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American Dad!

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American Dad!
File:American Dad characters.png
From left: Roger, Francine, Stan, Steve and Hayley.
Created bySeth MacFarlane
Mike Barker
Matt Weitzman
StarringSeth MacFarlane
Wendy Schaal
Scott Grimes
Rachael MacFarlane
Dee Bradley Baker
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes80 (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeapprox. 21 minutes
Production companiesFuzzy Door Productions
Underdog Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkFOX
ReleaseFebruary 6, 2005 –
present

American Dad! is a satirical American animated series produced by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions for 20th Century Fox Television.

It was created by Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, as well as two former Family Guy writers, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman. The basic character structure is similar in both shows: a family consisting of a husband, wife, daughter, son and two "off" characters. The pilot episode aired in the United States on Fox on February 6, 2005, thirty minutes after the end of Super Bowl XXXIX; the regular series began May 1, 2005, after the season premiere of Family Guy. American Dad! follows the events of CIA agent Stan Smith and his family.

Episodes

Main article: List of American Dad! episodes

Ratings

While the show has succeeded in being renewed for a fifth season, it has not matched Family Guy or The Simpsons in ratings success. On a typical Sunday, American Dad! has slightly more than half the viewers and share of the The Simpsons and Family Guy episodes that follow it on Fox. Its ratings are typically similar to or slightly lower than the King of the Hill episode that precedes it.[1][2] For the week ending on April 6, 2008, it was Fox's least viewed primetime program.[3]

Opening sequence

Similar to other animated shows' opening sequences, American Dad! features a recurring gag that is changed for every episode, except for "Office Spaceman", which started with the sequence interrupted early. As Stan wakes up singing "Good Morning, U.S.A." and has breakfast with his family, he heads out his front door and picks up the newspaper waiting on his front porch. He then cartwheels into his car and drives to his CIA office. The front page headline on the newspaper is different for each episode, like in The Simpsons (e.g. couch gags, Bart's chalkboard gags or Lisa Simpson's saxophone piece). It is usually a topical joke such as "Child obesity up, pedophilia down" ("Four Little Words"), "Economy turns corner, falls down stairs" ("Roger Codger"), "Bush finally gets joke about last name" ("Deacon Stan, Jesus Man"), "Iran changes flag to middle finger" ("Black Mystery Month"), or "Israel pulls out of Gaza, Gaza not pregnant" ("A Smith in the Hand"). These headlines are satirical in nature, usually directed at the United States Government, the media or current affairs. A notable exception is the episode "Office Spaceman", whose headline, "ALIEN SPOTTED!" (featuring a picture of Roger on the front page), shifts the sequence directly into the episode itself.

As of season 4, the opening sequence has been replaced with a new one, starting with the episode "1600 Candles". While featuring the same music, most of the interaction with the family has been changed, and Stan no longer picks up the newspaper. Replacing the newspaper gag used in the first three seasons is Roger who pops up next to Stan in the family's SUV and sings the penultimate "Good Morning, U.S.A.!", wearing a different costume every time. Roger's sudden appearance causes Stan to end the sequence by crashing into the flagpole at the C.I.A. building. In the episode Tearjerker, the opening sequence was a parody and homage to James Bond movies.

You can find more detailed info on the new intro and all of Roger's outfits at Roger's Disguises

Crossovers with Family Guy

Certain characters and locations have been featured in select episodes of Family Guy, another animated comedy created and produced by Seth MacFarlane.

  • Roger makes a last-minute cameo in the episode "Meet the Quagmires", asking the Griffins "Who ate all the Pecan Sandies?". His line is a reference to a line he said early in the American Dad! pilot episode, asking Francine if she bought Pecan Sandies while she was out shopping.
  • Roger appears in the hour-long Star Wars parody "Blue Harvest" in the cantina scene, socializing and sipping red wine.
  • Stan Smith and Avery Bullock, as well as the CIA Headquarters, appear in the episode "Lois Kills Stewie". When they meet, Stewie calls Stan "Joe", then explains that he looks like someone he knows.

