Henry's World

After last week's episode, which could be best described as..................................existing, I was definitely a little more interested for AD to shift to a world I'm much more familiar with. Even from the episode's title, you can see the emphasis on video games, particularly Overwatch, coming, but I don't think anyone was prepared for where the writers decided to take this one. "Brave N00b World" is easily one of the most predictable episodes of American Dad I've ever seen, at least in it's first half. Stan is ignoring Steve for work, Bullock sends Stan and the rest of the team is China to assassinate a North Korean general by playing Overwatch, they eat lots of ice cream instead, all very ho-hum kind of stuff. I thought the episode did veer a little too close to the line of just flat out being an advertisement for Overwatch at times, but luckily they kept the focus on the tension between Stan and Steve instead. But focus is the bigges...

I......................don't know what to say. I've barely even prepared any emotions about this episode, let alone words. Let's just review it, I guess. Well, that was one of the strangest half-hours of my life. "Tapped Out" is an episode of American Dad so f***ed up that all I need to do is just describe the plot summary to you to make you feel like vomiting. It turns out that Francine has been secretly feeding Steve breast-milk his entire life, for reasons that are never explained. I guess she just thought it was fun. Steve is disgusted when he first finds out, but when Francine sabotages his orange juice, he becomes convinced that he still needs the stuff. He then gets obsessed with it and I guess just completely regresses back to being a literal baby, and the two are ostracized when Steve is caught suckling Francine in public. What is my life? What awful decisions have led me down this path, where I have to type these words? Anyway, Francine eventually...

AD is really not a show that deals in celebrity guests too often, and though somewhat notable voice actors apart for a cameo or two, the show doesn't normally make a big deal out of it. That's why this episode comes completely out of left field, and I didn't really know what to think of it when I saw the episode description listed online. I do realize that I could be writing to a new audience this week, since you know damn well I'm using this episode's guest star for extra clicks, so I'm going to try a slightly different format this week that makes my review a little bit easier to read. For anyone that is new, just know this: I'm usually much grumpier. So yeah, The Weeknd. I've heard a couple of his songs before, I know he's done one or two WWE pay-per-view themes, which technically makes this a crossover episode. You do need kinda need to understand his image in some part to enjoy "A Starboy is Born", as this episode is completely c...

Jeff finally gets a main story in an episode, and of course it's about stripping. This man can't catch a break. We open with Jesse, Roger's persona for this episode that he's very invested in, a stylist in a male erotic club who dreams of making chivalric cabaret a thing and opening his own club. Of course, it's hated by the horny female customers and mocked relentlessly by the rest of the Smith Family, and Roger, now in a wheelchair after coughing up some of his own spine, must team up with Jeff, a fellow outcast, to realize his dream. There's a lot of comedy to be mined from this pairing, especially with a motivated Roger and Jeff genuinely trying to help, as he goes into erotic dancing himself. It doesn't work, because of course, so Jeff turns to actual stripping to help pay for his motel fees, and ends up just sort of falling into being a male stripper. Probably the biggest drawback of this episode is Jeff's complete lack of agency, as he'...

It's unfortunate that a growing trend on American Dad appears to be episodes completely lacking in genuinely satisfying payoffs. Last week's "100 Years a Solid Fool" had an interesting premise, but lost sight of what makes the characters of Stan and Roger fun to viewers, and ended about as meekly as any I've ever seen from this show. Based on last season, I believe the AD writing team still has what it takes to craft an enjoyable story from start to finish, but a little more of my faith wavered this week. "Downtown" is a Hayley and Steve episode, and that pairing is probably American Dad's most inconsistent, generally good at delivering punchlines but lacking in emotional payoff. Not surprisingly, this episode has quite a few strong gags, as the two Smith children get involved in an escapade through an unnamed Langley neighborhood. Steve is attempting to take his pre-pre-SAT, a test his sister doesn't take seriously in any way, but the cla...

