![]() Some might see the combination of styles as a good thing, while others - even fans of both series - appreciate the two staying somewhat separate. That's a good thing, because some of the same repetitive gags and dialogue are really starting to comingle. It's something they used in previous seasons, first one coming to mind is Francine's revenge-seeking episode against George Clooney, but now helps in making the similarities between it and "Family Guy" space out a bit. Some are obvious, like the lukewarm James Bond spoof "Tearjerker", but others simply take the show's rhythm and make it into an arcing plotline - like Roger's battle with a credit card thief in "The One Who Got Away". They've turned each one into a mini-cinematic show, turning the 23-minute span into an enjoyably overblown narrative resembling movie dynamics. ![]() Instead, the creators used a mechanic with several of the episodes that gives them a different flavor. Because of that, they've taken them from being secondary fixtures in the series up to prominent and, arguably, more awkwardly annoying levels, which has also dulled the edge on some of the show's core satire. However, it's clear that the creators have hit their stride and discovered what gets chuckle-worthy kicks from the audience - slight battiness from Francine, drunken semi-homosexuality from Roger, and the likes. Clearly an off-shoot from the mind of Seth MacFarlane to fix his comedic crosshairs on political and societal satire, something that gets lost in the current of low-brow chuckles and trippy flashbacks in "Family Guy", everything from gun ownership ("Guns make holes in your body, through which you can't potty") and sex education in schools ("Oh, this is the morally upright class?") to a broad array of pokes and prods at secret service shenanigans receive the treatment. "American Dad"'s first few seasons are superbly riotous with a certain critical edge. Along with their everyday antics, they also have to deal with the goofiness spilling out from Roger, their slightly effeminate stay-in alien, and Claus, their German-accented talking fish. Stan Smith goes to work every day as a CIA agent with his uber-conversative values always noticeably powering his demeanor, while Francine sticks around as a bird-brained housewife, their tree-hugger, anti-government daughter Haley flounders back and forth between activist diatribe and societal leeching, while their dweeby, pubescent son Steve constantly crashes and burns at just about everything involved with being a teenager. Granted, the show is still rather funny, but there's an air around each character's antics that's starting to feel both forced, repetitive, and oddly similar to its sister show about the Griffin family.Īs with "Family Guy" and most other animated cartoon sitcoms, nothing really changes plotwise in the Smith universe. It certainly happened with Seth MacFarlane's other creation, "Family Guy", and it's happened with "American Dad" - clearly evident in this 4th Volume of the show's DVD run. In effect, they see the material that works, and then exploit the funny to a point where it becomes hit-and-miss. After one or two cutting edge seasons with a show that's gaining popularity, the writers begin to see what elements work for each character - what's funny and not, what mannerisms for which character suit them, etcetera. Schtick has become a common ingredient with most comedy series nowadays, maybe even more so than with classic live-action sitcoms.
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