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| American Dad! | |
|---|---|
  From left: Roger, Francine, Stan, Steve and Hayley. |
|
| Format | Animated sitcom |
| Created by | Seth MacFarlane Mike Barker Matt Weitzman |
| Starring | Seth MacFarlane Wendy Schaal Scott Grimes Rachael MacFarlane Dee Bradley Baker |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 64 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 21 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original run | February 6, 2005 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
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 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.
Contents |
Characters
The show centers on the Smith family and the various obstacles Stan, a CIA employee, encounters with his immediate family and in his efforts to ensure the safety of his country. The Smith family lives in the fictional community of Langley Falls, Virginia in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, though in the season 4 episode "Pulling Double Booty" Haley begins to give out her phone number with the 757 area code hinting that Langley Falls may be located in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. The town name is a composite of Langley, a community located in McLean, and Great Falls, two unincorporated communities located in Fairfax County. Langley is also the real-life location of CIA headquarters. The Smiths are believed to live at 416 Cherry Street.
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 is singing "Good Morning, U.S.A." he heads out his front door and picks up the newspaper waiting on his front porch. The front page headline 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", "Economy turns corner, falls down stairs", "Bush finally gets joke about last name", or "Iran changes flag to middle finger" and "Israel pulls out of Gaza, Gaza not pregnant". These headlines are satirical in nature, usually directed at the United States Government, the media or current affairs.
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 final "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.
American Dad and the Obama Presidency
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in August 2008 McFarlane has said that he would like to see Barack Obama win because aside from being a Democrat himself he felt that having the ultra conservative Stan Smith character adjust to the Obama era would make for interesting writing and comedy.
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 or higher to the King of the Hill episode that precedes it.12 For the week ending April 6th 2008, American Dad was Fox's least viewed primetime program.3 However it does much better in the ratings following Family Guy than King of the Hill did during this time.
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
- Seth MacFarlane as Stan Smith and Roger the Alien
- Wendy Schaal as Francine Smith
- Scott Grimes as Steve Smith
- Rachael MacFarlane as Hayley Smith
- Dee Bradley Baker as Klaus
Crew
- Seth MacFarlane, Creator/Writer/Executive Producer
- Mike Barker, Creator/Writer/Executive Producer
- Matt Weitzman, Creator/Writer/Executive Producer
- David Zuckerman, Writer/Co-Executive Producer
- Rick Wiener, Writer/Co-Executive Producer
- Kenny Schwartz, Writer/Co-Executive Producer
- Crystal Khan, Writer/Producer
- Mike Shipley, Writer/Co-Executive Producer
- Jim Bernstein, Writer/Co-Executive Producer
- Steve Hely, Writer/Story Editor
- Brian Boyle, Writer/Producer
- Chris McKenna, Writer/Story Editor
- Matt McKenna, Writer/Story Editor
- Dan Vebber, Writer/Supervising Producer
- Jon Fener, Writer/Supervising Producer
- Josh Bycel, Writer/Supervising Producer
- Dave Locke, Writer/Supervising Producer
- John Fitch, Production Editor
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 (Terrestrial rights) | Thursdays, 10:00pm (1 episode) FX
Monday - Sunday, various times, 2 episodes BBC Three |
 Argentina |
Fox Latin America FX |
|
 Austria |
MTV Austria | Mondays, 10:30pm - Tuesdays, 10:30pm - Wednesdays, 11:00pm (2 episodes) |
 Canada (English) |
Global TV | Coincides with the American broadcast |
| Canada (French) |
Télétoon | Monday-Friday, 9:30pm, 11:30pm, 2:00am |
 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 |
MTV Germany | Monday - Sunday, various times |
 South Africa |
FOX South Africa | Mondays, 7:30pm - Tuesdays, 7:30pm - Wednesdays, 7:00pm (2 episodes) |
 Ireland |
Channel 6 | Tuesdays, 10:25pm |
 Mexico |
FX | Sunday, 10:30pm - Tuesday 11:30pm (In English and Spanish) |
 Latvia |
MTV Latvija | |
 Lithuania |
MTV Lithuania | |
 Norway |
Viasat 4 | Monday-Friday, 6:00pm |
 Spain |
Antena 3 and FOX España | Saturday - Sunday, 1:00pm |
 Switzerland |
SF 2 | Monday-Friday, 6:15 pm |
 Thailand |
TrueVisions | Saturday, 9:30pm |
 Turkey |
ComedyMax | Every day |
 Philippines |
Jack TV | |
.svg){kind=small} 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 |
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 got 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) | 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. In Germany it was shortly rerenamed to Volume One, 2 weeks before the release. When Volumes 1-3 was 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(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) | 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, 2009 | May, 2009 | May, 2009 | 18 | 12/15/M (To Be Confirmed) | This upcoming 3 disc boxset will include the remaining 8 episodes of Season 3 (including The Most Adequate Christmas Ever) and the first 10 episodes of Season 4, which will air later this year. Bonus features will include commentary on every episode, storyboards/animatics, multi-angle scene studios, deleted scenes and optional censored audio. It has been rumoured that this DVD will return to the usual 12 certificate by the BBFC. |
- 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 name of the Region 2 and 4 DVDs of Volume 2 was not renamed to Season 2 and instead kept the title 'Volume 2'.
Episodes
References
- ^ Berman, Marc. THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER, March 31, 2008
- ^ Viewers abandon Sunday Night, TV by the Numbers, April 6, 2008
- ^ Gorman Bill. Top Fox Primetime Shows, March 31 - April 6, TV by the Numbers, April 7, 2008
- ^ American Dad DVD news: Details for American Dad - Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
- ^ American Dad DVD news: Press Release for American Dad - Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
External links
- Official American Dad! website at FOX
- American Dad! at TV.com
- American Dad! at the Internet Movie Database
- American Dad! Wiki at Wikia
| Preceded by Survivor: All Stars 2004 |
Super Bowl lead-out program 2005 |
Succeeded by Grey's Anatomy 2006 |
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