|
The Main Characters
This series showcases the Smith family. Stan is the main character. He is the head of the household and is a CIA secret agent and staunch Republican. He is a real man’s man. His wife is Francine, a stay-at-home mom with more than a few psychological issues. They have two children, Hayley, a girl who goes against everything her father stands for, and Steve, a nerdy boy in the most awkward stage of his life. The family is rounded out with Roger, an alien with an appetite for wine and afternoon television, and Klaus, a fish that has in it the brain of a German man.
The Setting
Langley Falls, USA.
The Episodes
---Disc One---
1) American Dad (Pilot) (21:51)
Original Airdate: 02/06/05
This is the pilot that aired the day after my birthday. We are introduced to the main characters right away. Stan is the father who works for the CIA and extremely political, Hayley his daughter is a rather brash teen who is against everything her father stands for and is a left-wing liberal, Steve is his rather nerdy son, Francine is the stay at home mom, Klaus is a fish with the brain of a Nazi German and Roger is an alien with some eccentric tastes. In this episode, Steve wants to ask out the hottest girl in school but is soundly rejected. He sees a man with a dog get a date and he’s convinced if he had a dog he’d get chicks, too. So Stan gets him a dog, a near-death 19-year-old. Of course, Stan accidentally kills him that night. When Stan learns that the reason Steve wanted a dog was to get girls, Stan tries to teach him how to be a ladies man. That doesn’t work so he will instead rig Steve’s school election so Steve can win! Steve wins but gets drunk with power and Stan needs to infiltrate the school to stop him. There was also a subplot of Roger being put on a diet and getting candy from Hayley in return for him writing papers for her. Overall, it was a decent pilot. It wasn’t as funny as the Family Guy debut episode but it gave you a good look at the characters and what the show would be about. Some character traits would be forgotten as the season wore on (Roger excreting something every 7 hours and making a mess of it and Klaus lusting over Francine). I’d say this was a below-par pilot though and if I had seen it and not been a fan of Seth’s stuff, I probably wouldn’t have stuck around. Watching it now, even 1 year and a half later, there were some dated Bush references. C-.
2) Threat Levels (21:53)
Original Airdate: 05/01/05
This would be the start of the season for American Dad. The Pilot was shown months before and here is where weekly episodes would start. The threat level would be lowered and the CIA would be given a half-day. Stan brings home his thermos but is shocked when it’s not his soup but a biological hazardous material. Their house is quarantined and everyone has only 24 hours to live. Hayley was not home and goes home to say her goodbyes in a safe white suit until Steve infects her. Roger can’t wait since when they die the house will be his! What do they do with their last 24 hours? They watch the first season of 24 on DVD. Luckily, they don’t die. Francine feels unfulfilled though. She wants a job. Stan lets her have a job and helps her become a real estate agent! Stan regrets getting her a job when she starts making more than him, and then when his co-worker shows them his penis disappeared after his wife started working, he is determined to get her to quit. There’s a funny scene when he joins his neighbors in their spa. Of course, he doesn’t know that both of them are gay. Steve needs money for a game station and has a plan to record women getting topless but soon change their plan and record homeless people to massive profits. Stan soon joins in (and takes over) the bum fights to get more money. Hayley decides to take it to her dad and unionizes the bums. They then hire a method actor to fight Stan and he gets pummeled, but Steve and Hayley make a killing in betting on their dad. The show ends with Stan working and Francine losing her job due to rate hikes. This was a lot better than the first episode as they had a few months to see what they really wanted to do with the characters. There were some funny moments as well. It was a lot better than the pilot and much more enjoyable. B.
3) Stan Knows Best
Original Airdate: 05/08/05
Hayley misses the family party after going to the green party and dying her hair green. Stan decides to cut her hair off while she sleeps so it won’t be green anymore. Hayley gets a wig then goes out with her boyfriend, Jeff. Stan then forbids her from dating Jeff so Hayley moves in with Jeff. Little did Hayley know that Jeff lives in his van. Stan cuts off Hayley financially so Hayley needs a job. She becomes a stripper and Stan is horrified when he is at the strip club and sees Hayley dancing! Stan fights back to stop Hayley from stripping. Steve, meanwhile, is trying hard to go to the dance and “get boob.” He knows someone who gets chicks due to the sympathy factor and so Steve has a plan. He tells people that Roger is his sister who has been horribly disfigured by burns. The plan doesn’t work of course when Roger takes the spotlight. Stan decides to change his tune due to Francine and support their daughter by giving her money as she strips. She stops stripping and Stan gives her a bit more freedom. Another decent episode to start the season as the characters are getting more fleshed out. The show continues to grow though just falls short of being really good. B-.
