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American Dad - General Discussion

Meredith Quill

By Meredith Quill
in American Dad

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Galileo908
Galileo908

I'm pretty sure Roy Rogers McFreely is my favorite episode. It's both incredibly low stakes and balls to the wall crazy. "It was me, Roger, the whole time!" I still laugh at that.

DoctorAtomic
DoctorAtomic

Does anyone not like Ricky Spanish?  (Riickyyy Spannnnishhh)

cynicat
cynicat

Loved Roger saying (something like) "Run!  He's calling the Von Trapp children!"  when the guy whistled for his dogs.  

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Galileo908

Galileo908

So Stan might not kill, but he's able to indirectly kill four people at once. I thought the plot with Stan was going to involve Steve hounding him for his miniatures when Stan's been bugging him about his toys, but no. Stan shrinks himself (and the family) to live in his miniature town abd control his whole life. Didn't see that coming.

 

Roger's in his Paul Giamatti in Sideways costume again, and no surprise he sucks at being a wine taster.

SmithW6079

SmithW6079

(edited)

Was the ending of Roger eating the shrunk family written as a series finale in case the show doesn't get renewed?  Had to ask.

Is it the season finale already? I see the thread title indicates this was episode 12, but it doesn't seem as though that many have aired on TBS.  

 

I was glad that it was a real thing that Stan shrunk down, not that he was going crazy again. When Steve came down to play with the toys, I thought we were going to get a Lego movie send-up. I was kind of disappointed we didn't, although I did like the "giant" ants (a la "Them").

 

I really didn't pay attention to Roger and Klaus's story about the wine tasting; it seemed like a stupid story line. Maybe they were referencing something I didn't get.

 

I think Stan was wrong about it could have been him killed -- the first taxi was delayed because he and the young couple were talking. If he had gotten in to it right away, I think the sign would have missed him.

 

Also, I'm convinced that "edgier" to TBS just means being able to say "shit." When the toy train failed to break the dam, and Stan swears, that was the only time I found the use of the word to be laugh-out-loud funny. 

 

I missed the end, what happened after Stan was on the train?

 

He goes flying in to the air, the train crashes into the dam, but it doesn't break it (because the dam is plastic). Roger comes and saves the family, breaks the dam to flood the ants, and then eats the family.

Edited by SmithW6079
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Blakeston

Blakeston

I'm not sure I understand the whole "Jeff now has an alien body" thing.

The aliens duplicated Jeff's body, and put Zebleer's brain inside of it, right? And then at the end of the episode, Zebleer's brain was taken out, and Jeff's brain was put in?

If so, wouldn't that make Jeff's new body identical to his old one, even on the inside?

Or was Zebleer walking around earth in his own alien body, which was somehow modified to look like Jeff on the outside?

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SmithW6079

SmithW6079

The aliens duplicated Jeff's body, and put Zebleer's brain inside of it, right? And then at the end of the episode, Zebleer's brain was taken out, and Jeff's brain was put in?

 

If so, wouldn't that make Jeff's new body identical to his old one, even on the inside?

 

Or was Zebleer walking around earth in his own alien body, which was somehow modified to look like Jeff on the outside?

 

I think your second point is correct -- Jeff's new body is alien-made, with his brain replacing Zebleer's.

 

I always liked Jeff -- I thought he was a nice contrast to the sometime sociopathic Smiths, but I didn't miss him either. Actually, I liked the occasional episode with him in space with Sinbad's ghost. I think the writers never knew what to do with Haley once he was gone. She seemed to go in and out of grief depending on how they wanted the plot to move.

 

I wonder why, in a episode titled "Holy Shit, Jeff's Back!" they felt the need to tease the identity of the person emerging from the crashed spaceship. 

 

For a moment, when the dad is deciding to go for cigarettes or leave town, I thought it was a continuation of the golden turd story line that pops up every five years or so. 

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CMH1981

CMH1981

(edited)

Well...that happened.  I guess w/that I can remove another show off my dvr list...that means no more Seth McFarlane shows on my watch list.  It's funny, b/c even though the Simpsons has been on the air much, much longer at least their show is still watchable compared to FG and now American Dad.  For AD I really think the factor was Mike Barker leaving the show.  

 

In all honesty I will watch next week, just so I can finish out the season...i'm OCD like that, but after that i'm done.

