American Dad!


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American Dad!

Image:American Dad characters.png
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 65 (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

Main article: List of American Dad! 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" Hayley 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.

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.[1][2] For the week ending April 6th 2008, American Dad was Fox's least viewed primetime program.[3]

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

Crew

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
 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
 Netherlands Comedy Central Monday-Thursday, 9:40pm
 Norway Viasat 4 Monday-Friday, 6:00pm
 Spain Antena 3 and FOX España Saturday - Sunday, 1:00pm
 Switzerland SF zwei Monday-Friday, 6:15 pm
 Thailand TrueVisions Saturday, 9:30pm
 Turkey ComedyMax Every day
 Philippines Jack TV
 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

Main article: List of American Dad! episodes

References

  1. ^ Berman, Marc. THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER, March 31, 2008
  2. ^ Viewers abandon Sunday Night, TV by the Numbers, April 6, 2008
  3. ^ Gorman Bill. Top Fox Primetime Shows, March 31 - April 6, TV by the Numbers, April 7, 2008
  4. ^ American Dad DVD news: Details for American Dad - Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  5. ^ American Dad DVD news: Press Release for American Dad - Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com

External links

Sister project Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: American Dad!


Preceded by
Survivor: All Stars
2004		 Super Bowl
lead-out program
2005		 Succeeded by
Grey's Anatomy
2006
v • d • e
American Dad!
Episodes • DVDs
Characters
Actors
Other
v • d • e
Family Guy
Characters · Criticism · Episodes · DVDs · Video Game · History · Quotes · Places · Voice actors · Guest stars
Griffin family
Peter · Lois · Meg · Chris · Stewie · Brian
Recurring characters
Cast
Films and music
Books
Related series and spin-offs






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