4) Francine’s Flashback (21:53)
Original Airdate: 05/15/05
Stan forgets his anniversary and instead goes on a CIA fishing trip where we meet for the first time his boss, played by Patrick Stewart. Of course, last year he forgot as well and was beaten by Francine so badly it was on COPS. So he finally remembers but Francine is way too pissed to hear about it. So Stan brings Francine to have the last 20 hours of her memory removed, but instead a technician goofs up and the last 20 years of Francine’s memory are erased. The procedure is irreversible as well. So Francine thinks its 1985 and Stan decides that they better let her think its 1985. Stan puts her in the old apartment with Hayley and Stan now needs to try and bring back Francine’s memory. Most of the episode is spent with Stan trying and failing. There is also a subplot of Steve scoring a hot date but only if Steve can find a guy to date her hideous friend. No man will do it, and his only choice is Roger. It fails of course and the payoff to both storylines was very well done. Overall, it was a very good episode featuring the best jokes and sight gags of the first 4 episodes and in my opinion really cemented American Dad as a separate entity from Family Guy. The best episode so far of Season 1. A.
---Disc Two---
5) Roger Codger (21:53)
Original Airdate: 06/05/05
Stan gets stressed out at work when he is bested by his co-worker. So Francine suggests they invite his boss on over. Deputee Director Bullock comes over and enjoys his ass-kissing. Roger manages to ruin everything when he excretes his green goo and Bullock sees Stan covered in it. Stan gives Roger the riot act about his interference and Roger ends up dying. Stan needs to dispose of his body so the government doesn’t find him. He throws him out in a fast-food joint and leaves. Of course, Roger wakes up in a dump determined to get home. On the way home, he gets picked up by a bus headed to a retirement home in Washington DC. They ended up in the White House and CIA analysts discover it’s the alien that escaped from Area 51 four years ago, the one that Stan Smith saved and was harboring for years. Stan decides to kill Roger so the CIA won’t know he was the one keeping him. Stan can’t bring himself to kill Roger so he finds away to give the CIA an alien (an old racist woman) and keep Roger. This episode was good for some insight on the Roger character but wasn’t terribly funny or entertaining. C.
6) Homeland Insecurity (21:53)
Original Airdate: 06/12/05
Francine feels that she has lost touch with all her neighborhood friends since Stan requests background checks for all friends. Stan relents and allows Francine to throw a block party but a wrench is thrown in the plans when Stan realizes his new neighbors are Iranian. He of course suspects they are terrorists and ruins the block party by calling them terrorists and causing the neighbors to run off. He then keeps the Iranian neighbors prisoner in his backyard. Francine and Hayley make a party out of it as a theme party. When Stan realizes the Memari’s aren’t terrorists he admits he was wrong. There was a funny running bit of Roger trying to find if he has any super-powers leading to an ET like bike ride and a dastardly murder. This episode was full of things that shouldn’t be said on TV but American Dad went over the line. It was a very funny episode all things considered and a lot better than what has come before. B+.
7) Deacon Stan, Jesus Man (21:52)
Original Airdate: 06/19/05
Stan has a little feud going with Chuck White, his neighbor. Chuck always seems to beat him or one-up in everything and that is killing Stan. When the deacon at church dies (choking on communion) Stan wants to win and decides to bring Potato Salad to the potluck. Roger eats it all and has to make his own, but there is no mayonnaise! Roger is also going through his alien reproductive system where he discharges a white substance. The potato salad is a hit but the Smiths are disgusted when they find its Roger’s breast milk. Stan even hires a campaign manager, a mysterious, shady character named Karl Rove. He tells him to make the potato salad no matter what the ingredient. This causes Stan to overwork Roger and set him up in a torture like device to pump the juice. The device fails and Steve performs CPR, but Roger accidentally impregnates him with his seed. Stan, becoming a deacon, wants no one to know about this and brings Steve to Mexico to get an abortion. Stan finally decides not to go through with it and they head home. Steve meets up with the White’s daughter, a gymnast and kisses her, and passes the seed to her. Stan also gives up the deaconship saying he’s been possessed by the devil. Probably one of my favorite episodes of the first half of the season that really delivered on the laughs and good Stanisms (about Mexico especially). A.
