American Dad!

American Dad!
File:American Dad Logo.png
Genre	Adult animated sitcom Comedy
Created by	Seth MacFarlane Mike Barker Matt Weitzman
Voices of	Seth MacFarlane Wendy Schaal Scott Grimes Rachael MacFarlane Dee Bradley Baker
Composers	Walter Murphy Joel McNeely Ron Jones
Country of origin	Template:TVUS
Original language	English
No. of seasons	9 (See also season number discrepancy)
No. of episodes	152 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Seth MacFarlane Mike Barker Matt Weitzman Rick Wiener Kenny Schwartz Steve Callaghan Co-executive producers: Jonathan Fener Brian Boyle Judah Miller Murray Miller Erik Sommers
Producers	Keith Heisler Kara Vallow Supervising producers: Lesley Wake Webster Laura McCreary Erik Durbin
Editor	Rob DeSales
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Fuzzy Door Productions Underdog Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	February 6, 2005 (2005-02-06) – present (present)
Related
Family Guy The Cleveland Show

American Dad! is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker, and Matt Weitzman for the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox. American Dad! is the first television series to have beginnings on Animation Domination. The series premiered following Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005, separately of the rest of its first season which began on May 1, 2005.

The series focuses on an eccentric motley crew that is the Smith family and their three housemates: Father, husband, and breadwinner Stan Smith; his better half housewife, Francine Smith; their college-aged daughter, Hayley Smith; and their high-school-aged son, Steve Smith. Outside of the Smith family, there are three additional main characters, including Hayley's boyfriend turned husband, Jeff Fischer; the family's man-in-a-fish-body pet, Klaus; and most notably the family's zany alien, Roger, who's "full of masquerades, brazenness, and shocking antics."

Creative direction of American Dad! has largely been guided by Barker and Weitzman as opposed to MacFarlane, this believed to have nurtured in distinguishing the series from its counterparts. Unlike its sister shows, Family Guy and The Cleveland Show, American Dad! is not filled with intentional humor, such as through the use of repeated cutaway gags and blatant joke-telling deliveries; rather the series typically uses unintentional humor through the nuttiness and oddities of its characters and their circumstances. As opposed to joke references to every pop cultural target possible as existent in MacFarlane's Family Guy material, Barker and Weitzman have structured American Dad! so as to focus on a weird concept in combination with an everyday-life human story that grounds it. As weird as the show gets, it is always a family story. The show's circumstances typically start out as relatable before entering into wild and crazy extremes, thus an observational comedy-turned-farce.

American Dad! has been nominated for numerous awards, most prominently two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Annie Awards. Since its debut, American Dad! has broadcast 152 episodes. Season 9 began on September 30, 2012, and concluded on May 12, 2013 (see also season number discrepancy). The series has been renewed through the 2013–14 television season (the show's 10th season).

Opening theme

American Dad!'s opening music video first captures Stan Smith in nothing but his briefs waking up in the morning, jauntily leaping out of bed. Following this, Stan is shown coming down the stairs and approaching the front door to leave for work. In the process, he collects his suitcase, keys, and handgun from each of his family members and Klaus, all the while expressing his goodbyes. In these moments unbeknownst to Stan, Hayley attaches a peace sign to his back which Francine removes shortly thereafter. Stan is then shown driving to work. During this whole process, Stan sings the lyrics to the show's opening theme song (the final "Good morning USA" line in the show's opening music video is sung by an unseen ensemble of singers):

Good morning USA. I gotta' feelin' that it's gonna' be a wonderful day. The sun in the sky has a smile on his face, and he's shining a salute to thee American race. Oh boy it's swell to say, "Good morning USA." Good morning USA!

In its initial seasons, American Dad!'s opening music video featured a recurring gag that saw a different newspaper headline for each episode, usually featuring a topical satirical joke directed at the United States Government, the media, or current affairs (for example, "Pedophilia Down as Childhood Obesity Goes Up," "Israel Pulls Out of Gaza, Gaza Not Pregnant," or "Economy Takes a Turn, Falls Down Flight of Stairs").

By season 4, however, the show's opening music video had been retooled in this respect, the newspaper gag eliminated; in place of this, Roger springs up from hiding in the passenger's seat during Stan's drive to work. In these moments, Roger is shown in disguise, a different disguise for each episode's music video (playing off a habit of his in the series). In the process, Roger sings the penultimate "Good morning USA!" line before Stan angrily shoves him back down into hiding. This causes Stan to lose control of the vehicle and crash into an American flagpole outside of the CIA.

Details on main characters

Main characters (left to right): Roger, Francine, Stan, Klaus, Hayley and Steve.

See also: List of American Dad! characters

Character traits

American Dad! centers on the domestic life of its title character, Stan Smith, his immediate family, and their three housemates. Stan is the family's breadwinner, a CIA agent, who has an exaggeratedly masculine voice and manner about him. Tending to take extreme measures with no regard for others nor potentially disastrous consequences, Stan is portrayed as insanely drastic; endangering; rash; dog-eat-dog; and both inconsiderate and insensitive of others. In mentality, Stan was initially a staunchly conservative Republican and self-proclaimed American patriot (much more so in the very beginnings of the series, diminished after the first few seasons). His conservatism was treated in the series as severe intolerance and self-abnegating. Stan is married to housewife Francine. Francine is known to become berserk and berate, mostly Stan, over wrongdoings. Very moralistic, she often tries to get her family to uphold certain virtues and nags at them for any unwholesomeness or reprehensibility. Paradoxical in character however, it is right in the midst of her moralizing that Francine displays blatant inappropriateness and indecorum. Sporadically while engaged in moralizing, she tends to randomly throw in remarks and behaviors that are in bad taste and lack propriety. In fact, her behaviors have been known to become downright diabolical in these moments.

