Review: American Dad! “Next of Pin”

Stan = KingPin.

This week’s new American Dad! episode, “Next of Pin”, is a weird and funny romp. It’s another Stan and Steve bonding episode, but this time, it seemed really genuine. Stan realizes Steve is great at bowling after becoming frustrated getting him into other sports, and there are some hilarious montages.

The episode’s cold open was long, and funny. The writing and pacing of everything in this episode is nice and even keeled, and it has those old style super weird moments that AD fans have come to love. I also noticed that the intro seems re-done lately, the art and animation is super crisp. American Dad! has come a long way from its beginnings on FOX!

The only thing that kind of pales about this episode was the side story, in which Klaus accuses both Roger and Hayley of having short attention spans. Parts of the side story are great, the Bicycles documentary Klaus makes them watch sounds insanely boring. But the side story lacks something– it feels a little tacked-on and thrown together.

Of course, once Steve lets his bowling talents go to his head and gets a manager (someone OTHER than Stan), Stan continues to support Steve in a really interesting show of love and loyalty– basically, a father finally able to be proud of his son’s achievements.

All in all, “Next of Pin” was an enjoyable episode (even despite my dislike of bowling) and as always, I’m looking forward to yet another new episode next week.