Happy 10th Anniversary, "American Dad!"

Yesterday, it was the 10th anniversary of the premiere of the semi-hugely-popular Fox cartoon American Dad!, co-created by that mastermind known as Seth MacFarlane! Oh yeah, and Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker too. I casually celebrated it by sharing American Dad! videos on Google+, finishing up a pencil test starring Stan and Francine Smith that I started in September, and watching these episodes I recorded on my PVR:

"42-Year-Old Virgin"

"Oedipal Panties"

"Stan of Arabia, Part 1"

"Frannie 911"

And I still plan on watching more episodes for the occassion! So, while a majority of you may have been focusing on Bob Marley's B-day, I was wishing this great adult cartoon a happy birthday!

February 6, 2005 was when the pilot aired following Super Bowl XXXIX. However, American Dad! wouldn't officially start its regular Sunday night run until May 1, along as the uncancellation of its more-popular sister, Family Guy. At first, the show was mainly labeled by almost everyone as a clone of sorts of Family Guy, only more politically-focused and waaay less reliant on stupid cutaway gags. People were just so naive to see that Seth, Mike, and Matt really wanted to make the sitcom merely different from Seth's precious cash cow! Not to mention, they wanted American Dad! to be less like Family Guy, and more closer to All in the Family or that old Hanna-Barbera sitcom that wasn't The Flintstones, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home. Eventually, as it went on, American Dad!

managed to stand out from its sister show, as it developed into a laughter house where it wasn't as on pop-culture-reliant as it was focused on surrealism, character-driven-wittiness, cleverly-delievered black humor, some interesting storytelling techinques, and even a few story arcs!

And once that child of MacFarlane found its inner core that distinguishes itself from the other shows on Fox, it has since been so much appreciated by more folks. Some even flat out state that

American Dad! is even better than Family Guy, because of its relatively more decent quality!

To read more about this brilliant 10-year-old comedy, visit its Wikipedia page, and check out this good article on its 10th anniversary!

I myself became a fan of American Dad! since as early as 2011. At first during its infancy, I thought it'd be less interesting than Family Guy, because of its whole political themes. It took be a few years to love this weird show for what it really is. And as everyone knows, it has gotten even less political, and more silly! Although, I still don't find American Dad! to be as exciting as Family Guy, but that doesn't mean I find it mundane. I really and truly adore American Dad! for the clever little cartoon that it is, and I do feel sorry for it being overshadowed by you-know-what (though I may feel sorry for The Cleveland Show a little more). And now, Fox and Global TV have canned the show, and it moved over to TBS. Unfortunately, since I live in Canada, I'm unable to see Season 11 onward as it premieres. So, I'll just have to wait until some syndication network like MyNetwork TV reruns them. But let us be thankful that it won't be cancelled just yet...

So, once again, I wish American Dad! a happy 10th anniversary! I love/hate the entire Smith family (I have to admit that Stan, Francine, Hayley, Steve, Roger, and Klaus are a bit more likable than the Griffins), and Patrick Stewart nails it as Avery Bullock. Until I update my Top 20 Favorite Cartoons list, American Dad! is my 12th favorite animated series! It may remain in that spot, it may not.