File:Jeff Fischer (American Dad!).png

Additional main character Jeff Fischer

Together, Stan and Francine have two teenage offspring: (1) Hayley, their new-age hippie daughter and college-aged oldest. She may or may not be Stan's biological daughter, Francine revealed to have cheated on Stan before Hayley's birth, in the episode "The Kidney Stays in the Picture"; despite this, Stan regards her as his daughter. Intuitive and insightful, Hayley is able to instinctively grasp the hidden, inner, and obscure nature of situations. She is passionate, insistent, and vocal in her beliefs. In early seasons, she was emphasized as virtuously liberal. As such, she was commonly at odds with Stan in the beginnings of the series. (2) Steve, the high-school-aged baby of the family, is portrayed as an enthusiastic, ambitious and wimpy nerd. Despite his nerdiness, Steve is all too often a showman full of conceit. He is usually accompanied by his equally uncool friends: "Snot," Steve's closest friend with whom he shares a bromance, the two once even sharing in a kiss together in the episode "License To Kill"; Toshi, who is Asian American and only speaks Japanese; and Barry, who is morbidly obese with an inarticulate, strident, and sloppy vocal quality. Steve has often tried to be popular with the opposite sex and for several episodes had an obese girlfriend, which Stan disapproved of. Steve has made constant attempts to live up to his father's expectations but can never measure up to the high standards put in place for him.

Outside of the Smith family, there are three additional main characters, two of which are non-human species. These three characters include: (1) Roger, a very zany, depraved, devious, and cruel alien. Roger typically exhibits a lighthearted, carefree temperament but while also engaged in his outrageously cruel, gross, and rascally behaviors. While known to the Smiths as Roger, its worth noting that this character lives numerous lives under numerous alter egos, in which he is named differently. Stan rescued Roger from government capture and harbors him in the family's attic. As a former fugitive from Area 51, Roger is covertly living in the Smith home. Stan has allowed this in defiance of his employer because he owes Roger a "life debt"; (2) Klaus, the family's hapless, saturnine, and consultative pet goldfish, who is full of sage advice. A man in a fish body, the CIA implanted the brain (and presumably vocal cords) of an East German Olympic ski jumper into a fish, thereby creating Klaus; (3) Hayley's mellow, stoner boyfriend (later whipped husband), Jeff Fischer, who is shown to be infatuated with Hayley's mom, Francine, having made subtle passes at her on many occasions.

Recurring themes

Some recurring themes have included: Stan's attempts to get Steve to mature in a masculine way that does not embarrass him as a father, often expressed judgmentally and tyrannically so by Stan (e.g., the episode "Toy Whorey," in which Stan will stop at nothing to get Steve laid, going so far as forcing Steve onto a long expedition with him across the nation to find a female for Steve to have sexual relations with. As another example, the episode "The Magnificent Steven," in which Stan imposes laborious and burdensome tasks on Steve and all of his friends so as to get them to grow up); Roger's desires to establish a life outside of the Smith house—early on in the series (e.g., "A.T. the Abusive Terrestrial"); Francine's desire to improve the family's lifestyle in some way (e.g. "Dungeons and Wagons"); Hayley's desire to rebel against her father's politics—early on in the series (e.g. "Stan Knows Best"); Steve's showy conceit that reveals his musical performing side; Steve's randomly expressed inner urban side, sometimes revealed in his performing of R&B songs or expressing himself with other popular forms of African American entertainment (i.e., the episode "Spelling Bee My Baby" in which Steve misspelled his words in a spelling bee by instead spelling random Tyler Perry and Madea films); Steve's desire to lose his virginity or at least "get some boob" (e.g. "Big Trouble in Little Langley"); etc.

Setting

The Smith family and their three housemates reside on 43 Cherry Street in the fictional suburb of Langley Falls, Virginia. It is worth noting that there is an actual city known as Langley (home to the headquarters of the CIA, which is where Stan works in the series) and another city known as Great Falls, both communities located in Fairfax County, Virginia. The Smiths and their three housemates live in a large, two-story residence with a basement and an attic. In addition, the Smith house is apparently enhanced with numerous secret rooms, facilities, and large habitats, usually only seen once for each (i.e., the episodes "Of Ice and Men," "The Missing Kink," "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith," etc.). The house is also shown to be filled with many pitfall traps, one of which is filled with alligators and another named by Stan as the "Pit of No Return." Greg and Terry are a gay couple that live across the street from the Smiths. Within the neighborhood, they are portrayed as running a neater and tidier home than the Smiths. Greg and Terry are also the local news anchor for W-ANG-TV. Also in the area is the high school attended by Steve, Pearl Bailey High School.