After over seven months on hiatus, failing to actually complete it's previous season and leaving viewers totally in the dark, American Dad has finally returned to television. In a world that absolutely needs a good laugh, could one of the best animated comedies in history deliver some? Well......... "100 Years a Solid Fool" wastes no time setting up it's A-plot, as Stan drags Steve and the family off to Little Columbia in Langley to laminate his library card. From there, he spins us a yarn, a tale stuffed with greed, betrayal, and mangoes. A young Stan steps up to take on one of Columbia's most notorious coke smugglers, El Narco, accompanied by Roger, who's disguised as an incredibly inept translator. It's very obvious Roger is El Narco, and at least the show doesn't try too hard to cover up this twist, as he almost immediately switches persona and kills all of Stan's team. It's a great set-up for another chapter in the Stan-Roger blood ...

American Dad as a show is definitely not afraid to get a little freaky, and nothing is more evident than the existence of Rogu, Roger's tumor that became a character himself in "Persona Assistant". Rogu primarily works as a character because he stays in the background, but this week, he takes a starring role in one of the weirdest American Dad episodes to date. "The Hand that Rocks the Rogu" has little in the way of traditional plot structure, and can only barely be considered an episode at all. It's more a collection of funny and bizarre skits, with a few running plot points that end up forming some sort of resolution. Steve wants to become a babysitter, but Francine says he's not ready, so he needs to prove himself to her. He does that by taking care of Rogu, as Roger is off for a night of NSFW activities. Steve is instructed not to let Rogu have candy or screentime, but violates both rules almost immediately. It turns out that Rogu multiplies w...

A large amount of American Dad episodes in the TBS years seek to impress with crazy plot twists and ridiculous one-liners, seemingly to make up for the fact that the writers have run out of ideas. Anyone who has been a long term fan of the show can tell you that older episodes never really had that style, instead opting for simpler storytelling, built to slowly escalate over the course of each episode. Sure, AD has long been a wild show where anything can happen, but the interaction between characters were always grounded and rooted in emotion. But even with this season showcasing just how long in the tooth AD is, this week showed that it is still possible to recapture that old magic. "Eight Fires" succeeds, at least for me, because of a more simplistic plot. In the opening minutes, we are shown just how far the Smith family will go to avoid Francine's cooking, which is a solid place to start as Francine has been noted for her lack of cooking skill in the past. She...

Apologies for being a day late with this review, I was busy yesterday. Just like last week's "Enter Stanman", American Dad returns to the well of outlandish ideas mixed with mature storytelling this week, and finds success once again. "No Weddings and a Funeral" is a Klaus episode, which may scare some fans away off the jump. It's fair to say that Klaus has never been the show's most popular character, though he's proven to be capable of a major role if he has another character to play off of. In this case, it's the entire Smith family, who finally go to far in their abuse of the talking fish, prompting Klaus to pack his bags(or wheelbarrow, as it were) and head off on his own. Admittedly, the early scenes of the family making fun of Klaus felt like Family Guy at its worst, but while their barbs were intended as comedy, the episode at least makes it clear that they've finally crossed the line. Suddenly, we're 15 years into the futur...

American Dad toes a very thin line in most episodes, as the writers constantly attempt to balance the absurd nature of the show with the more reality based storylines and relationships it tells. While most episodes fall short of finding that perfect blend, when it works, American Dad is capable of telling sweet and artistic storylines you can't find anywhere else on television. That's not to say "Enter Stanman" is a perfect episode, by any means. It starts with a mostly cliche premise, as Stan is insecure after Francine dreams of having sex with Jeff. There's a fun montage set to "Mr. Sandman" where Stan does everything possible to just stop Francine from dreaming altogether, which ends up with the two in counseling. There's a great scene where they just talk out their issues and need absolutely no help, and bonus points as their therapist is not Dr. Penguin(who was killed off) but is actually his twin brother(by marriage). Of course, Stan isn...

