The End of the World

I don't know if you've heard. But, apparently, the bird is the word.

'Family Guy' snuck in a nice callback to the season seven episode, 'I Dream of Jesus,' when Peter burst out with "Surfin' Bird." We got just a taste of Peter's classic dance and performance, but it was enough to bring back the laughs from that excellent episode.

Luckily, the night didn't need to rest on its past glories, as Seth MacFarlane returned to Sunday night dominance. With the failure of 'Sons of Tucson,' FOX dusted off 'American Dad' and brought the series back early to pinch-hit with new episodes. While 'Family Guy' didn't bring us the promised crossover event -- that was apparently an April Fool's joke on us -- they did play the cruelest joke you could imagine on their cast: they told them all they were going to die.

I had been expecting the JFK assassination to become part of the Mad Men storyline from the moment they showed us the invitation for Margaret Sterling's wedding on November 23, 1963. Expectations are one thing. Watching the way the national tragedy was depicted was quite another. As I watched the scenes unfold, I was riveted to the screen – and that was a surprise to me because on Fox the Yankees and the Phillies were locked in a very tight World Series game, and I cared about the outcome.

But I found myself unable to turn away from Mad Men. It wasn't pleasant to watch those black and white images of anchormen Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley. The moment I saw the flickering images behind Harry and Pete in the Sterling-Cooper office, I knew what was happening. It was terrific storytelling, by the way, for the viewer to know, but for Pete and Harry to be oblivious.