American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

American Dad!: 5 Reasons Roger Is The Show’s Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

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The loveable weirdo Roger has always been one of American Dad’s most fascinating characters, though we don’t wish to discount a few others.

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American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

Ever since it first hit the airwaves, American Dad! has existed in the shadow of Seth MacFarlane’s previous animated series, Family Guy, which is a shame, because it’s arguably a better show. When MacFarlane left the show in the hands of co-creators Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, they shifted away from the soft political satire of the early seasons and doubled down on the weirdness.

The show has increasingly focused on Roger, the alien who saved Stan’s life in Area 51 and now hides out in the Smiths’ attic. He’s undeniably the best character on the show, but there are plenty of other great ones to choose from.

10 Roger Is The Best: He’s Totally Unpredictable

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

In any given situation, there’s no telling what Roger will do. With a lot of animated characters who have a single defining characteristic, like Ned Flanders, it’s easy to guess what they’re going to do in a particular scene, but that’s not the case with Roger.

His scenes often take a wildly unpredictable turn. When he and Stan were denied a small business loan, Roger left the bank, came back in with a ski mask on, yelled at everyone in the building, and then presented a snappy sales pitch in lieu of the expected robbery at gunpoint.

9 Closest Contender: Steve

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

As opposed to the delinquency of Bart Simpson and the idiocy of Chris Griffin, Steve Smith is characterized as a geek. But, he’s not just a nerd; he’s the most socially awkward character on television, constantly finding himself in humiliating situations, which is painfully relatable.

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His friendship with Snot, Barry, and Toshi has paved the way for some great buddy comedy, and any episode that makes use of Scott Grimes’ incredible singing voice is a delight.

8 Roger Is The Best: His Disguises Offer Infinite Storytelling Possibilities

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

After Roger sitting around the house with a wine glass in his hand got old, the writers busted the character’s storytelling potential wide open by introducing the notion that he can disappear into a disguise to have a life outside the house.

When Roger wears a disguise, no one outside the family can tell it’s just an alien in a wig. His personas are perhaps the funniest element of the show. He also has one disguise that each member of the family can’t see through, which has been used as a fun plot device.

7 Closest Contender: Principal Lewis

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

Whereas Family Guy’s Principal Shepherd is just a soft reimagining of The Simpsons’ Principal Skinner, American Dad!’s Principal Lewis is his own depraved beast. He encourages students to fight, gets drunk at work, and charges passing drivers to see his bare butt.

When he discovered Barry’s Rain Man-esque card-counting abilities, he took him to an illegal casino to win big. When Steve was doing his taxes, the two went on the run together and nearly died in the Grand Canyon. Principal Lewis is hilariously wild.

6 Roger Is The Best: He’s A Lovable Sociopath

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

Although Roger was characterized as a sensitive wino in the early seasons, he’s evolved into an out-and-out sociopath over the years. He’ll kill people or torture them or lead them into terrible decisions and have absolutely no remorse about it.

There is no limit to the reprehensible things that Roger will do, and yet, he’s completely lovable. Nothing he ever does, no matter how evil it is, will turn fans against him, because he’s impossible to hate.

5 Closest Contender: Francine

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

At first glance, Francine seemed like another housewife in the mold of Lois Griffin whose only function was to roll her eyes at her husband’s antics, but she’s since developed into, in Stan’s words, a “coked-out airhead.” The more that gets revealed about her backstory and the aspects of her personality that she hides from Stan, the more interesting she becomes.

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4 Roger Is The Best: He Contrasts Hilariously With Every Other Character

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

Whoever Roger is paired up with in a storyline, it makes for a hilarious team-up. Most characters on the show only shine brightest when they’re paired up with certain characters, but Roger shines bright opposite anyone.

Next to Roger, every other character in American Dad! is the “straight man,” because no one can match Roger’s insanity. He’s had brilliant storylines with Stan in “Roy Rogers McFreely,” Francine in “Old Stan in the Mountain,” Steve in anything involving Wheels and the Legman, Hayley in “My Affair Lady”, and Klaus in“Rubberneckers,” to name just a few.

3 Closest Contender: Bullock

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

There doesn’t seem to be any line that Seth MacFarlane could give to Patrick Stewart that he wouldn’t say. Every time Stan’s boss Avery Bullock appears in American Dad!, he reaches new lows of depravity.

Despite being the Deputy Director of the CIA, he’s often high on cocaine and prioritizes his moonlighting career as a DJ over national security concerns.

2 Roger Is The Best: As A Pansexual Alien, He’s Universally Relatable

American Dad! 5 Reasons Roger Is The Shows Best Character (And His 5 Closest Contenders)

Since Roger is an alien from a distant planet, and he’s also androgynous and pansexual, and, in a weird way, universally relatable. He isn’t pigeonholed by a human identity, so everyone can see themselves in him.

It might not be easy to relate to a sociopath with no concern for human life, but it is easy to relate to someone who feels like an outsider, and, in the face of that, is always unshakably themselves, warts and all.

1 Closest Contender: Stan

Stan Smith was originally conceived as a satirical mouthpiece for what Seth McFarlane construed to be ignorant Republican ideologies, but he’s since been recharacterized as a borderline sociopath who will go to extreme lengths to achieve his petty, relatively insignificant goals. He gets Francine lobotomized to stop her from finding out that he forgot their anniversary.

He always learns the right lesson in the end, but, only after he’s gone way, way too far. He learns to admit his errors to avoid hearing Francine say, “I told you so,” but only after he’s framed her for murder and driven her to a life of humanitarian work in India.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/american-dad-steve-best-character/

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