# American Dad **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744 "2005-02-07T02:50:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/81 "2005-02-08T08:57:40Z")
shoot forgot to mention that it really bugged me for awhile that the Dad’s voice was Joe’s from FG ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/82 "2005-02-08T09:37:30Z")
> [@Taber](#): > > shoot forgot to mention that it really bugged me for awhile that the Dad’s voice was Joe’s from FG Yeah… he seems to be pretty much the same character with a different job and no wheelchair. And Quagmire’s chin, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/83 "2005-02-08T12:10:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yeah… he seems to be pretty much the same character with a different job and no wheelchair. And Quagmire’s chin, I guess. Man, that guy’s getting a lot of work these days. I just saw _Venture Twins_ for the first time yesterday, and he’s one of the characters on that, too. Not that I’m complaingin, though - I like me some Warburton! My PVR was set to record, but there was some stupid football game on that screwed up the schedule, so I only got the first half of the Simpsons and no AD. Guess I’ll have to wait till next week. I’m worried about the fish now… ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/84 "2005-02-08T13:55:12Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > There were a few more gags that went over pretty well, and how much more can you expect in a half-hour show that is busy introducing characters? That’s exactly why one shouldn’t judge a show, especially a comedy, until the characters are established. Many of the best jokes only work once you know the character. Like on Family Guy when Quagmire is dating Lois after she and Peter start seeing other people. The “Rufi Colada” bit works much better IMHO when you are familiar with Quagmire and his motivations. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/85 "2005-02-08T14:13:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Man, that guy’s getting a lot of work these days. I just saw Venture Twins for the first time yesterday, and he’s one of the characters on that, too. Not that I’m complaingin, though - I like me some Warburton! Watchew guys talkin bout? The title character from “American Dad” was voiced by Seth MacFarlane himself. Warburton doesn’t appear on that show. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/86 "2005-02-08T14:14:07Z")
Cite: > **[American Dad! (TV Series 2005– ) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397306/)** > > American Dad!: Created by Mike Barker, Seth MacFarlane, Matt Weitzman. With Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Rachael MacFarlane. The random escapades of Stan Smith, a conservative C.I.A. Agent dealing with family life, and keeping America... ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/87 "2005-02-08T14:22:24Z")
I thought the voices were all pretty annoying. Other than that, it wasn’t THAT bad. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/88 "2005-02-08T21:05:34Z")
Two gags I’m surprised no one has mentioned yet: -The Ikea-contracted refurbishment of Iraq (“For Allah’s sake, will you put some clothes on?”) -The gag regarding the three meanings of the word “period”…I mean “steve.” ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/89 "2005-02-08T21:42:37Z")
I give it a “meh.” There were a few jokes I laughed pretty hard at: the period == Steve and ski-jumping fish. For some reason the way the skiier flopped was very amusing. I reserve judgment until a few more episodes have been shown. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/90 "2005-02-08T21:54:03Z")
I love Family Guy, and I know Seth MacFarlane is a hilarious guy, so I’m willing to give American Dad the benefit of the doubt. But not too much benefit. Sunday’s show was just not very funny, and if it doesn’t improve–and I mean a lot, and in a hurry–I won’t waste my time with it. I’m with everyone else, that there’s way too much similarity between the two shows. They need to establish a real, tangible difference for AD to work. On another front, slightly off track: WTF? on there being no Jack in the Box back East? I spent my first 10 years in Philadelphia, and I know damn well there were JitB’s in that area when I was a kid. The reason I don’t eat there now is because I ate at one when I was a kid and got sick from the food. I think that was in New Jersey. When did they all up and move out of the Northeast? Did I slip into Bizarro-world at some point, where the fast food universe is strangely realigned? This has left me questioning my grip on reality (which was already tenuous and questionable to begin with). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/91 "2005-02-08T22:12:10Z")
I did like the “ride the buffalo” bit. I don’t know, I spent half the time thinking, “This is terrible” and half the time laughing, so we’ll have to see. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/92 "2005-02-08T22:27:52Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I did like the “ride the buffalo” bit. “Now send in the Lunch Lady.” Heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/93 "2005-02-09T06:35:33Z")