8) Bullocks To Stan (21:53)
Original Airdate: 09/11/05
This originally aired on the 4-year anniversary of the terrorist attack on 9/11. This also featured the short opening for the first time, with just the flag showing American Dad. Anyway, Stan is up for a promotion after one of the other agents has inoperable cancer. He kisses up to his boss, Bullock, in order to get the job. Hayley, on a different note, breaks up with her boyfriend. Stan is worried that Hayley will ruin his chances for the promotion when they attend the CIA Fair. Stan had a reason to worry, as Hayley has some unkind words towards Bullock and the CIA in general. Stan thinks his hopes are dashed until he finds out that Bullock and Hayley are sleeping with each other! This leads to Stan being torn between getting his promotion or stop Hayley from sleeping with his boss! This also leads to one of the all-time greatest lines ever when Bullock comes down from Hayley’s room, opens up the refrigerator and says, “Do you have any Gatorade, I’m afraid I left all my electrolytes in your daughter.” Stan does what a good parent does, convinces Hayley’s ex-boyfriend to get back with her and Hayley breaks up with Bullock right before Bullock announces Stan’s promotion. This leads to Bullock trying to kill Hayley’s old ex and current boyfriend, Jeff and a bloody battle between Bullock and Stan. This is definitely the best episode of season 1 as Hayley gets a chance to shine and Patrick Stewart is heavily featured for the first time. There is also a very funny sub plot of Steve finding Dick Cheney’s cell phone and Roger and Steve pranking people on his speed dial and another one of Klaus narrating scenes like they do on the DVD commentaries. A+.
---Disc Three---
9) A Smith In The Hand (21:54)
Original Airdate: 09/18/05
Stan is horrified that Steve has to take a sex ed class at school. He goes to the principal and demands he teach a morally upstanding sex-ed class, and his only student is Steve. Steve ends up asking his father about self-gratification so Stan shows him an old black and white (and hilarious video) showing the evils of masturbation, like his eyes melting out of his and his hairy palms. Stan shows him how to resist the urges, by having a hobby. His latest hobby is etching words into a red-hot poker and when he has Steve try, the red-hot poker ends up searing Stan’s manhood. He has to treat it with a burn treatment and by rubbing it on he self-gratifies himself, and he becomes addicted to it! It leads to some funny scenes where Stan tries to hide it from his wife and kids, even going to motels to do it. Francine even suffers when Stan starts disregarding his manly duties and Steve feels that his dad is ignoring him due to the injury. Things go downhill for Stan when Steve catches Stan playing with himself. Stan blames it all on TV and goes to the Capitol to complain and they allow Stan to have complete control over programming at home. Francine finally puts some sense into him. This was another winner for American Dad as this episode was funny for many reasons, especially Stan’s masturbation and even the subplot of Roger getting his bartender license made sense in this episode. A.
10) All About Steve (21:54)
Original Airdate: 09/25/05
There is a cyber-terrorist jeopardizing the US and he is sending faxes to the CIA in a language none of the agents had ever seen. Stan, meanwhile, is not pleased that Steve isn’t the athlete he wants him to be and is instead a super geek. When Stan finally comes to the realization that Steve is a geek, he overreacts and starts breaking out into a stress rash. Who can he bring to the father-son softball game? He lies to Steve telling him the game as rained out and brings a ringer-son (named Darnelle) to the game. When Steve finds out, he is horrified, Francine is mad, and Stan keeps grinding his teeth and chips one! The dentist informs him that he needs braces. Stan becomes a geek again with braces and his face breaking out. He is even ditched by his CIA buds in the same way he ditched Steve. He goes to apologize to Steve and finds that the cards he plays with (a Magic type game) is written in the language the cyber-terrorist uses (its elfish)! He gets Steve to translate and they find out who is behind it, and he will be at the sci-fi convention tonight! Stan and Steve and his friends go the con to find the man behind the messages. Hayley, who has been trying to find ways to have Roger out in public and gets the idea to bring him to the Sci-Fi Convention! Roger, when he’s there, meets a man who abducted him. This leads to a big fight at the convention where Stan beats up some nerds and with Steve’s help they are able to take out the cyber-terrorist. Another very good episode for Seth and company as they finally found their groove, finding what makes each character funny. The sci-fi stuff rocked and made this an easy winner. A.
11) Con Heir (21:53)
Original Airdate: 10/02/05
Stan is in a rut at his job, all the exciting adventures are going to the young guys. Things get even worse when Stan’s father dies. At the funeral, a man shows up saying he’s Stan’s father, super-spy Jack Smith. Stan hasn’t seen him for over 20 years and for the last two decades, he’s had a pretend dad. Jack reveals to Stan that he is retiring and he wants Stan to take his place in the Scarlet Alliance, and he needs Stan’s help for one last mission. The FBI knocks on Francine’s door saying they are looking for a jewel thief who fits the description of Stan’s father! Francine then puts two and two together realizing that Jack isn’t really sending him on a mission but a jewel heist. Francine tries to get Jack to tell Stan but of course he lies to him and Stan believes his father. He locks Francine up believing that she is a spy. Of course, when his father backstabs Stan he realizes the truth. He captures his dad but lets him go since he is in fact his dad, then goes home and apologizes to Francine. Bit of a lackluster episode based on the previous four, though there were a few funny lines that made it enjoyable. B.