Edited by CMH1981
Amethyst

Amethyst

For AD I really think the factor was Mike Barker leaving the show.  

 

IA.  I think it's the result of Barker and Weitzman leaving.  Most of the new episodes are from first time writers for AD or have done a couple episodes in s10-11.  They need to take a good look at their current crop of writers because while these new episodes are pretty weak to start, last night was an absolute low.  If that's indicative of the direction they're going, the show won't last much longer.

CMH1981

CMH1981

(edited)

Well to be fair to Seth, all he does at this point is just voice characters on the show as well as get his creator/executive producer credit.  I don't think he is involved in the writing of either show anymore.  I'm not sure if he contributes any input to storylines/character development.  He kind of reminds me of Ryan Murphy...creator of Glee/Popular/Nip-Tuck/American Horror Story...he sticks w/the show giving input and writing for a few seasons then gets bored, moves on to something fresh and shiny and the original goes down in flames.

 

 

If that's indicative of the direction they're going, the show won't last much longer.

 

I'm not so sure...dismal, even fair ratings on TBS would be much better than if it was on FOX.  FOX canned the show b/c it always has other shows it can bring in to replace it, whereas TBS doesn't have as much to choose from.  Let's face it, TBS original series are really kind of crap.  As long as the cast/crew of AD want to continue to churn out episodes I think TBS will let them.  The only other example I can think of is Cougar Town that switched to TBS, and that show ran it's course plus I think the cast was all ready to move on.

Edited by CMH1981
SmithW6079

SmithW6079

(edited)

I thought the billionaire Fung Wah story line was hilarious. It was a skewering of corporate sponsorships and product placement in television/movie creation today.

As the episode progresses, Fung Wah takes a stronger and stronger editorial role, because he's the man who holds the purse strings. He starts sublimating artistic creation for corporate promotion/profit.

On "Eureka," for example, Subaru was a sponsor, so the characters drove Subarus, with close-ups of cars' grilles from time to time. Suppose Subaru wanted a greater role...and suddenly Carter and Jo are discussing the merits of a Subaru as a squad car versus a Ford during an episode. That's what was going on here.

At the end, "American Dad" was nothing but a commodity to Fung Wah to promote his business interests, and then he sold it at a profit to another Chinese business man, who rebranded it. I laughed out loud at the end credits with the Smiths planting rice and acting like good Chinese peasants.

I didn't care for Francine in the insane asylum plot, although the "Pudding on the Ritz" talent show was pretty funny.

Edited by SmithW6079
phoenix780

phoenix780

(edited)

I'm so lost.  The episode is funny because it's intentionally bizarre (and, to me, not funny) as some kind of commentary on corporate sponsorship and its impact on artistic expression?

 

Or maybe I'm not lost, and I just don't think it was all that clever.  The best  swipe at corporate interference I've ever seen was on the soap Passions in the late 90s/early 00s.  They had a character named Jessica who, for a time, sold cosmetics as part of a sponsorship deal.  Then, suddenly she started cutting herself until she became a drug-addicted, possibly-murderous prostitute. Selling cosmetics wasn't this cool thing that kids should emulate, despite the money from the sponsor to push that idea.  It was a gateway to self-loathing and destruction.  

 

That was fun, because they were taking a massive swipe at something that had clearly compromised/altered their work, and I appreciated them turning her into a literal whore.  It was also pretty ballsy, in my view, to carry it as far as they did.

 

And maybe that's what I'm missing here: relevance to this particular show, which seems pretty unburdened (except for the Dairy Queen advertisement, but that's just a drawing before commercials), or relevance in general, because I haven't seen shows get twisted too far in the name of a corporate sponsor (except for perhaps the cars on Walking Dead).  Maybe there's some behind-the-scenes stuff, I dunno.

 

It's also lacking in boldness, far as I'm concerned, and I think they could've maybe pushed it further.

 

In any case it didn't hit me as entertaining, funny, fresh, or all that interesting even if I take it as pure commentary.

Edited by phoenix780
SmithW6079

SmithW6079

I'm so lost.  The episode is funny because it's intentionally bizarre (and, to me, not funny) as some kind of commentary on corporate sponsorship and its impact on artistic expression?

 

I thought it was kind of obvious that's what they were doing. I was surprised the opening credits remained unchanged (no product placement in Stan's slide down the stairs, the peace sign Hayley puts on his back, etc.).

