American Dad!

At first glance this show may look like a dodgy Family Guy copy but with different characters but it is far from that. American Dad focuses more on political humor and jokes that never fall flat. In a way it is Seth McFarlanes' Futurama. By this I mean its a show made by him that looks like his other show but has a completely different vibe. Fans of Family Guy constantly hate on this show because it has a different style of humour and tone. It still has curses, crude humor, violence and sexual references like Family Guy but focuses on making fun of political situations and current events. I say definitely check out American Dad if you want a nice satisfying half an hour of comedy. It is well worth watching.

I love this show. It's such a relief to see a show like "American Dad," especially on Fox. It can't be helped that some people are too unconscious to understand the desperately needed, hilarious criticism that it offers. It's "Sullivan's Travels" meets "Dr. Strangelove," rolled up into an animated series. Yeah, it's probably too smart for the masses, but we have to start somewhere. If it's marketed like "The Family Guy," during DVD release, then hopefully it will later be recognized for its absolute brilliance. Speaking of brilliance, airing the first episode immediately after the Super Bowl was unquestionably the most impeccably timed programming in the history of television. Did I mention that I love this show? That I need this show for sustenance?

For those who know little about this show, don't believe the ignorant bashers. The sad truth (i really mean sad) is that the jokes, and plot lines in American Dad are much more interesting, humorous, and intelligent than any new Family Guy episode. I loved Family Guy. I say loved because it seems to be the one that has fallen prey to recycled humor and an obvious detachment from its original creator. I don't know if lackluster Stanford grads were picked to write new Family Guy, or its just been watered down for mass consumption, but its return is so stale that MacFarlane needed another outlet source for his genius. It is American Dad. It has the same energy that pre-cancelled Family Guy episodes have. Along with that, it also has the same number of people disliking it for its dry sick humor, and overall intelligence. The fact that the show has generic characters is a joke itself for those who may not have noticed. Its recycled Family Guy lines aren't out of lack of creativity. They too are inside jokes for those who know all the Family Guy lines. If you are a true fan of what made Family Guy great, then American Dad should fill the void of what it now lacks. Another show ahead of its time for MacFarlane, which I hope gets cancelled and becomes rare since its current issues are far too developed for most people with Neilson Ratings boxes in their homes.

On first glance, American Dad looks like a carbon copy of Seth MacFarlane's "other" show Family Guy. The animation is near identical, the lead character Stan Smith's knuckle headed optimism and in-your-face presentation doesn't so much recall Peter Griffin as grab you by the throat and scream in your face and Roger the alien and Klaus the goldfish work in much the same way Stewie and Brian do in the previous show. So far so very familiar, as though MacFarlane dressed up his fourth FG series with different characters when it was initially cancelled so as to stay on the air but stick with it, and American Dad will eventually reveal itself as a superior cartoon to it's predecessor.

Sure, the humour is once again a mixture of insightful witticisms, biting satire and odd bursts into toilet humour but rather than the chaos of Family Guy where the plot seems to revolve round the jokes, here the opposite is true. The flashbacks are almost totally absent and instead each episode features a structure and character development that is normally missing from the first show. Okay some of the episodes fall a bit flat but nevertheless, there are considerably more hits than there are misses and when it's good, it's brilliant. "A Smith In The Hand" for example is in this writer's humble opinion, the funniest thing MacFarlane and his team have ever produced.

What's more, American Dad is considerably more politically-orientated and everything you could conceive about the USA's current state of fear mongering and distrust is put beneath a microscope and parodied mercilessly. Stan Smith is a boorish depiction of all that paranoia rolled into one and some of his outbursts and overreactions are hilarious. Take the scene where he locks up his new Arab neighbours in his back garden for instance in a moment that scarily recalls the nightmarish conditions of Guantanamo bay yet still manages to be side splittingly funny or any of his numerous conceited one-liners ("only women have emotions son, they come from their ovaries").

Only time will tell if American Dad can outlive the shadow of it's far more successful big brother, but like the relationship between Futurama and the Simpsons beforehand, it's often a far funnier and considerably more focused show that deserves a wider audience. Highly recommended.

I used to watch this one on occasion, but for the most part I would rather see Family Guy, but this one seems to have grown on me a bit. In fact, these days I prefer American Dad to Family Guy as I like Stan more now than Peter, Francine more than Louis and Roger a whole heck of a lot more than Stewie. Sorry, but I do not like how his character is compared to the earlier more dark version. This one follows the exploits of Stan and his family as they go through some crazy stuff in a different way than Family Guy as the stories are more coherent. Family Guy gets to random, to many Star Wars and other special episodes, do not get me wrong I still find it a funny show, it is just now I like American Dad more. This show also has the benefit of having Patrick Stewart doing the voice of Stan's boss. I never enjoyed Star Trek The Next Generation, but I enjoy him in everything else he does including this show. The animation is about the same as Family Guy and there are a few similarities, but for the most part they are two different shows. The show does have a tendency to showcase Roger a bit more than Steve the son and the daughter who I cannot recall her name, but it is not as bad as Stewie's overshadowing of Chris and Meg. So for an animated show that relies a bit more on plot, but still has similar humor to Family Guy this is the show to watch.