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American Dad!

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American Dad!
File:American Dad Logo.png
The Smith family (left to right): Roger, Francine, Stan, Klaus, Hayley and Steve.
GenreAnimated sitcom
Created bySeth MacFarlane
Mike Barker
Matt Weitzman
Voices ofSeth MacFarlane
Wendy Schaal
Scott Grimes
Rachael MacFarlane
Dee Bradley Baker
ComposersWalter Murphy
Joel McNeely
Country of originTemplate:TVUS
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes133 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersSeth MacFarlane
Mike Barker
Matt Weitzman
Rick Wiener
Kenny Schwartz
Co-Executive Producers:
Jonathan Fener
Brian Boyle
Judah Miller
Murray Miller
Erik Sommers
ProducersKeith Heisler
Kara Vallow
Supervising Producers:
Lesley Wake Webster
Laura McCreary
Erik Durbin
EditorRob DeSales
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companiesFuzzy Door Productions
Underdog Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseFebruary 6, 2005 (2005-02-06) –
present (present)
Related
Family Guy
The Cleveland Show
Allen Gregory

American Dad! is an American animated sitcom created by writers and executive producers Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Smiths, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Stan and Francine; their children Hayley and Steve; and their anthropomorphic pets Klaus and Roger. The show is set in the fictional town of Langley Falls, Virginia (in the Washington, D.C. metro area) which is a parody of the actual town of Langley, Virginia, home to the headquarters of the CIA. Unlike sister show Family Guy it doesn't exhibit its humor in the form of cutaway gags, but rather focuses more on situational humor.

Since its debut on May 1, 2005, the show has broadcast 133 episodes and seven seasons.

American Dad! has been nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy Award and 2 Annie Awards, in which the result was nominated. American Dad! has also received both praise and criticism in comparison to sister show Family Guy. American Dad! holds a TV-14 rating, which has resulted in the show being criticized for its indecency by watchdog groups such as the Parents Television Council[1], which often criticizes co-creator MacFarlane's other series, Family Guy.

Production

Early history

American Dad! officially premiered after Fox's broadcast of the Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005, alongside The Simpsons, with "Pilot". The show debuted to 15 million viewers,[2] with 23 million viewers in overall, alongside The Simpsons with ratings.[3] The show returned on May 1, 2005, with "Threat Levels", obtaining 9.47 million viewers, after the season premiere of the revival of Family Guy.[4]

Summary

American Dad! centers on the domestic life of its nominal title character, Stan Smith, a staunchly neoconservative, Republican, CIA agent and self-proclaimed patriot, though his conservatism is most often treated as severe intolerance and self-abnegating. He is married to Francine Smith, a ditzy housewife who is trying to make up for a wild youth. Their two children are Hayley, a passionately liberal, environmentalist college-aged activist who Stan seems to be in tension with often, and Steve, a nerdy, wimpy high schooler who is always trying to be popular with the girls, but never can. He constantly attempts to live up to Stan's expectations but can never really measure up to the high standards in place for him. The Smith family is also in possession of two bizarre nonhumans — Roger, an escaped alien from Area 51 whom Stan is covertly housing in defiance of his employer due to the fact that Stan owes Roger a "life debt" (until he saves Roger's life and then admits he likes Roger), and Klaus, a goldfish whom the CIA implanted with the brain of an East German Olympic ski jumper, who often demonstrates a romantic interest in Francine.

The Smith family resides on 43 Cherry Street, in the fictional community of Langley Falls, Virginia in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The town name is a composite of Langley and Great Falls, two unincorporated communities located in Fairfax County.

Plots generally center on the misadventures of various family members in their respective realms. Recurring themes include Stan's desire to see Steve mature properly (as seen in "The Magnificent Steven, etc."), Roger's desires to establish a life outside of the house(as seen in "A.T The Abusive Terrestrial, etc."), Francine's desire of breaking out of an overly structured lifestyle(as seen in "Iced, Iced Babies, etc."), Hayley's desire to rebel against her father's politics(as seen in "Stan Knows Best, etc."), and Steve's desire to finally become one of the cool kids and "get some boob"(as seen in "Big Trouble In Little Langley, etc.").

Opening sequence

American Dad! features a recurring gag in its opening sequence that is changed for every episode. Originally, this took the form of a newspaper headline, usually featuring a topical, satirical joke directed at the United States Government, the media, or current affairs. One exception is episode 14 of season 3, "Office Spaceman", where Stan picks up the paper to read the headline "Alien Spotted!"; the theme music abruptly stops and the episode begins.

