American Dad!

Season 2 Episode 8

Star Trek

Favorite
2
8.2
out of 10
User Rating
223 votes
9

EPISODE REVIEWS
By TV.com Users

Episode Summary

EDIT
Steve becomes a famous author, and the entire family gets caught up in his celebrity, including Stan, who becomes an unbearable "stage parent." After Steve hooks up with an agent, he abandons his family to lead a "Cribs" lifestyle.
SUBMIT REVIEW
  • Steve become famous after he writes a book about Roger

    9.0
    Steve becomes a famous author, and the entire family gets caught up in his celebrity, including Stan, who becomes an unbearable "stage parent." After Steve hooks up with an agent, he abandons his family to lead a "Cribs" lifestyle. This episode was between great and superb. Well, my offical score will be a nine though since most of the episodes from the second half of season 1 quickly became an improvement of the show. It was hilarious that we found out the part when Steve was in the jello pool was actually the guy who looks like Steve. Francine having this short dot on her hair was funny. Steve coming up with a book about Roger was interesting. The clown trying to think that Stan is a pretty girl after Steve decided to leave the family was super funny. It was funny when Hayley, Roger, and Francine said "You b***" to Steve after his book was published. However, the only part that I hate was Steve left his family because Stan had become a stage parent. Other than that situation, this episode was get a superb score. 9/10moreless
  • Another marvelous episode.

    10
    Steve becomes a famous author, and the entire family gets caught up in his celebrity, including Stan, who becomes an unbearable "stage parent." After Steve hooks up with an agent, he abandons his family to lead a "Cribs" lifestyle.

    Read Full Recap

    (warning: possible spoilers!)



    Steve has Stan sign his report card, and Francine notices that the boy is failing English. Steve claims that his teacher hates him. But a visit with the teacher reveals that Steve is failing because he had his Japanese friend Yoshi write a paper for him. Steve claims that creative writing is hard, so Stan takes him upstairs to introduce him to Patriot Pigeon, the 3,012 volume series that Stan has written. It doesn't get the creative juices flowing, so Stan glues Steve's hand to the desk, forcing him to write. Seeing Roger on a drunken bender after Klaus told him he's a nobody, not a somebody like the celebrities he loves so much, Steve finally has an idea. At home later, Stan gets a letter from P&Q Publishing. He thinks they want to publish Patriot Pigeon, but in fact, they want to publish Roger the Alien, the story Steve wrote for his class. Steve has a book signing, which makes Stan's incredibly jealous. But when Francine points out that people will recognize that Steve came from Stan, Stan wants to up the promotion. The publisher says if Steve has the #1 children's book, he can get on the television show Cap'n Monty's Book Cavalcade. But Steve needs a hook for that. Stan's brainstorm is to make Steve the bad boy of the children's book world. Steve stops eating is vegetables, starts talking to strangers and runs with scissors, which makes him wildly popular in the children's literary world. The book hits #1 and Steve is booked on the show. Meanwhile, at home, Roger finally reads the book and is furious with Steve's portrayal of him. Steve starts to chafe at the fame. Backstage before Steve's television appearance, an agent tells him how to deal with the pressure of being pulled in different directions by his family. On the show, Steve announces that he's going to divorce his parents. After a quick trial, Steve is free and begins enjoying a wealthy lifestyle, including a pool filled with cherry Jell-o. Roger decides to strike back. He sneaks into Steve's mansion to kill him. Except he finds the guy who's going to play Steve in the upcoming movie first. Roger scares the actor into the Jell-o pool, then begins freaking out, thinking he's killed him. Realizing things are out of control, Steve goes back to his parents. Who help him hide the dead body



    10 out of 10moreless
  • perfect

    10
    Steve does not like writing for English class and Stan tries to motivate him by showing books he had written. Steve writes a book about Roger and it gets published. Soon Steve is famous in Langley Falls. But he can't take his family and leaves and moves into his own home.



    Good episode. I liked the revelation that the 'Steve' in the pool we see at the beginning is not Steve, Roger being mad at him for his portrayal in the book, amongst other things. Really good episode with some big laughs, and as such my final grade is of course going to be an A+moreless
  • This episode wasn't as good plotwise as some of the previous episodes, but boy was it funny.

    8.0
    Because this episode was instantly based on Steve and Roger, you knew it was gonna be funny. I couldn't stop laughing when Roger said to Stan, "Seriously, how sad are you? Come on on a scale of 1 to pi**ed!" It was hilarious!



    Like I said, the plot was a little boring, but I liked the fact that it was a giant flashback as to why 'Steve' was in the cherry jello pool. That was a good twist.



