Fox signs raunchy cartoon creator Seth MacFarlane to lucrative deal; keeps producer with company through 2012.

Seth MacFarlane, who no doubt had high-school teachers telling him that his doodles and cartoon voices would amount to nothing, can now tell his guidance counselor to shove it.
Money.

The cartoon mastermind has finally signed a deal and will be locked up with 20th Century Fox Television through 2012, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The agreement also means that if pretty much anyone (other than Bill Gates) sees MacFarlane at a bar, drinks are on him.

By signing his name on the dotted line, MacFarlane now lays claim to the title of highest-paid television producer in the business. Depending on the performance of his properties, which include Family Guy, American Dad, and (barring some bonehead decision not to pick it up) the Family Guy spin-off Cleveland, MacFarlane's contract could be worth more than $100 million.

The deal also keeps MacFarlane on board as producer of live-action comedies and as a voice actor for his shows.

Never one to mince words, MacFarlane told The Hollywood Reporter: "I get a lot of pleasure out of making shows. It's a bonus to be getting paid well for it, and it's a double bonus to be getting paid exorbitantly for it."

MacFarlane has had a rocky relationship with Fox in the past, seeing Family Guy canceled and then resurrected after DVD sales went through the roof. He was also at odds with his bosses during the writers strike, during which he was very vocal on behalf of the scribes.

When Peter gets a pet parrot, he begins acting like a pirate. Peter accidentally kills the bird after raising hell through all of Quahog. Meanwhile, when Brian is visiting the vet, Chris falls in love with the intern, Anna.

Brian, afraid that he may have lost his last chance at love, searches for a former flame, Tracy. To his surprise, he discovers that he is the father to her son, Dylan. Tracy decides that Brian should raise the boy, and she drops him off at the Griffin's house. When Dylan runs rough-shot in the house, Brian's attitude towards parenting doesn't settle too well with Lois and Peter.