‘Family Guy’ and ‘The Simpsons’ crossover, and it was … great?

How about this for a surprise? When we first heard that there was going to be a crossover episode of “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy,” we thought it would be pretty awful. After all, what could be a ratings stunt than this?

So while we firmly expected the worst, we’re willing to go out on a limb here in saying that this may be one of the best cartoon crossovers ever. For one, it actually contained plenty of references to both shows, and also slight digs at the Fox cartoon lineup. There was a fantastic ending, and it felt largely like a love letter to both shows that somehow bridged the line between the sensibilities of “The Simpsons” and the newer series on Fox.

Ultimately, we imagine that there will still be some out there who are complete cynics about this, and find something to hate about this hour just because it is a little bit easier to be negative.

With all of this being, we really don’t want to see this happen again. One crossover is enough, and the more that the shows decide to cross-pollinate, the less fun this will be. We’re interested now especially in seeing what the ratings for this are, given that there were so many watching it seemingly, based on the list of Twitter trending topics.

Next week, don’t worry: “Family Guy” is going to find a way somehow to go back to normal, and we’ll probably miss this.

What did you think about the crossover episode as a whole? Did it live up to your expectations and then some? Share your thoughts with a comment.