Review:
The Cleveland Show: Episode Three

103: The One About Friends

'Well, let’s go home. I’ll get out of these pants and you can play with Cleveland Jr… I shouldn’t talk to boys.’ – Cleveland

This is it! This is what The Cleveland Show should always be like. It’s funny, fast paced, witty, silly and all hinges on a genuinely thoughtful plot that develops, builds up speed and even avoids being predictable.

When Cleveland sees how Roberta and Rallo are always surrounded by friends while Cleveland Jr. sits in the kitchen counting to a million, he decides to find his son a friend. This sets off a hilarious chain of events where Cleveland gets mugged by one boy and arrested by an undercover cop for trying to make him play with Cleveland Jr. Eventually Cleveland Jr. begins to become friends with redneck Lester’s son unruly Ernie, which eventually backfires when Ernie moves into the Brown-Tubbs household, forcing Cleveland to try and get the boy to move back in with Lester. Naturally, it all ends in disaster.

Unlike previous episodes, the second and third acts come as a genuine surprise, bringing additional plot twists, unforeseen jokes and one or two real thigh-slapping moments. It also features a wonderfully violent gun battle finale, showing once again just how good animated action scenes can be when done properly. On top of it all is the fact that Cleveland’s long-established personality is shining through the whole thing, as opposed to being pushed around just for the sake of the narrative.

This episode has a multitude of really great moments, such as Cleveland going shoe shopping, accidentally getting arrested (‘once I read over the transcript, I could see how my words might have been misconstrued’) a naked Cleveland attempting to seduce Donna in the shower only to end up with a flaming possum biting his crotch and Donna and Cleveland’s barbed exchanges about the kind of sex they both want. Hell, even Holt manages to get a few funny scenes, but that’s not surprising considering that he’s partnered up with Tim the Bear. And as for the furry one himself, Tim’s Albanian accent and Christian beliefs are worth tuning in to hear any day of the week.