Review: American Dad “Morning Mimosa”

SPOILERS BELOW

Another week, another American Dad. There aren’t too many animated shows that retain the magic of whatever it was that kept the show fresh, to begin with. Whether it is a change in writing staff, or maybe just not having the longevity that other shows do, it seems there always comes a day when the general audience turns on what was once held, dear. Fortunately, American Dad still seems to be exempt, and now many loyal and new fans alike tune in to TBS every Monday to see what the Smith family will do next. Unfortunately, last night’s episode fell a little flat, let’s get into the reasons why.

In “Morning Mimosa”, Steve has a falling out with Francine which leads them to resent one another, eventually resulting in Steve becoming a cooking sensation on YouTube.”

The opening scene to this episode was one of the funniest, I’ve seen all season. The Morning Mimosa parodies many daytime talk shows targeted towards women. Imagine The View with a splash of Jerry Springer, and that’s what you get here. The Morning Mimosa bit was really funny for a short period but just became annoying later in the episode. It somehow felt like it became a parody of itself, and no longer served the episode well. The conflict between Steve and Francine throughout the episode didn’t help very much either, while it was a perfectly fine plot to have, it never really seemed funny to me. It’s what it appeared to be throughout, and it sort of ended how you’d expect as well.

Meanwhile, Stan’s subplot in the episode may have been the worst part of the entire episode. It took a gag that wasn’t that great, to begin with, then dragged it out throughout the rest of the episode. The problem is that it could have been funny if it really escalated outside of expectations, or if it somehow tied back into the main story, but unfortunately it just played out pretty much how you’d expect it to. In short, I think what this episode was lacking was the element of surprise. I’m most impressed when I don’t see something coming, I like when a show can keep me on my toes. When I know what’s coming in the story, it sort of deflates whichever jokes come along with it.

On the flip side of my negative banter, there were some redeeming qualities to this episode. As I mentioned before, the opening scene introducing the Morning Mimosa was really funny. I enjoyed it a lot. Even some of the jokes throughout the episode were really funny, just not most of them.

Overall, I wasn’t impressed with this episode. American Dad has been on a roll in my eyes, but not every episode is going to be a great one. There are always bound to be shortcomings when you have to pump out so many episodes in a season. That’s definitely an advantage some other animated shows have over shows like American Dad. Shorter seasons usually mean more focus on quality. I’m still pleased with the show, and I’m looking forward to next week.

How did you like “Morning Mimosa”? Like it more than I? Agree with my thoughts? Don’t hesitate to share your opinions! Enjoy the rest of your week!