Review: American Dad “The Wondercabinet”

Overview:

Steve Smith has managed to get through the first fourteen years of his life without letting existential dread over future fulfillment bog him down, but those days of blissful ignorance come to a sudden end. Steve’s unassuming interest in a mystic FM radio program, “The Wondercabinet,” has a profound effect on his life when he believes he’s gained the answers that he’s been lacking in his previously unenlightened existence. Steve’s transcendent quest to awaken his pineal gland throws Stan into panic mode, but the solution to this problem may run much deeper than either Stan or Steve realizes.

Roger also finds himself in a philosophical crisis of his own when his desire to penetrate the adult film industry opens him up to a cold world that has little appreciation for a good, quality van.

Our Take:

Personal fulfillment and inner bliss is something that’s fueled many American Dad episodes, typically in the context of Stan’s repressed family realizing a new passion that comes in conflict with Stan’s staunch beliefs and the perpetual fulfillment that he receives through his America-praising job at the CIA. Steve’s struggles usually don’t have him contemplating his future in a bleak way where he questions if he’ll achieve bliss or turn into a sad, small man. Steve’s playful nature and his innocence are part of what define him, so it’s a startling shift when these visceral fears manifest inside of him. This provides “The Wondercabinet” with a strong foundation to fall back on, but this also happens to be an extremely strange installment that results in one of the best episodes of the season.

“The Wondercabinet” takes some big swings and it’s an episode that puts a lot of stock in tone and trusts the audience to take this leap with them. The risks pay off, but this episode also has a really excellent script where every line delivers in addition to the solid and unpredictable storyline. Non-sequiturs like the Smith family’s corn-centric dinner, Stan’s Revenge of the Nerds love, feathered dinosaurs, or Barry’s cocaine all add an extra element of comedy to each scene. The most satisfying part of the episode might actually be Stan’s bizarre moisture-based detective skills that he uses to piece together everything that’s happened through eating bark and surveying moisture.

“The Wondercabinet” is an episode of American Dad that may alienate some viewers, but this is exactly the kind of weirdness that I want more of as the series moves forward. American Dad is in this perfect later stage in its life where it’s more willing to experiment with form and stranger tangents that can consume an entire episode. Hopefully “The Wondercabinet” is only the start of weirder things to come.

Oh, and Francine is, and always has been, a circus manager. Add it to your notes.