12) Stan of Arabia Part One (21:54)
Original Airdate: 11/06/05
American had a month off for the MLB playoffs and return for their season finale, with the short opening. This year it’s Stan’s responsibility to throw Bullock’s birthday party. He tells Francine to do it but she is involved in the Beauty and the Beast production, which premieres on the same day. Stan forbids here from going but she goes anyway, and Stan’s roast of Bullock goes horribly wrong. He gets thrown out, singing about how he wants a wife who will do everything for him. Stan is relieved the next day when he finds he is not fired, but he has been promoted! He and his family have to relocate to Saudi Arabia. Stan realizes it isn’t a promotion and wants his old job back and Roger freaks out when there is no liquor. Stan starts realizing that Saudi Arabia is different than America, mainly he can boss his wife around and they have to listen while Francine and Hayley hate the Saudi culture. There is no public singing either. Now Hayley and Francine want to leave while Stan wants to stay! While there, Stan gets another wife, Hayley starts going out with a local boy named Mahmood, and Roger is sold to a local’s harem by Steve. When Bullock calls Stan to get him back, he renounces his US citizenship, burns his passport and officially becomes Stan of Arabia! A very funny episode that sets up the next one well. B+.
13) Stan of Arabia Part Two (21:52)
Original Airdate: 11/13/05
Short opening again to allow for the previous episode’s recap. So, Roger is in someone’s carem, Hayley is saved by an anti-US man, Steve is stuck in the middle of nowhere and Stan is as happy as ever. Of course, when Francine finds out that Stan was offered his job back and he declined, she is pissed. She confronts him in street and sings about how she hates it, and even takes off her clothes to reveal her bra and panties! She is of course, arrested. Stan tries to go to the Embassy to get Francine out of prison but he can’t since he burned his passport! Steve hallucinates in the desert and meets God, who takes the form of Angelina Jolie. When he tells the locals he gets arrested as well! As it turns out, Francine and Steve are sentenced to stoning; Stan joins them, and Hayley’s there for beating up her ex-boyfriend. Luckily, Roger saves them by using his husband to call in a favor and save them! The Smiths arrive back in the US where Stan and family sing about what they don’t like about America. Really good season finale as the writers really found their groove for the second half of the first season. A-.
Season Review
Truth be told, the season got off to a rocky start. Perhaps living in the shadow of Family Guy affected the writers and they were trying too hard to be like Family Guy. The writers found their groove quickly though, and by the midway point the show was nothing short of fantastic. At times during Fox’ “Animation Domination,” American Dad was funnier and better written than Family Guy! The show is different than Family Guy so once you realize that it is a different show (even though both are from the mind of Seth MacFarlane) you will appreciate it and its humor for what it is. It takes a knock at current events and the dichotomy of Stan’s views and the rest of the real world provide most of the laughs and the supporting cast is vast and really have come into their own during the end of the season. The episode average was about a B+ but the first few episodes really brought it down. A great debut for America Dad.
DVD Features
A) Extras
---Disc One---
1) Audio Commentaries
---A) American Dad (Pilot)
Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman and Ron Hughart are on this commentary. This was written in October of 2003 and after Family Guy was cancelled. They mention some interesting tidbits like Klaus was originally French but changed to German. There aren’t too many cutaways to try to separate it from Family Guy. The Family Guy and American Dad writers work on the same floor but don’t really interact.
---B) Stan Knows Best
Rachel MacFarlane, Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Jeff Fischer, and Pam Cooke are on this commentary. Rachel is Seth’s sister and does the voice of Hayley. The rest of the commentators ask Rachel for childhood stories of Seth. They don’t talk too much and fall in the trap of watching the show and laughing at the jokes. It was a very dull commentary and Rachel never delivered on the Seth story.
---C) Francine’s Flashback
Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Caleb Meurer, Rick Wiener, and Kenny Schwartz are on this commentary. They call this episode 5, though it is fourth on the DVD. Again, this falls into the trap of the commentator’s watching the episode instead of talking which Seth actually points out. It was a rather dull commentary, and they mention that the commentary was taped at 11:10pm, which may explain why it’s so dull. But still, this is being released to the masses, at least talk about something interesting.
