Customer Reviews

American Dad Season 3

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

American Dad gets wittier with every season it seems. Season 1 was good but didn't produce memorable episodes. Season 2 had two of my favorite episodes ("Lincoln Lover" and "Roger N Me") and season 3 offers another all-time favorite of mine "Vacation Goo." This season also includes highlight shows like "Meter Made," "Dope and Faith," and "Surro-gate." There are not many weak episodes here although "Bush Comes To Dinner" was a little much. Stan's one-liners are what make this show. They are often wittier and funnier than any lines on Family Guy and even South Park. Oh, and Roger is a great character! Lately, I've been enjoying the new American Dad episodes more than Family Guy which shows that, while FG seems to be digressing, AD is setting itself apart with smarter, more consistent writing and less filler.

Disc 1:
"Bush Comes To Dinner"--G.W. has dinner at the Smiths and Roger gives him booze which causes him to fall off the wagon. Meanwhile, Roger tries to track down Osama Bin Laden to get the reward money to buy Dollywood. Stupid episode, but I like how G.W. stood up for Hayley by listing all the things he did in his youth.
"American Dream Factory"--After having his desk moved to the men's room, Stan decides to start his own business selling holiday teddy bears and hires illegal aliens. Also, Steve, Roger, and Steve's friends start a band--Roger looks like one of the Spinal Tap guys. Roger then takes over the band with renditions of public domain songs because he cannot write his own material ("Ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna tell you about a little place I know, a little place called London Bridge...IT'S FALLING DOWN!!!!!")
"A.T. The Abusive Terrestrial"--This is the second episode in a row that mentions Mr. Pibb (Hmmmm). Stan and Francine go on a tour to save Mr. Pibb from being discontinued while Roger is tired of being ignored by Steve, so he finds another kid to play with who's abusive.
"Black Mystery Month"--While doing a school research project, Steve finds a conspiracy in the peanut butter industry.
"An Apocalypse To Remember"--Stan doesn't like being regarded as a "boob" by his family, so he makes them think they are the sole survivors of a nuclear holocaust so they will be dependent upon him--until they meet a frontiersman. Meanwhile, Roger proposes to a desperate woman so he can get a blender as a wedding gift. Crazy episode, and very funny.
"Four Little Words"--Stan sets up his boss with Francine's friend and she ends up dead and Stan's main concern is that Francine, who was against the idea, will say, "I told you so." Highlight: midget assassin. Meanwhile, a fake nose gets Roger mistaken for Kevin Bacon.
"When A Stan Loves A Woman"--Stan feels inadequate when he finds out Francine has been around the block several times, so Francine divorces him so he can find out sex without love is no big deal which results in Stan remarrying.
"I Can't Stan You"--When Stan finds out his neighbors constantly criticize him, he has the CIA seize their houses. Meanwhile, Roger and Steve fake accidents for compensation.

Disc 2:
"The Magnificent Steven"--After seeing Steve's sissy gym class at school, Stan--"in the spirit of George Bush, Ronald Reagan and Mr. Jolly," trains Steve and his friends to be ranchers with cattle infected with mad cow's disease. Meanwhile, Roger tries to make Hayley and Francine compete for his favor.
"Joint Custody"--Stan wants to get rid of Hayley's slacker boyfriend Jeff, but develops sympathy when he meets Jeff's father. Hayley explaining Jeff's problems to her father: "His mom ran way before he was born." Stan: "How...how could she do that?" Another highlight: Stan in the convenience store half baked: "There's a leopard on the Cheetos bag...No, wait...that's a cheetah. Cheetah...Cheetos...There's so much beauty in the world." The "Am I Jeff or money?" line was stupid, though.
"The Vacation Goo"--My favorite episode of this season and one of my all-time favorite American Dads. The Smiths always have the best vacations--then they discover it's because of CIA artificial memory chambers. Meanwhile, Roger's quest to be the world's greatest actress lands him in a stripper lounge. Hilarious!
"Meter Made"--For some reason, Francine thinks Stan is a nobody even though he works for the friggin' CIA! I guess she doesn't get any perks from his job. Stan then finds out the power, respect, and influence he can wield as a meter maid. Also, Hayley poses nude in an art class attended by Roger.
"Dope and Faith"--Stan finds a friend who has everything in common with him except a belief in the guy upstairs. Stan goes to extreme measures to convert him. Meanwhile, Roger tries to trick Steve into thinking he was accepted into wizardry school that turns out to be a meth lab. Another of the better episodes.
"Big Trouble in Little Langley"--Stan can't get along with Francine's Asian adoptive parents, so he finds her biological parents who seem perfect by his standards until he finds out the circumstances behind their giving up their daughter. Whatever happened to Hayley's bleeding "cold sore"?
"Haylias"--Hayley has a recurrent dream (an effect of Stan's CIA "Project Daycare" to train her as a sleeper agent) and decides it's a sign to break out of the mold and move to France. Stan uses the secret code to put her under his control so he can get her on the path to mommy/housewife land. Also, Roger and Steve decide to be private eyes. Angel died in Hurricane Katrina--THAT'S FUNNY!
"The 42-Year Old Virgin"--Stan's co-workers find out Stan never actually killed anyone but was just the recipient of many convenient mishaps of his victims. What's worse, the news wins him the hero-worship of Hayley. Roger and Stan's co-workers try to help Stan get his "cherry popped." He then gets his chance when Steve and his friends run off with a pedophile.

