Dads, a review

Dads, a review

Hey, kids! Did you know Asians have small penises? Or that Puerto Ricans are prone to violence? Or that Hispanics are a lot of the time maids? What, you already knew this? Those jokes are unfunny and became old when you came out of middle school? Good. Then you have no reason to see "Dads".

Trying to dismiss "Dads" for being offensive is redundant. That's the point: it's supposed to be 'shocking' and offensive so that the parental and ethnic groups can get very upset, create free publicity and Fox can bank on the material get ratings from the target demographic i.e. rebellious and edgy teenagers and college students to tune in. It's created by Seth MacFarlane for crying out loud! The guy who made lots of sex, vomit and violence jokes on his animated sitcoms.

No, "Dads" criminal sin isn't being offensive; it's being boring. It's not quite the train wreck "Brickleberry" or anything by Friedburg and Seltzer (who are now doing a Fast and the Furious spoof. I'm not kidding, look it up), it's so dull you might fall asleep.

For example, one of the bigger controversies surrounding the episode is one of the Asian employees dressing up as Sailor Moon and giggling so that the two leads played by Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi can sell their videogame to Chinese executives. So, the Sailor Moon dressed girl goes up, giggles like a Japanese school girl, and that's it. That's our punchline. All that controversy for a joke that doesn't register a chuckle.

Worst yet, the live-action format might be bringing "Dads" to a comedic stand still. Lacking the rapid fire fast paced randomness of "Family Guy" and "American Dad!" and the budget behind "Ted", the few jokes that are in dads are stretched to a standstill. I don't care if you're offensive. Hell, George Carlin was one of the most offensive and funniest comedians around. I just want you to be funny, and "Dads" fails on that level.

Not to mention the elephant in the room that "Dads" timeslot is occupied by another better show. What's that? Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, Firefly, Dollhouse and director of "The Avengers", is making an hour-long superhero TV show with witty writing and special effects? Gee, I wonder which one I'll be watching.

An old Family Guy joke has Peter mentioning Fox shows that have gotten cancelled such as, like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That '80s Show, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Skin, Girls Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, FreakyLinks, Wanda at Large, Costello, The Lone Gunmen, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal, Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddie, The $treet, American Embassy, Cedric the Entertainer, The Tick, Luis, and Greg the Bunny..

So, it should be no surprise that "Dads" goes up on that list.