American Dad! (2005– )

The random escapades of Stan Smith, an extreme right wing CIA agent dealing with family life and keeping America safe, all in the most absurd way possible.

Creators:

Mike Barker, Seth MacFarlane, Matt Weitzman

Stars:

Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Dee Bradley Baker

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 14 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Seth MacFarlane	...	Stan Smith (149 episodes, 2005-2013)
Wendy Schaal	...	Francine Smith (149 episodes, 2005-2013)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Klaus (149 episodes, 2005-2013)
Scott Grimes	...	Steve Smith (148 episodes, 2005-2013)
Rachael MacFarlane	...	Hayley Smith (148 episodes, 2005-2013)
Mike Barker	...	Terry Bates (79 episodes, 2005-2013)

Storyline

Stan Smith, who works for the CIA and is constantly on the alert for terrorist activity. Stan will go to extremes to protect his beloved America from harm; as evidenced by the terror-alert color code on his fridge, and his frequent knee-jerk reaction of shooting holes in the toaster whenever the toast pops up. In addition to Stan's wife and teenage children, the Smith household has two rather unconventional members. There's Roger, the sarcastic space alien who rescued Stan from Area 51 who deeply resents the fact that he's not allowed to leave the house, and therefore, has been reduced to drinking wine and smoking cigarettes, and Klaus, a lascivious, German-speaking goldfish; the result of a CIA experiment gone seriously wrong where the CIA tried to give a fish a German man's brain. Stan's son is a dorky teenager who tries to be cool. His wife has had a past life of sex and drugs.

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Plot Keywords:

cia | goldfish | german | alien | cia agent | 

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Taglines:

From the creator of "Family Guy" comes a man who will stop at nothing to protect his country.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Fox

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Dad

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Atlantic Creative, Fuzzy Door Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve's original design was much geekier and gawky and he was voiced by Ricky Blitt. Halfway through production, his voice actor changed to Scott Grimes and his design was made to be more attractive, so he would be less comparable to Neil Goldman from Family Guy. This design is a caricature of one of the series creators, Mike Barker.

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Goofs

In the first episode, the man whose brain was switched with Klaus's is shown at the 1986 Winter Olympics. There was no Winter Olympics in 1986; Winter Olympics were held in the same years as Summer Olympics (for example, 1984 in Sarajevo, and 1988 in Calgary) until 1994.

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Quotes

Roger: Pretty sure I asked for pecan sandies.

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Crazy Credits

As of the 2008-2009 season, the intro sequence has been completely redone with more modern animation. There are a few minor changes to what happens during the sequence. For instance, Haley puts a peace sign post-it on Stan which Francine subsequently removes, and Klaus kicks Stan his car keys. The old "different newspaper" gag is removed, and instead each intro features Roger in the car with Stan, wearing a different outfit in each episode.

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Connections

Spoofed in American Dad XXX: An Exquisite Films Parody (2011)

User Reviews

Politically incorrect fun

Like Family Guy, American Dad is un-PC, but it was meant to be that way. American Dad is one of those shows that has grown on me. When it debuted, it occurred to me that it had the potential to become another successful prime-time cartoon series. So far, I am right.

When it comes to political stances, Stan Smith and his daughter Hayley are mutually exclusive. Stan is conservative, while Hayley is very liberal. It is fun to see such a conflict between the two characters. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how well parents and children get along with each other, arguments are inevitable.

If you are weary of any prime-time cartoons/comedies that you consider to be long in the tooth, American Dad is a welcome alternative.