The layered genius of American Dad

The Smith Family

When American Dad debuted in early 2005, few would have begrudged viewers for pointing out the similarities between the show and Seth MacFarlane’s original smash hit, Family Guy. Art style and production details aside, there are many aspects of the show that mirror that of its predecessor. In fact, many of the criticisms levelled at American Dad are that it is too familiar and borrows too much from Family Guy – an unfair accusation, though perhaps understandable given the visual resemblance.

The first discussion I ever engaged in regarding American Dad was underlined with negative feeling. It was a lazy follow up at Family Guy; there didn't appear to be much new in its style and the make-up of its characters. Almost as if MacFarlane and his producers had taken a cookie-cutter approach to the show, with subtle amendments to the characters and settings in order achieve enough differentiation to justify a new programme.

Character depth

For those of you not familiar with American Dad, the show centres on the lives of the Smith Family. Living in Langley Falls, Virginia, the main protagonist of the show is Stan Smith, the ultra-conservative father who works for the CIA; he is married to his stay-at-home wife Francine. The couple have two children; college student Hayley and high-schooler son, Steve. They are also joined in the household by Klaus – a former East German ski-jumper, now trapped inside the body of a goldfish and Roger, a flamboyant and sociopathic alien, for whom Stan is indebted to for saving his life in Area 51.

That all sounds about right for a Seth MacFarlane production, though don’t let such a far-fetched and incomprehensible ensemble put you off from enjoying this satirical masterpiece. Even if you are an ardent Family Guy fan, this article will seek to explain how the layered nature of American Dad episodes elevates it above the quality of Quahog’s finest and arguably distinguishes it itself as the best animated comedy currently on the market.

Steve and Roger

   

              

As a side by side comparison, there are a handful of features that separate the two shows and this piece will seek to explain why the distinguishing features of American Dad make it the superior show and something of a hidden gem in the currently over-saturated television market.

The key difference between how the two shows are written is the lack of ‘cut-away’ segments in American Dad. Family Guy has become synonymous with such a technique, even to the point of in-show parody. What started as a unique method for incorporating clever jokes and sketches has resulted in fanciful scenarios entirely unrelated to each episode’s narrative. It also dilutes the quality of character depth in each episode, allowing the show’s writers to neglect the need to use them as vehicles for the storyline’s, instead relying on them as crutches to awkwardly limp from one joke to the next. It is no surprise that the more recent Family Guy seasons have utilised more non-chronological, parody episodes, in lieu of building upon the established history of the characters and their backgrounds. This analysis may seem too deep for a series that is intentionally broad and accessible, but it does begin to grate on the viewer after extended watch.

Where American Dad succeeds in this instance is in doing away with the cut-away formulae, instead relying on a more natural story flow, with stronger links between episodes. It is still of course highly comedic in nature and thus not dependent on flawless logic, but it does allow an enhanced development of characters and a greater emotional investment for the viewer. It is not widely different from Family Guy of course and the flow of each episode is nearly identical, but this small change does make a huge difference in terms of enjoyment.

Another 'novelty' episode

Perhaps the most important aspect of American Dad in setting it apart from not only Family Guy, but any of its competitors in animated comedy is its layered structure. The capacity to re watch episodes is far greater than anything else currently on the market; certainly above Family Guy and although it may not match the zenith of early seasons of The Simpsons, it is still vastly superior to anything that has been produced in the last decade from Springfield.

Part of this is due to the importance of each character. Whilst – like many other shows – there is a hierarchy of characters, the gaps between each are far smaller than the show’s competitors; an episode which focuses primarily on Steve carries similar weight to that of one which focuses on Stan or Roger. This, in contrast to Family Guy, where a ‘Meg’ episode can feel very much diluted. This adds to the excellent layered structure of the show. A Hayley/Jeff or Klaus episode can be very entertaining, but it will still include snippets and sketches focused on Roger, Francine etc.

On top of this, we also have one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time; Roger Smith; a narcissistic alien who adopts a variety of different personas over the course of each season. This has led to some of the show’s greatest episodes. ‘The One That Got Away’ sees Roger as Sidney Huffman, a polite and humble bible salesman, who is planning to propose to his long-term girlfriend, Judy. Initially, Roger is not even aware of Sidney’s existence in his subconscious, with the battle between the two ‘characters’ creating a fantastic episode, brimming with humour and depth.

Sidney Huffman

Ironically, American Dad’s greatest obstacle is Family Guy itself. Without it, it would be enjoying the same success as its predecessor, perhaps even more. It’s a similar situation to that of The Simpsons and Futurama; one could argue that if Futurama had been the original show, it would have eclipsed the success of The Simpsons.

American Dad is by far the better written show. Its character depth and strength throughout the show ‘roster’ allows for a greater variety of issues without sacrificing the quality of the episode, or rendering historical elements of the series redundant. The genius writing of Roger and the shrewd decision to incorporate his multi-faceted character set has allowed both the character and the show as a whole to be fleshed out. It has also contributed to giving the series a new lease of life, allowing for a slightly more mature and ‘dark’ approach in the last three to four seasons. This is in stark contrast to Family Guy, which has become reliant on novelty episodes and parody, which is running dry very quickly. Seth MacFarlane and his colleagues may well find success in dropping the Quahog series altogether and focusing efforts on its rapidly improving alternate.