Plot techniques

Farces

American Dad! has commonly made use of farces as most of the predicaments that befall the show's main characters have escalated into the extremes, to the point of getting outrageously out of hand. For example, in the episode "Home Wrecker," Stan and Francine's marital harmony breaks down from a difference of opinion on remodeling the house. It gets to the point where they divide the house in two, each decorating their half of the house in their desired fashion. Not satisfied with this however, they both attempted to drive the other out of the home and eventually erected a colossal block wall, dividing the two halves of the house. The rest of the family members were forced to spend one holiday after the next alternating between Fran's and Stan's place (the sides of the house treated as distant homes). As another example, in the episode "Stan's Food Restaurant," Stan asked for help from Roger in starting his own restaurant. As things progressed, Roger began making heavy changes in the layout, eventually kicking Stan out of the project. Stan retaliated by opening his own restaurant next door, which became a smashing success. Roger retaliated by blowing up Stan's restaurant and destroying his own in the process. Stan threatened to kill Roger, but backed down after Roger pulled a gun on him and told him to relax.

Surreal humor

American Dad! plots are generally teeming with surrealism and nonsensical elements. Many of the occurrences, circumstances, and behaviors are unrestrainedly preposterous, senseless, and illogical. For example, in disguising and presenting himself in alter ego, Roger has sometimes completely transformed several of his physical features: At one point in the episode "Spelling Bee My Baby," he showed up vastly heavier, legitimately so—evidenced by his expanded face and other exposed body parts—appearing as a morbidly obese lady in a Hawaiian getup. In the episode, "Stan's Food Restaurant," he appeared in a businessman disguise, vastly older with wrinkles.

Further examples of surrealism include: In the episode "Hurricane!" (season 8), a ferocious bear paused in his attack mode, lowered his eyelids, and repeatedly shook his head horizontally, shaming Stan for missing him in a harpoon shot and instead spearing Francine into a wall; in the episode "Why Can't We Be Friends?" (season 9), the hallways of the Smith house transformed into dark and dangerous ghetto alleyways for every time Roger ambushed, stole money from, and even tried to forcibly rape Jeff Fischer; in the episode "The Missing Kink," Steve and family fish Klaus were shown competing in a one-on-one basketball game between each other, the score said to have been nearly tied at 11 to 10. Also in this episode, the Smith house was shown to consist of a never-before-seen underworld to which various friends and acquaintances of the Smiths party and frolic; in the episode "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith," it was revealed that Stan has a never-before-seen secret control room hidden underground just beside the house. The control room door's exterior side is camouflaged with the grass surrounding it. The room is filled with highly advanced, state-of-the-art equipment. Access to the control room was achieved through a handprint reading device that extended from the ground when Stan extended his arm/hand; etc.

Non sequitur

Among one of the many forms of surreal humor and nonsense elements that have been used by American Dad! is the non sequitur. In the past, this has arisen when the show's focus has become sidetracked by entirely unknown and unrelated characters in circumstances that are irrelevant to the episode's main plot. Typically when this has happened, it is after the show has maintained focus on its main characters for much of the episode; following this, the scenes randomly lose focus and become deeply wrapped up into the lives of never-before-seen characters who are non-central to the plot. A prime example of this took place in the episode "Homeland Security" (season 1). As opposed to the show's scenes maintaining focus on the show's main characters, attention was redirected deep into the lives of unknown characters who gained possession of Roger's transforming feces turned gold. As another example, in the episode "The Missing Kink," the show's focus is sporadically sidetracked with brief scenes revolving around the life of a drug abusing bird and Francine's inexplicable ability to both understand and communicate with the bird's chirping.

Plot twists and unexpected elements

The series has abounded with random, unexpected occurrences and surprise plot twists as result of the characters and the very makeup of the program. For example, in the episode "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith," Steve referred to Roger for help in dealing with a school bully. Because Steve was able to correctly predict Roger's original game plan of handling the situation himself under an alter ego, Roger threw him a curveball: he not only hired someone else, Stelio Kontos (originally from the episode "Bully for Steve"), to handle the matter but hired him to bully Steve in combination with Steve's original bully. As another example, in the episode "The Vacation Goo" (season 4), Francine became frustrated that she could not get the family together for Sunday night dinner. For family time, Stan suggested a vacation, and the Smiths have a great time in Maui as a family. This is up until Roger shuts down the mechanism Francine and the kids are all attached to so as to believe they are all on vacation. Francine and the kids then learned that Stan had been programming a pseudo-vacation every year in a contraption dubbed "the goo chambers." After learning of this, Francine demanded that the family go on a real vacation. Twice they appeared to do so, first skiing, then to Italy, until it is ultimately revealed that they were in the "goo chambers" all along, with Steve and then Hayley having programmed the vacations, respectively. In the episode "Spelling Bee My Baby" (season 9), Steve deliberately misspelt his words in a spelling bee so as to express his love for Akiko (who was also competing), instead spelling random Tyler Perry/Madea films.