---Disc Two---
1) Audio Commentaries
---A) Roger Codger
Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Dan Vebber, Steve Hely, and Albert Calleros are on this commentary. They call this the fourth episode and the first appearance of Bullock but the previous episode would suggest otherwise. They talk about Patrick Stewart being in the episode and they talk about some of the jokes in this episode. The commentators again mention that they recorded this commentary at night and suggest doing it in the morning.
---B) Homeland Insecurity
Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Rodney Clouden, and David Zuckerman are on this commentary. They talk about a lot of things on the show but the most interesting thing to note is that the mini-sketch that was “To Be Continued” is actually going to be continued at some point.
---C) Deacon Stan, Jesus Man
Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Nahnatchka Khan, John Aoshima, and Chris McKenna are on this commentary. The group was very talkative and generally fun to listen to, though not too much in the way of information given. Still a lot of fun to listen to.
---D) Bullocks To Stan
Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Brent Woods, and David Zuckerman are on this commentary. Seth talks about Patrick Stewart being the best actor ever, and there is a discussion about Stan’s voice being influenced by Ted Knight. Pretty decent commentary actually, better than some of the other ones on this disc.
---Disc Three---
1) Audio Commentaries
---A) A Smith In The Hand
Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Dave Hemingson, Pam Cooke, and Nahnatchka Khan are on this commentary. They mention a bunch of funny things on the commentary, but one of the most interesting was that this was supposed to premiere on 9/11/05 but the network decided against it since there was a picture of Osama Bin Laden in it. They were very lively in the booth and even mention Officer Pena (the dude at the very end of the credits who waves every episode).
---B) All About Steve
Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Chris McKenna, Mike McKenna, and Mark Douglas are on this commentary. This is the second time they are recording the commentary since last week when they recorded it, they were drunk. From the sounds of this commentary, they still sound drunk. The McKenna brothers were pretty funny on this. A lot of fun to listen to.
---C) Con Heir
Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Steve Hely, David Zuckerman and Albert Calleros are on this commentary. They had a lot to say, but none of it being that important. A good commentary to listen to though.
---D) Stan Of Arabia Part One
Mike Barber, Matt Weitzman, Nahnatchka Khan, Rodney Clouden, and Matt Fusfeld are on this commentary. Nahnatchka was a lot of fun to listen to, as are the rest, but nothing too groundbreaking.
---E) Stan Of Arabia Part Two
Mike Barber, Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, and Anthony Lioi are on this commentary, though it doesn’t sound like these people. It sounds like the McKenna brothers since they talk about their writing on How I Met Your Mother. These guys are a lot of fun to listen to and an enjoyable end to the commentaries.
2) All In the Family: Creating American Dad (20:33)
This is the story behind American Dad as told by the creators and cast. Seth created it after Family Guy was cancelled and the first two characters created were Stan and Hayley. All the others came after that. It is more current than Family Guy and the jokes on the paper are written at the last minute to be as current as possible. Rachel talks about growing up with Seth and taking things they went through and taking it to the next level. She thinks of it as a more realistic comedy than other shows. They also go through all the main characters on the show with all the cast members talking about them. Seth calls Stan a post-9/11 character. He also refers to him as the host of a 1950’s propaganda film. He calls it a taxing voice to do as well. Rachel did Hayley in the animatic and they got another actor for the pilot and the studio asked to have the girl from the animatic again! Paul Lind, the original center square in Hollywood Squares, influences Rogers voice. Very good look at American Dad and its characters and cast.
3) How’s Your Aspen? American Dad performance at HBO’s 2005 US Comedy Arts Festival (25:46)
This is a table-read as performed by the cast at HBO’s US Comedy Arts Festival. Seth says it’s like what they do at work, just with a few more beers in them. They’re doing the read for “A Smith in The Hand.” It’s not a real table read as they show the episode side by side with the cast reading the lines. It’s really watching the show with a few side by sides of the cast reading the lines. The beginning was neat but it was really just the animation with few scenes of the cast reading the script.
4) Secrets of the Glass Booth (5:31)
Originally other people were cast for Stan, but Seth was clearly the best suited for him, though we see the clip of Seth saying it takes a lot out of him. Not too much going on here.
5) American Animatics! (14:12)
This is 14 minutes of animatics. They show two screens, the actual show and the animatic. Sometimes they throw in the video of the voice actor recording the dialogue. They show the animatic of the Stan / Bullock fight which was pretty cool. They show the two singing numbers from Stan of Arabia, too.
