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Worst TV Show of the Week Brought to you by the Parents Television Council	Share |
WARNING: Graphic Content!!! Do NOT push play if you don't want to see the explicit video!!!

American Dad on Fox

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will decide if the FCC has the authority to regulate indecency on the nation’s broadcast airwaves. The Court’s decision will have far-reaching implications for the type of content networks can air as they compete with less-regulated, more free-wheeling cable and the internet for viewers. Should the FCC lose its policing powers, the networks will undoubtedly push the envelope of indecency to calibrate exactly where the lines can be crossed. Likely leading the charge into that new frontier – the offensive offensive, if you will - will be Fox’s block of animated shows. How do we know these shows will be the vulgar vanguard? Because they are already.

Animated shows, ironically, attract more attention from young viewers by virtue of being cartoons and less attention from network censors for exactly the same reason. Therefore, the most explicit shows on television are also some of the most popular among young viewers. In a press release from last year, Fox boasted: “FOX had nine shows in the top 20 among Teens 12-17:  GLEE (#1), FAMILY GUY (#2), THE CLEVELAND SHOW (#3 tie), THE SIMPSONS (#5), AMERICAN DAD (#6), RAISING HOPE (#9), FAMILY GUY encore (#10), and AMERICAN DAD encore (#17).” Six of the nine shows were animated.

The American Dad (Sundays 9:30 p.m. ET) episode from January 8^th is a prime example of the boundary-pushing content animated shows are given more leeway to air. And if the Supreme Court sides with the networks, it’s the type of content viewers can expect more of.

In this episode, Roger cooks up a hare-brained scheme to win Steve his father’s respect by having Steve pose as a vigilante super-hero. Roger and Steve take to the streets, armed with a video camera in hopes of capturing Steve in a heroic act. Instead, they encounter a different kind of act altogether. As they near an alleyway, Steve hears a man moan. “Sounds like someone is in need of help,” Steve proclaims as he dons his mask and springs into action. He finds a man standing next to a dumpster, but he isn’t alone. “Oh my God! This woman is repeatedly head-butting this man in the stomach.”

“Yes, Steve. That’s exactly what’s happening,” Roger replies sarcastically as he films the encounter with his video-camera. The man pulls out his own camera and videotapes the unseen prostitute fellating him.

Meanwhile, Steve’s mother, Francine, is worried she may be pregnant. But in lieu of a home pregnancy test, she has taken an “online” test instead.

Stan: “How do you take a pregnancy test over the computer?”

Francine: “Well, per instruction, I first took several pictures of my genitals...and then one of me peeing on a teddy bear and sent them to the doctor.”

Stan: “I don't think that that's real.”

Francine: “He's a legitimate doctor, Stan. See for yourself.”

She shows Stan the doctor's email address: "Dr.Vadgers124@..."

The text of the email reads:

"Mrs. Smith,

Please forward multiple photos of your vagina ASAP along with a photo of your boobs again."

The computer beeps.

Francine: “That must be the result. Oh, God, here goes. Oh, Dr. Vadgers says my lab work requires more information. He needs to see my boobs popping out of a cheerleading outfit. I know what you're thinking. What is the boob test going to tell him that the butthole test didn't? He's just being super-careful.”

Later, Steve does actually perform a heroic act, which is captured on video. News anchors  Greg and Terry - who happen to be a gay couple living across the street from Stan and his family - introduce the segment:         

Greg: “This just in. The Masked Hero strikes again. This was submitted by an amateur videographer. It was shot in what is known as ‘Bajowski Alley.’ (to Terry) Didn’t they honor you with a star on the walk there?”

 Terry: (giggling) “Stop it. Roll the footage.”

The footage is shown. In the background, the man can be heard repeatedly moaning, "Oh, God." The man turns the camera on himself, and it is the same man who was receiving oral sex in the beginning of the episode. He turns the camera to Steve in his hero costume, who has just saved a baby in a runaway car from crashing into a gas tanker.

The final scene of the episode depicts a man typing instructions to a woman via email under the screen name Dr. Vadgers. The man is revealed to be Quagmire, a pedophile/rapist character from another Seth MacFarlane cartoon, Family Guy.

Animation continues to be the most provocative genre of broadcast television, constantly testing the limits of decency under the current regulatory framework. Were that framework to be dismantled, these animated shows would undoubtedly lead the charge into a completely un-regulated, depraved, new world.

For yet another lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit episode, American Dad rightfully deserves the title Worst TV Show of the Week.