American Dad, I'm sorry to say, started out as Family Guy's more politically-minded fraternal twin brother. It tried to have a voice of its own but the spectre of Family Guy was hanging over it. Bullocks to Stan is the best episode in the first half of season 1 because it develops the characters in more interesting ways, features some early meta jokes and plants the seeds for the go-for-broke absurdity that would come to define American Dad during its run. In this episode, Stan's boss sleeps with Stan's daughter just when Stan is up for a big promotion and this causes a dilemma for him. Bullocks to Stan mainly deals with the complicated but promising relationship between Stan and his daughter Hayley. This strong emotional core would help ground most of American Dad's more outlandish moments throughout the run.
This episode, chronicling Francine Smith's run-in with a group of adulterous and murderous housewives, is a remarkable achievement for the show this early in its run. The A plot is ambitious, blending high suspense and terrific jokes in a way that that is far more sophisticated than anything other animated sitcoms ever attempted. The episode builds and builds until it reaches a frenzied peak and, better still, it sticks the landing with an ending that's both funny and surprising. The B plot, with Stan and Roger fighting over a dog's affections, is also full of great jokes and it matches the A plot's escalating beats but in a sillier way.
It's funny how, in season 1, Roger was much more a wacky supporting character instead of a leading character like he is now. And it's also funny how his penchant for elaborate personas didn't really begin until a little later in the series. Roger n' Me deals with the friendship between Stan and the desperate for a best buddy Roger. And what makes this episode so memorable is that it gives Roger a chance to be vulnerable in a way that's all too rare nowadays. The big set piece is Best Buddies, a Newlyweds style game show, and it brings some good laughs with the other contestants.
Other season 1 highlights: Stan Knows Best, Stan of Arabia, Rough Trade, Tears of a Clooney and Star Trek
AD does a sharp parody of 80s after school specials in this episode, where Stan battles with anorexia and his family tries to get him to eat. The writing of this episode is quite remarkable, mining a number of really strong jokes around a very serious subject. We're also introduced to Steve's first girlfriend, chubby goth Debbie, whose entry into the Smith household incites Stan's eating disorder. American Dad has a strong ensemble of characters, each one having a fresh comic voice. This episode also gives each one some strong moments. Also, this episode features Roger's bizarre obsession with Debbie and his date scene with her is absolutely hysterical.
AD in its early years had a political slant. Stan was a bigoted conservative who often learned a lesson about equality and acceptance each week. Eventually that comedy well dried up and the series shifted focus. Lincoln Lover, in which Stan joins an organization of gay Republicans and begins to adopt the gay lifestyle, is a watershed moment for the show: Stan's homophobia starts to break down. Also, Greg and Terry, the gay couple across the street from Stan and Francine who are also two parts of a news anchor duo, are featured heavily in this episode. They're definitely my favorite supporting characters in the show as they always provide big laughs.
If I had to point out my favorite TV married couple, Stan and Francine Smith would definitely be #1 or at least top 3. They are such a wacky, crazy couple with a surprisingly moving marriage. When Stan feels insecure about Francine's promiscuous past, Francine suggests he divorce her in order to get some meaningless sex but the plan backfires when he falls in love with someone else. Full of some really great gags, including a random callback to a throwaway joke from an earlier episode, When a Stan Loves a Woman reinforces that these two crazy kids are meant for each other. The B plot, with Steve being addicted to an extreme energy drink, is very funny as well.
Other season 2 highlights: Dungeons and Wagons, Joint Custody, Four Little Words, An Apocalypse to Remember and Iced, Iced Babies
If any show could pull off an elaborate Goodfellas parody about meter maids holding all the power in town, it's American Dad. Francine and Stan are animated stand-ins for Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco in this send-up of Marty Scorsese's 90s classic. By stealing coins out of meters and threatening to put boots on people's cars, Stan and Francine exert power over their community and it's all very funny material. But what's really cool about this episode is that a lot of thought went into spoofing specific details about Goodfellas, not just gangster movies in general. It shows that the writers on AD really know what they are doing. Another example of their spoofing abilities is this season's Tearjerker, a brilliant 007 parody.
With this third season being such a strong season, picking out three episodes was super tough. However, Widowmaker made the cut above some others because it features Clip Clop, Roger's psychiatrist persona's horse costume which he uses during marriage counseling. The genius of Clip Clop goes beyond just the excellent scene he's featured in. I love that the persona is so detailed that is allows for such delightful oddities. The plot is pretty standard, with Francine asking Stan to communicate and he starts divulging all these terrible secrets including one involving Francine's friend Julie (also a CIA wife). There are some pretty good gags but Clip Clop elevates the episode to one of the best of the season.
Another one of my favorite Roger personas is Scotch Bingington, the King of Spring Break. He sets up a complete spring break resort in the Smith home while Francine is visiting her parents. Feeling neglected, Stan becomes spring break buddies with a flirty coed Jessica. Steve tries to lose his virginity to Carmen Selectra (not Electra) and this yields some good humor. But the highlight of the episode is the level of detail in the spring break resort, ticking off all the cliches of spring break. And it's quite cool to see Roger pull off something so grand in literally seconds. The episode is quite romantic also, with Steve trying to win over Carmen and Stan feeling validated by the young woman and then more substantially by his wife.
Other season 3 highlights: Tearjerker, Oedipal Panties, The Vacation Goo, Franny 911 and Stanny Slickers II: The Legend of Ollie's Gold.
This is the episode where Stan disapproves of Hayley's dating choices then Francine catches him making out with Hayley (his daughter, remember). Then cut to commercial. After the commercial break, we find out Hayley's new boyfriend is Stan's CIA body double Bill, not her father. That was one of the riskiest sequences the show has ever done. The episode goes even further into bizarre territory when Stan pretends to be Bill during a weekend getaway with Hayley and tries to get her to break up with him. It's very, very funny but very, very wrong. But the show pulls it off because the story is grounded by Stan and Hayley's relationship as father and daughter. Also, when AD creator Seth Macfarlane was named the 2013 Oscars host, the Parents Television Council named this episode among a few others as evidence that Macfarlane is too deranged and family unfriendly to host a primetime event. That just makes this episode better.
Roger, feeling like he has no voice in the Smith house, overtakes the homeowners' association to undermine ex-president Stan's rules for the neighborhood. This leads to Stan, Steve and Hayley to sneak around at night with a bunch of other neighbors for some, as they call it, "constructive vandalism." This episode is just packed with jokes and sight gags and it uses the neighborhood really well as an ensemble. Putting Stan in with the counter culture against Roger is a very interesting character move, especially since he's usually pro-government, pro-establishment.
If someone were to ask me if there were a 100% perfect episode of American Dad, I would point them to Jack's Back. It's not a very flashy episode but it has all the things that make AD such a wonderful, special show. The episode is jam-packed with some extremely funny jokes. Some of the jokes are broad, some of them are more subtle but they're there. And it features strong, character moments for each Smith family member including Jack, Stan's dad in his second appearance. And it's all based on an emotional story about what it means to be a father and a son. The episode also features a hysterical B plot that ends in a disguise-off between Hayley and Roger and it's one of the best moments in the show's history.
Other season 4 highlights: Stan Time, Wife Insurance, DeLorean Story-an, Phantom of the Telethon and 1600 Candles.
Those are the top 12 episodes of the first half of American Dad's run. Look out for part 2, covering seasosn 5 through 8. Stay tuned!
