American Dad has always been second class compared to creator Seth McFarlane’s other project, Family Guy, which became so popular on DVD that the show was reinstated – the same phenomenon is now happening to Futurama. Unable to avoid inevitable comparisons to Family Guy, the American Dad team has attempted to stray from the constant pop culture cutaway references that made the former show so irresistible. While the first season of American Dad really couldn’t break away from the shadow Family Guy cast over it, the third season is finally bringing the show into a spotlight of its own.

With a sharp political focus, and constant parodies of famous films and cultural events, American Dad is a show that has something for everyone. While the subject matter usually ends up on the side of crass, the jokes and gags stick with you and are a constant source of quotes. One-liners and awkward confrontations surround separate storylines, usually breaking the family into two groups, and the directions they go are consistently hilarious and always unpredictable.

Dim-witted CIA agent Stan Smith is the head of the household of an odd assortment of characters, all of whom seem to be counterparts to Family Guy members. Stan is out to keep America safe, while dealing with the non-stop adventures of fatherhood – handling both in the most absurd manner. His wife Francine is very much like Lois, and usually must be consoled after constant screw-ups by her inconsiderate husband. Roger the alien takes the place of Brian, and is a companion for Stan’s son Steve, a fun-loving boy who could most easily be stereotyped as a nerd. Hayley is the troublemaker, (the complete opposite personality of Meg) who oftentimes poses as the antagonist for Stan’s various hijinks. And Klaus is the pet fish who is mostly seen spouting out one-liner insults, and never involved with the actual plot.

Perhaps the weakest episode of the season starts off the collection. “Bush Comes to Dinner” features a typical caricature of the president, who visits the Smith household after Stan wins a poetry contest. While Hayley tries to humiliate the quickly intoxicated Bush, Stan must come to his rescue and avoid killing his daughter. From here, the episodes become much wittier and more envelope-pushing, especially with “American Dream Factory”, in which Stan and Francine get accustomed to the ease of life as they open their own teddy bear sweatshop, staffed with underpaid, undocumented workers.

“A.T. The Abusive Terrestrial” pokes fun at spousal violence, with Roger gravitating toward a new friend after Steve rejects him. As the sideplot, Stan and Francine campaign to save Mr. Pibb from being discontinued. “Black Mystery Month” parodies both National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code, as Steve unravels an age-old plot to keep the invention of peanut butter a dark secret. Stan helps his son uncover the conspiracy that leads to murder and laughs.

Perhaps the funniest episode of the season is “Meter Made” which finds Stan being sentenced to community service as a meter maid after an assault. Scheming to abuse his newfound powers, the entire family gets involved in this “Scarface/Goodfellas/countless other gangster films” parody. Another highlight is “Dope & Faith” which finds Stan in desperate search of a friend, while Roger cons Steve into joining a drug lab.

By far the funniest season of American Dad yet, the third box set is well worth the money, packed with 18 all new episodes, as well as commentary tracks, uncensored cuts of several of the episodes and over 60 deleted and extended scenes.

- Mike Massie