If animators owned stock in some kind of cartoon animation stock market, Seth MacFarlane is making a move towards blue chip status.

When MacFarlane's "Family Guy" was cancelled in early 2002 because of declining ratings, it seemed the market for animated shows was, if not disappearing altogether, oversaturated by the crown jewel of Fox Networks, "The Simpsons."

"Mission Hill," another animated show aimed towards a more mature audience than your average Hanna-Barbara fare, debuted on the WB in 1999 and evaporated after two half-seasons. The shows mentioned here focused on viewers old enough to watch "Pulp Fiction" or at least make a feasible attempt at sneaking into it.

"Family Guy" in particular took heat because the show was racy, misanthropic and (for lack of a better word) potty-mouthed. It was also cleverly written, brilliantly satiric and (for lack of a better phrase) funny as hell.

So when Cartoon Network picked up "Family Guy" in 2003 for it's late-night "Adult Swim" program directed towards older viewers and DVD sales went through the roof, "Family Guy" became perhaps the first animated show in the history of television to be un-cancelled.

To parallel the scheduled May 1 release of "Family Guy," Fox plans to air another MacFarlane project, "American Dad!" and here the troubles begin. Troubles because though "Family Guy" has a significant and expanding cult following that warrants it's un-cancellation, "American Dad!" is something entirely different, and fans of "Family Guy" could be potentially turned off.

For one thing, "American Dad!" is, if possible, more scathingly misanthropic than "Family Guy." Where the latter offers the token self-deprecating character resolution and thus establishes a sort of anti-emotional emotional resonance (if that's possible), "Dad" is based entirely around a family that's screwed up. From the titular American dad's (Stan Smith) super-liberal college daughter, Hayley Smith, to the emotionally stilted son, Steve Smith, to the dad himself, no one in this family is without severe emotional issues.

Even in moments that are supposed to be heartwarming are there twisted, inhuman things being done. Given that the show also stars an alien, Roger, and a horny goldfish with a German skier's brain (Klaus), the inhuman nature of the show should be obvious. But it still feels, well, mean.

For example, when Steve and Stan are sharing what should be a heartwarming father reconciliation scene, they're also deporting a girl who faked dating Steve to add to her popularity.

For fans of the darker side of "Family Guy," it's a welcome removal from the touchy-feely stuff to get to the earlier series' surly bones. For more wholistic fans of MacFarlane's first show, it doesn't have a soul.

Given it's spiteful chewy center, "Dad" is still funny. Funnier by far than the declining "Simpsons," and perhaps funnier than many live-action comedy sitcoms currently running. It has a long way to go to establish the kind of relationship that "Family Guy" had with it's audience, but given the success of "Guy," MacFarlane can easily pull it off, given enough time, publicity and dedicated viewers.

Grade: BC

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 10 2005.,”Brian O'Connor”

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