As of Season 4, the opening sequence had been replaced, starting with the episode "1600 Candles". While featuring the same music, most of Stan's interaction with the family has been changed. Replacing the newspaper gag used in the first three seasons is Roger popping up next to Stan in the family's SUV to sing the final "Good Morning, USA!", wearing a different costume each episode. Roger's sudden appearance causes Stan to crash into the flagpole at the CIA building, thereby ending the sequence.

Syndicated Version

The syndicated airings of American Dad! episodes have the last few seconds of the current intro, beginning with Stan driving his SUV to the CIA, where Roger pops up in a different costume.

Voice cast

See also: List of American Dad! characters
See also: List of guest stars on American Dad!

MacFarlane voices Stan Smith and Roger.

Wendy Schaal voices Francine Smith, Stan's wife.

Scott Grimes voices Steve Smith (Stan and Francine's son).

Rachael MacFarlane voices Hayley Smith (Stan and Francine's daughter).

Dee Bradley Baker voices the Smiths' anthropomorphic fish Klaus Heissler.

Jeff Fischer voices Hayley's stoner boyfriend (and later husband) Jeff Fischer.

Patrick Stewart voices Stan's boss Avery Bullock.

Seth MacFarlane Wendy Schaal Scott Grimes Rachael MacFarlane Dee Bradley Baker
Stan Smith and Roger Francine Smith Steve Smith Hayley Smith Klaus Heissler

Reception

American Dad! has received generally positive reviews from critics and scoring an average user score of 7.2/10 on Metacritic.[5] Critics of the show initially focused on the similarities of the show's format and characters to Family Guy, but have also praised the show's more relaxed, approachable tone.

Episodes

Main article: List of American Dad! episodes

Television ratings

Season Timeslot (ET) # Ep. Premiered Ended TV Season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
Date Premiere Viewers
(in millions) 		Date Finale Viewers
(in millions)
1 Sunday 9:30 pm 23
February 6, 2005
 15.10[6]
May 14, 2006
 6.86[7] 2005–2006 #85[8] 7.1[9]
2 Sunday 8:30 pm 19
September 10, 2006
 8.93[10]
May 20, 2007
 7.62[11] 2006–2007 #79[12] 7.6[12]
3 Sunday 9:30 pm 16
September 30, 2007
 6.07[13]
May 18, 2008
 5.64[14] 2007–2008 #105[15] 6.6[15]
4 20
September 28, 2008
 6.89[16]
May 17, 2009
 5.64[17] 2008–2009 #96[18] 5.5[18]
5 18
September 27, 2009
 7.12[19]
May 16, 2010
 5.82[20] 2009–2010 #84[21] 5.9[21]
6 Sunday 9:30 pm
Sunday 7:30 pm 		19
October 3, 2010
 6.16[22]
May 22, 2011
 3.57[23] 2010–2011 #111 4.07
7 Sunday 9:30 pm 18
September 25, 2011
 5.83[24]
May 13, 2012
 4.13[25] 2011–2012 #110 5.47

Crossovers with other shows

Characters from Family Guy and The Cleveland Show have made crossover appearances in American Dad! and vice versa.

