Ah, American Dad! Many of you may call it a Family Guy clone, but it has its own differences with Seth’s other show, especially with their styles of humor. While Family Guy’s humor is very edgy, this show has more general humor, and doesn’t say or do anything too offensive. Often considered to be better than Family Guy, it’s been praised for its clever comedy and lovable characters. So I’m gonna take a look at this series to find out if it actually is better than Family Guy. Keep in mind, like I said with my Family Guy review, my points aren’t the most original and I will only do seasons 1-18, so you won’t be seeing me talk about the new seasons or the other seasons after that. With that out of the way, let’s find out if our friends in Langley Falls are actually better than our friends in Quahog and if we got a feeling this will always be a wonderful day.

Seasons one and two are pretty good. Sure, the animation is rough like how Family Guy’s first season was, but there are other things I like about it. The stories are pretty well written, and the comedy is surprisingly pretty solid. Nothing much to say.

Season three is surprisingly the show’s best so far. There are many good episodes, like Camp Refoogee and The American Dad After School Special, which has some great commentary on eating disorders. Unlike the Family Guy episode, Screams of Silence, where they take the subject matter seriously and handle it horribly, this takes it seriously and handles the subject matter very well, not to mention doing it in a funny way. There are others that I personally enjoyed, like Dungeons and Wagons (which is a pretty underrated episode that also gave me vibes to the World of Warcraft South Park episode) and Black Mystery Month. I was also surprised that the series did edgy jokes in the earlier seasons, and some of them caught me off guard. 

Season 4 is pretty good. There are some great episodes like Tearjerker, one of the funniest and most well-paced episodes of the series. It’s also pretty clever with some character names and has great satire. Spring Break-up is a surprisingly believable episode, as Stan talks to a college girl in a way that makes him want to relive his old days of Spring Break. This season does have some stinkers, like The 42-Year-Old Virgin and Oedipal Panties (another episode that shows Seth’s writers have some kind of incest fetish). Seriously, what is it with Seth’s writer’s obsession with incest?

Season 5 is pretty good like the last season. Before I talk about the season itself, I want to talk about the episode, Pulling Double Booty. 

Pulling Double Booty is just EW. This episode reminds me of Family Guy’s Fresh Hair but even before that. Like what I said, what is it with Seth’s writer’s obsession with incest? The relationship with Hayley and Bill is uncomfortable, as Bill is a body double of Stan (sense he looks exactly like him), but how does Hayley never think that “Oh, would this be like making out with my dad?” Stan is pretty unlikeable in this episode near the end, as he pretends to be Hayley’s boyfriend during the episode’s third act, which adds to the uncomfort meter. It also has bad usage of shock humor with Francine vomiting (which wasn’t that funny in the first place) and Jeff also broke up with Hayley in this episode for no reason, not to mention the ending was bad. 

With that out of the way, there are episodes from this season that are good, like Wife Insurance and Delorean Story-An (a pretty underrated episode), which has some great action scenes. I hope the next season will be good.

Season 6 is pretty good. There are some episodes from this season I like and hate. For example, I personally love the episode Rapture's Delight, and I personally dislike the episode Shallow Vows.

For starters, Shallow Vows is a pretty bad episode, where Stan admits to only marrying Francine for her looks. So, Stan in this episode is pretty unlikeable if you think about it. The subplot is also no better either, as it goes completely nowhere.

On a side note, Rapture’s Delight is a pretty amazing episode. It has incredible ideas and imagery, not to mention by the end, Stan learns some kind of lesson.

Season 7 is a pretty good season. There were some pretty enjoyable episodes and episodes that did change the viewers in some way. My tiny criticism with this season is that it can get kind of mean spirited at times, but that didn’t ruin the experience for me. Overall, a pretty enjoyable season. 

Season 8 is kind of a dip in quality for the most part. This season started out pretty rough, due to being kind of mean spirited and having some pretty bad episodes from this season, like Hot Water and Dr. Klaustus, but it did get better during the last half. 

Hot Water is a weird episode. Like Regular Show weird, but not executed well. It’s disturbing in a bad way, and it gives me a feeling most American Dad! episodes don’t have, in a bad way. The musical sequences, while well animated, are awkwardly chilling for some reason in a weird and uncomfortable way. 

Dr. Klaustus is a pretty bad episode. It’s pretty mean-spirited, as the family just fights, and it’s not fun to watch like in one of the early Family Guy episodes. This is kind of a torture episode for Klaus, as the family ignores him. As PhantomStrider said, it feels like this episode wants to make Klaus the Meg of the show. The side plot with Roger is pretty funny, and maybe the episode’s saving grace. Time for the next season.

Season 9 is a sign that the show is going on a dip in quality. It has some imagery that is pretty disturbing, is pretty mean spirited, and it does rival Modern Family Guy, but it’s not a bad season. I would say it’s not as bad as Family Guy season 12. There is one episode that I think is the worst in this season and I warn you, it’s pretty disturbing. The episode in particular is Love, AD Style.