Disc 3:
"Surro-gate"--Greg and Terry want to have a child using a surrogate mother. Francine likes the idea and so does Stan "just replace 'support' with 'condemn' and 'beautiful endeavor' with 'horrible abomination.'" Francine is thus a little weary about telling Stan she is the surrogate (tiger with the chainsaw--that is funny). When Stan finds out, he pretends to be supportive until he gets his opportunity to steal the baby as well as any other children of same sex partners he runs into ("Does Al know?"--great line). Meanwhile, Roger and Steve live in terror Klaus the fish will get his revenge on a prank they pulled.
"Franny 911"--Roger is so vile, he loses the support of his biggest enabler Francine. Highlight: Klaus and Hayley daring each other including Klaus taking a photo under Francine's dress.
This disc includes over 60 extended and deleted scenes.

This show is just brilliant. I love Family Guy, but I just think the writing in this is even one step better. Smart and really funny... and the former is probably why it does not do better in the ratings.

America can rest peacefully with overprotective CIA agent Stan Smith on watch in the hilarious animated series "American Dad!". In this collection of humorous episodes, Stan is overwhelmed by all the attention from his family by pretending that they are the last people on Earth. Housewife Francine divorces Stan so he can experience again bachelor life and save their marriage. Daughter Hayley gathers evidence of President Bush's drunken antics to publicly humiliate him. Son Steve uncovers a 150-year-old conspiracy but a secret society will stop at nothing to prevent exposing. Roger the alien becomes a professional bounty hunter and joins Stan on the manhunt for Hayley's boyfriend. "American Dad!" is the hit animated FOX sitcom from the twisted minds behind "Family Guy". These 18 episodes from the second and third seasons feature some cutting-edge humor, memorable characters and guest voice stars like Peter Graves, Elliot Gould, Lisa Edelstein, Patton Oswald, Patrick Stewart and Academy Award winner Forrest Whitaker. The 3-disc set includes such standout episodes like "Four Little Words", "Joint Custody" and "Dope and Faith".

If you already bought the previous box sets, then feel free to pickup "American Dad!: Volume Three" is a well recommended purchase for any fan of the hilarious FOX sitcom. All 18 episodes of the second and third seasons are presented in standard full screen format. The picture quality is great with bright colors and good sharpness. Its 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is clear and well balanced. The 3-disc set features audio commentary by production crew and voice cast and all 18 episodes, unrated audio tracks on selected episodes, "Comic-Con Table Read" featurette and over 60 deleted and extended scenes. Overall, "American Dad!: Volume Three" scores a B+.

American Dad is a hilarious TV series by the creator of Family Guy. It focuses on the exploits of Stan Smith and his family. Stan is a CIA officer whose abuse of CIA powers and overbearing sense of pride put him into funny situations in every episode. Stan's family consists of Francine, a housewife who is oblivious to her husband's weird interst and always attempting to keep the family happy, Hailey, the hippy daughter who fights against oppression by the US government while abusing technologies and common American indulgences, Steve, the dorky son who attempts to be a popular kid in high school but hangs out with his other dorky friends including an exchange student who doesn't speak english, Klaus, the depressed goldfish that has the mind of a german skier who has an obsession with Francine, and Roger, the alien from Area 51 who enjoys playing with whigs and other costumes to enjoy the outside world that he thinks exists from watching pop television. Overall, the 3rd volume of American Dad is a great collection of hilarious episodes that consist of the end of season 3 and beginning of season 4. This is a must buy if you enjoy slap-stick humor with few tangents. Unlike Family Guy, American Dad keeps the focus on the primary and secondary plot lines without random flashbacks that distract from the main story. Considered by many as a newer take on the same concept as The Simpsons, American Dad is an enjoyable TV series that is accessible to anyone over 13 that will make you laugh until it hurts.

