Although it was stuck in Family Guy’s shadow for the first few years of its run, American Dad! has been carving a niche of its own since Seth MacFarlane left it in the hands of co-creators Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman. It’s now arguably a superior show to its Griffin-centric cousin.
The show has softened its focus on political satire and simply leaned into the weirdness and absurdism of Roger’s ability to disappear into any disguise and Stan’s sociopathic tendency to take things way, way too far. Here are 10 episodes of American Dad! that fans will never tire of watching.
In Country...Club (Season 6, Episode 1)
In the season 6 premiere “In Country...Club,” Steve is recruited to sing the national anthem to a gathering of war veterans. However, Stan is dissatisfied with Steve’s renditions of the anthem and takes him to a Vietnam War reenactment at a country club to get some perspective.
With Creedence on the soundtrack and red markers being used to slit throats, “In Country...Club” hilariously lampoons the signature tropes and brutality of Vietnam War movies.
Old Stan In The Mountain (Season 7, Episode 11)
Stan’s disrespect for the elderly comes at a cost in “Old Stan in the Mountain” when a hex is placed on him that ages him overnight. He sets out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with Steve and Hayley and becomes mistakenly convinced that they’re plotting to kill him.
The One That Got Away (Season 5, Episode 2)
When Roger’s credit card has some unexpected charges in season 5’s “The One That Got Away,” he dons a Charles Bronson disguise and sets out to get revenge.
However, he’s shocked to discover that the man who’s been using his card, Sidney Huffman, is one of his personas who broke off and started living a life of his own.
Rapture’s Delight (Season 6, Episode 9)
After spending his entire life as a dedicated Christian, Stan takes his eye off the ball for a few minutes in “Rapture’s Delight” when he and Francine have sex in the church janitor’s closet.
Unfortunately, this happens to be when God raptures all the good people in the world, so Stan and Francine are trapped in an apocalyptic wasteland. As with most episodes (although more effective here than usual), in the end, Stan comes to realize what’s most important to him.
Bully For Steve (Season 5, Episode 16)
In an attempt to toughen up Steve in “Bully for Steve,” Stan starts following him around and bullying him, encouraging him to stand up for himself.
That premise alone makes this episode a classic, but the final sequence with Stan’s old bully Stelio Kontos has become iconic among American Dad! fans.
Virtual In-Stanity (Season 8, Episode 5)
When the CIA pioneers technology that allows its agents to remotely control avatars, Stan poses as an attractive teenage girl to get closer to Steve. They end up dating and going to a school dance together, much to Francine’s dismay as she knows her son’s date is really his father.
Tearjerker (Season 4, Episode 10)
After Family Guy spoofed the original Star Wars trilogy with a trio of specials, American Dad! lampooned the James Bond movies, complete with an elaborate opening title sequence, a flamboyant villain (played by Roger), and a Bond girl named Sexpun T’Come (played by Francine).
Tearjerker’s plan to make a movie that’s so sad that every moviegoer in the world will cry themselves to death is delightfully absurd, while his ongoing disputes with the third-rate contractors who built his lair is a priceless running gag.
Ricky Spanish (Season 7, Episode 17)
Centered around Roger’s most evil (and possibly most memorable) persona, season 7’s “Ricky Spanish” sees the titular troublemaker stealing a child’s lollipops, torching a petting zoo, kicking an old lady in the crotch, and defecating into a mid-surgery man’s anatomy, all paired with that now-iconic whisper of his name.
Steve gives Ricky a chance to prove that he’s changed and become a good person, and of course, that comes back to bite him, summed up hilariously in a closing voice-over by the great Werner Herzog.
The Vacation Goo (Season 3, Episode 1)
In the season 3 premiere, the Smiths are shocked to discover that all of their vacations were simulations in vats of goo that Stan put them in to get a break from them during the NFL season.
Stan promises to take the family on a real vacation, but there are complications when Francine refuses to accept that they’re not still in the goo.
Cops And Roger (Season 6, Episode 14)
“Cops and Roger” provided one of the most inspired and gruesome visual gags in the show’s history. The episode sees Roger training to join the police force after chickening out during a mugging, then becoming corrupt after a couple of hours on the job.
He falls in with a crooked cop named Chaz Migliaccio, much to Stan’s disappointment, and eventually jumps onto Chaz’s head, elbow first, causing his entire head to explode. The episode’s ending is perfect, with Roger asking Stan, “So, have you heard anything? Is Chaz gonna be okay?,” and an incredulous Stan replying, “No.”