I SAT staring at my screen for a very long time before writing this.

I simply do not know what to say about American Dragon.

Cartoons can be entertaining and snag audiences in many ways. They can be original (Transformers), snarkily irreverent (The Simpsons), outrageous (South Park) and well-written (Stripperella).

Or, they can excel at successful formulas (Cardcaptor Sakura, Pokemon), bank on audiences established by other media (Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited) or simply evoke a sense of epic scale (Gundam).

Failing that, horrifically-clunky cartoons can usually survive based on the traffic-accident syndrome: You watch because you're compelled to see how much worse it can get. (Biker Mice From Mars, My Little Pony.)

But even with so many areas of choice to shine (or bomb) in, American Dragon resolutely sticks to the painfully pedestrian.

It isn't original, irreverent or outrageous. And featuring trite dialogue like, 'Let's open up a can of smack-daddy,' it definitely isn't well-written.

It has no spin-off or merchandising potential, it has no loyal following and it's pathetically small-scoped.

Watching Jake Long, the human-dragon protagonist, as he adjusts to his supposed 'destiny' of saving mythical New York City creatures (Like what? Polite subway commuters?), slots in on the excitement scale between 'paint' and 'paint-drying'.

American Dragon just... is.

It plods faithfully from one predictable plot point to another: Jake trains, Jake struggles to keep his secret identity from friends, Jake has a crush on girl who turns out to be secret nemesis (trust me, it's not a spoiler).

Even the show's potentially interesting creatures are summarily caricatured. Harry Potter it sadly isn't.

It's all been done before, and done infinitely better. Tedious, tedious, tedious.

Don't bother with American Dragon: Space Filler.