American Dad, Vol. 1
October 22, 2007
"American Dad, Vol.1"
20th Century Fox, 2006
Some of the best shows around start of poorly. This seems to hold true of the animated sitcoms that have been produced since the rise of "The Simpsons" (which itself didn't really hit its stride until the third season). "Futurama" started of with an interesting premise and a few great moments, and slowly added more and more great moments until the whole second and third season reached a blissful state of comic perfection. "Family Guy" started off somewhat rough and slowly built a stable of comic set-pieces, developing its own sense of humor based on obscure references and offbeat phraseology. "Futurama" to "Family Guy"'s "The Simpsons," "American Dad" got off to a fairly rocky start itself. Detailing the family life of uber-patriotic right-winger CIA agent Stan Smith, who lives with his wife, two kids, an alcoholic extra-terrestrial who talks like Paul Lynde and a horny goldfish with the brain of a German ski-jumper. If it sounds somewhat forced, that's because it is. The first episode is bales of exposition and is hands down the weakest episode of the series to date, its many attempts at political satire are painfully ham-fisted. But as the episodes progress, the writing becomes more confident and the characters more refined. While Klaus the Goldfish remains the weakest character in the series (he's well acted, but poorly conceived), the addition of Patrick Stewart as Stan's boss more than makes up for it (the writers seem to take special delight in having the ever stoic Stewart say the goofiest things imaginable). While rarely a great show, it hits its stride early and manages to be consistently entertaining. This set collects the first 13 episodes of the series (the first half of the first season) along with some scattered bonus features.
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