Love, AD Style is possibly one of the worst episodes in the hole series. Even Seth’s sister, Rachel’s beautiful singing voice couldn’t save this episode. Roger is very unlikeable in this episode, as he uncomfortably falls in love with Hayley, and it all gets very disturbing by the end. The side-plot is average at best, and it also has a pretty disturbing end, but the scene where Stan fights a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man is pretty funny. 

Like with Modern Family Guy, the other episodes are decent at best and mediocre at worst. Some of these episodes I wanted to like, but I didn’t. If there are good episodes from this season, I would pick For Black Eyes Only (a sequel to the episode, Tearjerker), Lost in Space, and Da Flippity Flop. 

Season 10 is an improvement over season 9 but still weak, and still shows a little bit of its quality dip. These episodes weren’t as mean spirited or as disturbingly violent as in season 8 or 9, but it does have those moments from time to time. The episodes aren’t too bad, but they aren’t the best either. The problem is that some of the stories feel too absurd for my taste, like Stan turning into a woman in Stan Goes on the Pill (not really a bad episode) and Steve and Snot making children of their own, so they could take them to the school dance and lose their virginity in Steve and Snot's Test-Tubular Adventure (again not a bad episode), and it does have its uncomforting moments, but other than those, the season’s episodes are pretty good and decent. 

Minstrel Krampus is the season’s best episode. It has some pretty great musical numbers and a pretty good premise and imagination to it. The climax is also pretty funny. 

Overall, not the worst season but not the best of the series.

Season 11 is pretty much with the later season of Family Guy. Now, this season has only 3 episodes, and they aren’t really good. The worst of them is Blagsnarst, a Love Story.

Blagsnarst, a Love Story is pretty terrible. It’s just an uncomfortable romance episode and the ending is pretty bazaar, even for the series’ own standards. There is something about the romantic plot with Roger that gets under my skin. It’s just so uncomforting to watch for some reason. It sucks, and that is all.

I can definitely tell that this show will end up like its big brother show. 

Season 12 is… well maybe the worst season of the hole series. It rivals its big brother, Family Guy. It has a lot of problems that are pretty noticeable, like uninteresting story lines, unfunny gags, and the characters are pretty flanderized (like Stan). The worst of the episodes is American Fung. 

American Fung is definitely the worst American Dad! episode ever made. Not even Love, AD Style can top this. To start off, the writing of this episode is just terrible, with jokes that are painfully unfunny and a terrible awful storyline. Stan is at his most unlikeable, as he forgets his and Francine’s anniversary and throws her into an Asylum, which was suggested by Bullock. Not only that, but he also never gets any consequences for his actions, which would normally happen in many episodes. He only gets one consequence, but that wasn’t enough. It’s pretty much a torture episode for Francine, and she never gets back at Stan. It also cruelly makes fun of mental patients, which is pretty uncomfortable and hard to watch. There is also a character in this episode named Fung Wah, who was established earlier in the episode as a Chinese businessman man who bought American Dad! from Seth MacFarlane. He adds nothing and feels unnecessary. The plot with Stan and Francine was resolved off screen, and we never know how it happens. It just happens out of nowhere, making it feel like a deus ex machina. The ending is also weird, as the Smith family dances with Mickey Mouse. I was like “what?” The subplot is also uninteresting. Overall, the worst episode in the series. 

Season 13 is a surprisingly big improvement over the last two. There weren’t that many bad episodes, and the characters were explored in some parts. The flanderization also has some kind of absence. However, this season can have its cringey moments, but other than that, it’s not too bad. If there was one episode I would pick to talk about, it be The Two Hundred.

The Two Hundred is one of the best episodes in a long time, probably sense Minstrel Krampus. It has a pretty good story, and the climax is pretty incredible and fun to watch. It may be a lose rehash of Rapture's Delight, but other than that it’s a great episode. 

Overall, this season was an improvement, and that’s all I gotta say. Moving on.

Season 14 is a downgrade from the first season, but I wouldn’t say it’s as bad as season 12 but still not good. It does continue the problems from season 12 like flanderization and usage of gross out humor, but still there are some decent episodes here. First let’s talk about the season’s worst episode, Bazooka Steve. 

Bazooka Steve is the season’s worst episode. First of all, it’s pretty much a torture episode for Steve, as he gets cruelly treated by the town, also making this episode mean spirited. At times, it gave me vibes to The Simpsons episode “The Boys of Bummer” and the movie Chicken Little, where the main character is cruelly treated by the town, all because he made a small mistake. Like that episode and that movie, it’s unenjoyable to watch. Yes, like the aforementioned, the town does forgive him by the end, but that doesn’t make this episode any good once so ever. 

