American Dad: Season 1 Review

American Dad: Season 1

by William Thomas |
Published on

Oft-dismissed as Family Guy’s lesser sibling —

or, as The Simpsons put it, a “plagiarismo di plagiarismo” — this season is arguably better than either Seth MacFarlane’s first attempt or recent seasons from America’s first family. Admittedly, the house pets — alien Roger and libidinous goldfish Klaus — aren’t as hilarious as Family Guy’s talking dog Brian, but terrorist-hating, all-American head-of-household Stan Smith more than compensates. His job in the CIA allows for political jabs and amusing gadgetry galore — and for the inclusion of Patrick Stewart’s recurring, self-lampooning role as his boss. Family Guy’s ‘I can’t believe they just said that’ humour is very much present and correct here — if anything, the levels of wrongness are amped up. An entire episode deals with the joys of masturbation, another sees Stewart’s CIA chief Bullock shagging Smith’s teenage daughter, while the two-part season finale, Stan Of Arabia, sees our hero adopt local misogynist practices on a trip to Saudi Arabia. Surprisingly edgy, wonderfully filthy-minded and very funny stuff.

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