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Official Synopsis:
From the delightfully twisted creative minds behind Family Guy comes American Dad, the animated tour de force featuring CIA operative Stan Smith, his outrageous family, and Roger, the alcoholic extra-terrestrial who lives with them! Follow the adventures of the Smiths from the California desert where Stan's wife Francine relieves her wild youth at the Burning Man Festival to Saudi Arabia, where the entire family is sentenced to death by the Vice and Virtue Police! Whether it's rigging elections, erasing memories, chasing sleazy strip clubs, or staging "bum fights," it's all in a day's work for Stan, and it's all here in the side-splittingly hilarious first 13 episodes of American Dad!
Our Take:
When it comes to American Dad, I keep having the same conversation about it over and over again. I’ll be talking to somebody about Family Guy, and then I’ll ask, “So, do you like American Dad?” and pretty much nine times out of ten, I get the same hesitant, half hearted, “It’s okay.” reaction. American Dad is not Family Guy. However, it too closely resembles it for my tastes. While critics and naysayers criticized Family Guy for ripping off The Simpsons, they are two completely different shows (in my humble opinion). While American Dad might be a different show, the similarities are altogether too great.
But, if it’s just ripping off Family Guy, how come I don't like it? While it manages to borrow certain qualities, it lacks the humor and spontaneity that gives Family Guy its wit, something American Dad lacks. However, like a dog you just can’t bear to put down, I keep going back to it, just to see if it’s funny. Once in a while it even surprises me. However, occasionally being funny isn’t enough to keep this show afloat. It’s reliance on playing out left wingers versus right wingers to the extreme seems so 2004.
Nonetheless, I can’t say that American Dad doesn't have any redeeming qualities. It does have some standout episodes that certainly help bring the others up. Also, Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself, Patrick Stewart, lends his voice occasionally to a rather self-emasculating role as the head of the CIA, where things have come out of his mouth that I never thought I would hear the captain of the Enterprise say! Just that alone makes those episodes worth watching!
Anyone familiar with the Family Guy DVDs will be accustomed to the great extras that MacFarlane and Co. provide on their DVDs, and American Dad brings home the bacon with this packed DVD set.
* Commentary Tracks - Every episode containing a commentary from creator/writer/Fox Network Svengali Seth MacFarlane, as well as other voice actors, writers, and producers. Their commentaries are very conversational, basically just a bunch of friends sitting around enjoying their work. You’re sure to get a few chuckles out of listening.
* All in the Family: Creating American Dad (20 minutes) - Hear from MacFarlane and Co. on the creation of American Dad, get a look at some super secret CIA files on how the show is written and made, and see some of the faces that provide the voices.
* How's Your Aspen? (26 minutes) A live performance featuring the full cast of American Dad voice actors at HBO’s 2005 US Comedy Arts Festival performing, “A Smith in the Hand.”
* Secrets of the Glass Booth (5 minutes) - See some of the faces that provide the voices for the show. It’s always interesting to see what the people really look like behind the screen.
* American Animatics! (14 minutes) - See a rougher, unpolished American Dad.
* Episode 2 "Threat Levels" Table Read/Animatic Comparison (39 minutes) - A very interesting feature, especially for those who are interested in animation. Using your audio button on the remote, you can switch between different audio tracks. Also, during certain scenes you can see the animatic, the cast performance and the final episode at once.
* Deleted Scenes (17 minutes) - Scenes too funny to make it on air.
* The New CIA (3:08) - A propaganda video featuring American Dad, demystifying the CIA.
* Super Bowl Pre-Game Promo (1:35)
In a nation that still seems pretty polarized, anything that provokes us to use our minds and think a little rather than watching the same old junk nowadays is a welcome change. American Dad does a fine job ridiculing the right and lampooning the left, in what is all seemingly one big satire on the state of affairs in America. No matter what side of the fence you sit on, American Dad should be able to make even Karl Rove or Ted Kennedy crack a smile!
Overall Picture:
Show: C+
DVD: A
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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