Family Guy
  • Brian Griffin makes a brief cameo in "The People vs. Martin Sugar" as Stan's #1 Fictional Dog. Brian carelessly asks Stan, "Do I know you?" before walking away and Stan shouts, "Stop pretending I don't exist!"
  • Brian has an epiphany in the episode "Excellence in Broadcasting" where he changes his political views to Republican Conservatism. Once he realizes this, a cut away shows Stan Smith sitting on the couch supposedly watching Brian and says, "Good. Good for Brian."
  • During the credits of "The Unbrave One", Glenn Quagmire is revealed to be Dr. Vadgers.
  • Stan and Deputy Director Avery Bullock attempt to catch Stewie after he breaks into the CIA in the "Lois Kills Stewie". Stewie mistakes Stan for Joe Swanson.
  • In The Worst Stan, Steve and Roger are watching a fictitious episode of Family Guy featuring Stewie and Brian going to Miami to enroll in Florida State University, with Steve questioning how a baby and a dog were able to get on an airplane.
  • At the end of the Family Guy episode "Meet the Quagmires", Peter is commenting that everything is back to normal when Roger enters the living room and says, "Who ate all the pecan sandies?".
  • In the first Family Guy Star Wars special Blue Harvest, Roger is seen as one of the various aliens in the Mos Eisley cantina.
  • In the third Family Guy Star Wars special It's a Trap!, Roger makes a cameo as an Imperial Officer sent to meet Darth Vader (played by Stewie) when he arrives at the second Death Star and Stewie remarks "Did we run out of our own characters?" Elsewhere in the episode, Klaus plays Admiral Ackbar.
  • In "Killer Queen" Barry is shown as one of the fat kids that is sitting next to Peter Griffin.
  • In the episode, "Internal Affairs", Bonnie remarks to Lois before having an affair, "Joe just isn't the same man I married." The "American Dad!" theme is shown, with Joe replacing Stan.
The Cleveland Show
  • In "Gone with the Wind", Quagmire tells Cleveland that after he drops Loretta's coffin at the funeral home, he is heading to Langley Falls for a background gag in a bachelor party scene in American Dad!.
  • In "Ain't Nothin' but Mutton Bustin'", Rallo has a belt buckle of Roger that he was looking to replace after winning his first mutton busting competition at the fair.
  • Roger is shown on a stained glass window in "Jesus Walks".

The first ever crossover with all three MacFarlane series occurs in Night of the Hurricane, with a hurricane storming through the towns of Stoolbend, Quahog and Langley Falls. In the first part of the crossover, "The Hurricane!", Channel 6 News reporter Larvell makes a meta-reference to the event stating that the hurricane will make its way through Stoolbend, Quahog and Langley Falls (which is referred to as "American Dad town"). The actual crossover of the event takes place at the end of the final part – the American Dad! episode, "Hurricane!", when Stan faces Cleveland Brown and Peter Griffin in a standoff after the hurricane has passed.

