Review: American Dad “Manhattan Magical Murder Mystery Tour”

SPOILERS BELOW

If you think I didn’t praise last week’s American Dad enough, stick around because this was hands down my favorite of this season so far. I had to watch this episode twice because I enjoyed it so much the first time, I didn’t really pick up on anything that dragged this episode down. After my second viewing, I was also at a loss. It hit all of the right notes and then some. Let’s just get into the review!

In “Manhattan Magical Mystery Tour” Francine publishes a book that earns her a nomination for “Best Lonely Housewife Detective Novella-Soft Core” award. The award ceremony is in Manhattan, so the Smith’s pack up and make their way to New York. Meanwhile, Steve and Roger want author, James Patterson, to write a book based on their characters “Wheels and the Legman”, which they then hope to have turned into a movie that will go straight to Red Box. Things go wrong when Francine is kidnapped. Meanwhile again, Stan and Hayley spend some father-daughter time together with actor, Robert Wuhl.

This episode came with a laundry list of strengths. First of all, we get probably the best Wheels and Legman adventure ever. The stakes are real this time for the duo, and their methods are hilariously entertaining. Every subplot of this episode was great. Robert Wulh stole the show this episode. His lonely domineer and obsession with potato salad was a recipe for success, and there is a scene when he uses the washroom that absolutely almost made my sides burst. There was a lot of focus in this episode. It’s written much like a mystery novel, you’re always wondering what will happen next. On top of that mystery is some of the funniest situations and dialogue of the season. Roger, a fan favorite of the show, was at his best. Steve may have been the weakest character of the episode on his own, but he was a great straight-man for Roger.

An area that was a draw back for the episode was about the first five minutes. The show opened kind of slow, but it didn’t take long to get going. That is really the only thing that stood out to me that I didn’t like. I don’t think they’ll be able to top this episode for the rest of the season, which is fine by me because it did all of the right things, and it did them well.

Overall, I’m extremely impressed with this episode. I wish I had more to say about it, so this review will be shorter than most, but I didn’t have many issues with the episode. Minor things were completely overshadowed by some of the funniest writing I’ve seen from the show in many seasons. I’m not sure if I can say this is my favorite episode of American Dad ever, but it may be in my top five. Definitely in my top ten. If you haven’t had a chance to see the episode yet, you should check it out. I’ve left a lot of the funniest stuff unspoiled. I can’t quite give this episode a perfect score, because there were some noticeable flaws. But I happy give this episode a well-deserving…

How did you like last night’s episode? Am I over praising it? Love it as much as I did? Let me know your thoughts!