 

The best  swipe at corporate interference I've ever seen was on the soap Passions in the late 90s/early 00s.  They had a character named Jessica who, for a time, sold cosmetics as part of a sponsorship deal.  Then, suddenly she started cutting herself until she became a drug-addicted, possibly-murderous prostitute. Selling cosmetics wasn't this cool thing that kids should emulate, despite the money from the sponsor to push that idea.  It was a gateway to self-loathing and destruction. 

That was fun, because they were taking a massive swipe at something that had clearly compromised/altered their work, and I appreciated them turning her into a literal whore.  It was also pretty ballsy, in my view, to carry it as far as they did.

 

That sounds truly bizarre. Also, that was a live-action soap opera (and if I remember, a pretty campy one at that). 

 

maybe that's what I'm missing here: relevance to this particular show, which seems pretty unburdened (except for the Dairy Queen advertisement, but that's just a drawing before commercials), or relevance in general, because I haven't seen shows get twisted too far in the name of a corporate sponsor

 

I don't think they were saying they had been compromised creatively, just that it happens. And while shows have not been "twisted" to appease a corporate sponsor as of yet, it doesn't mean it couldn't happen. 

 

This show doesn't always tell a straight narrative -- witness all the bizarre Christmas episodes, and last season, there was the episode staged as a "lost" play from the 1930s. 

 

Or, you know, different strokes and all that.

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Amethyst

Amethyst

(edited)
I was surprised the opening credits remained unchanged (no product placement in Stan's slide down the stairs, the peace sign Hayley puts on his back, etc.).

 

That's part of the problem I had with the episode; they didn't really commit to the gag until the very end.  Fung was strictly in the B-plot and he had nothing to do with Stan and Francine at the asylum.  Having them cut away from the lobotomy in the last ten minutes (no pun intended) didn't feel like a joke; rather "We have no idea how to end this so we'll just awkwardly force Fung into the A-plot."  It was sloppy and worse, it wasn't funny.

 

AD has broken the fourth wall before (e.g the Smiths knowing that AD is a TV show) so that's not a new concept for them.  The writers really could have committed to the joke that Fung bought the show by changing the opening credits, the scenery in Langley Falls, the family dynamic and so on.  I also thought the Sonic commercial at the first break was part of the joke.  There were a lot of potentially funny ways they could have gone about this.  Instead, they had a weak-but-sensible A-plot, only to change it in the end because they had to find a way to segue the gimmick they promoted back into the episode.  The Smiths toiling away on a rice paddy could have been funny too, if they actually focused the episode on that.

 

I'm not so sure...dismal, even fair ratings on TBS would be much better than if it was on FOX.  FOX canned the show b/c it always has other shows it can bring in to replace it, whereas TBS doesn't have as much to choose from.

 

Good point.  TBS' shows really don't have the longevity and they get canceled quickly.  AD is syndicated so it already has a fanbase.  I suppose ratings really aren't that important to them as long as they have a show to air.

Edited by Amethyst
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phoenix780

phoenix780

Or, you know, different strokes and all that.

 

I think that's it.  I am glad to read different takes on it, though.

 

I also think that maybe context played a role in my reaction.  I haven't been thrilled with the TBS run thus far, I watched this episode right after being disappointed by the previous one.  It wasn't an interesting departure, then, it was just another dull episode.  Maybe if I felt differently about the others, this would have gotten a different reaction.

SmithW6079

SmithW6079

The writers really could have committed to the joke that Fung bought the show by changing the opening credits, the scenery in Langley Falls, the family dynamic and so on.

Then again -- and I might be seeing more than the writers intended -- they could have wanted to show the progression of how corporate money ruins artistic expression. Fung Wah originally says nothing will change; then Roger, Klaus, and the kids start dropping some product placement; then Fung inserts himself as a cartoon, eventually doing the voices; finally, it just becomes a promo video for Fung's businesses.

I haven't been thrilled with the TBS run thus far

Neither have I. I'm still convinced "edgier" to TBS means having the characters say "shit."
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CMH1981

CMH1981

 

Do you think that's why that one Important Guy left?

 

You mean Mike Barker?  If so, I mean the show went downhill after he left.  McFarlane gave Barker a basic outline of what the show could be and Barker and Weitzman basically made the show what it has been, but now I believe both have left from a hands on role and the show is what we are getting now.

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