Full disclosure: I do not like American Dad! and I am probably the worst person to review this DVD. But fate wanted me to watch a season of this show so now this is happening.
Popping in the first disc of volume 7, which is in truth, season 6, I had never seen an episode of American Dad! and I had never really wanted to. While I’d been amused by Family Guy when it first came out, I quickly lost interest in it, so another Seth MacFarlane show didn’t interest me. Regardless, I tried to keep as much of an open mind as I could. Just recently I’d started watching Archer and hated the first couple episodes. Now I love it. If a show is good enough it can change many a mind. Such is not the case with Dad.
I guess what it boils down to is that I just don’t get this show. None of the characters interested me in the slightest. And if you can’t get into the characters of a show then there is no chance you’re going to like it. No one in the family was interesting to me. The dad, the mom, the lame son and the hippie daughter, all of them bland and uninteresting. The talking fish is completely worthless, I don’t think the show would be any different with or without him. It’s almost as if the writers have to force scenes for him just to keep him on the show.
Then we come to the alien. Who is apparently the favorite character of the fans. I’m sorry to say, but the alien is the most derivative character on this show. He’s a poor man’s Bender, there I said it. Bender became a character on Futurama because the writers wanted a character that they could make an alcoholic and a sex addict and thief and all the other amoral things that they couldn’t give to a human. You give those traits to a robot and it’s okay and it’s funny. This is the same function the alien serves. I’m not saying they have similar personalities. On that front they are very different. The alien’s obsession with playing different characters is a unique quality and mildly amusing from time to time, but not “classic television.”
I got a little excited when I heard Patrick Stewart’s voice and realized he was a character on the show. But as I got to know his character I realized he was just playing a less interesting version of the character he played on Extras. The whole joke behind his character is “this is funny because Patrick Stewart is saying it.” But the lines themselves aren’t that funny. If you want to see him play a raunchy character and laugh, check out Extras.
Through all nineteen episodes I think I laughed out loud two or three times. And a couple of those were after I’d had a couple beers so I’m not sure they count.
The show tries to be “shocking” and “push envelopes,” but not once while watching this did I think “Oh crap! I can’t believe they got away with that!” Even with the cussing and nudity. Maybe I’m just really jaded at this point, but I feel that I can be shocked, but American Dad! is not the show to do it.
I understand that there is a fan base for this show. That there are people out there that find it funny. Some of these people are my friends and we’ve been arguing with one another as I’ve been watching this season and questioning how the heck this show got to its 100th episode. Many friends gave the old “it will grow on you” argument. Well, I watched nineteen episodes of this show and the only thing it made me grow was angry and sleepy.
The episodes are presented in a widescreen 1.78:1. Sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. The show looks and sounds fine. It’s certainly a well produced show. I can’t complain about anything here.
Deleted/Alternate Scenes (30 min.) There are a couple minutes of these for each episode. A lot of it is different jokes for scenes that made it into the film. If you like the show, you’ll probably like these. I Love Patrick Stewart (8 min.) The cast and crew gush about how awesome it is to work with Stewart and how much they love him and how great he is. So it’s nothing everybody else doesn’t already know. Comic Con 2010: The American Dad! panel for con. I’ve been to a lot of Con panels and I have to say this was one of the most unenthusiastic audiences I’ve ever heard at a panel. And for the Q&A the questions were just as stupid as they always are and the panel did great job of keeping things lively and interesting despite bad questions. Commentary: There are a handful of these, not for every episode, and they feature various cast and crew. If nothing else it let’s us know how much fun these people have making this show. So that’s good, I guess.
Like I said, I do not like this show. I didn’t think I would going in and nineteen episodes did not change my mind. I guess I just don’t understand that kind of humor. Whatever. There are plenty of great shows out there for me to waste my time on. If you like this show you’ll buy this set despite my ranting.
20th Century Fox presents American Dad!: Volume 7. Created by: Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman. Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Rachael MacFarlane, Wendy Schall, Scott Grimes and Dee Bradley Baker. Running time: 463 min. on 3 discs. Rating: Not Rated however, contains vulgar language, drug use, sexually suggestive material and nudity. Released on DVD: April 17, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.