Story arc use

Another plot technique used by American Dad! is the story arc. On several occasions, a circumstance has expanded and progressed across a collection of episodes. As an example, one of Hayley's temporary breakups with Jeff expanded across a string of episodes, in which she instead temporarily dated a man-in-a-koala bear-body, Reginald Koala—known for his very urban mannerisms and behaviors. As another example, since the 9th season episode "Naked to the Limit, One More Time", Jeff Fischer has been absent from the Smith house and planet Earth altogether. In that episode, Jeff is blindsided when Roger hurls him into a spaceship. This spacecraft was intended to return Roger to his birth planet. Before Jeff can react, Roger casts him into the spaceship and remains behind. The spaceship immediately takes off and Jeff is not seen until several episodes later, the episode "Lost in Space". During episodes that aired between the two aforementioned episodes, allusions to the ongoing plot line are made. For example, in the episode "Spelling Bee My Baby", Hayley is shown holding out hope for Jeff's return. In the episode, Roger and Stan attempt to rush Hayley through her grieving process so she will be willing to be their tennis official. As of the end of the show's 9th season (2012-13), Jeff has yet to return to Earth.

In discussing the cartoon's distinguishing story arc element, co-creator Mike Barker explained:

We just try to obey basic rules of continuity. We try to avoid stories where a character is taking a big step like marriage and then not going back to it. I think by doing that, then in the future when we have big changes, the audience knows that they’re going to be living with those changes for a while. So it’s not just a thrown-away bit. It kind of endows that story beat with more power because it’s going to last. It’s not just going to be a reset button.

Gallows humor

Much of the wit used in American Dad! has come in the form of gallows humor as many of the predicaments and circumstances have made fun of the characters in life-threatening, disastrous, terrifying, and traumatic situations. As an example, the episode "A Ward Show" (season 8) is chocked full of suicide and murder: Roger became Steve's legal guardian and responded to him getting picked on at school by rigging the teachers' cars with explosives and killing them all. Later on in the episode while Principal Lewis was driving his vehicle with Steve as the passenger, he informed Steve that he was about to drive off the Grand Canyon in a murder-suicide. This culminated in Roger saving the day, his love supernaturally allowing the car to fly once Principal Lewis drove off the Canyon; however, another vehicle with a random white man and a black boy in it (opposite of Principal Lewis, a black man and Steve, a white boy) had also, coincidentally enough, driven off the opposite side of the Grand Canyon in a murder-suicide attempt. This resulted in a midair collision between the car with Principal Lewis and Steve in it and the car with the white man and black boy in it. Another example, in the episode "Da Flippity Flop," Roger leaves a long series of harassing answering machine messages for Steve, trying to get him to sign up for his gym. In these messages, Roger is also heard snapping on various people, killing three individuals from reckless driving, landing himself in court, and subsequently becoming irate and shooting up numerous at the city courthouse for being scolded to turn off his mobile phone.

Cringe comedy & shock value

Much of the comedy on American Dad! has come in the form of cringe comedy and shock value as circumstances and behaviors on the series have been presented with humor intended to elicit sharp disgust, discomfort, appall, or shock. The show's creators have stated that if material attracts laughter combined with groans and offense, it is a shoo-in for American Dad! As an example, in the episode "Can I Be Frank With You," during a massage treatment in which Roger had a nurse reaching her arms/hands up his anal/colon region to squirt water inside of him, it was revealed that Roger knowingly had a live house cat residing up his anus and colon regions. Roger chided the cat for coming out during the massage. Another example, in the episode "The Scarlett Getter," Steve magically started having good luck whenever wearing his sister Hayley's panties.

Some examples of these humor forms have hinted at incest. On more than one occasion, Stan has flexed and showed off his derrière at his own children, Steve and Hayley, once even making attempts to get them to grab onto it. In the episode "Great Space Roaster," Stan remarked, "Steve, don't steal glances. If you want to check out my meatballs in this thing, go right ahead. I'm your dad." In the episode "Why Can't We Be Friends?" as Steve turned around and walked away from an upset Stan who had just finished scolding him, Stan quietly admired his son's derrière, remarking to himself, "Kid's got his mother's ass." Further, in the episode "Pulling Double Booty" (season 5), Hayley was seen making out with a man that was identical to her father. Mistaking him for Stan, Francine disgustedly passed out. Stan later revealed the look-alike to be a body double of his, named Bill, who worked for the CIA. Hayley was convinced that Bill was the one and if he dumped her, she would go "maximum insane": She would kill Bill, burn down the neighborhood, and rape Roger according to her. While the four spent time together at the beach, Stan gave Bill a detailed account of Francine's sex drive, leading Bill to seduce and attempt to have sexual intercourse with Francine. Stan later kicked Bill out of his house. He then passed himself off as Bill to Hayley. With Hayley under the impression that Stan was Bill, the two traveled to a romantic resort. Enraged at the mere thought of having sex with her father, Hayley burned down the entire forest they went hiking in.

Season and episode number discrepancies

Season number discrepancy

There are 2 popular conflicting reports and beliefs as to the number of seasons American Dad! has had. The two claims diverge by one season. The discrepancy emanated from the unconventional scheduling of the program's first 7 episodes. The series premiere aired on February 6, 2005; the remaining 6 episodes aired from May 1, 2005 to June 19, 2005. The series then went into a summer hiatus before returning under a conventional television schedule from September 11, 2005 to May 14, 2006, in which 16 episodes were aired.

