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American Dad! Season 3 Episode 11

American Dream Factory

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8.5

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 1/28/07

When Stan feels like he's not climbing the ladder fast enough at work, he turns to his lifelong ambition of making festive teddy bears. However, when he realizes that making a quick profit takes a lot of work, he resorts to using illegal aliens as cheap labor. Meanwhile, Hayley sees her father's new business model as an atrocity and takes matters into her own hands by calling Uncle Sam.moreless

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (7)

Stan turns his lifelong ambition of making teddy bears

9.0

By fsaenz0125, Mar 08, 2013

When Stan feels like he's not climbing the ladder fast enough at work, he turns to his lifelong ambition of making festive teddy bears. However, when he realizes that making a quick profit takes a lot of work, he resorts to using illegal aliens as cheap labor. Meanwhile, Hayley sees her father's new business model as an atrocity and takes matters into her own hands by calling Uncle Sam. I thought this was a superb done episode and it was a tad better over the last episode. I liked Stan's plot more because the subplot had a flaw. I didn't like that Roger kicked Steve out of his to the usual well done parts/moments that Nahnatcka Khan normally does in her episodes. There were funny/great moments like some of the lines, Stan selling teddy bears, Akiko playing the drums, the musical, the ending, and several more. I liked the fact that Mary Jo Catlett's voice was heard in this episode. Listening to the store owner (who would later appeared in season 4), she sounds like a happy Mrs. Puff from SpongeBob SquarePants. That was clever. All in all, an enjoyable Khan written episode. 9/10moreless
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Perfect

10

By jmbsonic555, Oct 14, 2011

When Stan feels like he's not climbing the ladder fast enough at work, he turns to his lifelong ambition of making festive teddy bears. However, when he realizes that making a quick profit takes a lot of work, he resorts to using illegal aliens as cheap labor. Meanwhile, Hayley sees her father's new business model as an atrocity and takes matters into her own hands by calling Uncle Sam.

Overall, a perfect episode, the teddy bear designs were funny

10 out of 10moreless
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Teddy bears, Mexican and Hailey hook up. Stan hires Mexican and his family for making of bears, INS, Country Roads, Revelation, West Virginia.

9.9

By lurice0, Oct 20, 2010

As a West Virginian, I thought it was comical how they portrayed West Virginia in the end of the episode. It was heartwarming when main character realized how much Mexicans love our country, however, I would have liked to seen the INS be influenced by John Denver's classic hit song Country Roads. The Mexicans should not have had to run to my state to live as illegal aliens, they should have been allowed to stay legally as long as they paid fines and had no felonies or violent crimes. West Virginia looked beautiful but we have hills in Appalachia not snow capped mountains. That old couple on the rocking chair said they like beans & such or something, I would have said Hola and carried on a conversation with them in their native tongue. West Virginia Mountaineers Rule. OBAMA '08moreless
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An immigrant instalment.

8.2

By jimbo_001, May 18, 2008

Stan's beliefs swapping around consistently in accordance to his advantage is very amusing in this episode, as he detests illegal aliens, then hires them for a sweat shop, then tries to cover up the harbouring with a complete lie that gets out of hand, and finally realising that Mexicans are people too, despite the fact that people had been telling him that from the start of the episode.

It's a pretty funny episode, with Roger taking over Steve's band and Stan coming up with a ridiculously un-bear-able dream job, and the American holiday reinforcing what the freedom of the country is all about.moreless
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i loved this episode personaly because it has so much irony because in the beginning stan hates mexican laborers who are paid at minimum but then he realizes that he can get them for dollars and a few cans of soda.moreless

9.2

By GH2freak, Feb 10, 2007

this was hilarious because there was so much irony in which stan is being liberal as usual but when he finds out that he is out of a job from the CIA he really wants to work on his lifes dream of being a teady bear manufacturer and then decides to get his own mexican immigrants and pays them about 2 dollars and a can or two of dr. pepper for a days work it's just great because he realizes that the immigrant police are starting to search his house because haylie tells them that he is running a sweat shop which in the end turns out he really is.

overall not the best but i think they will do bettermoreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Dee Bradley Baker	Klaus
Rachael MacFarlane	Hayley
Scott Grimes	Steve
Seth MacFarlane	Stan/Roger
Wendy Schaal	Francine

