California Dreamin' (All the Cleves are Brown)

"California Dreamin' (All the Cleves are Brown)" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the animated comedy series The Cleveland Show. The episode aired on March 17, 2013 on Fox in the United States.^[1] In this episode, Cleveland and his family pack their bags and move to Los Angeles, California to get new lives after Donna pulls some strings so he can pursue his dream of becoming a Major League Baseball scout for the L.A. Dodgers. Donna launches a career as a children's entertainer and the kids soon settle into the LA lifestyle, but Cleveland finds a new job isn't all it's cracked up to be. When he befriends struggling actress Gina, she helps him to realize that Hollywood isn't that glamorous as it seems.

The episode was written by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein and directed by Oreste Canestrelli. It was viewed by approximately 4.0 million viewers in its original airing.^[2] The episode features guest performances by Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, David Ortiz, Krysten Ritter, Jimmy Rollins and Joey Votto, along with several recurring guest voice actors and actresses for the series.^[3]

Plot

As Donna wakes up Cleveland on the anniversary of his meeting her, he only remembers giving up his dream of going to California to be a baseball scout instead of their wedding. Donna decides to treat him to his dream as part of a family trip to California.

Settling into their new apartment in California, Cleveland heads out to the ballpark while Donna confesses that she believes he'll be back to normal after figuring out it's really work. Cleveland gets kicked off the field during a game, and indeed, finds out that it is real work. In Hollywood, the family gets star-struck as Rallo becomes a paparazzi, Junior becomes infatuated with the "superheroes" posing for pictures in front of the Chinese Theatre, Roberta finds a real Hollywood high school where she will be “the new girl” and Donna manages to entertain a bored kid at the grocery and finds she can make big money as “Old McDonna.”

At home, the family tells of their adventures while Cleveland finds his dream just isn't happening for him. Cleveland meets new neighbor Gina, an aspiring actress and confides that things are not working out the way he expected. Junior spots some shoplifters in front of the "superheroes" posing for pictures and when they are no help, decides to gather them into a group of real superheroes. Cleveland decides to make a splash by recruiting professional players from other teams. The manager threatens to fire Cleveland if Donna wasn't holding pictures of him and gives him dirty jobs. While Donna performs, Cleveland calls to complain about his day but she gives him the brush off. Rallo hangs out with the other paparazzi. Gina takes Cleveland out to a small community just like Stoolbend. Seeing his excitement, Gina suggests he should go back home.

Junior and the guys stop a theft. But while on a rooftop, as they hear gunshots and leap off the building, splats are heard and Junior reconsiders the superhero gig. Cleveland finds that Donna's little job has become a big enterprise with multiple “Donna's.”. He suggests they move back until Donna explodes at the help and she refuses to go back home. When Gina asks Cleveland how things worked out, the rest of the family are showing the effects of being in Los Angeles and she suggests Cleveland do whatever it takes to get them to go back home. They arrive one day to see a message Cleveland sent from Stoolbend, showing their friends and what they are missing. They suddenly find they want to go home just as an earthquake strikes. As the walls split, the family finds they were really fooled by a Hollywood production but they are still resolved to go back home. Cleveland congratulates Gina for putting the production together as Cleveland bids goodby to the Dodgers.

Production

The episode was written by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein and directed by Oreste Canestrelli.^[2] The title is a reference to the song "California Dreamin'" by "The Mommas and the Papas", and its first line "All the leaves are brown".

In addition to the regular cast, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, David Ortiz, Krysten Ritter, Jimmy Rollins and Joey Votto guest starred in the episode. Recurring voice actors Al Thompson, Jess Harnell and Aseem Batra made minor appearances as well.^[4]

Reception

In its original broadcast on March 17, 2013 on Fox, this episode was watched by 4.05 million U.S. viewers and acquired a 6.5/10 rating/share.^[5]

Mark Trammell of TV Equals gave the episode a positive review, saying "On the second of two episodes of “The Cleveland Show” that aired Sunday night, the gang decided to move to California so that Cleveland could pursue his dreams of being a baseball scout- a la Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"– in the amusingly-titled “California Dreamin’ (All the Cleves are Brown).” Not everyone was thrilled about the move, mentioning how they had dreams of their own they’d like to pursue if things were different, such as Rallo’s wry observation: “Yeah, right, my dream is to have a fat man lie on top of my mom all night.” Chided Cleveland: “What I do when your mother sleeps is my business!” (I also liked that when Donna told Cleveland that his dream was coming true, he automatically went to: “I’m going back to the "Family Guy" again?” LOL.)".^[6]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: "California Dreamin' (All the Cleves are Brown)"

• "California Dreamin'" at the Internet Movie Database
• "California Dreamin'" at TV.com