American Dad: All About Steve (Not funny?)

tvsquad.com ^ | Sep 26, 2005 | Ryan j Budke

[VU4G10]

When The Simpsons and Family Guy become repetitive, it's ok, because, well, they've earned it. They make continuity flubs, and that's ok too. American Dad hasn't earned that yet, so when they've got an episode devoted to Stan and his son Steve finding common ground a week after they had one, it doesn't sit well. When Stan references the pleasures of porn twice in one episode a week after they spent an episode singing the evils of it, that feels a little off too. American Dad has a lot of potential, but it is certainly not living up to much of it. On with the show.

The episode starts off with a hilarious Family Guy reference when Stan is chosen to debrief the deputy director about a new cyberterrorist's activites over all the other agents and yells "Face!" at all of them. Ha, that made me laugh out loud. The cyberterrorist has been hacking into prominent computer systems and leaving messages in an undecipherable language, but before any more can be said on it, the meeting is called short for the father-son softball game practice. Stan, worried that Steve will embarass him at the game tries to "man him up" a little at a batting cage, but Steve is the only one that gets batted around. Steve and his friends however do have hobbies, the typical nerdish variety, and are looking forward to that weekend's SciFiCon.

Stan in another attempt to rescue Steve from himself takes Steve and all of his friends to the Yankees Orioles baseball game. Stan even pulled some strings and got the boys in the locker room to meet Derek Jeter, but to Stan's horror the gaggle of geeks strip down and reveal their hidden Star Trek uniforms. When Derek Jeter points out that Steve is a geek, Stan has a meltdown and runs through the streets to his home while a collage of Steve memories haunt him. By the way, I've got a shiny Marvel No-Prize® for the first person that can name the song that was playing when he was running.

Stan tricks Steve out of going to the Father-Son game but is caught and confronted by Steve and Francine that night when he comes home. Stress induced zits and braces for his grinding teeth start to give Stan a taste of what it's like to be a geek at work as all the other agents treat him like an outcast. Stan goes to confide in Steve who wants nothing to do with him, instead Steve curses Stan with a card from the role playing game that him and his friends are playing. Stan notices that the writing on the card is the same as that from the cyberterrorist's messages and quickly puts the boys to work on deciphering the messages. They learn that they're all coming from one of the main speakers down at the SciFiCon. Everyone heads down and they confront the terrorist and Steve's quick thinking saves the day.

I know there's funny to be had here, and I'm just not sure if I'm not getting it, but I can only take the same crap week after week. I can only take Roger trying to fit in so many times before I have to change the channel. This show is only really about halfway through it's first season and i'm already tired. Again, this show could be good, and has some funny funny moments, but it better discover some new plotlines quick, because these won't be funny 5 more times around the block.
 

[Andy00]

American Dad strikes me as liberals pretending to be conservatives, and not really pretending that hard.

So I really don't have a lot invested in it.

[Bombardier]

American Dad is one of the most stultifyingly dull shows on television. Stan Smith is possibly the lamest character on TV, and Seth MacFarlane's view of conservatives as paranoid idiots is insulting and crass. You can rest assured, though, that Fox will keep this crap on because they think it'll grow into a cult hit like Futurama or Family Guy, but it likely won't, because it is poorly written and, frankly, dull. Mainstream success won't come, like it did for The Simpsons for the same reasons.

Basically, American Dad is a product for which there is no market.....an answer to a question nobody asked.....a waste of air time.

[OldSmaj]

Usually, on these threads that are of this nature, i.e., absolutely idiotic, I just stay away from them, rather than posting something such as "who cares", or whats an "American Dad", you know the usual...and so no one comes in and makes a smartass remark about posting on a thread on which one cares nothing about...

But...

Fer cryin' out loud, IT'S A DAMN CARTOON!

The characters, unlike a real TV show, are incapable of independent thought.

Their views and outlook on life is only that which the scriptwriter and animator places in them.

This is even more absurdly insane than the hero-worship some show the dizzy, so-called celebrities such as Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon and that commie POS Asner, or whatever the hell his name is.

Even acknowledging that one is so totally bored with life that one must seek the outlet that an actor or actress or some silly-ass screaming, obscenity spouting so-called comedian provides is lame enough, now we got idiots actually attempting to analyze the thought processes and intent of CARTOON CHARACTERS.

Words fail me.

[SittinYonder]

Seth MacFarlane's view of conservatives as paranoid idiots is insulting and crass

I watched it once and this was my conclusion, too.

[Moral Hazard]

"When Stan references the pleasures of porn twice in one episode a week after they spent an episode singing the evils of it, that feels a little off too."

Continuity errors in Seth MacFarlane show? What a shock! </sarcasm>

[Imnotalib]

I have to wonder who watches these cartoons made for grownups. Fritz the Cat (the first, I believe) stunk, and I can't believe anybody besides Beavis and Butthead types watch the current listing. but then I don't understand why anyone would watch all these asinine "reality" shows either.
Shrek and The Incredibles, on the other hand, weren't specifically made for adults, and they're hilarious for children and adults both!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Never heard of it, nor do I care.

[T.Smith]

That show is pretty funny. Last week he had a joke about the director of Paris Hilton's new movie looking for somebody to eff her brains back in. I died laughing.

South Park was hilarious this week because they had Paris Hilton opening up a boutique called "Stupid Spoiled Whore". That was also funny.

(Like how I took your post and segued into a cartoon comment, thus making your comment apropos of the thread?)

[T.Smith]

Oh yeah, and American Dad is one of the crappiest shows on TV. It's Seth McFarlane trying to rip himself off.