Family Guy. Though both shows have moments of Seth MacFarlane's signature humor, American Dad! does a lot of things better than Family Guy. For one, American Dad! relies more on story-centric and contextual humor rather than the nonsensical cutaways of Family Guy.
American Dad follows The Smith family, which consists of conservative CIA agent father Stan, his wife Francine, liberal daughter Hayley, nerdy son Steve, hidden alien (who is obsessed with playing characters) Roger, and talking fish Klaus. These are just a few of the best episodes of American Dad!
Updated on March 21, 2021 by Scoot Allan: Seth MacFarlane's hit animated series American Dad! continues to move away from its Family Guy as it has found it's own hilarious identity that survived the series' network transition. The fan-favorite series has aired for over 15 seasons that have followed the Smith family through all kinds of episodes that have separated it from other similar series over the years. Today we are going to take a further look at some of the best episodes from American Dad! to celebrate the ongoing success of the hit series that has continued to bring in new and old fans alike as the series reaches new international streaming services like Disney+'s Star content update.
Steve Accidentally Shoots Santa In "For Whom The Sleigh Bell Tolls"
Christmas is always a unique time in the Smith household, and there have been quite a few episodes that have explored the holiday season over the various seasons of American Dad!, though none tackled it quite like the sixth season's "For Whom The Sleigh Bell Tolls."
Steve was given a gun for Christmas by Stan, which he almost immediately used to accidentally shoot Santa Claus. The Smiths attempt to hide his body in the woods, though he is reanimated by his elves in order to lead the army of the North Pole against the Smith family as they holed up in a wooded cabin.
Steve ed Stan On A CIA Hunting Trip In "Buck, Wild"
Some of the best episodes of American Dad! are the ones that put an emphasis on how different Steve is from Stan. "Buck Wild" is a great example of their dynamic, showing that even though their attitudes and personalities couldn't be further from each other, Steve still wants nothing more than for Stan to be proud of him.
"Buck, Wild" finds Steve accompanying Stan on the CIA hunting trip, only to find that he and his pals have set up a high-tech campsite that's about as far from "roughing it" as you can get. Steve's refusal to kill a deer ends up putting it down anyway (along with a host of other woodland creatures). Steve returns to the forest and raises the deer's children as its own, making for some wonderful gags on parenthood. Roger gets a funny little B story with Klaus as well. After missing his odometer turning over to all zeros, he drives another 100,000 miles... Only to miss it again.
The Smiths Experience A Series Of Fake (And Real) Vacations In "The Vacation Goo"
Francine and the rest of the Smith family were dismayed to learn that their memories of past vacations were actually all fabrications of a CIA test program. When Steve needed time to himself he would suggest a vacation, and the family would enter a form of suspended animation in a strange green goo that simulated their vacation memories.
Francine made Stan promise to take them on a real vacation, though each member of the family then used the vacation goo for their own purposes until they finally went on a real cruise. Unfortunately, that vacation went terribly wrong as they were stranded on an island and forced to resort to cannibalism, leading to a return to goo vacations as a family.
Hayley, Steve And His Friends Spoofed The Hit Movie In "Ad-ventures In Hayleysitting"
What might be better than examining Steve's need for approval from Stan is seeing how much he needs to show up Hayley at any opportunity. After Hayley volunteers to babysit (to plenty of insults from Stan and Francine), she chides Steve and his friends for always playing it safe. Steve takes this as a challenge, and the kids end up embarking on a wild night.
This episode is particularly great not just because of its tight plotting and pacing, but also for a memorable guest appearance from Charlie Day, who plays a meth dealer who is also obsessed with keeping his receipts in order (could there ever be a better part for Day?). The episode ends with a hilarious twist that comes from a seemingly unconnected storyline, making "Ad-ventures in Hayleysitting" one of the most well-constructed of the bunch.
Stan Goes To Extreme Lengths To Get Close To Steve In "Virtual In-stanity"
Even though Steve is constantly looking for approval from Stan, he's not the only one looking to connect. Stan is constantly trying to figure out his son and guide him in what he thinks is the right direction. Stan's mission to do this goes to hilarious and disturbing lengths in the episode "Virtual In-stanity."