Love this new box set, HOWEVER there are few eps, fox said would be included, that are not, tearjerker is not included

The farther along American Dad gets, the funnier it becomes. By season three, the show's central characters have been established and their personality quirks have been tweaked to best appeal to the audience. The show leaps into the bizarre and hilarious with abandon, yielding some of the best comedy on modern television.

For those just coming to the show, all you need to know is that it follows the life of Stan Smith, a father of two who works for the CIA. Imagine Archie Bunker, but with access to high levels of government clearance and insane technologies. This season features Stan meeting his idol, George W. Bush (in one of the funniest depictions of Bush in modern media), luring his family into stasis tubes to get out of going on vacation with them, and ruining his best friend's life in a twisted but well-meaning attempt to prove that God exists.

While Stan remains the center of the show, the rest of the cast has their moments as well. Klaus becomes even more pathetic as he whiles away life from the inside of a fish bowl, Steve and his friends usually supply a solid B-plot, and Roger's obsession with disguises becomes even more emphasized here. Even Haley's hippie boyfriend Jeff gets his moment to shine as Stan finds that he and Jeff have similar father issues. The show is punctuated by sharp comedy and ridiculous situations, and there isn't an episode in the series so far that isn't good for some solid laughs.

On the slight down side, Fox has become increasingly lazy with these DVDs, so you're paying for half a season here, as has become their practice. It's not a huge hurdle now, but when the show starts to wane the price point will make it far too easy to drop. One episode, "The 42-Year Old Virgin," also has a major continuity glitch, as it assumes that Stan has never killed anyone, despite him having racked up a body count throughout the first few seasons. However, even that criticism is a minor one - I'm now nitpicking about continuity in a show that features Stan running through the Hereafter with a "Heaven gun" and fighting archangels during the Christmas special. The show is wacky, over the top, but still has heart and charm thanks to a sympathetic but dim-witted protagonist. It's well worth the money, and easily the best animated show on TV.

I love American Dad. Like many people I wish they'd stop packaging American Dad (and Family Guy) the way they do, but I don't think they are going to switch to packaging entire seasons in a set. Either you want the dvd's anyway (as I do) or not.

With the cast back and Stan to protect us there is no room for mistake. Espcially for stan A weapons expert needs his space and in this season he has plenty of space to grow and give us lot of funny jokes. I expected this season to bang with new flavor and zaz, but was lacking.

I will admit that "The Goo" is my favorite episode and with great reason. The main reason the smith family goes on the vacaition is to get away from it all, but all Stan wants to do is get away from his family. Like Francine says "Nothing binds a family together like a dark and horrible secret." Watch the episode it is good. With this family done the thrid season leaves this writer hoping and wanting for more, more jokes and better comedy.

While I've always liked Family Guy, I've always loved American Dad. Intolerant people make for good comedy - you can thank All in the Family for that. Keeping with the 1/2 season per volume format, Volume 3 has more of the same red, white, and blue turds of entertainment that the first two volumes had except the dialog is censored. What the hell? These DVD's are not for kids so why the "bleeps?" It certainly detracts from the episodes especially when the other volumes weren't censored. That's my only knock against this set.

In my childhood, the studio systems such as Warner Brothers were the reigning kings of animation, bringing us such characters as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck. Their antics brought smiles and belly splitting laughter to a more innocent age.

Todays animated series are edgier, darker and in the case of American Dad, more politically astute. One has to have a basic foundation in politics, history and pop culture of the last 40 years to really appreciate the jokes. Yet it can still be humorous when viewed through the prism of todays red state blue state stereotypes.

Stan, the ultimute Republican, has obiously drunk the conservative punchbowl dry. To counterbalance his larger than life persona, are characters Haley and Roger, his "hippie" daughter and effeminante alien who represent the ideals Stan hates.

All in all "American Dad" is a smart, edgy comedy that makes Seth McFarlene one of today's reigning kings of animation.