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 some depth and nuance to their relationship, but nothing about this episode gives the impression that it was worth making. This is the problem with running 22 episode seasons; sometimes, you're not going to have enough ideas to keep up the momentum the entire way. This episode is the very definition of filler.
"Hamerican Dad!" also has a B-plot that is literally about three minutes long, which is very disappointing. Jeff, Hayley, Klaus and Francine sit down and talk about which member of the neighborhood way in that classic way that family members are always dumping exposition on each other. Then Francine decides to scare Greg with an axe and gets hit by a truck, and that's that. Wow, what a storyline.
It's not that I actively disliked this episode, there have been ones in these recent seasons that I found much worse. It's just that I really didn't think it was worth my time, or worth reviewing. I wrote as much as I could, but in the end, there really isn't much to say about "Hamerican Dad!". It's pure filler start to finish, and while some of the one-liners, particularly from Roger, were decently funny, it's not enough to make up for the complete lack of plot.
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 some depth and nuance to their relationship, but nothing about this episode gives the impression that it was worth making. This is the problem with running 22 episode seasons; sometimes, you're not going to have enough ideas to keep up the momentum the entire way. This episode is the very definition of filler.
"Hamerican Dad!" also has a B-plot that is literally about three minutes long, which is very disappointing. Jeff, Hayley, Klaus and Francine sit down and talk about which member of the neighborhood way in that classic way that family members are always dumping exposition on each other. Then Francine decides to scare Greg with an axe and gets hit by a truck, and that's that. Wow, what a storyline.
It's not that I actively disliked this episode, there have been ones in these recent seasons that I found much worse. It's just that I really didn't think it was worth my time, or worth reviewing. I wrote as much as I could, but in the end, there really isn't much to say about "Hamerican Dad!". It's pure filler start to finish, and while some of the one-liners, particularly from Roger, were decently funny, it's not enough to make up for the complete lack of plot.
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