Main cast

See also: List of American Dad! characters


Crew

DVD releases

DVD Name Release dates Ep # BBFC/IFCO/OFLC Rating Additional Information
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Volume One April 25, 2006 April 24, 2006 May 24, 2006 13 12/15/M (NOTE: Discs 1 and 2 have a 12 certificate in Ireland, same as the UK but the content of the third disc raises the certificate up to a 15, the 12 certificate in the UK remains though). The contents of this dvd are moderate language, violence, sex and hard drug references. 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 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 The contents of this dvd are one use of strong language, moderate sex and drug references. 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 (Rated 15 in the UK due to the Table Read and some of the commentaries, actual episodes on the set are rated 12 excluding The 42 Year Old Virgin). The contents of this dvd are strong language and moderate sex references. 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.[4] Special features include commentaries on all episodes, unrated audio, table read, and deleted scenes.[5]
Volume Four April 28, 2009 April 20, 2009 [6] May, 2009 14 15/15/M (To Be Confirmed) The contents of this dvd are TBC. This upcoming 3 disc boxset will include the remaining 8 episodes of Season 3 (including The Most Adequate Christmas Ever) and the first 6 episodes of Season 4. Bonus features will include commentary on every episode, storyboards/animatics, multi-angle scene studios, deleted scenes and optional censored audio. Like the previous volume, this'll be rated 15 possibly due to the commentaries and special features and maybe even some of the episodes or one of the episodes, which proves the sets and/or the show are both getting ruder as Volumes 1 and 2 had a 12 certificate.
  • 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 fans to believe they had been excerpted 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, but it's probably actually an error from the transfer because the tracks are already automatically uncensored on the set.
  • The name of the Region 2 and 4 DVDs of Volume 2 were not renamed to Season 2 and instead kept the title 'Volume 2'.

International syndication

Country TV network(s) Weekly schedule (local time)
 Australia Seven Network (free-to-air) and FOX8 (subscription based) 11:00pm Thursdays (Seven Network)

Sundays 9:30pm & Mondays 2:30pm (FOX8)

 United Kingdom FX (First run rights) and BBC Two/BBC Three (Terrestrial rights) Thursdays, 10:30pm (1 episode) FX

Monday - Sunday, various times, 2 episodes BBC Three

 Argentina Telefé
FX		 Monday - Friday 01:00am
 Austria MTV Austria Mondays, 10:30pm - Tuesdays, 10:30pm - Wednesdays, 11:00pm (2 episodes)
 Canada Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. Global TV Coincides with the American broadcast
 Canada Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. Tvtropolis Saturday 02:00pm, 07:00pm, 12:00am
 Canada Template:Fr Teletoon Monday-Friday 09:30pm, 11:30am, 01:00am
 Colombia FX and RCN (Terrestrial rights) Sunday, 9:30pm - Tuesday, 10:30pm (In English and Spanish)
Saturdays, 10:30am
 Denmark TV3+ Sundays, 11:40am
 Estonia MTV Eesti Mondays - Friday, 7:25pm
 France Canal+, NRJ 12 Monday - Friday 7:10pm
 Germany VIVA Monday, Tuesday, Thursday - various times
 South Africa FOX South Africa Mondays, 7:30pm - Tuesdays, 7:30pm - Wednesdays, 7:00pm (2 episodes)
 Ireland 3e Mondays, 9:30pm
 Italy FOX Italy Mondays - Fridays, 7:50pm
 Mexico FX Sunday, 10:30pm - Tuesday 11:30pm (In English and Spanish)
 Latvia MTV Latvija
 Lithuania MTV Lithuania
 Netherlands Comedy Central Monday-Thursday, 8:25pm
 Norway Viasat 4 Monday-Friday, 6:00pm
 Spain Antena 3 and FOX España Saturday - Sunday, 1:00pm
 Thailand TrueVisions Saturday, 9:30pm
 Turkey ComedyMax Every day
 Philippines Jack TV Thursday, 8:30pm

Sunday, 4:30am & 2:30pm

 Belgium JIM TV, 2BE (Dutch)
 Israel Xtra HOT Sunday-Thursday, 9:30pm
 New Zealand C4 Thursdays, 8:00pm
 Brazil FX, Rede Globo Sundays 9:30pm and Fridays 9:30pm (reprise) (FX), Sundays 5:00am (Globo)
 Portugal FOX Portugal Everyday
 Egypt Super Comedy Monday, 12:00am-Friday, 7:30pm
 Peru America Televisión Sundays At night

References

  1. ^ Berman, Marc. THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER, March 31, 2008
  2. ^ Viewers abandon Sunday Night, TV by the Numbers, April 6, 2008
  3. ^ Gorman Bill. Top Fox Primetime Shows, March 31 - April 6, TV by the Numbers, April 7, 2008
  4. ^ American Dad DVD news: Details for American Dad - Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  5. ^ American Dad DVD news: Press Release for American Dad - Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  6. ^ http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/8625432/American-Dad-Season-4/Product.html
Wikiquote has quotations related to American Dad!.


Preceded by
Survivor: All-Stars
2004 		Super Bowl
lead-out program
alongside
The Simpsons
2005 		Succeeded by
Grey's Anatomy
2006
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