Review: American Dad ‘A Boy Named Michael’

Spoilers Below

Hey, guys! Welcome to the second review of the back-to-back season premiere of American Dad. Or maybe this is the first of the two that you’re reading. I won’t judge if you read them out of order. The second episode of the night is titled “A Boy named Michael”. When I first read that title, I thought we were going to have some sophistication in the episode. It’s a title that demands attention, and while the episode itself wasn’t sophisticated, the subject matter definitely was. When the Smith’s attend Greg & Terry’s adoption party, Roger becomes infatuated with gay culture and begins to feel self-aware, that his current lifestyle doesn’t measure up the classy nature of the homosexual neighbors. What he does to make himself feel adequate is classic Roger. Meanwhile, to get back at Roger, Stan embraces the classless lifestyle and moves his new La-Z-Boy recliner along with the rest of his home out onto the front yard. It was fantastic.

Of the two episodes that aired last night, I thought this one was done much better. It found a way to blend what could have been two subplots seamlessly. There was more than the time when I found myself erupting with laughter, so the comedy was very strong. There is one scene where Stan tries to reenact Spider-Man, and that may have been my favorite part of the twenty-one minutes. That or interaction between Stan and a guy who mistakes his lawn-home as a yard sale. There is an emphasis on gay culture in this episode that is obviously exaggerated but doesn’t take away from what made the episode funny. If anything it contributed to the outrageous situations. This proved to be the stronger of the two episodes, so I’m glad they closed with it. I can think of at least one time throughout the episode where each member of the Smith family made me laugh. They also kept the spotlight on Roger in this episode which was a good idea since he is one of the more popular characters.

“A Boy named Michael” didn’t do very much wrong. Sitting through it, I was genuinely looking for things I didn’t like, but I think everything worked together quite well. This is certainly worth watching if you haven’t seen it already. Overall, I really loved this episode. If this is a sign of what this season will be like, I’m really excited. I’ll probably watch this at least one more time before the day is through. It’s everything I look for in American Dad.

What did you think of “A Boy Named Michael?” Like it as much as I did? Think I need to have my taste in television examined? Let us know! Have a great week, everybody! Hope you’re as pumped for a new season of American Dad as I am!