There's actually a Utah connection here, so stick with me.

The song was part of an episode originally produced in 2000, but never aired on Fox after it reintroduced the series a few years ago.

According to Variety, New York music publisher Bourne Co., which owns the rights to "When You Wish Upon a Star," is suing the animated sitcom because it believes "I Need a Jew" is a "thinly-veiled copy" of the classic Oscar-winning song featured in the 1940 Disney movie "Pinocchio."

The episode involves dad Peter Griffin declaring he needs a Jewish accountant to do his finances.

For those who don't know: "When You Wish Upon a Star" was written by Salt Lake City native Leigh Harline, a graduate of Granite High School and the University of Utah and a Mormon who trained under one of the conductors of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

"Family Guy" also was sued by entertainer Carol Burnett earlier this year after the show ran a parody of Burnett's cleaning lady character as a janitor in a porn shop. But a federal judge tossed out the suit, claiming the "Family Guy" segment was protected under free speech because it was a parody.

I suspect that's probably what's going to happen to the case involving the song.

As much as I consider "When You Wish Upon a Star" one of my favorite movie songs, if not the favorite, it's obvious it was used as a parody. No one is going to mistake the satire in "Family Guy" for the real song in "Pinocchio."

Ratings rumble: For many years, Thursday nights have been the main event of the weekly ratings war, with the networks' biggest offerings duking it out for viewership supremacy. In fact, this season, only one new fall show dared to enter the Thursday night pack, populated with established returning series.

At the end of the new season's second week, everyone was down ratingswise from the week before when most shows premiered, according to Nielsen Media Research and the Hollywood Reporter.

At 7 p.m., CBS' "Survivor: China" won the time slot, followed by "Ugly Betty" and NBC's "My Name is Earl" and "30 Rock" block.

At 8 p.m., "Grey's Anatomy" still leads the night with more than 25 million viewers, followed by "CSI" and NBC's "The Office" with 8 1/2 million.

At 9 p.m., CBS retakes the lead with "Without a Trace," with NBC's "ER" second, followed by ABC's new entry, "Big Shots."

At the bottom were Fox and the CW with the likes of "Don't Forget the Lyrics" and "Supernatural."

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* VINCE HORIUCHI can be reached at vince@sltrib.com or 801-257-8607.