One of the beliefs follows A) a one-season-less numbering scheme: Under this belief, season 1 is a combination of both the first 7 episodes and the following 16 episodes, despite the separation of these two episode collections by a summer hiatus. Under this system, season 1 is uncharacteristically longer in contrast to the rest of the show's seasons, consisting of 23 episodes. The other belief follows B) a one-season-more numbering scheme: Under this belief, season 1 ended after the program's first 7 episodes leading into the summer hiatus. Season 2 then picked up when the following 16 episodes began that September. Under this system, season 1 is uncharacteristically shorter in contrast to the rest of the show's seasons, consisting of only 7 episodes.

Commentary from American Dad! co-creators Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker has largely been consistent with the one-season-less numbering scheme: on September 28, 2012, the two were interviewed and reported that they had 20 episodes completed for the then imminent "2012-13 eighth season," and were in the process of doing early work on the show's "2013-14 ninth season." On the other hand, Fox has contradicted this as it presents the show's official website as being consistent with the one-season-more numbering system: in listing all episodes from the 2012-13 season, Fox reports each as existing as part of the show's "ninth season." In addition, Fox contradicts its own American Dad! website, also supporting the one-season-less numbering scheme: Fox Flash, which is the publicity center for Fox, labels the 2012-13 broadcasts as the "eighth season." Websites releasing the show's season-based ratings have also used the one-season-less numbering method.

Season installments by airing dates

See also: List of American Dad! episodes

Of the two conflicting numbering schemes, American Dad!-based Wikipedia articles follow the one-season-more numbering scheme:

• American Dad (season 1), airing from February 6, 2005–June 19, 2005
• American Dad (season 2), airing from September 11, 2005–May 14, 2006
• American Dad (season 3), airing from September 10, 2006–May 20, 2007
• American Dad (season 4), airing from September 23, 2007–May 18, 2008
• American Dad (season 5), airing from September 28, 2008–May 27, 2009
• American Dad (season 6), airing from September 27, 2009–May 16, 2010
• American Dad (season 7), airing from October 3, 2010–May 22, 2011
• American Dad (season 8), airing from September 25, 2011–May 13, 2012
• American Dad (season 9), airing from September 30, 2012–May 12, 2013

Episode number discrepancy

It has been evidenced that Fox either miscounts American Dad! episodes or at least intentionally discounts one episode of the series. This was established in Fox advertisements for the episode "Lost in Space." The episode was promoted by Fox as American Dad!'s 150th episode. Subsequently, numerous mainstream media reports also labeled the episode as the 150th. In actuality, however, it was the show's 151st episode, while the episode "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith" was the 150th episode of the series.

Origins and progression

When asked what first spurred the idea for American Dad! Seth MacFarlane answered, "It was right after the [2000] election, and me and co-creator Matt Weitzman were so frustrated with the Bush administration that we would just spend days bitching and complaining, and we figured we should channel this into something creative and hopefully profitable." In early February 2005, Barker stated, “About a year and a half ago, Seth called and asked if Matt and I would be interested in working on a show about a right-wing CIA agent and his liberal daughter. It was right up our alley, and everything just fell into place.” On September 14, 2003, Variety reported that Fox Broadcasting had ordered a pilot presentation of the then tentatively titled American Dad! and "if greenlit American Dad! could launch as early as fall 2004." At the time, Fox was aiming to develop a new lineup of adult animated sitcoms.

File:Mike Barker.png

Co-creator Mike Barker

American Dad! had a mid-season debut. Its first episode, titled "Pilot," was originally shown directly following Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005. The rest of the first season, however, would not launch until May 1, 2005, on Fox's Animation Domination lineup which had its debut on that date. Initially, it was a replacement for the originally failed series Family Guy (1999-2002). American Dad! was originally intended to be Fox's answer to the hordes of fans left behind from the original failure of Macfarlane's previous animated venture. Just three short months after American Dad!'s debut however, Family Guy was revived, leaving American Dad! with a formidable expectation: the burning question of whether or not the series could distinguish itself from its counterpart and succeed on its own merits. Instead of taking over creative direction of the series, MacFarlane left the job largely in the hands of Barker and Weitzman so as to distinguish American Dad!

The popularity of MacFarlane and his involvement with Family Guy have led to prejudgments of American Dad! as a rip-off of the predecessor. Many of these prejudgments have even predated American Dad! Critics had already written off American Dad! prior to its birth as nothing more than a pale imitation of Family Guy and MacFarlane’s attempts to get his old show back on the air. One example, prior to the American Dad! series debut, a writer of The Washington Post published a piece that reads "But those same executives have also given MacFarlane a whole new animated half-hour to play with in the disappointing American Dad! The new series officially premieres in May but has a sneak preview tomorrow night in the coveted post-Super Bowl time period . . . The look and pace of American Dad! is the same as Family Guy."

In actuality, however, the program's beginnings take cues from the TV series All In The Family, almost a farcical animated version of the live action sitcom. Making use of political satire, exaggerated conservatism and bigotry, the show in its original form was even said to have been largely inspired by All in the Family. In American Dad!'s initial seasons, however, MacFarlane was described as focusing more attention on his coexisting obligation of Family Guy. This was to the extent that American Dad! was completely secondary to him, and he did not understand the show. Because he was not getting the show at the time, he was described as "just going along for the ride." Likewise, the rest of the show's creators Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman were also trying to figure out the show and where it was going.

