Review: American Dad “Oh Brothel, Where Art Thou?”

Overview

Greg gets a plaque from the historical society; Stan tries hard to earn the same recognition; Roger becomes a traveling salesman.

Our Take

How about guest star Bob Balaban as a museum curator folks, huh? HUHH? I mean I liked it, even more so the subject of said museum which turns out to be the Smith household. In any event, this week’s episode of American Dad falls into the rather common “Stan learns the value of family” file that we’ve seen on more than a few occasions but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.

The plot gets a little wonky at the end when Hayley is trying to explain the REAL origins of the household, but overall I rather enjoyed the concept of a whole episode dedicated to a bunch of people watching the Smith family in their natural habitat and be increasingly entertained almost as if we’re getting a reflection of viewership habits for fans of American Dad. Personally, I would’ve liked to have spent a bit more time in the whorish basement to see just how demented writer Jeff Kauffmann’s mind really gets, but we got the picture.

The B-plot featuring Roger and the encyclopedias I actually enjoyed more than I thought I would have due to Roger’s calmness as a salesman. I think the more tropey ending would’ve been Roger going nuts but the fact that the writers showed real constraint was a lot of fun though I was expecting a slightly different twist when both plots started to cross paths. For me I think I would’ve used the elderly woman again and maybe learn she was the deed owner to the one-time brothel and then ends up making a deal with the Smiths or something in that vein that would’ve had a bigger payoff for both plots but timing could have also been considered.

I do find it interesting that we’re getting a tad more Rogu over these last few episodes though I wouldn’t say we’ve had anything completely focused on the little guy just yet. In any event, he’s a welcome sight to see and maybe with one more month of episodes for the season we’re going to get more time to hang out with him. Until then, read your encyclopedias and we’ll see ya next week, Dadders!