American Dad (season 3) 480p - (2006 Lang: English)

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 always liked Family Guy. What it lacked in plot it made up for in outrageous non-sequitur humour and Peter Griffin's ubiquitous laugh. The juxtaposition of random jokes and standard plots made for some hilarious moments. But after season four it got old. It was a great one-dimensional concept while it lasted, but the appeal of a show with wafer-thin plots just to produce set-pieces can't last forever. Enter American Dad and his huge chin.

It started off pretty good. The thirteen episodes on the first DVD (technically not the whole first season if the production numbers are anything to go by) get stronger and more likable as they go by. 'A Smith In The Hand' which satirises the supposed taboo of masturbation and 'All About Steve' which demystifies geek culture are personal favourites.

Then it got better - MUCH better. Around the time of the episode 'It's Good To Be The Queen' things really started to come together. Seth knows how to draw his characters in ways that suit the initial ideas he had when he started the show and leaves plenty of opportunity for comedy as he fleshes them out. He's really got a feel for how to pace his episodes and how to write great stories, still retaining his trademark for outlandish humour. Certainly there are a few episodes in the whole run so far that are weak, but they are more than made up for by the best ones. Family Guy has more consistency but it doesn't have the sheer brilliance of American Dad when it's at it's best.

What we have here is an animated show that is nearly as strong as my personal favourite, Futurama. In other words, Seth MacFarlene's best work to date.

Seth MacFarlane proves he's not a one trick pony with his innovative follow up to the smash hit Family Guy. American Dad! is unfortunately misunderstood as a rip off of it's own predecessor but it is by far not. American Dad! is completely different to Family Guy the only similarities are the art and the amount of characters.

While Family Guy focuses on random humour and pop culture references American Dad! takes satirical aim at politics and has many qualities that make me prefer it over Family Guy. Unlike Family Guy, American Dad! follows one plot line and one sub plot without random things popping in and out. That already makes it extremely different from Family Guy which has lately been following 3 or 4 sub plots per episode with the random pop-ins. This show is great because it throws every stereotype and every exaggeration of a Rebublican and a Democrat and forces them to live in the same house together.

Again for those comparing it to Family Guy I will elaborate on the character differences. Peter Griffin is a pop culture obsessed dim wit while Stan Smith is an overly republican jerk who is racist, homophobic, and overly patriotic. Lois Griffin is a caring wife whose party girl side is always coming out while Francine Smith doesn't enjoy the spotlight and does basically whatever Stan tells her. Chris Griffin is a slow, stupid, lummox while Steve Smith is a sex crazed, nerdy teenager who o thinks he's cool. Meg Griffin is a lonely, near suicidal loser, while Haylie Smith is a pot smoking, liberal, who will save a cat before her father. Stewie Griffin is a possibly homosexual baby bent on world domination while Roger is a fruity, television addicted, alien who doesn't shut up. Brian Griffin is an alcoholic, witty dog while Klaus is a sex crazed, loud, obnoxious, German fish.

American Dad! has been pretty successful for the two seasons it's been on and i look very forward to watching it's third one this fall however due to the return of King Of The Hill and the moronic time-slot for The Sarah Connor Chronicles American Dad! will air Sundays at 7:30 which is dead air time and may face unfair cancellation next year hmmm just like Futurama...weird.

This has to be one of the best adult cartoons ever created. It's hard for me to compare them with Southpark. I think that in many aspects, American Dad is way better than Southpark. Probably because it addresses to a much larger public, while Southpark contains jokes that sometime require some background knowledge, before you can fully understand them. Even for non-Americans, this series are equally funny and enjoying. Great job! I recommend this to anyone who enjoys some good humour. Now we can only hope that the American Dad Seasons will be longer and longer (from what I know a season of American Dad has more episodes than any of its "rival" shows). Once again, outstanding work and I hope to see this continue in the future and become a traditional show (and maybe see it promoted in other countries as well).