Co-creator Seth MacFarlane

After American Dad!'s initial couple of seasons and as it progressed, the show began to increasingly develop its very own distinct approach and identity, becoming more and more distinguished from all other programs on the air. Standing out from its counterparts increasingly with each passing season, the series has been described as eventually becoming the weirdest show in network prime time. It has been characterized as serving up distinguishing blasts of surrealism. As the series progressed, MacFarlane realized that Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman were on to something uniquely appealing; moreover, he realized they were on to something that sharply contrasted from Family Guy, which audiences appreciated.

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Co-creator Matt Weitzman

After the show's first several seasons, MacFarlane not only came to fully understand and appreciate American Dad!'s value but also came to consider himself a huge fan of the series. Taking note of his Twitter followers increased fanaticism for American Dad! and the "Roger" character, MacFarlane began putting considerable amounts of his time and efforts into the series, more so in the last several seasons than ever before (this observation made in fall 2012). In describing American Dad! comedy styles, Barker noted that it is not as reference-laden as Family Guy or South Park. He added that American Dad!'s humor more frequently derives from "the human condition and emotions that everyone can relate to: ego, the feds, etc. And for that reason, I think our humor is a little more evergreen."

Among some of American Dad!'s notable progressions from its very early stages have included:

A) The creators learned quickly that political banter between Stan and Hayley had only "a limited shelf life." Creators described the approach as not providing them as much as they originally thought it would. Said co-creator Matt Weitzman, "There are times when we still have that kind of dynamic between them, but not nearly what it was in the first season. And I think the show, honestly, has grown and benefited from it, because that would have gotten boring after a while."

B) Roger was enhanced through providing him with a running gag of alternate disguises and freedom to exist outside of the Smith house. The show's original concept basically portrayed him as being similar to Alf, having him sit in the house all day while commenting on life. The creators, however, have stated that the character was far too much fun to keep restricted to the house, and having him interact with different people provided for lots of material. The creators have further appreciated the direction of Roger for the fact that he almost serves as a different guest star for each episode what with his many alter egos. The show's staff believe this element of the show examples MacFarlane's versatility as he voices Roger and his countless alter egos.

C) There have been three versions of the "Steve" character, the creators having twice made considerable adjustments to his design. Steve's initial design would end up being a one-off execution limited to the series premiere. In the series premiere, Steve was far scrawnier, gawkier, and geekier than his later versions. In the series premiere, he was also voiced by Ricky Blitt. After the pilot episode, Scott Grimes began voicing Steve, and his design was made taller, thicker, manlier, and less geekier. After early seasons of the series, Steve was remodeled again. This time, he was made softer, more emotional, cuter and more endearing, creating for a sharper contrast to his father Stan's ruggedness and masculinity.

Episode creation process

Developing plot lines and scripts

On developing screenplays for American Dad! episodes, co-creator Mike Barker revealed that he and the rest of the show's staff never know when and from where plot line ideas will emerge. "Just as an example," Barker explained, "All About Steve is an episode where Stan wants his son to be more of a jock and more like he was when he was his age. That whole episode came about from one of our writers Dave Hemingson coming into our office, telling us he just visited the dentist and he may need to get braces. And the idea of a grown man with braces appealed to us, and we just decided what if we put Stan in braces, and he understands for the first time what it's like to feel like a geek."

During the 2012-13 season, Barker revealed that much of his inspiration for American Dad! plots has come through listening to music. Barker's revelation to use music as a muse for his American Dad! writing came from attending the 2008 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. During that event, he watched the rock band My Morning Jacket perform a four-hour set in the rain and realized from the experience that he could generate ideas for American Dad! by tapping into music: "From that point on, I realized that music should be playing a bigger role in my writing," Barker told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "Writing is hard for me, and when you hear music that inspires good ideas, you’re really grateful."

In particular, Barker has credited music from Wax Fang for his inspiration in writing certain American Dad! plots. Said Barker, "There's just something so inherently cinematic about Wax Fang's music. [Scott] Carney's voice is stunningly clear and dramatic. And his lyrics are specific enough to build stories around while staying flexible enough for different interpretations." Barker added that through listening to the Wax Fang track Majestic, he was able to come up with major plot elements for the episode "Lost in Space" (this episode features the Wax Fang songs Majestic and At Sea).

Barker has stated that once he and the rest of the show's staff get the idea for the plot line, they spend a couple of weeks in a room with all the screenwriters. There, they break the story and make sure that each act of the two act breaks are strong. As another procedure, Barker stated that they make a point of twisting the story in such a way so as to make audiences come back for more after the commercial break.

"The final process," Barker explained, "is sending a screenwriter out to write the script. The screenwriter gets two weeks to write the script. The script then comes back." Barker explained that they then all edit and rewrite it, "hopefully keeping as much of the first draft as we can and punching the jokes and making sure all the motivations are there, and then we take it to the table and read it."

In February 2005, Barker stated that as creative directors, all decisions made about the plot line and direction of the series go through himself and Weitzman. He explained that the show had reflected their point of view since the beginning. Barker has also credited the program's other staff beyond himself, Weitzman, and MacFarlane, remarking "We couldn't have made it all happen without them." At the time, it was noted that the series had a staff of 17 writers, which was described as "a big undertaking."

When Barker was asked what his favorite part was of the American Dad! creation process, he answered, "I like the story breaking process, personally—coming up with the stories. To me, that's the most gratifying."

