Review: American Dad “The Violence of the Clams”

Our Take

Both plots on paper are rather plain jane that we’ve seen a bunch. Between Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin, they’ve probably done every restaurant bit you can muster and I think everyone’s done lost mail bits as well, but the fun thing about American Dad is that the show’s writers know to take commonly-used tropes and truly make them their own.

Stan getting a 3D printer to do a mock-up of what their missing mail recipient looks like is a wonderful idea as it imbues the show’s grounded sci-fi awareness and gives us a hysterical interaction with an almost-new character. I was even a tad worried when we got to the end because even though Roger was busy working at the new restaurant, I had him pegged as the eventual recipient of the missing mail and was delighted to learn I was way off.

Speaking of way off, Steve turning into The Joker was not on my bingo card for the show’s new season but I’m happy to report that the results are hilarious. From a pure grossness factor, I was surprised with how much this week’s episode got away with certain things, especially with all of the vomit stacking up in Steve’s locker and we were this close to a “motherfucker” call-out.

An episode all about clams DID have me thinking a Family Guy reference to the show’s legendary bar that also has a crustacean-influenced name could have made this week’s episode legendary, but I’m still largely satisfied with the meal we got tonight.