I’m happy to know that my disguste for American Dad is not only because I am a right-wing lunatic. This was plotting, wacky humor, and political humor at its near-worst. the scene with GWB’s conversation with God was clunky and tried way to hard to make fun of Bush. All bash and no humor. The writers should have looked back at 2000 election episodes of SNL for inspiration. That was great GWB humor. The “Riding the Buffalo” scene went on way to long, as did the dead dog scenes. The “Pencil up Osama’s Pooper” should never had been included. A six-year-old could have written this scene, and a nine-year-old could have acted it. The creators are rich for writing this junk? There were a few scenes that were funny, but they were funny because they were non-political. The ski-jumper with a fish brain was good. I giggled a little when he popped his lips and flopped into the lake. I liked the scene with the Jack-in-the-Box man being held hostage in their basement. That was the only one that got a good laugh from me. None of the characters were immediately likable, and likability is a key to successful characters. I know that they will probably be developed in coming episodes, but they were all stereotypes of other sitcom characters. Nothing interesting jumped out, not even the unique characters of the alien or fish. I’ll give the show the benefit of a doubt, but it isn’t like Family Guy’s first episode, which was funny for it’s weirdness. American Dad falls flat because of it’s own overreaching in all aspects. If the show keeps an attitude of “Look at how funny I am!” it will fail. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/94 "2005-02-09T07:41:31Z")
> [@The Great Zamboni](#): > > I’m happy to know that my disguste for American Dad is not only because I am a right-wing lunatic. This was plotting, wacky humor, and political humor at its near-worst. the scene with GWB’s conversation with God was clunky and tried way to hard to make fun of Bush. All bash and no humor. The writers should have looked back at 2000 election episodes of SNL for inspiration. That was great GWB humor. Yeah. Even if you’re a Republican, Bush talking to god has comedic potential, and that scene didn’t come up with the goods. It made what a lot of people would consider to be a valid point, but lots of people have already said the same thing. On the other hand, the bit at the end with Cheney was very funny, and it just about redeemed the sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/95 "2005-02-10T06:13:44Z")
I said before I didn’t care much for the show. Now I really, really don’t care for it. American Dad? Your presence is requested in the [Pit.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5822475#post5822475) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/96 "2005-02-11T16:00:46Z")
I had to go from lurking to posting to say this, I liked American Dad. .Ok, I have to say this first so that people don’t misunderstand me. I hate Fox. They had Sliders, Family Guy, the Doctor Who movie, and more good Sci-fi shows then I can count, and they flushed them down the toilet. Arrested Development is a great show, and doesn’t deserve to be canceled. I don’t believe that American Dad should have taken it’s timeslot either. However… I believe I am seeing something about AD (American Dad, that is, not Arrested Development) that no one else has pointed out. In real life, the CIA has stepped into many situations without thinking, and seriously screwed things up. The American people, as a whole hasn’t really given a damn. Now we see Seth McFarlane creating a CIA agent who screws things up the same way, but A way people understand. He then gives people a look at how things are. Brilliant. P.s. before I forget, I want to say, “It’s just a cartoon, don’t take things so seriously.”, just to get that out of the way. P.S.S. Now that I think about it, American Dad and Arrested development have the same initials, AD, maybe that made a Fox executive’s head [a spold](http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/pizzaz). ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/97 "2005-02-11T22:49:59Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > P.S.S. Now that I think about it, American Dad and Arrested development have the same initials, AD, maybe that made a Fox executive’s head [a spold](http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/pizzaz). Not only did you get the spelling wrong, you got the link to the description of the wrong e-mail. [YOUR REFERENCE A SPLODE](http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/video_games) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/98 "2005-02-13T20:19:07Z")
**Scott\_plaid** , you are giving Seth MacFarlane too much credit when you claim that he was thinking this deeply when he and the others wrote this episode. If he was thinking as deeply as you say, then this is his view of how screwed up things are, not as they really are. He left no room for debate about the issues he highlighted his show. That is not brilliant. I’m not trying to bring up views opposite to Seth’s, I’m just saying that his political humor is lousy. He could be good if he worked on it, but it just isn’t there. When someone wants entertaining fiction that is also a clarification of current issues, Seth Macfarlane should be their last choice, and American Dad the last of the last. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/99 "2005-02-13T23:11:02Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > On another front, slightly off track: WTF? on there being no Jack in the Box back East? I spent my first 10 years in Philadelphia, and I know damn well there were JitB’s in that area when I was a kid. The reason I don’t eat there now is because I ate at one when I was a kid and got sick from the food. I think that was in New Jersey. When did they all up and move out of the Northeast? Did I slip into Bizarro-world at some point, where the fast food universe is strangely realigned? This has left me questioning my grip on reality (which was already tenuous and questionable to begin with). No, you’re right, they were here in Baltimore when I was a wee little weirdo. They all left the NE like 30 years ago, and heven’t come back. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744/100 "2005-02-14T01:06:17Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > But I think Stewie should be the fish, and Brian should be the alien. That would be good. I hated the alien and the fish. I did, however, enjoy the overall show enough that I’ll probably watch it when it comes on again. I was getting ready to turn it off until he blew the crap out of the toaster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-dad/288744.md?page=6)