| Roger Smith | |
|---|---|
| American Dad! character | |
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| First appearance | "Pilot" (2005) |
| Created by | Seth MacFarlane Mike Barker Matt Weitzman |
| Designed by | Seth MacFarlane |
| Voiced by | Seth MacFarlane |
| In-universe information | |
| Aliases | List
|
| Species | Grey alien |
| Occupation | Bartender Various (depending on alias) |
| Family | Stan Smith (housemate/Best friend/crush) Francine Smith (housemate/friend) Hayley Smith (housemate/friend) Steve Smith (housemate/best friend) Klaus Heisler (fish/friendly rival/lover) |
| Children | Rogu (tumor/son) Jeff Fischer (housemate/friend/rebirthed son) |
| Relatives | Caroline (aunt) |
| Origin | Outer space |
Roger Smith is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom American Dad!, created, voiced, and designed by Seth MacFarlane. Roger is a grey space alien living with the Smith family. Having lived on Earth since crashing in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, Roger came to live with the Smiths after rescuing main character Stan Smith at Area 51 four years prior to the beginning of the series. The character has also made cameo appearances in episodes of Family Guy.[1][2]
Roger is usually insensitive and careless; he often takes advantage of, cheats, and ridicules people. Over time, the character has also exhibited increasingly sociopathic, cruel, selfish, devious, and depraved behaviours.[1][3] Due to that, Roger has a love-hate relationship with the Smith family, who care about him despite being his most frequent victims. His most important relationships are with Stan, his best friend who is annoyed by Roger's antics despite the fact that he saved his life; Klaus, who is Roger's frenemy; and Steve, who is also Roger's best friend and partner in many of his misadventures. In early episodes of the show, Roger was disallowed from leaving the Smith house in order to conceal his being an alien.[4] This restriction was soon abandoned and Roger begins adopting disguises and fictitious personas in order to have a life outside the house.
Roger's personas have become a major plot device, with his myriad of alter egos frequently being the subject or facilitator of an episode's main story or subplot. This also helps to amplify his pansexuality and androgynous nature, which varies depending on the plot situation and persona he has adopted. Aside from catalyzing the plot or subplot with his various personas, and despite his increasingly evident self-interest, he often serves to counsel the show's main characters, by humorously affirming or bluntly disregarding their opinions.
When voicing the character, MacFarlane speaks in a swish accent intended to resemble that of Paul Lynde.[5] In April 2014, Roger was voted "Gayest Cartoon Character of All Time" in a first-ever March Madness style competition held by Logo TV.[6]
- ^ a b "Roger Video | Movie Clips & Character Interview". Ovguide.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
- ^ McEwen, Lauren (October 8, 2012). "'American Dad': One of the most sophisticated mainstream shows on African American culture - The Root DC Live". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
- ^ Emily VanDerWerff (September 28, 2012). "Comedy Showrunners Week: American Dad's co-creators on the show's weird evolution | TV | Interview". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ^ AWN. "American Dad Touchdown | AWN |". AWN. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ^ "A Chat with Seth MacFarlane". Bullz-eye.com. May 21, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ Nichols, James (April 8, 2014). "Roger Of 'American Dad' Crowned LOGO's 'Gayest Cartoon Of All Time'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2017.