6) Episode 2 “Threat Levels” Table Read / Animatic Comparison (39:28)
There are three different audio streams here, one for the table read, one for the animatic and one for the final episode. Very interesting as they usually show three different screens, one for the table read, one for the animatic and one for the table read. They read the whole thing, even scenes that were deleted (but are shown in animatic form). This was actually very cool and they should have this on every animated series just to show the differences between when it’s read at the table, then the animatic and then the final product itself. Very cool.
7) Deleted Scenes (17:35)
Yeah, as you can see below, there are tons of deleted scenes here.
---A) Pee in All Your Plants (:09)
Roger says he will pee in Francine’s plants if he doesn’t find the food he wants.
---B) Penis Head (:32)
Stan says his nickname in High School was penis head, and when he thinks about it, the name was probably derogatory.
---C) Airport Screening (:19)
The threat level was lowered and an Arab man being frisked at an airport is now tickled.
---D) I Can’t Help Myself (:21)
Klaus eats a lot when he knows he shouldn’t.
---E) Manscaping (:10)
The two anchors comments are different after Stan stands up in the hot tub. They say he has good manscaping.
---F) What About Paul Andrews? (:24)
Paul Andrews, the only man Stan Smith left behind.
---G) The Ferris Wheel (:22)
Stan puts a Ferris Wheel in his backyard after Hayley moves out.
---H) Unexpected First Menstruation (:18)
Roger makes a comment being at the mall of the smell of first menstruation, and then a girl runs out of the bathroom saying she’s dying.
---I) Partying Grandma (:30)
There’s a grandma partying at Francine’s house during her flashback.
---J) You Look Like A Fish (:14)
A girl who is high tells Klaus he looks like a fish.
---K) I’ll Tell You What I’ve Seen (:38)
Stan sees a strange man in a fly outfit with wings.
---L) What’s The Thread Count on These? (:10)
Stan asks someone at Bed, Bath and that its the thread count on a linen.
---M) Klaus Washes Panties (:33)
Klaus is washing panties alone after Steve leaves with Francine.
---N) I’m AAA, Does That Get Me Anything? (:10)
Stan tries to get into a function asking if being in AAA gets him a discount.
---O) Out of this World (:29)
Stan’s catching alien skills is “out of this world.” Bullock just walks away.
---P) Class Clown (:37)
This is Stan’s funny reaction after meeting the Amari’s. This leads to a clip of Saddam Hussein being class clown at school.
---Q) We’d Call Him The Messiah (:34)
This was another way of showing Steve that the troop he joined scout’s leader is dead.
---R) Avon Clitoris Walk (:12)
Hayley talking to Mrs. Amari.
---S) Tuttle’s Ostrich Burgers (:41)
Still at the party, one of the men tries to shill his ostrich burger on Stan and Mr. Amari.
---T) Tuttle’s Hot Sauce (:13)
After Stan calls out the Amari’s, the dude from the previous sketch comes back with hot sauce.
---U) Morris Code (:43)
Steve and his Ranger buddies wreak havoc rolling wheels at cars. Stan drives by and Steve bats his eyes in Morse code to leave but Stan doesn’t get it.
---V) You’re Not A Hummingbird (:14)
Stan looks for the terrorist mastermind when someone touches his hummingbird feeder.
---W) Steve Goes to CPR Class (:23)
This is Steve at CPR class when Stan tries to become deacon. Steve passes out looking at how limber the gymnast is.
---X) Mexican Doctor Soap Opera (:24)
This is when Stan and Steve go to Mexico and a the doctor and nurse do a little Mexican soap opera.
---Y) Pregnant Aerobics (:18)
Steve does pregnant aerobics to some weird video.
---Z) I’m Taking The Stairs (:32)
Stan’s CIA friends bust his chops about Bullock going out with Hayley.
---a) The World Has Descended into Utter Chaos (:24)
Stan is promoted and all of a sudden the world erupts into utter chaos.
---b) Take A Tip from Pee Wee Reese (:16)
This is right after the boy who masturbates loses his eyes and Pee Wee Reese says the only bag they should touch is the one on the baseball field.
---c) Stan Swallows the Ointment (:20)
Stan originally eats the burn ointment before rubbing it on himself.
---d) Stan Talks to Timmy In The Closet (:35)
Stan talks to Timmy (the eyeless boy) in the closet, after Francine almost catches him. He tells Stan its alright.
---e) The Ass of Evil (:21)
Stan talking about the ass of evil and then the asses of evil’s cute dog.
---f) Bill Nye Kills Carl Sagan (:33)
This shows Bill Nye killing Carl Sagan, showing two nerdy people fighting.
