American Dad: Season Three

Now in its third season, Seth MacFarlane’s animated comedy series following the adventures of Stan Smith - lowly CIA agent, ‘weapons expert’, family man and staunch defender of the American way - is starting to feel a little tired.

Perhaps it’s the fault of the cultural hegemony established by its animated predecessors (think The Simpsons, Futurama, South Park and Family Guy), but nothing about American Dad feels all that fresh or original. Or perhaps it’s that the aforementioned shows just do edgy, political, taboo-busting comedy better.

However, whilst the format here feels a little stale and there is the sense that the jokes have been recycled, there is still a lot to enjoy. This season sees Stan trying to save a drunk George Bush from destroying his presidency and reputation, uncovering a peanut butter conspiracy and starting his own teddy bear business with the help of illegal Mexican labour.

The main problem with American Dad though is that it’s not Family Guy, in the same way that Futurama suffered from constant comparison with the superior Simpsons. Unlike Family Guy, which is often genuinely subversive, American Dad never quite hits its targets, possibly because it falls between two stools: the writers never seem sure of whether they are writing a scabrous, political satire or a free-wheeling family comedy. Perhaps more crucially, it's never quite as laugh-out-loud funny as its sister show. Despite its flaws, this is a must have for hard-core fans, if only for Roger, who in one episode compares Dolly Parton to a rollercoaster: ‘looks fun from far away, but really scary up close’.

Released on 12th May 2008 by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Written by Sam Monk.