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American Dad

Credits

Cast

Network

Reviewer

Paul Asay
Kristin Smith
Marcus Yoars
Steven Isaac

TV Series Review

Seth MacFarlane, creator of such fare as Family Guy and Ted, is not known for his restraint. But American Dad may give us MacFarlane at his most foul and MacFarlanest.

American Dad pushes that envelope so hard, in fact, that the Parents Television Council once asked its members to complain to the Federal Communications Commission, hoping to get the series sanctioned or fined.

“This past summer the United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld the congressionally mandated authority of the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the broadcast decency law, which prohibits the airing of indecent material on the publicly-owned airwaves during times when children are likely to be in the audience,” PTC president Tim Winter said in a statement. “In the past, American Dad and MacFarlane’s other programs have included scenes mocking people with Down syndrome, implying father-daughter incest, a man masturbating a horse, a baby eating horse sperm, and a character eating vomit and excrement out of a baby’s diaper. Some of those broadcasts are under review at the FCC for violating the broadcast decency law.”

Newsweek once called Family Guy “a traditional domestic sitcom soaked in battery acid.” The same could be said of American Dad. It follows the Smith family, led by kooky CIA agent Stan and his levelheaded wife, Francine. Sharing their house are two teenagers (daughter Hayley is now married), a talking goldfish and an effeminate, disguise-wearing alien.

American X

This satirical series, which moved from Fox to the more crass-friendly cable confines of TBS in 2014, operates on a single guiding principle: Nothing is off-limits, from necrophilia to cocaine, from mindless murder to eating excrement. The family goldfish constantly hits on Francine (an obsession birthed after it glimpses her without underwear). Hayley becomes a stripper at one point, and to show their unconditional support and love as “good” parents, Stan and Francine sit in the front row during one of her routines, cheering, making crude comments and tossing money. Stan sits naked in a hot tub with two gay neighbors. Etcetera. Ad nauseam.

In the meantime, a blitz of tasteless material targets God, Christians, Muslims, blacks, the homeless and handicapped people. MacFarlane admits, “It’s not the most cutting-edge comedy in the world, but there’s just a flavor to that stuff that I think is just so wonderful. … In the design style and music, it’s very traditional, but we layer the outrageous comedy on top of that. What you get is the best of all worlds.”

Or the worst.

Episode Reviews

American Dad: Feb. 12, 2018 “Paranoid_Frandroid”

Stan is brainwashing Francine, his wife, using a mindless TV show called Morning Mimosa. On it, a priest drinks and marries two hamsters (one of which defecates while “walking down the aisle”). Stan believes if Francine finds out that he’s brainwashing her, “her ignorant mind will be thrown into upheaval” (And that’s just one of several derogatory references about women that we hear.)

But Francine does find out. The result? She starts attending conspiracy-theory conventions, and she believes everything she hears. The CIA plans to kill her for her knowledge of “Operation Toilet,” in which people’s smartphones are hijacked to photograph them while they go to the bathroom. Also, the espionage agency distracts Stan with beer and violent video games at Dave and Busters while they try to “eliminate” Francine.

Elsewhere, Steve and his friend Snot “pimp out” a basement with “Stoner Avenue” signs to attract “hot chicks” to their “make out palace.” They invite women to join them in “a cool, dark basement” as their “treasures,” apparently obvious to the unintentional implication of abduction and sexual assault. The women scoff at this idea, preferring to go to an uncle’s house to take “tasteful nudes” for their modeling careers.

Other sexual content (and there’s a lot of it) includes Stan mentioning an orgy and pretending to have sex with another man. Roger also lies on top of Stan, simulating sex while dressed as his wife. Roger asks for condoms and a Plan B abortifacient. A CIA agent says he received “sexual pleasure from killing his friend’s wife.” Dialogue references a sexual scandal involving Peyton Manning. Klaus, the fish, is seen under a woman’s skirt (implying oral sex) causing her boyfriend to violently throw things at her.

Women wear short dresses baring animated cleavage, as well as bikinis. Alcohol and hard liquor are consumed in multiple scenes. We hear “d–n,” “dumb a–,” “sweet a–,” and “h—.” The f-word is bleeped twice.

The Jewish greeting “Shabbat shalom” is used mockingly. We also hear other derogatory comments about Jewish people. People with disabilities are also made fun of. We hear a casual reference to the terrorist group ISIS. Someone’s foot gets caught in an animal trap, and blood is seen. Rocket launchers and guns are used. There is a general insensitivity toward grief.

American Dad: Aug. 21, 2017 “Kloger”

Roger, an alien, signs up for an online dating service. His blind date turns out to be Klaus, the family goldfish. So begins a wild alien-fish affair that ends in shame for all involved … including the American Dad audience.

On the surface, this would appear to be a homosexual affair, though when the heterosexual Klaus asks for confirmation, Roger says, “God no, I’m an alien! I wish people thought I was gay!” Regardless, there are visual intimations of oral sex, S&M activity and all manner of kinky behavior. We see the odd couple kiss, writhe their tongues around each other, and it appears that Roger uses Klaus as a sex toy. We see them in bed together, covered in sweat, with a cigarette and handcuffs at the ready. When Klaus tries to break up with Roger, Roger tries to amp up the relationship’s forbidden nature by dressing up as a little pigtailed girl and legally becomes Klaus’s daughter, apparently to engage in pedophilic incest. “What’s more taboo than making sexy with your own daughter?” Roger says, licking a lollipop. (Klaus is arrested for the crime and, in prison, is stuffed down the underwear of another inmate—leading him to tell the world that he’s in another relationship.)

Roger dresses up as a woman to go to an eatery, jokingly ordering a well-endowed man. He posts a picture of lotion and tissues on his dating profile. Behind a dumpster, oral sex is implied between two men. We see ladybugs have sex. We hear intimations that Stan and Roger are mutually attracted to each other. Characters watch Basic Instinct. Stan’s school-age son Steve tries to get out of the Presidential Fitness Test by pretending to be sick, announcing he can’t get an erection.

Steve also tries to get out of the test by preaching about how “Jesus will rise again,” apparently to suggest he’s insane. Stan keeps a picture of a haloed Jesus in his living room. He defecates in his pants. A friend confesses that he still wears diaper-like pull-ups. There are references to donkey testicles. Roger wants to raise his and Klaus’s hypothetical child as Muslim. People drink beer and martinis. Lies are told. Someone sports a swastika tattoo on the forehead.

AmericanDad: 10-7-2012

“Killer Vacation”

On vacation, Stan accidentally kills three dolphins instead of the human outdoor activity director he was going for. A suicidal lemur provocatively sucks on the gun barrel before someone spears the guy in the back, splashing Stan and Francine with blood. Someone gets beaten with a tennis racquet.

Hayley and Jeff, meanwhile, try to rekindle their sex life, talking crudely about their lack of intimacy. They try role-playing (naked under the covers with costume headgear on). And Jeff talks about tricking Hayley with mayonnaise (as a stand-in for semen).

There are verbal and visual gags about dolphin menstruation, sexual choking games, married swingers, incest, homosexual sex, ejaculation, cross-dressing and a boy damaging his penis. There are several rather elongated “adventures” by family members on a nude beach. Stan’s boss ogles pictures of Francine and asks Stan to send more shots of her breasts.

We hear “b‑‑ch,” “h‑‑‑,” “bloody” and about 10 misuses of God’s name. One obscenity is bleeped. Some of the jokes are based on racial inferences. We hear people talk about urination, feces and the biological intricacies of a colostomy bag.

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paul-asay
Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

kristin-smith
Kristin Smith

Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).

Marcus Yoars
Steven Isaac

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