When one thinks of classic American comedy – several household shows spring to mind, with series like 2 And A Half Men, Friends and (dare I say it!) Sex and the City, entertaining us Irish folk across the pond straight from the flashy directors’ mouths in Hollywood. Unmistakably though, the greatest series are the ones not necessarily full to the brim with overpaid actors loaded on Botox or extravagant sets that cost more then your first student flat in value – no, we are talking about the greatest, and most cost effective genre – cartoon comedy for adults. Shows like Adult Swim and South Park spring to mind, both brilliant on their own merits, but in particular we tend to compare American Dad and Family Guy and argue which one is better over the last slice of pizza left in the box and the last bottle in a six pack.
American Dad is, by its nature, more catchy and politically correct than its counterpart. Unlike Family Guy, which relies solely on short subplot jokes and sometimes cruel personal jibes at the main characters – Meg in particular – or satire of famous public figures, American Dad tends to focus on a single storyline throughout the whole episode. Thus, it has a more polestar setting. A.D. engrosses the viewer more when a certain person is the focal point of the episode – not to say that this doesn’t happen in Family Guy – but whereas Peter Griffin’s mishaps tend to involve the whole of the Griffin household and wear the viewer out with sharp cut shifts from Lois’s nagging to Stewie’s latest mishap, Stan Smith has more comical value when an episode is fully devoted to his slightly warped view of conservative politics and how life should really function, as the viewer observes more of his insecurities and flaws which make for hilarious compulsive viewing.
American Dad, like Jack Bauer in 24 when he’s running to save the latest of his female heroines, sometimes takes itself too seriously. As funny and hilarious as Roger’s condescending, dry wit humour makes for irreparable irreverence, the jokes full meaning can get lost and seem out of place in the context of the storyline. In our opinion, nothing, not even an alcoholic alien who lives on Margaritas and thrives on dressing up as various alter egos, could ever compare to the cruel, twisted, and lovable mind of Stewie Griffin. One wonders where Seth McFarlane dreamed up the creation for a baby with the IQ of Steven Hawking, and the Machiavellian brain cells to match, but however the little angel came to being in existence, he has defined and shaped what Family Guy is. Simply, without Stewie, there would be no Family Guy, and without Rodger, there would be no American Dad.
As individual as Lois’s nagging can produce a wise crack one liner from Peter, or Klaus the fish mirthfully opens his woes living in a fishbowl to the world, both shows are quite akin, and can become a little tiresome when you watch too many one after the other. All of the characters in American Dad are, when you think about it, repeats of the Family Guy persons, with a different tone of voice or life aspiration. Brian is a drawly, left wing liberal, Rodger is just as if not more selfish and crude. Francine and Lois play the exact same antagonist roles in each episode nagging their husbands; teenager nerd Steve is the mirror of unpopular Chris in Family Guy, and Klaus is as audacious and brazen as Stewie, except he’s swimming around in water and not wearing toddler’s cloths. As lovable as all the characters are in their own rights on each individual show, watch an American Dad straight after Family Guy and you’ll find yourself feeling a little lost and disappointed at the lack of McFarlane’s ingenuity.
If there’s nothing the @rcade likes more, it’s a little bit of controversy and neither show has been shy of provoking rage and disquiet. Family Guy has taken furore for allegations of sexism, bigotry, and discrimination, less so then American Dad which tends to stick to lighter satire rather then crude black humour. (One such episode springs to mind where Peter dances around a sick frail man informing him he has Aids, and the writers managed to offend Sarah Palin following the airing of “Extra Large Medium”, in which Ellen, a female with Down Syndrome, mentions that her mother is a former governor of Alaska).
Some may call the moral ethics (or lack thereof) of Family Guy humorous, but even for the most liberal minded person there comes a point where you have to draw the line somewhere. American Dad might be a bit more bland and less polished because it tends to focus only on the Smiths personal lives more then the other neighbours in the world, but apart from poking gentle fun at the ignorant ways of the liberals, it has little else to offer. Like South Park, only by pushing the boundaries can someone decide what’s cruel and what’s just poking fun at society.
So where do you lie in the debate? Are you an American Dad fan? Or does your allegiance lie with Family Guy? Vote in our poll now to help end the debate once and for all.
