Review: American Dad “Camera Stan”
OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
To exploit Stan’s long standing but previously undiscussed dreams of being on a reality show, Roger draws in a bunch of eccentric idiots to record the drama, most of which being instigated by Stan. But Stan’s TV appearance also gets the attention of a group of Canadian terrorists he once went undercover with, threatening the safety of the show.
OUR TAKE
Our return to FOX airing American Dad concludes its first stage, as for at least the next few weeks, the animation domination line up will be taken up by some new Bible themed programming about the stories of important women in the old testament. But in the meantime, let’s focus on the REAL holy book: This cartoon TV show about a conservative father who is apparently also a messy bitch who loves drama! This is another one of those episodes where a character, in this case Stan, reveals they’ve had this secret dream or passion that has never been mentioned before but, for the purposes of this plot, will be their entire purpose for the next twenty or so minutes. In this case, it’s Stan wanting to have been on a reality show. This is an easy job for Roger, who was basically the definition for the phrase “messy bitch who loves drama” before that hit the cultural lexicon. So, Stan ends up on a makeshift show full of completely new characters who we might never see again after this, aside from that old man who we kind of see around on occasion? Kinda surprised they didn’t work Tuttle in for this instead of the very end, but okay.
Though as much as I say that this is something that Stan has never wanted before, the fact of the matter is that this is definitely consistent with other previous traits he has shown, otherwise this wouldn’t be a Stan focused episode. Stan likes being in control of a situation, whether that’s actually being in charge or just being able to mess with people whenever he feels like it. He also has had a pattern of thinking that being obnoxious and up in people’s faces is a way to get them to respect him, even if it tends to just drive people away. And he wants approval from people he doesn’t know and sometimes even prioritizes it over the approval and support of people close to him, which is something that being a fan favorite reality TV show cast member has the potential to do. But he ALSO has a past with the CIA that he tends to forget about even when it puts people in danger, hence the involvement of the Canadian terrorist cell, even if that was more funny for the built up joke about them fighting for changing American Timezones, which is…actually kind of a good goal? But just like all terrorist groups in fiction, their good ideas must be portrayed as radical and dangerous, lest we agree with them. Anyway, that’s all for American Dad for the next couple weeks until Fox gets its Bible fix, so see you then for “Idol Threat” on April 12th!