DVD releases

DVD Name Release dates Ep # BBFC/IFCO/ACB rating Additional Information
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Volume One April 25, 2006 April 24, 2006 May 24, 2006 13 12/15/M This 3 disc boxset includes the first 13 episodes from Season 1 (Pilot – Stan of Arabia: Part 2). Special features include commentaries, featurettes, and animatics. It was renamed 'Season 1' on region 2 and 4. When a compilation comprising Volumes 1–3 were released in the UK, Season 1 was renamed to Volume 1 much like its US counterpart.
Volume Two May 15, 2007 May 28, 2007 May 21, 2007 19 12/15/M This 3 disc boxset includes the remaining 10 episodes from Season 1 and the first 9 episodes from Season 2 (Stannie Get Your Gun – The Best Christmas Story Never). Special features include commentaries on all episodes, featurettes, multi-angle scene studies, and deleted scenes. An uncensored audio track is also available on the episode "Tears of a Clooney".
Volume Three April 15, 2008 May 12, 2008 May 14, 2008 18 15/15/M This 3 disc boxset includes the remaining 10 episodes from Season 2 and 8 of the first 9 episodes from Season 3 (Bush Comes to Dinner – Frannie 911), though "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever" does not appear on the DVD.[26] Special features include commentaries on all episodes, unrated audio, table read, and deleted scenes.[27]
Volume Four April 28, 2009 April 20, 2009 November 18, 2009 14 15/15/M This 3 disc boxset includes the remaining 8 episodes of Season 3 (including The Most Adequate Christmas Ever) and the first 6 episodes of Season 4. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, storyboards/animatics, multi-angle scene studios, deleted scenes and optional censored audio. On the Region 2 DVD release a typo was made on the back cover.*
Volume Five June 15, 2010 June 14, 2010 November 3, 2010 14 15/15/M This 3 disc boxset includes the remaining 14 episodes from Season 4. Special features include commentaries on all episodes, deleted scenes, and a Power Hour Drinking Game.
Volume Six April 19, 2011 June 27, 2011 July 13, 2011[28] 18 15 This 3 disc boxset includes all 18 episodes from Season 5. Special features include commentaries on selected episodes, deleted scenes, and the making of the episode "Rapture's Delight".[29]
Volume Seven April 17, 2012 May 14, 2012[30] May 16, 2012 19 15 This 3 disc boxset includes all 19 episodes from Season 6, along with commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes, American Dad! at Comic-Con 2010, and "I ❤ Patrick Stewart".
  • The Volume One release was retitled Season One for the Region 2 and 4 releases, however the subsequent releases retained the Volume titles.
  • On the packaging for the Season 1 release on Region 2 DVD, there was no mention of audio commentaries or some of the bonus features whatsoever, leading many to (incorrectly) believe they had been omitted from the release.
  • The Region 2 and 4 DVDs do not have censored audio tracks on any episodes, although Volume 3 has so called "uncensored tracks" on the set, which was probably an error from the transfer because the tracks are already automatically uncensored on the set.
  • The Volume 4 DVD release blurb contained information on the episode "Phantom of the Telethon", which was instead featured on Volume 5.
  • On Volume 6, despite claims of being uncensored, the bleeps from "Home Adrone", "My Morning Straitjacket", and "G-String Circus" are not removed.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ So You Think You Can Rate a TV Show? Parents Television Council Retrieved June 12, 2012
  2. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2005/02/09/fox-salutes-american-dad-by-moving-up-its-timeslot-beginning-sunday-may-1-on-fox-17815/20050209fox01/
  3. ^ http://www.zap2it.com/news/custom/photogallery/tv/la-et-post-super-bowl-tv-shows-pg,0,1005134,showall.photogallery
  4. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507EED71F31F930A35756C0A9639C8B63
  5. ^ Metacritic: American Dad!
  6. ^ "FOX Salutes 'American Dad' by Moving Up Its Timeslot Beginning Sunday, May 1, on Fox". The Futon Critic. February 9, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  7. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC. May 16, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  8. ^ http://www.tv.com/alias/nielsen-ratings-for-2005-06-season-90/topic/2534-252664/msgs.html
  9. ^ "Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. May 26, 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Weekly Program Ratings". ABC. September 12, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  11. ^ "Weekly Program Ratings". ABC. May 22, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  12. ^ a b "2006–07 primetime wrap". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. May 25, 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  13. ^ "Weekly Program Ratings". ABC. October 2, 2007. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Weekly Program Ratings". ABC. May 20, 2008. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b "Season Program Rankings from 09/24/07 through 05/25/08". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  16. ^ Gorman, Bill (September 30, 2008). "Top Fox Primetime Shows, September 22–28". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  17. ^ Seidman, Robert (May 19, 2009). "Top Fox Primetime Shows, May 11–17, 2009". TVbytheNumbers.com. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Season Program Rankings from 09/22/08 through 05/17/09". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Gorman, Bill (September 28, 2009). "Updated TV Ratings: Sunday Night Football Wins; Cleveland Show Large; Housewives Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  20. ^ Gorman, Bill (May 17, 2010). "TV Ratings: Survivor Finale Tops ABC's Finale Sunday, Celebrity Apprentice Ties Series Low". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  21. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 27, 2010). "Full Series Rankings for the 2009–10 Broadcast Season". Deadline.
  22. ^ Seidman, Robert (October 5, 2010). "Sunday Finals: The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives Rise; Undercover Boss A Bit Less Bossy vs. Football". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  23. ^ Gorman, Bill (May 24, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Billboard Music Awards,' 'Celebrity Apprentice,' 'Funniest Videos,' 'Family Guy,' 'American Dad,' '60 Minutes' Adjusted Up". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  24. ^ Gorman, Bill (September 27, 2011). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives,' 'CSI:Miami,' 'The Simpsons' Adjusted Up; '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  25. ^ Bibel, Sarah (May 15, 2012). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon A Time', Family guy', 'Survivor' Adjusted Up; 'Surivor: Reunion', 'Dateline' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  26. ^ Lambert, David (January 10, 2008). "American Dad — New Details for Dad DVDs Include Specs, Episode List & Some Extras". TV Shows on DVD.
  27. ^ Lambert, David (January 18, 2008). "American Dad — Press Release for Volume 3 DVD Set ***Updated: Package Art!***". TV Shows on DVD.
  28. ^ Buy American Dad! – Volume 6 (3 Disc Set) @ EzyDVD
  29. ^ American Dad DVD news: Announcement for American Dad – Volume 6 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  30. ^ [1]
Wikiquote has quotations related to American Dad!.
Preceded by
Survivor: All-Stars
2004 		Super Bowl lead-out program
The Simpsons
alongside
American Dad!
2005 		Succeeded by
Grey's Anatomy
2006
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