---g) The Costume Contest (1:02)
This is the costume contest at the convention Stan and Steve go to. Roger, drunk, takes control of the mic telling people to be themselves. Someone tells him that his costume sucks.
---h) That’s My Bone (:22)
Steve fondles the old woman, touching a bone near her breasts.
---i) A Perk of My Position (:59)
Bullock says that a perk of his position is to no longer clap sarcastically.
---j) As They Say in My Country… (:30)
Stan brags to Francine about being in Saudi Arabia. This is an extended scene where Francine snaps more.
---k) The Nose Knows (:19)
Roger says something about the nose knowing before going out, saying his wit has dried up without wine.
---l) All My Cool New Saudi Friends (:08)
Stan says Francine embarrassed him in front of all his new Saudi friends.
---m) I Miss Francine (:43)
This is Stan talking to his other wife saying he misses Francine. He decides to try and rescue her.
---n) Eat Flag Freedom Hater (:32)
This is Bush landing to save the Smiths, throwing a flag spear at someone, then what looks like a Cuban flag unfurling.
---o) Stan and Francine Try To Kiss (:10)
Stan and Francine try to kiss while having their heads buried in the sand.
---p) Free to Throw (:14)
Stan’s second wife throws a stone at Francine even though they were free to go. The other wife thought he said free to throw.
8) The New CIA (3:08)
This is Stan talking about the new CIA and introducing the world to his family.
9) Superbowl Pre-Game Promo (1:35)
This was a promo for the show that introduced all the characters and showed Stan getting nachos for the big game. Pretty funny actually.
10) Family Guy “Bored” (:33)
This was a Family Guy commercial as seen on Fox.
---Disc Four---
This was a special disc included in the DVD set called, “Family Guy – Off The Cutting Room Floor.” It features deleted scenes and some other extras.
1) Deleted Scenes (13:42)
---A) Low Level Man (2:17)
This is from “Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High so it is feasible. This is Brian singing his low-level class about being a low-level man. Pretty funny song, actually.
---B) Peter Pooping Nickels (:19)
This is from “Blind Ambition.” This is Peter pooping nickels after he ate them all. He asks Meg for money rolls after he poops it out.
---C) Meg Puts Stewie to Sleep (:45)
This through K is from “Peter’s Got Woods.” Lois can’t get Stewie to fall asleep so Lois tells Meg to tell Stewie about what happened to her that day, and Stewie’s fast asleep.
---D) Star Trek Enterprise (:41)
This is Captain Picard talking to Troi and sensing his rather funny fantasy. He runs out when Troi sees he wants to piss on her face.
---E) Michael Jackson With Stewie (:18)
Jackson holds Stewie out the window like he did with his kid.
---F) Java Jive Poet (1:12)
Stewie becomes a beat poet and is stunned to see Brian at the club. Brian ends up on stage doing his own beat poetry. He gets booed offstage.
---G) Seven (:30)
This is a painter painting a seven on window, then having a brick thrown through it. Peter then gets a dart thrown at him by Peter Woods, then the seven dude.
---H) Stewie Asleep in Bowl (:09)
This is Stewie asleep in his bowl of food.
---I) Didn’t Sleep Well (:44)
Stewie is enthralled with the Da Vinci Code and hits Meg with the book when she bothers him. Lois says Stewie may not have slept well and Chris says he didn’t either since the evil monkey had a Hawaiian party in his closet that night.
---J) Bosom Buddies (:35)
A cutaway scene showing the Perfect Strangers. Larry is pissed that there is no Meepos on the map and he has cocaine.
---K) Price Slasher (:20)
This through R is from “Perfect Castaway.” At Wal-Mart, the smiling face cuts prices, and customers and was arrested seemingly under the influence of PCP.
---L) Hangin’ With Shamus (1:05)
Shamus (the pirate with 2 peg legs and 2 peg arms) accepts Peter into his home and takes him to a club. Peter misses Lois and still loves her even though she is with Brian.
---M) Trivia Time (:32)
Stewie misses Peter and watching Trivia with him and Peter getting it all wrong.
---N) Peter’s Moon Landing (:17)
Peter lands on the moon, and farts and laughs.
---O) Frozen Glaga (:15)
Peter eats all the frozen glaga.
---P) Make Doo (:19)
Stewie is not happy that Lois didn’t buy his normal diapers.
---Q) Maybe Next Year, Manny (:17)
Manny, (Webster) is not able to ride a ride and he tells him maybe next year. He is shocked to hear he is 35 years old and is shocked he wiped his butt!
