Review: American Dad “Rabbit Ears”

I can’t wait till Black Mirror copies this!

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Stan picks up a giant old TV off the street, much to the rest of the family’s annoyance, and finds it only plays one episode of a black and white show called “Nighthawk’s Hideaway”, hosted by Alistair Covax, where some of the hippest swingers of the…I’m guessing 50’s or 60’s, nod their heads to some jazz. Only Stan can’t find any info online about Alistair or the show, leading him to a support group led by, you guessed it, Tuttle, who tells him that the show only has one episode, but it has slight changes from day to day. Tuttle is also the only member remaining, as everyone else who ever mentioned seeing it has disappeared. And that night, Stan sees Tuttle amongst the background.

Using Tuttle’s notes, Stan finds a way to access the world of the show and remind Tuttle and others about their lives outside, but finds that anyone who is too eager to leave gets eaten by Alistair. Even worse, the longer they’re there, the more memories of their lives begin to slip away. Fleeing the building also proves futile, as anywhere they go leads them right back to the set. Eventually, once he’s reminded of Stan tries busting out through the wall, which allows him and Tuttle to escape with a now demonic Alistair hot on their tails. But now they can return to their normal lives…that are now inside another old TV.

Also, Roger pretends to be a baby and inconveniences everyone.

OUR TAKE

Now THIS one was WEEEEEEIIIIIRD. But the cool, but also creepy kind of weird that American Dad has really been lacking lately. The idea of a TV show that airs on a weird channel and is only vaguely remembered by a few random people is not an entirely new premise, since it seems like it’s pulled from the “creepypasta” (which is basically lingo for a scary story that passes through the internet these days) known as Candle Cove, where people on a chat room discuss a show that they can find no trace of, but have very distinct and disturbing memories about seeing when they were younger. Though where Candle Cove is characterized as a daytime kids show with sinister undertones, “Nighthawk’s Hideaway” is more catered to Stan’s tastes as a cool bachelor’s style talk show with chronologically backwards views on politics, gender relations, and musical taste.

And with that connection to the “simpler time” that Stan has often wanted to go back to (or go to at all since it was probably before he was born anyway), it also plays on his desires to keep him inside too…or at least it does for a little bit before he realizes he wants to be with his family. Alistair Covax also embodies the kind of guy Stan probably wishes he was and acts as a Rod Sterling-esque tempting specter that seems desperate to keep people trapped in his cultural bubble for all time until they forget everything from the outside. While he does always have the option of eating someone who jazz taps too far out of line, he seems to prefer letting them tire themselves out so that they lose all hope of ever leaving, which shows a weirdly consistent method to his madness.

I would really love it if American Dad had more episodes like this and the recent “Flavortown” episode. Both of those seem to strike a balance between crazy, creative, and funny that makes watching them in the moment a fun time while also leaving with a lasting curiosity, much like a lot of Futurama’s best episodes. And speaking of “Flavortown”, it looks like next week is another Jeff episode, this time being a stoner parody of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which itself was a total mindscrew of a film. Let’s just hope they go with the Gene Wilder version and not the Johnny Depp version.