At the end of last week's episode, we had left all the family in precarious positions. Except for Stan that is. He had lost all faith in America and declared his love for Saudi Arabia instead. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait just a minute. Isn't this show called American Dad? On with the show!

I want to like this show, I really do. I just can't love it as much as the other quality shows that are on all around it. Amercian Dad has the. Exact. Same. Plots. Week in and week out. If it wasn't for the fact that this show does have moments of brilliance, and doesn't take itself nearly as seriously, it would remind me a lot of Out Of Practice. I also really dislike how they just shoehorn characters into the show for jokes. Example, Hailey's boyfriend Jeff was on screen for about three seconds last night, just to be eating a corn-dog, though he was never mentioned before or after. *Sigh* On with the show!

So after the contanst criticism that I've gotten from being too harsh on American Dad, I decided to try and wipe my feelings for the show clean and come at it with a fresh look. I'm not sure if I either accomplished my task or if this episode was funnier but I certainly did enjoy "Con Heir" a lot more than I have the past couple of ones. There were some great one-liners in the show that had me cracking up. Particularly Roger's "Tell Snake Plissken to back off". Of course now that I enjoyed one, I'm sure you all hated this episode. On with the show!

Those of you who've been afraid to see either Prison Break's season get cur short of have it not be renewed for a new season, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Fox has already decided to order up a second season of the show, along with American Dad. Meanwhile, NBC has quickly renewed The Office for a new season as well, no doubt hoping to keep Steve Carell around a bit more. And over at the USA Network, a deal for a third season of The 4400 has been finalized.

[Ed: Correction: New season for The 4400, but just more new episodes for the other shows. Thanks hessian!]

[via Cynopsis]

When The Simpsons and Family Guy become repetitive, it's ok, because, well, they've earned it. They make continuity flubs, and that's ok too. American Dad hasn't earned that yet, so when they've got an episode devoted to Stan and his son Steve finding common ground a week after they had one, it doesn't sit well. When Stan references the pleasures of porn twice in one episode a week after they spent an episode singing the evils of it, that feels a little off too. American Dad has a lot of potential, but it is certainly not living up to much of it. On with the show.

So let's see if they can keep the quality of the show up from last week. Yea... nope. It was still a funny episode, but as well as Family Guy embraces it's raunchy humor, and walking that fine line in much the same way that South Park does, American Dad always seems to go just a step too far with it's stupidness, outlandishness and political views. Now before you all start writing to tell me it's supposed to be a satire about right-wingers and their views, I know, I know. It's just that it seems so forced and it's punchlines are done better and funnier in about a dozen different venues, most notably, Jon Stewart's brilliant The Daily Show. Anyways, on with the recap.

You know, when this show first premiered, I was so upset when I heard that it took the place of my beloved Arrested Development that I swore I'd never watch it. That lasted until the first episode premiered. After the first episode I swore I'd never watch it again. That lasted until the second episode. What can I say, my name is Ryan, and I'm a tv addict. And although the show has improved (in my opinion) from those first couple of episodes, overall, it doesn't hold a candle to the rest of Fox's Sunday night lineup (except for War at Home, good lord, did you watch that crap?) and last night's episode was a real stinker.

Stan is so intent on beating his neighbor, Chuck White, to church - so he can park in a shady spot, that he runs over pigeons and elderly neighbors on his way there. When the deacon chokes to death on a communion wafer, the church needs a new one.

Chuck volunteers for deacon,  so Stan, naturally, does too. On top of that, Chuck offers to host the potluck for the wake while Stan is in the bathroom. Poor Stan - Chuck has a bigger paycheck, a nicer house, a better wife and kids, how can Stan compete with him? It's on!

Back home, Rodger is in a reproductive cycle and is lactating.

Francine is upset with Stan because she feels disconnected from their friends and neighbors. Seems his habit of doing background checks and body cavity searches is making it hard to fit in.  

She decides to have a block party.  He tells her to have the party, and promises to be good. All is well until Francine wants to invite the new neighbors - who of Iranian descent - but from Cleveland. Stan, of course, decides the new neighbors are "enemies of freedom" and sets out to make the world safe from them.

I don't get why so many Family Guy fans don't like American Dad. It can be quite funny. On tonight's episode, Stan finds himself losing out to up-and-coming Agent Duper on a training course at work.

To try to smooth things over a bit, Stan invites his boss over for dinner - but of course, he can't let his boss see Rodger. Stan and Rodger get into a fight about Stan wanting to hide Rodger and Rodger getting freaked out and squirting green ecotoplase, and Rodger suffers a "stress induced hibernation cycle". The family, however, thinks Rodger is dead, so, naturally, Stan throws Rodger in a trash dumpster to dispose of the body.

Rodger comes out of hibernation at the dump, and when he realizes what happened, he is pissed! Rodger disguises himself as an old woman to get home. He ends up on a retirement home bus heading to  field trip to DC. He gets caught on camera in the Oval Office, and Stan's boss sets the agents after him. Stan goes after Rodger himself.

Patrick Stewart guests and is smooth as Dad's boss, Bullock. Interesting note: Rachel MacFarlane, Seth MacFarlane's sister, voices the Smith's wildchild daughter, Hayley. Anyhow, American Dad is a smart and funny show. I really wish the anti-Dad folks out there would give Stan a chance.

OK, maybe it's because it's still the morning and I haven't had my caffeine yet, but I don't really understand this news article at The Hollywood Reporter. It says that Fox's American Dad has been giving a 13 episode order, but then it has this paragraph:

"...creators/executive producers Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, had an original order of 19 episodes, including the pilot. Four have aired so far, with several more slated to run in the summer. Because Fox already had ordered several additional scripts of Dad production on the new batch of 13 episodes will start immediately, and the segments will become available in the spring. The new 13-episode order ensures that Dad will stay in continuous production."

Um, OK. Does that mean they have 13 episodes total, and 4 have aired (leaving 9 more)? Or does it mean that they have an order for 13 more in addition to the 4 they already had, totalling 17? Or is this 13 in addition to the original order of 19, making it 32? Math was my worst subject in school. 

Ellen Gray at the Philadelphia Daily News never comes out and says what word was supposedly uttered at the end of American Dad a few nights ago, and with the clues she gives I'm not quite sure she even knows what she is referring to. She says that the word is something that is sometimes said on Deadwood and The Sopranos, and that it ended with the word "Tuesday." Now, if she's talking about the word I think she's talking about, then it was the phrase "See you next Tuesday," which isn't a swear at all and only refers to another meaning (which we won't get into here, of course), and really wouldn't be that big of a deal. Anyone see American Dad and hear it? 

American Dad is an utter disappointment. The pilot episode aired in February, and I think there were some high hopes that it would follow in Family Guy's footsteps. That's exactly what it seems to do: follow. The characters, plotlines, and gags are all gross duplications of the show's wittier, more audacious predecessor. Hell, Fran (the mother) is drawn like a character from the Sunday comics' Cathy, or maybe Garfield. There was one good bit in last night's episode. A scary, brawny guy shows up to fight Stan in a homeless-man boxing match. Steve tells his father: "He doesn't have a name. He killed his own name." Then the guy bites off his own thumb. That was enjoyable.

The new FOX animated comedy American "It's Really Just The Family Guy With A Few Changes" Dad is going to run a short film before the new baseball comedy Fever Pitch in theaters starting this weekend. The show had its debut after the Super Bowl, and will start in its regular Sunday spot on May 1.