Biography
Roger (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is one of the main characters in the animated comedy series American Dad!. He is a space alien (whose appearance resembles that of the greys) living with the Smith family, Roger is sarcastic, surly, and speaks in swish. Speculation exists regarding Roger's sexuality, but the discussion might be moot, as he is, after all, an alien. Roger came to live with the Smith family after saving Stan Smith's life in Area 51. He has lived with the Smiths for four years. He is possibly based on Dr. Roger Adelson, one of MacFarlane's former professors.
Roger's flamboyant speech pattern is a parody of Paul Lynde, although many thought it was akin to Family Guy's Cleveland Brown. He can speak Spanish (though not very well). On his home planet, he was a greeter at a Wal-Mart-analogue store called Philaxido. His favorite baseball team is the San Diego Padres. His favorite movie is Miller's Crossing.
Little is known about Roger's past; his planet is never seen or described in-depth, though according to him, it sounds fairly similar to Earth. In "The Best Christmas Story Never", he says he landed on Earth sixty years ago at Roswell. In "Of Ice and Men" he mentions that snow reminds him of his home planet, and figure skating apparently exists there; he has also commented that the planet has stores like Wal-Mart (he was once a greeter at one of these places) and colleges. Likewise why he came to Earth is never explained: he does state that the reason he came was to collect a sample of hepatitis, although since arriving he seems to mostly be mooching, and seems in no hurry to go back home (in the pilot he was supposed to try to contact his home world, but got distracted by a TV re-run of 90210). This led to the possibility that Roger is marooned on Earth and his homeworld does not know of his whereabouts. It is also known that Roger "invented" disco and became a millionaire in the 1970s after he discovered a cassette tape from the future, therefore creating a time paradox, but he lost his fortune after disco died. Also, Roger being on Earth in the 1970s does not fit in with the storyline that he arrived four years ago, although it could be possible Roger has made multiple trips between his homeworld and Earth.
Four years prior to the series, he was incarcerated by the CIA in Area 51, when Stan Smith, then an intelligence officer, was on duty at the base. Tired of living in a laboratory, he escaped his holding cell, thus triggering off a lockdown investigation. Stan tracked him down in a kitchen and was about to kill him before Roger pleaded for mercy, but the security team riddled the room with gunfire, from which Roger pulled Stan to safety. They leaped down a laundry chute into a laundry truck just as a thrown grenade blew up where they previously had been standing. Grateful to Roger for saving his life, Stan offered to repay him in any way at all, obviously leading to his being added to the family. As a means of convincing the family to let him stay, Stan presented him as a birthday present to Steve for his tenth birthday. Hayley and Francine were horrified of him at first sight, as was Klaus, but Steve was delighted in having his own alien. By the start of the show, however, the others seem to have come to terms with him.
Family
Almost nothing is known of Roger's natural family. It was revealed in one episode that he has a mother who is deceased, when he yells up to the sky for his mother not to be watching him at one moment. This indicates Roger's race believes in an afterlife similar to Earth beliefs of a heaven after death, and that the dead, like Roger's mother, can see the living from above.
Alter Ego's/Disguises
- Dr Jordan Edilstein - "Camp Refoogee" - College professor: IQ = 140, Near sighted, once spent an experimental weekend with Alex Ginsberg. A Hebrew who had a successful selling book. Head of the Political Science Department at Harvard (later the Economics Department). Married to Amanda Lane (played by Francine) for 17 years.
- Professor Baxter - "Iced, Iced Babies" - Cellege professor at Goff Community College teaching literature (and life). "I pretend to teach them, but it's really they who pretend to teach me." He is highly respected by his students, especially Ethan, who later turn psychotic and tries to kill the professor and Hayley.
- Female Figure Skater - "Of Ice and Men" - Roger competed in a local figure skating competition and ends up winning the prize, which is a set of wigs.
Personality
Roger is seen to be the 'Adam Sandler' of the family, that is, a comedic clown. Nobody will generally take him too seriously. Roger's race has also been known to excrete gold and jewels. However, neither Roger, nor any of his race, or the Smith family has realized that his waste is considered valuable on Earth.
Hobbies and talents
Quotes
(When painting Hayley posing nude) "Does anybody have any more areola pink? I only brought one tube"
Trivia
Roger's favourite beverage is Red Wine. His favourite movie is Miller's Crossing.
In an episode of Family Guy, Peter Griffin alters history. At the end of the episode when he thinks that the timeline has been repaired, he finds that Roger now lives with the Griffin family instead of the Smith family.