DVD Review: ‘American Dad! – Vol. 9’

Article first published as DVD Review: ‘American Dad! – Volume Nine’ on Blogcritics.

American Dad! is Seth MacFarlane’s funniest show, at least nowadays. Perhaps that’s because Dad, Stan (voiced by MacFarlane), has grown over the years, doesn’t always have to play the moron. Or it could be that the show’s CIA work setting allows the writers to stretch their political satire muscles. Maybe it’s the presence of the space alien, Roger (also MacFarlane), who gets to observe us humans from the (literal) beyond.  The list goes on, from sarcastic goldfish Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker) to Patrick Stewart voicing Stan’s wild boss. Whatever the reason, American Dad! is pretty consistently funny. And now season nine is available on DVD from Fox Home Video as American Dad! Volume 9. Why it’s taken so long for the 2012-2013 season to be released, I’m not sure, but at least it’s here now!

The Episodes

The best of season nine can be found in the classic episodes like “Love, American Dad Style,” finds Roger crushing on Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), something quite unexpected. And in “American Stepdad,” Roger falls for, and marries, Stan’s mother, therefore becoming his landlord’s new daddy. Also in that installment, Steve (Scott Grimes) finds a Fast and the Furious sequel script that blows the lid off the film series.

“Blood Crieth Unto Heaven” is a parody of August: Osage County, and “For Black Eyes Only” is a James Bond knock off, an appropriate movie series for this show to tackle. “Naked to the Limit, One More Time” has Jeff (Jeff Fischer) blabbing about the alien living with the Smiths, forcing Roger to consider killing him, and actually kicks off an arc only recently completed (maybe?) in season ten.
“Lost in Space” is part of that arc, taking place entirely with Jeff on a space station. Unfortunately Jeff’s journey into space is a little disappointing because it means we see the character a lot less. But thankfully American Dad! keeps to continuity, and does check in on him from time to time, as it also deals with Hayley’s separation from her husband. Part of me wishes Jeff would come back and rejoin the ensemble, but a bigger part is just happy to see such a drawn-out story on what is ostensibly a simple cartoon series.

There are also some pretty familiar plots. In “Can I Be Frank With You,” Stan and Francine’s (Wendy Scaal) relationship is tested when he spends too much time hanging out with his work buddies. “Adventures in Hayleysitting” finds Hayley babysitting her brother, Steve, and of course she’s irresponsible and things go wrong. “Finger Lenting Good” has the family trying to give up their vices and gives Roger a Cinderella story. “Spelling Bee Baby” has Francine pushing Steve into a spelling bee. In “The Boring Identity,” Francine takes advantage of Stan’s lost memories. In “Da Flippity Flop,” Stan and Klaus switch bodies. But even these tired premises are still amusing episodes, as they maintain the style and tone that works so well on a weekly basis.

In my opinion, the weakest stuff is usually when Steve is hanging out with his friends. I just don’t like those characters, and while occasionally they may get into 80s movie-inspired stories, which is the best use of them, most of the time they are just gross and sad. Ditching them would improve the overall production greatly.

The Verdict

As with the other Fox releases I’ve covered this week, American Dad! – Volume 9 has no special features. This is frustrating and feels a bit like a rip off. But the choice is either deal with it or skip the set, and being a long-time fan of the show, the former is the slightly more appealing choice.

American Dad! – Volume 9 is available now.

Family Guy presents "Episode VI: It's a Trap"

     FOX's Family Guy parodies Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, so it is inevitable that a version of Return of the Jedi follows. Last night's ninth season finale brings "Episode VI: It's a Trap," the awaited Jedi knockoff, which is actually already out on DVD, and has been since December. If you've seen the original movie, the plot is familiar, if condensed to around forty-four minutes. Luke / Chris (Seth Green) rescues Leia / Lois (Alex Borstein) and Han / Peter (Seth MacFarlane) from Jabba the Hut / Joe (Patrick Warburton). From there, they travel to a planet near the still-under-construction new Death Star. Luke visits his father, Darth Vader / Stewie (MacFarlane), on the thing, and together they defeat the Emperor / Carter (MacFarlane). On the planet below, Han, Leia, Chewbacca / Brian (MacFarlane), and the other rebels take out a shield, so that Lando / Mort (John G. Brennan) can destroy the Death Star. The rebels party with the Ewoks.
 
     While the basic plot does follow the George Lucas movie, what makes Family Guy's version different, besides casting familiar characters in the roles, is all of the jokes sandwiched in. For instance, The Emperor and Darth Vader bait Luke by commenting how Seth Green is a terrible actor. For viewers in on the joke that Green voices Chris, it is highly amusing to watch the tension build in Luke / Chris until he erupts. To be fair, after the Jedi parody is complete, the Griffins do have a debate as to whether Seth Green or Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is a bigger douche. For fans of meta humor, this conversation may be the funniest thing in the entire hour.

     Another memorable joke in this episode is a live action sock puppet standing in for the additional creatures added to Jabba's palace in the special edition of the movie. The Rancor that Luke fights in Jabba's pit is replaced with conservative talk radio pundit Rush Limbaugh. Meg (Mila Kunis), who is often teased as the most ugly, disliked character on the show, is the Sarlacc monster. Above the Sarlacc pit, there is an extended sequence of characters glancing at each other. On Endor, the stormtroopers use actual bicycles, which upsets Pee Wee Herman when his is stolen.

     Apparently Family Guy, despite its extensive cast, has run out of characters to stand in for the Star Wars people, as MacFarlane draws upon his other TV shows in this special. Both Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker) and Roger (MacFarlane) from American Dad! are cast as Admiral Akbar and a Death Star officer, respectively, while Tim the Bear (MacFarlane) from The Cleveland Show is, appropriately, an Ewok, and Rallo (Mike Henry) is Wedge Antilles. It is lucky for MacFarlane that he has other TV shows to draw from, since the Star Wars franchise has so many characters.

     At the very end of this episode, the characters avow that they will not be doing the prequel Star Wars films, and Peter says that he thinks The Cleveland Show will be handling them. Is this a joke, or true? Three major characters from The Cleveland Show already appear in the Family Guy Star Wars parodies, but might they be recast for another trilogy of special episodes? It is hard to imagine how the spinoff cast would be appropriate for such a series, but MacFarlane may be daring enough to give it a try. Or it could just be an offhand comment, a slight insult to a sister series.

     "Episode VI: It's a Trap" lives up to the previous two installments. Whether MacFarlane does any more Star Wars parodies or not, he has finished a great feat with humor and excitement. Fans of both Family Guy and Star Wars should be left satisfied.

     Family Guy has been picked up for a tenth season, and will return to FOX next fall.

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Article first published as TV Review: Family Guy - "Episode VI: It's a Trap" on Blogcritics.