The past couple weeks of American Dad episodes have been fairly sub-par, but a Hayley-Roger rivalry and Klaus' run as a car mechanic help turn things around this week. I always enjoy when a sitcom addresses the status quo of its characters, as "Pride Before the Fail" does this week. It turns out that Hayley is close to graduating from Groff Community College, and desperately wants to do whatever it takes to stay in school, where she feels extremely comfortable. It's actually a pretty decent meta storyline, as Hayley represents the writers, totally at odds with the idea of leaving her safety blanket and entering the outside world. Roger steps in, initially to help Hayley, but later goes against her in an attempt to procure her room, as Rogu's ska band has taken over his attic. Gotta admit, the biggest wasted potential in this episode was not hearing what on Earth the tiny alien was doing up there to ruin ska, of all things. Hayley attempts to flunk her way ou...

After last week's "Hamerican Dad!" turned out to be one of the worst American Dad episodes I've ever reviewed, can AD turn it around this week? Kind of. I will give "Demolition Daddy" credit that if finds a fresh and interesting character pairing to anchor the main storyline, as Roger lures Snot into the world of demolition racing. This entire plot centers around Snot's father, a character who we've never actually seen before. Roger had a close connection with the man, because of course he did, and tries to get Snot to follow in his father's footsteps. The biggest problem with this entire set-up, and the storyline as a whole, is that we haven't seen Snot's father before, and have no real attachment or understanding of his character. When Mrs. Lonstein or Roger talk about him, it means nothing, though I will at least give credit that it does follow Snot's character for him to do whatever it takes to live up to his father. Roger...

Gotta admit, that episode title pun is about as bad as anything I could've come up with. Still, it does set the stage for one of the laziest American Dad episodes I've seen, so I suppose it fits. What is there for me to say about "Hamerican Dad!". The A-plot is entertaining enough, as Stan and Roger clash over Stan's ham club. There really isn't much to this storyline, as the two characters spend most of the episode clashing against each other, before bonding at the end. It's the sort of conflict you've seen over and over again on American Dad, but this time, it feels so much worse to me because the Stan and Roger relationship has been explored so many times in the show's history. This episode feels like it has no right to exist, with the only truly memorable moment being Roger's Bob Fosse parody that is actually quite good. The idea of "Roger and Stan sabotage each with poison ham" may sound interesting on paper, and there is ...

I spent a long time thinking for some kind of Newman's Own sponsored joke, but I couldn't come up with anything good. But if you're as bad at telling jokes as I am, don't fret. Introducing Newman's Own Joke Machine, that comes up with the cutting insults and killer one-liners so that you don't have to. Available now for $150,000,000. Steve and Snot episodes are generally among American Dad's best, and "Mom Sauce" is no exception. The show lays out their dynamic early on, as we constantly see Snot having to turn to Steve for everything, from pencils to birthday parties.  But then Snot mysteriously gets rich, and the real fun of the episode begins. The "poor person gets loaded" plotline is one that has appeared many times on sitcoms over the years, and whether it succeeds or fails generally depends on the show's depiction of said rich person. American Dad doesn't disappoint, as Snot jumps from buying his friends pizza to zoomi...

You know, I once tried to make it in musical theater. If only I had watched this episode beforehand, I would've known I needed a leather jacket to truly make it. Alas, those dreams are for a more pretentious soul than mine. "Stompe Le Monde" is a wild episode of American Dad, one that starts with Stan's previously unknown uncle dying and ends with wanton destruction of many Sonic Drive-Ins. It's a crazy a journey as it sounds, one that left me just struggling to keep up. The family to use the new inheritance to travel to New York City, but Stan quickly blows the money on the rights to Stomp, which is apparently a real musical. The whole town of Langley is very excited to see the new show, but Stan has no idea what he's doing, never once hiring a director or even rehearsing. Why this only came up literally minutes before opening is anyone's guess. The Smith Family is forced to go on the run, and are attacked by many ferocious coyotes off-screen. In ye...