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Efren Ramirez	Paco	Guest Star
Iggy Pop	Jerry	Guest Star
Stark Sands	Williams	Guest Star
Patrick Stewart	Bullock	Recurring Role
Eddie Kaye Thomas	Barry	Recurring Role
Curtis Armstrong	Snot	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (5)
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- The United States federal agency responsible for apprehending Stan and the illegal workers is clearly identified as the INS. However, slightly less than four years before the show's airdate, the INS was dissolved into new offices of the Department of Homeland Security.
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- Patti LaBelle's Shopping Network can't seem to agree on the name of the patriotic bear—it is called both "Jack the 4th of July Bear" and "Jack the July 4th Bear."
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- Roger has no bones in his arms.
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- Langley Falls Post front page headline: "Girlfriend Dumped After Asking, 'Who's in World Series Bowl?'"
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- While it fits the parallel to the final scene of The Sound of Music, there is a geographic error, as there are no snow-capped mountain peaks in West Virginia.
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QUOTES (12)
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- Old Man: (about the illegal immigrants) Look honey, Mexicans. Like the fast mouse in them Bugs Bunny cartoons.
  Old Woman: I like beans an' such.
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- Hayley: I'm a hypocrite, too, Dad. I used Paco to get at you, then tried to throw him away by calling INS.
  Stan: You heartless bitch! I'm kidding.
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- Hayley: Hello, Father. Wondering how I escaped from the basement?
  Stan: No, not really.
  Hayley: (Sadly) Oh. But it involved training rats.
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- Francine: Here's what we do: after they finish singing, we sneak the Mexicans out and drive like hell to the warehouse.
  Stan: We lock ourselves in until they finish the bears, then we turn them over to the INS.
  Francine: Yes, uh-huh, I'm with you.
  Stan: They get deported, and we buy our way out of trouble, because we'll be rich.
  Francine: Plus, we're white. And I'm blonde, the best kind of white.
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- Stan: So, INS, huh? I'm a CIA man myself. I suppose that kind of makes us brothers.
  Agent Hopkins: My brother died in a car crash when I was 11.
  Stan: (Laughs nervously) Cars.
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- Patti: Stan, did you know that in some countries the bear is considered a demigod?
  Stan: No , I didn't, Patti. Did you know that in the gay community a hairy man is also known as a "bear."
  Patti: Uh... no.
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- Stan: Do you have any relatives?
  Paco: No, I'm an only child. (Pauses) I'm kidding, I'm Mexican!
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- Stan: Great job, Paco. I might just make a holiday yet. Then I'll have kiss-my-ass money.
  Hayley: This is outrageous!
  Stan: Kiss my ass, Hayley! It's already working.
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- Stan: (To Paco) Wow, "Paco" must be Mexican for "lightning hands." How'd you like to come work for me? I'll pay you $2.00 an hour and all the Mr. Pibb you can drink... maximum two a day.
  Williams: At Best Buy, we had a slushie machine.
  Stan: Why don't you just marry Best Buy if you love it so much?!
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- Stan: Did you know Greg and Terry have an illegal alien walking their dog?
  Francine: Isn't it terrible? I'd be way too uncomfortable having some poor immigrant working for me like that.
  Stan: Oh, are you done? I was hoping you'd talk more about yourself.
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- Hayley: (About illegal aliens) What happened to the land of the free? These people have a right to be here.
  Stan: People? They're parasites sucking on the rich blood of America. And we need that blood to shed for oil.
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- Bullock: Attention, everyone! I have incredible news!
  Stan: The war in Iraq is over?
  Bullock: Better. We're getting a Ping-Pong table!
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NOTES (3)
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- The owner of the teddy bear store has the same voice as Mrs. Puff, the pufferfish driving inspector from SpongeBob SquarePants. It is also worth noting that when the owner of the teddy bear store appears in "The One That Got Away," her voice is different.
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- This episode premiered on [adult swim] on September 14, 2008.
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- International Air Dates:
  Australia: Thursday, February 28, 2008 on Network 7
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ALLUSIONS (10)
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- Speedy Gonzales
  At the end of the episode, the farmer compares the Mexicans to Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzales.
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- The two songs that Steve's band plays during practice are "Livin' on the Run" and "Sunset Blvd" both by Scott Grimes, the actor who voices Steve. The latter was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 2005.
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- After Stan tells Hayley, "You're dead to me!" he tears his suit pocket. This is a traditional response in Judaism to learning of the death of a relative or of their apostasy, an act known as keriah.
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- Purple Rain
  One of the immigrants is wearing a white T-shirt depicting Prince on a purple motorcycle as seen in the movie poster and the album cover for the 1984 film and album Purple Rain.
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- Blue Tail Fly
  The song Roger's band plays at the concert is "Blue Tail Fly," a blackface minstrel song dating back to the 1840s.
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- Wanted Dead or Alive
  Roger, while dressed up as Krispy Creme McDonalds, says, "I just saw a million faces, and I rocked them all." This is a line from this song by Bon Jovi.
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- Take Me Home, Country Roads
  This song by John Denver is sung at the end of the episode, when Steve had to sing with the illegal immigrants.
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- Roger: Costume
  Roger's drummer costume is modeled after Harry Shearer's bass player character Derek Smalls from the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap.
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- Episode Title: American Dream Factory
  The episode title "American Dream Factory" refers to the band Dream Factory (such as Steve's band), the American Dream, and the factory in Stan's basement.
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- The Sound of Music
  The final scene is, in many ways, an homage to the famous Rogers and Hammerstein musical. The illegal immigrant family sings at a public event and use that event to cover their escape, just as the Von Trapps did in fleeing the Nazis. Stan even leads them over the mountains to freedom, while carrying the smallest child as Captain Von Trapp does in the film.
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