AMERICAN DAD!: VOLUME 6
(not rated)
MOVIE: **** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
“American Dad!” continues through its fifth season with biting commentary about the American political system and pop culture in general. CIA hawk Stan Smith deals with his son’s need for a bully and later an embarrassing pool mishap that only President Obama can solve. Francine faces the truth of why Stan loves her while Roger gets too close to her. And speaking of Roger… well, he gets roasted and gets sweet, sweet revenge.
WHAT I LIKED
Ever since I started watching “American Dad!” in its inaugural season, I have been a fan of the show. Part of this is because even though the show exists in politics, the jokes manage to be relatively apolitical… or at least able to take jabs at all sides. Some shows start to lose steam by the time they reach their sixth season of broadcast, but this one still clicks, and it might even be superior now that the characters are fully fleshed out.
Unlike Seth MacFarlane’s other big series “Family Guy” (which I do find quite funny, by the way), “American Dad!” is more composed and has more focus. I do like the wacky non-sequiturs of “Family Guy,” but its’ great to see another series that doesn’t just rehash the same formula.
Roger continues to be my favorite character, and the episode in which he gets roasted is one of the best installments ever produced. On the same line, the “Rapture’s Delight” episode features some of the best out-of-the-box thinking I’ve seen in the series. It’s going to be hard for MacFarlane and his crew to best the “Tearjerker!” James Bond episode, but “Rapture’s Delight” comes close.
Where “Family Guy” relies on raunch and pushing the decency envelope, “American Dad!” continues to make targeted jokes and actually examine issues of the day in the most bizarre way.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Overall, I’ve got no problem with how “American Dad!” continues to roll. As long as Roger doesn’t grow up, find depth and become a better character, I’ll be a happy camper.
DVD FEATURES
This three-disc set includes commentary on select episodes (including my favorites, “Rapture’s Delight” and “The Great Space Roaster”). There’s also several episodes presented with uncensored audio and video (so brace yourself to see plenty of Stan Smith).
Additional features include deleted scenes from all the episodes, a making-of featurette on “Rapture’s Delight,” the original “Rapture’s Delight” broadcast script and a completely bad-taste featurette about the animals featured on the show entitled “American Dad Honors Its Four-Legged Friends.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of Seth MacFarlane’s animation block.