User Reviews

Pretty decent episode, but the main storyline reminded me of a movie I saw on the Lifetime Channel. I have commented that some of the Lifetime movies should be cartoons, but this is the other way around.

The Roger "Flower" segment was really weird, but we must remember that he is an ALIEN!!!

Fun watch.

Family Time was a solid episode, which in the post-Fox years, is any episode with a 6 or 7 rating.

But let's cut to the chase and identify the two main issues that keep these episodes from achieving "classic" status...

1. In the event someone from the AD production team actually reads these, and can understand my reviews here are earnest and from the heart, please think about the point I'm about to make because it's the number one thing you're doing to hurt the quality of your episodes:

Stop with the "what if Roger was a (enter something random)" plots/subplots.

Roger is not in the main plot of this episode and at first, the reason why seems promising: he's jaded and overwhelmed by life. He doesn't know who he is.

I think the writers are projecting here. THEY don't know who Roger is. And so, he goes for a walk and becomes a flower.

And I'm not saying this was a terrible little secondary storyline. It had its funny moments. But it makes me suspect they've forgotten that Roger's best personas, even the absurd ones-like being a termite or a racing greyhound-are organic to the storyline.

In the case of "Family Time," it felt more like a half-hearted attempt to fill up 21 minutes of run time. The best secondary plots tie back into the larger plot-that's about the only time these abstract Roger personas work.

2. I say this with the utmost respect to the producers of American Dad: Please stop giving your alter-egos leading roles in episodes. American Dad already has several "awkward misfit loners" At its disposal (e.g., Klaus, Dick, Tuttle).

The more we see of these once ancillary characters who are graduating to secondary characters (Weitzman, Parker), the more it makes us miss the amazing secondary characters of seasons' past. I'm sure there are a lot of inside jokes things you find hilarious but I promise you the average fan would trade one of their organs for a proper appearance by Reginald or even donate plasma for a visit by Debbie or Vince Chung.

This episode and Dr. Sunderson's SunSuckers had me laughing out loud many times. The jokes are well-written, not relying on gross/shock humor all the time, and they don't base the episodes on some celebrity. Plus they all follow an interesting storyline and the episodes don't feel like a bunch of jokes stitched together. What can I say, American Dad still is great. Good writting!