Barker and Matt Weitzman have stated that they are accustomed to feeling scruples with adding certain material into the plots, but always follow this up by going ahead with incorporating the material anyway. They added that their goal is to create laughs combined with groans and going over the line.

Animated scenes

MacFarlane played a lead role in the animated character designs for American Dad!

In describing the characters' appearances, Weitzman remarked “It’s all very bright, very easy on the eyes.”

In explaining the animated side of the job, Barker stated, “Fifty or so animators from the Fox animation group are involved. A lot is done in-house: poses, models, props, all storyboards and timing."

Also as reported in February 2005, animation for American Dad! is colored and detailed overseas. Sunwoo Entertainment of Korea was said to handle that end of the creation process.

Editing, completion, and deadlines

Barker has explained that because American Dad! creators are working in animation as opposed to live action, they have the ability to redraw and rewrite up until the show is aired. This is as opposed to live action where individuals must shoot the show and work with whatever has been put together in the editing room long beforehand.

However, Barker has also stated, "It's really hard to accept anything less than perfect when you start to get wrapped up in this process of being able to constantly make changes. Eventually you have to kind of bring down the hammer at the color stage and live with what you've got."

Barker has explained that, ultimately, the creation process of an American Dad! episode is completed upon the producers' say-so, not anyone else's.

When American Dad! co-creator Matt Weitzman was asked what his favorite part was of the show's creation process, he answered, "I probably enjoy the editing process a lot. I think I like the fine tuning of things and making things happen just so. Making the episode just kind of pop in its own subtle ways."

American Dad! creators have revealed to working significantly in advance of newly broadcasted episodes. As many as 20 to 42 unaired episodes are typically ready for finishing touches. Barker explained that a key to this system is making sure that the writing is timeless, as opposed to topical and contemporary. He added that if any material within the script deals with contemporary issues, the creators have to hope that they're also contemporary issues two years down the line. When asked whether or not this method has ever brought on difficulties, Barker answered in the affirmative and explained:

Harriet Miers was, like, the White House Press Secretary, I think, and we had a joke about her. (Miers was a former White House Counsel, who was briefly nominated for the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush.) And I remember watching on air and having to Google who our own joke was, because it had been so long since the joke was pitched. But in terms of stories, we’re less likely to be burned by a current-event issue no longer being current.

In discussing the creation of American Dad! and animated sitcoms in general, MacFarlane has stated:

It's an enormous amount of work. What goes into putting together an animated show, it's just staggering . . . I always knew there was a lot of work that went into making an animated show. Doing a traditional sitcom, process-wise it feels like a breeze compared to doing an animated show. You can get it all done in a couple of months as opposed to a year. Doing an animated show, it's like putting together a little movie every week. Everything is storyboarded with the intricacy of a feature film action sequence. You have to edit with a musical score in mind. And of course, we use an orchestra for each episode. So it's really like putting together a little feature each week and I was just shocked at how much—not to underplay all the work that goes into live-action sitcoms—but my God, it's definitely a much more difficult medium to me.

Conversely, Barker has stated:

Working on animated shows like American Dad! is such a breath of fresh air. You don’t have to worry about sets and such that you have to worry about for live-action. Animation can give you more freedom.

Voice cast

See also: List of guest stars on American Dad!

The voice actors are not assembled as a group when performing the lines of their characters; rather, each of the voice actors perform their lines privately.

• Seth MacFarlane voices Stan Smith (father/husband) and Roger (alien)
• Wendy Schaal voices Francine Smith (wife/mother)
• Scott Grimes voices Steve Smith (Stan and Francine's son)
• Rachael MacFarlane (Seth MacFarlane's sister) voices Hayley Smith (Stan and Francine's daughter)
• Dee Bradley Baker voices Klaus Heissler (the Smiths' man-in-a-fish-body pet)
• Jeff Fischer voices Jeff Fischer (Hayley's boyfriend turned husband)
• Sir Patrick Stewart voices recurring character, Deputy Director Avery Bullock (Stan's CIA boss)

					File:Jeff Fischer (actor).png
Seth MacFarlane	Wendy Schaal	Scott Grimes	Rachael MacFarlane (Seth MacFarlane's sister)	Dee Bradley Baker	Jeff Fischer
Stan Smith, Roger	Francine Smith	Steve Smith	Hayley Smith	Klaus Heissler	Jeff Fischer

Reception

American Dad! series premiere

To date, all episodes of American Dad! originally aired on Animation Domination except for one: the program's series premiere is the only episode that predates the lineup. In addition, American Dad!'s series premiere predated the rest of the first season by roughly three months. The series premiere episode, "Pilot," aired directly following Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005. The episode aired alongside The Simpsons and pulled in 15 million viewers, with 23 million viewers overall. Both Animation Domination and the rest of the show's first season commenced on May 1, 2005. The show returned with the episode "Threat Levels," obtaining 9.47 million viewers, after the season premiere/revival of Family Guy.