Let’s talk about the best episode, Ninety North, Zero West. 

Ninety North, Zero West is the best episode of the season. I enjoyed its storyline, and the characters were surprisingly likable, even having little of their flanderization shown. Also, isn’t it funny how the best episodes are season finales and Christmas episodes?

Overall, this season is good, and it shows it’s ending up like its big brother show. 

Season 15 is probably one of the series’ worst seasons, but it’s nowhere near season 12 bad. Man, the quality of Seth’s work maybe allergic to the number 12. For me, these episodes were decent, mediocre, or just pretty bad. The worst episode of the season is The Mural of the Story.

The Mural of the Story may be one of the show’s worst episodes ever. Stan is pretty unlikeable in this episode, as he puts the blame on Hayley after he ruins a town mural that causes everyone to get angry at him, and to make matters worse, he transforms Hayley’s face. Yeah, by the end he does apologize to her daughter and reveals the truth, but it isn’t as sincere as the episode thinks it is. 

Nothing else to say about this season, and overall, it’s probably one of the show’s worst seasons. I hope it improves! 

Season 16 isn’t good as usual, and it seems like the series is now with its big brother. Most of the episodes this season were decent to average. It does still continue the problems that the previous seasons had, like Flanderization and being mean spirited, but there are a few redeeming moments. There is one good episode from this season, and that is Rabbit Ears. 

Rabbit Ears is a pretty good episode. It has an interesting idea, and it does have some good Twilight Zone vibes, from what I know about that series. It’s also pretty chilling and suspenseful. 

This happens to me when I’m watching Family Guy, every time I watch a new episode, I come out disappointed and underwhelmed a lot, and this is kind of happening with this show at this point. Overall, it’s not the worst season of the series, but there are better seasons. I don’t know if it will improve. 

Season 17 is a big improvement over the last season. I thought it would improve sense it had a weak and worrisome start, but the last four episodes are pretty good. The plots weren’t the best, but the characters were a lot more likable in this season, almost. Don’t worry, the flanderization is slowing becoming a thing of the past for this show. There was almost never a bad episode from this season, and while most of the plot lines feel very familiar, that didn’t ruin this season for me. I would say the season’s best episodes were Game Night, Ghost Dad, Dammmm, Stan!, The Last Ride of the Dodge City Rambler, 300, and Yule. Tide. Repeat. I honestly don’t have much to say about them other than they’re fun, enjoyable, and heartwarming, and also shows some great character moments for Stan. Overall, a big improvement from the last seasons. I hope it continues improving. 

Season 18 is yet another improvement over the last season. While it isn’t a big improvement, it’s still an improvement like the last season. The episodes weren’t the most memorable, but they were a lot more tolerable than the ones from the previous season. The season’s best episodes are Russian Doll, Stan & Francine & Stan & Francine & Radika, and Dr. Sunderson's SunSuckers, which are fun and enjoyable episodes that have some pretty good character moments. My personal complaints with this season are some of the characters can get unlikable like Klaus, it can feel too familiar at times, and it does have some cringe moments. Overall, not the best season but an improvement.

Conclusion 

Honestly, this show is surprisingly better than Family Guy. It’s one of those cases where the copycat is better than what it’s copying from. There’s actually a lot of differences to this show and Family Guy. For Family Guy, it has gone on a dip in quality that has affected the storytelling, characters and humor because the show’s writers are losing care for it, hear however, while it did have a dip in quality, it improved because the writers of this show somewhat care for it, and thanks to that, the quality improved. The humor of Family Guy mainly relies on cutaway gags, pop culture references, and edgy jokes, which can get underwhelming, because the humor has lost its way, also mainly trying too hard to be clever by breaking the 4th wall. Here, American Dad! takes a different approach. While it did have a few cutaways and edgy jokes, it mainly relies on the environment when it comes to jokes, because in several episodes, mundane-everyday objects are used to create exaggeration and tension, making the humor much cleverer than Family Guy. And finally, the storytelling and characters. Family Guy doesn’t really focus on the storytelling and characters that much, mainly focusing on jokes, leaving the stories and characters more to be desired. American Dad! on the other hand, focuses on the story and characters, making the audience more engaged in the stories and want care for the characters. While the series may have a few problems from Family Guy like the flanderization, the show is still better than Family Guy. 

A little message to Seth. Honestly Seth, your writers for this show did a good job. They improved upon the flaws of Family Guy because they know what they’re doing, and that’s what makes many of my favorite shows so good. This show may not be as good as BoJack Horseman or Breaking Bad, but you keep moving forward. 

So yeah, this show is pretty good. It’s actually better than Family Guy, and if you like that show, I would recommend this one too. Anyways I had a good time watching this show, and in the words of the man in the credits, bye, have a beautiful time and a wonderful day.

The Seth Quest is still going