“Take
a trip down to the Metropolitan
area of Washington DC’s Langley Falls
to join Number One Dad and CIA Agent
Stan Smith and his crazy dysfunctional
family as they return for American Dad:
Volume 3 — out now on DVD...” IN AMERICAN DAD: VOLUME 3, the antics of the Smiths continue
as they get entangled in increasingly ridiculous but amazingly-funny situations.
The family — Stan (Seth MacFarlane), his trophy wife Francine (Wendy
Schaal), pre-teen son Steve (Scott Grimes) and ultra-liberal daughter Hayley
(Rachael MacFarlane) — has adopted Roger (Seth again), the alcoholic
Extra Terrestrial rescued from Area 51. Roger has a fixation with Dolly Parton
and a belief that Osama bin Laden is posing as a man called Bill and working
at MacMillan & Sachs. The family is completed by the cute Klaus (Dee Bradley
Baker), the German-speaking goldfish.
Stan (Seth MacFarlane) is a staunch patriot who works for the CIA and will stop
at nothing to fight for what he thinks is right for his country and his eccentric
family. Always on the alert for terrorist activity, this proud family man and
undisputed 'Weapons Expert' will go to extremes to protect people — but
often while keeping the homeland secure he is alienating his family and terrorizing
the neighbours in the process. Stan will do whatever it takes to ensure domestic
tranquillity and make the world safe for democracy — of the ultra-right-wing
variety!
The hilarious series from Family Guy-creator Seth MacFarlane, American
Dad has episode after episode of fun — in Bush Comes to Dinner,
Stan's hero, President Bush, arrives. When Hayley tries to grill him over the
Iraq war, Stan has his own rather startling way of dealing with her. Great one-liners
include Bush going into the bathroom: "Oh, there's already a guy in here. Oh,
it's a mirror." The President ends up getting drunk but he also manages to heal
the rift between father and daughter. Until the next time…
In another episode, Stan is disillusioned with his job and begins to manufacture
special teddy bears with the help of a number of Mexicans who are illegal aliens.
When somebody tips off the INS, the informant is too close to home for comfort.
Then son Steve is usurped as the frontman for his band when Roger takes over,
so Steve forms his own band using the Mexicans with interesting results. And
Stan is caught out on his double standards.
So how did daughter Hayley get out of the padlocked basement? All we know is,
it involved training rats! And Roger's answer to his feelings of rejection?
"Guess I'll just go out and get hammered!"
Taking inspiration from a number of films, musicals and television series, American
Dad includes some brilliant spoof scenes from the likes of Raiders Of
The Lost Ark, The Magnificent Seven, Alias and ET.
The family gets involved in a number of, um, rather interesting adventures:
"I can't believe there's lava under Washington DC," says Steve as he and his
father explore an underground labyrinth. Stan explains: "That's where all the
hot air comes from!"
Guest appearances in voice mode on American Dad include Iggy Pop, Peter
Graves and Elliott Gould; and in animated mode, former US President Jimmy Carter
and former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. There are also the odd digs
about well-known people, especially former PM Tony Blair.
One of the funniest episodes is when Stan's boss Bullock (the always-magnificent
Patrick Stewart) announces a Global Thermo Nuclear Attack Drill and Stan believes
it has really happened. He takes his family into the mountains where they meet
an amorous mountain man and grizzly bears. Meanwhile, Roger has got himself
into hot water and has proposed marriage — ending up with cold feet. This
episode was dedicated to the memory of 17-year-old Taylor Hall, who was killed
in a motoring accident on 11 September, 2006.
Another American Dad gem is when Stan becomes jealous because Francine
had lots of lovers — check out the rose garden! — before they met
and he had none. Their decision to divorce just so that Stan can find someone
to have sex with and not break his wedding vows has an unforeseen hitch —
Stan marries again!
American Dad is another series that — along with the series from
the same stable, Family Guy — has some unnecessary toilet humour.
We found that got a bit boring after a while but I guess the Yank fans are amused
by it [I'd be interested to know if this is true — Ed]. There are so many
funny moments that the bottom line is that it would benefit from a 'snip' in
this direction.
• The 3-disc DVD box set of American Dad
(Volume 3) arrives on 12 May (2008) from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
at a RRP of £29.99. Run time: 401 mins | Certificate: 12 TBC | Format: 3 Discs
— 18 episodes.
Disc 1 episodes: Bush Comes to Dinner | American Dream Factory | A.T. The
Abusive Terrestrial | Black Mystery Month | An Apocalypse to Remember | Four
Little Words | When A Stan Loves a Woman | I Can't Stan You. Audio commentary
for each episode.
Disc 2 episodes: The Magnificent Steven | Joint Custody | The Vacation Goo
| Meter Made | Dope and Faith | Big Trouble In Little Langley | Haylias | The
42-Year-Old Virgin. Audio commentary for each episode.
Disc 3 episodes: Surro-Gate | Franny 911. Audio commentary for each episode.
DVD Special Feature: Episode Commentary | Table reading | Deleted Scenes.
American Dad was Created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman,
written by Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman and Directed by Mike Kim.
“Take
a trip down to the Metropolitan