Nielsen ratings by season

(Note: American Dad! has a season number discrepancy in which there are two popular differences of opinion as to how many seasons the series has had. Websites that have released the show's season-based ratings use the one-season-less numbering method as opposed to the one-season-more numbering method, as shown in the following chart)

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	May 14, 2006	6.86	2005–2006	#85	7.1
2	Sunday 8:30 pm	19	September 10, 2006	8.93	May 20, 2007	7.62	2006–2007	#79	7.6
3	Sunday 9:30 pm	16	September 30, 2007	6.07	May 18, 2008	5.64	2007–2008	#105	6.6
4		20	September 28, 2008	6.89	May 17, 2009	5.64	2008–2009	#96	5.5
5		18	September 27, 2009	7.12	May 16, 2010	5.82	2009–2010	#84	5.9
6	Sunday 9:30 pm Sunday 7:30 pm	19	October 3, 2010	6.16	May 22, 2011	3.57	2010–2011	#111	4.07
7	Sunday 9:30 pm	18	September 25, 2011	5.83	May 13, 2012	4.13	2011–2012	#110	5.47
8	Sunday 9:30 pm	19	September 30, 2012	5.25	May 12, 2013	4.01	2012–2013	#84	5.24

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Outcome
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer Series	American Dad!	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice V-Cast	American Dad!	Nominated
2006	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animated	American Dad! for episode "Homeland Insecurity" (1.6)	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Animated Show	American Dad!	Nominated
2007	Annie Awards	Best Writing in an Animated Television Production	Dan Vebber for episode "The American Dad After School Special" (2.2)	Nominated
	GLAAD Media Award	Outstanding Individual Episode	For episode "Lincoln Lover" (2.4)	Nominated
	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animated	American Dad! for episode "Dungeon and Wagons" (2.5)	Nominated
2008	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV: Animated Show	American Dad!	Nominated
2009	Prism Award	Comedy Episode	For episode "Spring Break-Up" (3.16)	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program	American Dad! for episode "1600 Candles" (4.1)	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Animated Show	American Dad!	Nominated
2010	Annie Awards	Directing in a Television Production	Pam Cooke and Jansen Lee for episode "Brains, Brains & Automobiles" (5.4)	Nominated
	Artios	Outstanding Achievement in Casting	Linda Lamontagne	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Animated Show	American Dad!	Nominated
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Animated Show	American Dad!	Nominated
2012	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program	American Dad! for episode "Hot Water" (7.1)	Nominated
2012	POPrepublic.tv IT LIST AWARDSM	Favourite International TV Show	American Dad!	Nominated

Criticism

American Dad! has been criticized by the Parents Television Council.

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 box set includes all 7 episodes of Season 1, and 6 of Season 2 ("Pilot" through "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 box set includes the remaining 10 episodes from Season 2 and the first 9 episodes from Season 3 ("Stannie Get Your Gun" through "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 box set includes the remaining 10 episodes from Season 3 and 8 of the first 9 episodes from Season 4 ("Bush Comes to Dinner" through "Frannie 911"), though "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever" does not appear on the DVD. Special features include commentaries on all episodes, unrated audio, table read, and deleted scenes.
Volume Four	April 28, 2009	April 20, 2009	November 18, 2009	14	15/15/M	This 3-disc box set includes the remaining 8 episodes of Season 4 (including "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever") and the first 6 episodes of Season 5. 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 5. 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	18	15/15/M	This 3-disc box set includes all 18 episodes from Season 6. Special features include commentaries on selected episodes, deleted scenes, and the making of the episode "Rapture's Delight".
Christmas with the Smiths	N/A	November 7, 2011	November 30, 2011	2	15/15/M	Exclusive to the UK and Australia, it includes two Christmas episodes, "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever" and "Rapture's Delight".
Volume Seven	April 17, 2012	May 14, 2012	May 16, 2012	19	15/15/M	This 3-disc box set includes all 19 episodes from Season 7, along with commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes, American Dad! at Comic-Con 2010, and "I ❤ Sir Patrick Stewart".
Volume Eight	TBA	August 8, 2013	TBA	18	15/15/M	This 3-disc box set includes all 18 episodes of Season 8.

• 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, leading many to mistakenly believe they had been omitted from the release.
• The Region 2 and 4 DVDs do not have censored audio tracks on any episodes; however, Volume 3 has so-called "uncensored tracks" on the set (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.

Crossovers with other animated sitcoms

Main article: American Dad! Family Guy and The Cleveland Show (crossover)

American Dad! characters have appeared on other animated sitcoms and vice versa. To date, all of American Dad!'s crossovers have involved two other animated programs. The other two animated programs were also created by Seth MacFarlane: Family Guy and the cancelled series The Cleveland Show.

Closing theme

The final frame of the introduction was changed four seasons beyond the first season. At the end of the credits in the first season, all that could be seen was a big “American Dad!” logo in front of the American flag. In all subsequent scenes, this logo was shrunk to fit the names to the series creators on the same screen.

Following each episode's ending credits is a live action video of a uniformed police officer representing the Underdog Productions logo. The officer states something different in each brief segment. What is said by the officer is random and nothing particularly unique or relevant to the corresponding episode.

External links

• American Dad! on Fox.com
• American Dad! on AdultSwim.com
• American Dad! on TBS.com
• American Dad! at IMDb
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• Template:Tv.com show

Preceded by Survivor: All-Stars 2004

Super Bowl lead-out program The Simpsons alongside American Dad! 2005

Succeeded by Grey's Anatomy 2006