Tonight's installment was a HUGE improvement over the first! The story was solid, as were the jokes. I laughed hysterically at numerous points.
I would place this on the level of a typical "Family Guy" episode. What it lacked in sheer absurdity, it made up for with added plot coherence. (On the realism scale, the program seems to fall somewhere between "Family Guy" and "Futurama.") Plus, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Stephen Root performing a voice.
I was wrong to write this show off, and I'm glad to be able to say so.
I recall that the first episode contained at least one, but this obviously won't be a frequent occurrence -- a fact to which I never objected, because the show *isn't* "Family Guy," nor should it aspire to be. My complaint was that the first episode wasn't very funny or interesting.
As I mentioned, the "American Dad" universe clearly is more grounded in reality than its "Family Guy" counterpart. It permits events and circumstances that are extremely outlandish by real-life standards, but nowhere near as far-fetched as the routine goings-on in Quahog. Personally, I like this fact. There *should* be some significant differences between the two series. (Frankly, the similarities are almost too conspicuous; when Seth created "American Dad," he didn't realize that "Family Guy" would be revived.)
And of course, "American Dad" has attributes that "Family Guy" lacks (such as a prominent political bent and a storytelling style that amounts to more than a thinly veiled excuse to string together a series of hilarious gags).
"American Dad" certainly is no "Family Guy," but it just might be something equally special. Only time will tell.
Also, I think it would get better ratings if maybe one of them aired at 8pm and the other at 9pm. Put King of the Hill or something else between them... Because when they're back to back, they might seem like the same show with a different twist to people who aren't familiar with Family Guy.
I wouldn't really put either at 8:00 or 8:30. Most of the audience for "The Simpsons" is not the same audience as FG or AD. Even though some of the humor is similar, "The Simpsons" has been promoted as a kids show. KotH is promoted as a family show, despite the content. Heck, people see a cartoon in 'family hour' on Sunday nights and they shove their kids in front of it.
Let's see what happens when football season starts. Will FG get the 'throwaway' spot of 7:00 ET like "Futurama" did? So we can watch the last 7 minutes of each episode 'joined in progress'? Will Fox counter-program NBC's prime time football?
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I suppose the best idea is to keep them both at 9 and 9:30 and hope for the best results, or maybe even swap American Dad with something else for a 9 slot on another night.
Fox has tried a number of times to have animation on a night besides Sunday; the only time it worked was when The Simpsons was on Thursdays. The Critic, The PJs, and that brief time King Of The Hill moved to (I think) Tuesdays, all bombed.
Besides, FG and AD share a common audience; Fox would be stupid to break them apart.
(At least with their "mature humor", they won't be moved to Fox's fall graveyard on Sundays between 7 and 8...)