if that was a nod to Glee because Lynch was in this episode, but it was a pretty damned good song and almost too clever for its own good. The bizarre appearance of Scottie Pippen in the fantasy sequence, in which he joined in the song, was only surpassed by the equally bizarre "two and two" sign-off from Chuck Woolery.

I wasn't as into the invention storyline. It didn't pack nearly the laughs or the heart of the other storyline. The highlight there was Cleveland remembering that he'd seen the "Roller Coaster" on an infomercial already, and had just renamed it during a marijuana high.

And the device that makes you sound like Alan Alda. It was sweet when Lester called his wife, who's apparently a huge Alda fan. I expected him to turn it into something horrible, but it ended as it began: a sweet deception for love. The Cleveland Show needs to keep those moments to differentiate itself from Family Guy and American Dad. This can be the Seth MacFarlane show about a family that genuinely loves each other, and people who are decent human beings... and bears.

[See if you can feel it with clips and full episodes of The Cleveland Show at SlashControl.]