• Los Angeles Times, Sunday, November 1, 2009 10:11 PM

About a week ago, Microsoft bailed out of being the exclusive sponsor for Fox's "Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show." Now it looks like Warner Bros. is stepping in, using the special to promote the Christmas release of its new film, "Sherlock Holmes."

A commercial in Fox's pregame broadcast before Game 3 of the World Series told viewers to tune in to the Nov. 8 "Family Guy" comedy special for a sneak peek of the movie, starring Robert Downey Jr. Whether the special will feature promotions exclusively for "Sherlock Holmes" remains to be seen, but the movie certainly will have a prominent spot in the program.

The special, which features Seth MacFarlane and voice actress Alex Borstein in a variety of sketches, originally incorporated plugs for Microsoft's Windows 7 into the show's content. But the software giant pulled out after the taping. Microsoft, which has spent close to $5 million on commercials in the "Family Guy" series both on Fox and on TBS and Cartoon Network, said the material in the special "was not a fit" with the Windows brand.

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