---R) Razzing Chris (:24)
This to the end is from “Jungle Love.” The four guys joke to Chris about freshman Friday and Quagmire says something completely out of line (I had sex with a deaf women so I didn’t know if she was okay with it).
---S) Job Search (:59)
Peter looks for jobs, he has failed stints as a blackjack dealer and videotaping child births. This is hilarious.
---T) D-Day Reflections (:38)
D-Day reflections from Saving Private Ryan and his son saying it wasn’t really worth it since like 30 other people died saving him.
---U) The Seniors Are After Me (:33)
Chris runs from the seniors and goes to Meg for help. Meg sells out Chris so the seniors beat Chris with Meg.
---V) South America (:06)
A Peter one-liner, South America, the poor man’s Canada.
---W) The Jungle (:12)
More Peter, “the poor man” bits. Pooping, the poor man’s ejaculating was the funniest.
---X) Stewie’s Journal (:14)
Stewie writes about his time in the jungle.
2) Inside The Recording Booth (7:46)
They show Seth in the booth recording his voice. They show the scenes from the corresponding episode in split screen format. They show the beginning of game night (the gun fight and Trivial Pursuit) where Seth does the voices of Brian, Peter, Quagmire, and the fire truck special narrator. They then show Mike Henry, voice of Cleveland and the CPR dude. Next up is Mila Kunis (Meg), Patrick Warburton (Joe Swanson), Gene Simmons (Gene Simmons) and Adam West (Adam West). They should show a whole episode where they have the split screen of all the actors doing the voices with the actual episode playing as well. It is really fun to watch and seeing the voice actors playing the character is great. This was 8 minutes and the show is only about 14 minutes longer so it is feasible.
3) Guest Star Interviews (5:58)
---A) Adam West (2:05)
Adam West talks about being the mayor of Quahog. Man, he looks a lot different than he did when he was on Batman. They show him in the recording booth and Adam says Fox is lucky to have him and Family Guy.
---B) Patrick Warburton (1:17)
Patrick (Puddy from Seinfeld), talks briefly about being on the show and how great the show is and that it is coming back. He says he committed to it without actually reading it and realizing he would go to hell for doing the show.
---C) Guest Starring… (2:36)
Seth MacFarlane talks about celebrities being on the show due to the shows high profile. They show James Woods on the show, Drew Barrymore, Gary Cole, Judd Hirsch, Jessica Biel, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn and Cloris Leachman, all people they wanted last season but didn’t have the cache to do it but now apparently have. Seth thinks its because it’s a little hipper to do it and they come in for a guest spot and that’s that.
4) Act 1 Storyboard for North by North Quahog
This is the storyboard art for the first act of North by North Quahog (to the car accident). It is very interesting to see how the storyboard art becomes the basis for the show, shot for shot.
B) Audio/Video
The video is presented in widescreen format and the audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The video transfer was actually excellent and I think it’s better than what was done on the Family Guy DVD sets. The colors are bright and clear and there are no instances where the picture pixelates at all. The sound is what you’d expect from a TV show but still good.
C) Packaging / Liner Notes
The collection comes in the standard Fox slimline cases, which is housed in a slipcase. There are no liner notes pertaining to American Dad (all the information is on the back of the case), there is a Fox booklet featuring all of the DVD collections that aired on Fox, and as mentioned before the special Family Guy DVD of extras.
D) Easter Eggs
None
Overall Review
The show itself got better and better as it progressed and made it very enjoyable, but the main draw on this collection is the wealth of extras. There were tons of deleted scenes (fully animated mind you), animatics, a really cool table read, and some other great extras. In terms of extras and commentaries and insight into the show, this easily trumps any of the Family Guy DVD sets. The commentaries were boring at times which is perhaps the only negative thing about the extras. Still, you get your money’s worth here. The last disc is just loaded with almost two hours of extras and behind the scenes features. The extra Family Guy disc was just icing on the cake and it was really good and I don’t know why it wasn’t on Family Guy Volume 3. Great DVD collection here.
Overall Rating
9.5
10.0 Perfect
9.0-9.5 Near Perfect, Highly Recommended
8.0-8.5 Really good disc, Recommended
7.0-7.5 Good DVD, Mildly recommended
6.0-6.5 Above Average DVD. Mildest of mild recommendations
5.0-5.5 Decent all around disc, but catch it on TV
4.0-4.5 Great Movie but horrible DVD
3.0-3.5 Horrible movie but great DVD
2.0-2.5 There’s at least some merit to this DVD, but not much.
1.0-1.5 Horrible DVD, don’t even bother
0.0-0.5 Worst DVD ever
|
