I love American Dad! far more than I do Family Guy

Oh God, I love this TV show. Why is it so hilarious. I have to say I really enjoy it. When I first saw about it, I figured it would be some kind of cheap commentary about the right-wing in America, but really it 's more than that. In fact, Stan’s right-wingedness doesn’t come up so often. I’d say that he’s essentially enthusiastic about living up to his dreams for himself or the family at all costs. It’s seriously my favorite animated show now.

I think what makes it so good is that it is indeed similar to Family Guy, except all of their episodes are very much plot-driven. There are very few throw-away gags, if any at all. I suppose this was a conscious choice on the part of Seth McFarlane in order to keep the two shows seperate.

Roger the Alien. Holy crap is he good. The episode where he tries to hit on Steve’s girlfriend is classic. His attempt at being self-important at a cheap restaurant is great.

“I had reservations for two at 9”
“We don’t take reservations”
“Excellent”

I also love Stan’s reaction to Steve’s fat girlfriend.

“This is MY food…Go find your own”

After she shows a penchant for handguns he says,

“You know, you’re alright, big stuff”

Any scene where Stan shows an extremely uncharacteristic knowledge of hip-hop culture is hilarious.

Of all of my favorite scenes, however, was the one where they got stoned off of a marijuana fire. The image of Stan staring at the chips was priceless.

“Why do my wrists hurt?”
“You’re lying on them!”
“How can you hear what I’m thinking!”

I think the show is best when it’s not being preachy. It does make fun of the right wing, but it also makes fun of the left wing as well through the Haley character. She goes to get in tune with nature with her Sidekick.

I also love it when Stan goes off on an inexplicable train of thought. In the episode where they think there’s a nuclear war, and they hide in the woods, the family is almost killed by a bear before a woodsman named buckle saves them. They go off to his house leaving stan with the bear, feeling dejected because he was no longer the provider.

“Aww come on kids! You’re gonna miss it when the baby bears come looking for their mama! Hopefully not too young…forced to grow up too fast…looks at bear Nope, bear testicles…man bear…There’s no room for you in our stories!..Hey wait up!”

Stan’s childish moments are the best.

Anyone want to share anything else?

American Dad has been kicking Family Guy’s ass for a while now. Roger is probably my favorite character in the history of animation- a witty, cultured, drunken alien who talks like Paul Lynde- genius. Best episodes are Roger’s “you snooze you lose” revenge tale, and when Roger finds a replacement for Steve, who beats him, and Roger keeps going back to him.

Family Guy has its good moments but American Dad has quickly become one of my faves. I try to tape it and Moral Orel whenever I can (because MO makes my slightly Christian hubby a bit nervous).

I was just pondering how good Patrick Stewart is on that show, a man not really known for comedy. “Do you have any Gatordade? I seem to left all my electrolytes with your daughter!”

That’s a good angle that American Dad has that no other animated comedy I know of has- a family with a sexually active child.

Yeah that’s true…But then again she is 20 years old, so it’s not terribly crazy.

I love Roger though. The first time he called Stan, “Staniel” I nearly lost my mind.

I love the extended sidetracks on the “Golden Turd” saga.

I dunno… I have to agree with The Simpsons when they described it as plagiarismo di plagiarismo. (It was in the episode where they went to Italy to deliver the Lamberari Fasterosta, and met up with Sideshow Bob.)

For your vaguely swishy comic foil, the alien is not 10% as funny as Stewie. The daughter is a re-hashed, politically active Meg, although she isn’t drawn any older, which was really off-putting until I realized she’s supposed to be in college, not 15. And the goldfish? I mean what?

What can I say, I’m not a fan. Its certainly true that Family Guy has really been phoning it in lately… that doesn’t make me like American Dad any more though.

You have to go in giving it a chance. I admit that I wasn’t as forgiving in the beginning either but eventually I learned to love Roger.

Patrick Stewart is comedy gold in the episode of Extras Season 1 he appears in. Check it out.

American Dad is superior to Family Guy only because Family Guy has been scraping the barrel for some time now. It has its moments but I find much of the voice acting really really irritating. I do like how they keep to a storyline and not just freeform misanthropy.

I remember when the show first came on the air, the reaction was that the character Roger was the worst thing about it. I shared that view.

They really developed him in a comedy gold mine because he is the funniest character on television (besides Johnny Drama…and maybe Barney Stinson).

Pe-can Sandies.

I really love it that they’ve gotten Roger out of the house now. I love his disguises.

“You want to know what Horst Renoir thinks? Horst Renoir thi” gets hit in the head with a rifle butt

Klaus was easily my least favorite character, but he grew on me after they put his brain in that black guy for an episode.

Klaus is good when they don’t over use him. The best Klaus moment was when he was doing the director’s commentary of his own life.

Lisa Kudrow cracked me in up in her guest appearance. “Oh there’s no Brady Bill, so you can get a gun like that [snaps fingers].”

The show beats Family Guy and occasionally eclipses Simpsons.

Futurama takes 'em all, though. I eagerly await its return.

One of the funniest bits in television history is when Roger and Francine pretend to be a pair of married academics.

“So, Francine. Why don’t you tell them how you killed our baby?”

I like it when he gets mad reading US magazine. “Stars are just like regular people!”

The live-action version was an episiode of Frasier when the lies got more and more more tortured, spurred along by Martin who cheerfully antagonized the situtation as much as possible, including claiming to a former boyfriend of Daphne’s that he was a retired astronaut.

“I gave Buzz Aldrin his nickname. Everybody thought it was 'cause he flew fast but nah, it was because he was afraid of bees.”

I did see that, that was hilarious!

So true! I love the alien, he always has me cracking me up.