Hello there. This is the introductory review of the American Dad Fanatic, or as he’s known as on YouTube… the American Dad Fanatic. I will begin reviewing the new episodes of American Dad! every Monday after the episode’s Sunday airdate. This is my first review, the 134th episode, "Love, American Dad! Style" Comments and feedback of what you thought of the episode is always welcome.
In the season premiere of the eighth season of the greatest T.V. show ever, Roger decides to improve his bar in the attic of the Smith residence, which so far has no visitors. He decides to arrange a lounge singer to entertain the patrons, but the only problem is who will be the singer, until that is he hears Hayley singing in the shower and realizes that she’s perfect. Agreeing to do so, she becomes to the talk of the town and the bar’s attendance skyrockets. Now, Roger sees Hayley in a new light, by which I mean he loves her.
This episode, which coincides with the debut album of Rachael MacFarlane, Hayley Sings, which by the way is a pretty cool album in the least, is in the great tradition of usually interesting season premieres. Some of which has garnered Emmy nominations (“1600 Candles” and “Hot Water”) and others being kind off step backwards (“The Vacation Goo” and “In Country… Club”), however “Love, American Dad! Style” may not have the freshest storyline, and the B-story has been done before, but the episode delivers in great humor and really does set the bar for the rest of the season.
This plotline is familiar to me of season 2, episode 18 “The Magnificent Steven” B-story, where Roger pretended to like Hayley in order to get a free T-shirt. Judging on the similarity in synopses of the two individual episodes nearly six years apart, one would make the grand assumption that the staff is running out of ideas, which according to the episode plots currently released may very well be the case, but I will say that writer Erik Durbin, who in my mind is one of the most controversial writers currently on the AD staff, has done a great job of making this story different from the other episode and still maintain a level of hilarity that the show does so well. I mean, if I heard about the idea of Roger falling for one of the ladies in the Smith household, and becoming a stalker in the meantime, I would have said “Make this episode NOW!”
As usual, Rachael MacFarlane does a wonderful job voicing Hayley. Usually, American Dad! fans are split between either thinking that Hayley is a really annoying, useless character or thinking that she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. I have always been somewhere in the middle. In fact, I don’t really have a favourite/least favourite of the six primary characters (Stan, Francine, Steve, Hayley, Roger and Klaus); I think that they are all awesome in their own ways. Likewise, I thought that what Rachael brings to the Hayley character is a strong female character that the Meg character from Family Guy really isn’t. And now, seeing her in the episode, I am starting to become Roger in a sense. Do I have a little crush on her too? I don’t know. And her brother Seth is always comically godlike as Roger.
Overall, “Love, American Dad! Style” may not be an episode to the caliber of other episodes released even as close as last season, and has a plot that has a bit of been-there, done-that quality, but it still features tremendous comedy and great performances from the cast.
8/10
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