Stan realizes that Steve doesn't want to spend time with him, per se, but a secret CIA project allows Stan to utilize an avatar of a teenage girl (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) in order to get closer to his son. Of course, problems arise as Steve's teenage hormones kick in, and Stan must make a somewhat gross choice about how to proceed. The episode is hilarious and also features another Buffy alum, Alyson Hannigan.
Stan's Crush On A Co-Worker In "The Scarlett Getter" Causes Major Problems For Roger
Any episode of American Dad! that gives Roger more to do is welcome, and "The Scarlet Getter" is one that provides plenty of opportunities for Roger to be his best (worst) self. The episode finds Stan's CIA boot camp crush returning to Langley, which sends Stan into an awkward, trying-too-hard spiral of trying to win her over.
Francine figures this out and recruits Roger to sweep the agent off her feet as one of his signature characters, Dan Handsome. However, the real trouble starts when Stan and Francine discover that Stan's crush is actually an alien hunter and she has easily figured out Roger's identity, resulting in one of the more frightening scenes of the show.
Roger Vows To Kill The Smiths After His Birthday Roast In "Great Space Roaster"
While Roger's characters are usually his main forms of expression, he's also prone to extreme moments of murder and violence that seem to balance him out as well, which fans saw in full effect during the fifth season's "Great Space Roaster."
Following a harsh roast at Roger's birthday, the Smith family began to experience a series of near-fatal accidents that were eventually revealed to have been caused by Roger. Knowing he would never stop until they were dead after his requested humiliation, they even attempted to escape into space, though Roger still hunted them down and forced them to hilariously roast each other.
Patrick Stewart's Avery Shines During The "Finger Lenting Good" Bottle Episode
Another great thing that the best episodes of American Dad! do is pitting the Smith family against one another. "Finger Lenting Good" does this very well, but it also does so within the confines of the Smith home, making for an episode that is small in scope but still packed with a lot of great jokes and story beats.
After everyone in the family realizes that they have broken their New Year's resolutions, they agree to give up the same things for Lent after Francine convinces them during a massive Mardi Gras party thrown by Roger. What they don't realize until they wake up, however, is that Stan's boss Avery has agreed to cut off a finger from whoever breaks their promise first. The episode then devolves into the Smith family all trying to trick each other into breaking first, so the rest of them can be safe.
American Dad! Goes Indie And Gets Deep During "Independent Movie"
Another thing that American Dad! does better than almost any other animated show out there is satirizing specific genres without falling into straight pastiche, something that Family Guy does all too often. This sort of storytelling tactic is done to great effect in the episode "Independent Film," which not only takes on the grainy film look of an independent movie but also hits similar types of story beats.
The episode is brilliantly structured, finding Steve and his friends going on a road trip to Snot's father's funeral, as well as a LEGO-building contest where they intend to enter figures of Ron Howard at three different ages. One of the best, most emotional scenes of the entire series take place in this episode. Snot, trying to get the same snack he and his dad would eat together from a vending machine, breaks down when it becomes stuck, yelling "where were you?" The episode also features Zooey Deschanel in a guest role as Steve's manic pixie dream girl.
Hayley's Boyfriend Jeff Is Stranded On An Alien Planet In "Lost in Space"
One of the most entertaining side plots throughout American Dad! is Hayley's relationship with her stoner boyfriend, Jeff. In an earlier episode, Jeff is pushed into an alien tractor beam by Roger and flown away to a different galaxy. That story finally pays off in "Lost in Space," when we are reed with Jeff as he is taken to Roger's home planet.
This episode is fantastic, despite the fact that it does not feature any other of the Smith family. The writers create an entirely new world on this alien planet and even throw in a great musical number for good measure. Jeff eventually teams up with Sinbad (yes, that Sinbad, who is hilarious in the episode) to free themselves of the alien planet and return to Earth.
