Seth MacFarlane might be a PC, but Bill Gates wants nothing to do with Peter Griffin and his strange little cartoon family.

Microsoft Corp. abruptly pulled out of a sponsorship deal with Fox involving the "Family Guy" series that would've made it the sole sponsor of a commercial-free special Nov. 8 called "Family Guyy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show."

The sponsorship was part of Microsoft's rollout of its new Windows 7 operating system, which is expected to promote the product on a number of programs owned by Fox's parent, News Corp. On "Almost Live," Microsoft would've inserted marketing messages into the special.

The special, which would feature MacFarlane and Alex Borstein, was taped last week. MacFarlane voices a number of characters on "Family Guy," including the show's patriarch, Peter Griffin. Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Peter's wife.

Microsoft executives attended the taping, but were shocked to find out some of the humor for the special involved the deaf, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest, according to Variety, otherwise known as a typical "Family Guy" episode.

"We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of 'Family Guy,' nut after reviewing an early version of the variety, show, it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand," a Microsoft spokeswoman told the trade publication. "We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein, and are working with them in other areas."

Windows apparently didn't run from the set screaming. They did try to issue some creative notes about the content, but then decided it wasn't worth the effort. A new sponsor for "Almost Live" has not been announced.

"Almost Live" is part of an all-MacFarlane night on Fox to help get November sweeps moving that would include episodes of "Family Guy," "American Dad" and "The Cleveland Show."

"Family Guy," which was once canceled by Fox and returned some time later after seeing success in reruns on cable channels, is a Sunday ratings winner for Fox. Average overnight ratings from The Nielsen Co. give it a 5.2 rating/8 share, well ahead of its lead-ins: "The Simpsons" and the spinoff "Cleveland," both which average almost identical 4.7/7s.

"American Dad," the leadout for "Family Guy," is struggling with a 3.9/6.