American Dad dunks all over Frontier Airlines this week, and well I could just finish the review here and call it a day, I suppose I should put up the appearance of effort. "An Irish Goodbye" is not too dissimilar to last week's "Wild Women Do", as Francine once again needs a break from Stan's wackiness. I will say, it's probably fine to do two episodes in a row with similar plots, but it better be leading to something. Anyway, while Jeff and Stan are off playing Davy Crockett, Francine sneaks off and an intrigued Hayley follows her mother. Hayley finds out that Francine let's off a little steam at an airport bar named O'Rivals, the name of which is simultaneously the best and worst part of this episode. Francine performs a really bad musical number, and convinces Hayley to join her. When large quantities of Bud Light aren't enough to forget her problems, Francine starts a bar fight, and it's incredibly fun to watch the pair k...

Well now the title sounds like wild women are doing this week's review of American Dad. At least to my knowledge, I'm not wild or a woman, so this is going to be my toughest test yet. "Wild Women Do" has a very simple premise, one that we've seen countless times on this show. There have been a ton of wild night/bender-esque episode plots, mostly involving Stan and Francine either individually or together, but where this episode succeeds is by utilizing the fresh combination of Francine and Jeff. Stan needs to get his sleep apnea treated, and must rely on his son-in-law to take his wife out on date night. Straight away, we get my favorite part of the episode, as Stan teaches Jeff what he can and can't allow Francine to do. There are numerous great lines in here, especially over Jeff's inability to accept not being in Stan's metaphor, and all of it had me chuckling. It's worth watching this episode just for this scene alone. The main conflict h...

Sorry for being a day late with this. I was busy doing fantasy football stuff yesterday and just didn't have the motivation to sit down and write this out. But motivation is easy to come by when you get to watch another round of poisoning and brutal murder. I'm not a sadist, I promise. "The Hall Monitor and the Lunch Lady" wastes no time getting to the main conflict, as Klaus takes over as the new lunch lady at Steve's school just in time for students to start puking. Suspicious of a conspiracy, Steve and Klaus team up with the returning Detective Turlington to get to the bottom of it. Straight away, it's a very interesting premise, one that could go a number of ways. Steve goes undercover, and it's here that he starts to lose all agency as a character. Steve is just thrown into one situation after another, and his mission keeps progressing, mostly due to luck rather than actual skill. He's quickly accepted into Principal Lewis' troop of hall...

You know, I can relate to the tough life on an Instagram influencer. I spend over 2-3 hours a week, that's right, every single week, slaving over my keyboard. I can only eat when I'm not working, or am working, or just whenever. I only sleep about 8 hours a night, and sometimes, someone forces me to wake up before 10 AM. 10, can you believe it? The real victims of life are bloggers, man. If you would like to save me and many others from this miserable existence, please donate today. "The Long March" is a Hayley and Jeff episode, and a lot of those have flopped big time in recent seasons. But don't worry, dear reader, because I'm here today to tell you that this one was also not very good. I did enjoy the first act of the episode, as Hayley is promoted at work, which Stan is over the moon about. Stan revels in the trappings of corporate life to his daughter, and then disappears, never to be seen again. Some say they can still hear him wandering around the ...

Obviously, AD heard all of my complaints about episode title length, and decided to treat me to one that's literally just one word. Of course, now it sounds like I'm just here to review sharks, but I'm not opposed to that. "Shark?!" is about sharks, obviously, why did you need me to tell you that? More specifically, Steve's fear of sharks, which has Stan worried. This is yet another Stan and Steve storyline, but this one worked better than most because Stan is genuinely trying to help his son throughout. He hires Roger, who has an alternate persona as a shark, to stage an attack and force Steve to confront his fears, and it works. But after Steve spends a bit too much time bragging about fighting off the attack, Roger's pride as a vicious shark must be protected, so he rips Steve's arm off. It's a gruesome scene, but one that works extremely well as the brutality of it sets up Steve's storyline for the rest of the episode. Having faced his...