    The subplot about Francine's hair was soooooo funny. I liked the way that Stan kept making jokes about it, and not even descritly, but to her face.



    Not the best episode... but still good.moreless
  • One of the better episodes that "American Dad" has come up with. :!:

    9.9
    I want to like "American Dad" as much as I do "Family Guy," I really do. But there's so many things that turn me away from making this show a favorite of mine. However, this mostly isn't the case for this episode. Steve becomes a famous author by writing about something he knows very well: Roger the Alien! It turns him into an unexpected success and soon Steve is on a one-way ticket to the top and most of his family is there to try to cash in on his success. But unknown to Steve, Roger is not happy with how he is portrayed in Steve's book. Also, Steve grows under-standably irritated that his family is just using Steve's success to get their own gratifications satisfied and Steve feels that he's being held back from his full potential. So in a bold move, Steve decides to divorce his parents and is successful in his endeavor. But all the fame, money, and power is going to Steve's head. Soon, he doesn't even trust his friends anymore and is left in his mansion alone. But it is then that Roger decides to strike! Only Roger strikes the wrong person: a teenage actor dressed and pressed to look like Steve Smith! And while Steve isn't dead, Roger still wants to get revenge on Steve for what he did to Roger's reputation. So Steve does the only thing he can do: he apologizes to his family so that they'll help Steve get rid of the body and accept Steve back into the fold. But the one thing that kept me from making this episode a perfect one was the fact that Roger did a mean thing by tying a cinderblock around Steve's ankle so that Steve would fall into the water. And although Steve probably managed to untie himself and get back up, it still wasn't a funny joke. But this is definitely one of the better episodes of "American Dad" I have seen. :idea: Enough said, true believers! ;)moreless
Jim Wise

Jim Wise

Mr. Durbin

Guest Star

Leslie Jordan

Leslie Jordan

Mr. Beauregard

Guest Star

Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston

Publisher

Guest Star

Curtis Armstrong

Curtis Armstrong

Snot

Recurring Role

Daisuke Suzuki

Daisuke Suzuki

Toshi

Recurring Role

Jill Talley

Jill Talley

Boob Woman/Old Woman

Recurring Role

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

FILTER BY TYPE

  • TRIVIA (3)

    • Mr. Beauregard's hair salon is called "Curl Up & Dye". This is the same name of the salon in the movie Earth Girls Are Easy.

    • Steve is disgusted by the old supermodel woman from the '50s Stan brings him in this episode. However, in "Con Heir," Steve made out with Gretchen, who was at least the same age, and showed no disgust whatsoever in that episode.

    • Roger is seen with the Smiths in a boat at the end of the episode, but Roger is not allowed to leave the Smith home (at least, not without a disguise).

  • QUOTES (18)

    • Steve: It's funny. I always wanted a pool filled with cherry jello. Well, I guess I got it. I got a lot of things after becoming famous: women, respect, that joke about the ten inch pianist. I can't believe I never got that one before.

    • (Stan is at the front door of Steve's mansion)
      Steve: What are you doing here?
      Stan: I want you to come home.
      Steve: Yeah, well, you can forget it! You used me and you lied to me!
      Stan: Guilty as charged. But I'm gonna make good on it all, starting with that centerfold I promised you. (Pulls a human under a sheet towards him from off the frame) Here she is, centerfold, Jenat Jefftifstan. (Pulls the sheet off to reveal a wrinkled, old lady in swimwear)
      Steve: That's not her, she's ancient!
      Stan: Well, sure, that magazine I showed you was from 1957. But she still loves to party!

    • Steve: (discovering a gumball machine smashed by Roger) Bravo! That was the gumball machine Henry Ford gave to Hitler.

    • Roger: (To Steve) Sorry, pal, you're going to jail where they're going to take your cherry... jello... away... in the lunch line... after you're raped... in the shower.

    • Roger: (Reading US Weekly) Stars, they're just like us. Ooh! Here's Tara Reid buying a gallon of vodka and a case of morning-after pills. I drink gallons of vodka. I should be a star.

    • Stan: Good God, Francine, your roots are showing!
      Francine: I know. My hairdresser lost his touch when he decided he was straight. Apparently, it is a choice.
      Stan: Yes, it is.
      Francine: Absolutely. Anyway, the only good hairdresser left is Mr. Beauregard, but it's impossible to get an appointment unless you know somebody.
      Klaus: But you do know somebody, Francine. You know Roger. Oh, wait, he's just a nobody.
      Roger: (Gasps) Don't... cry in front of the fish. (Runs off crying)

    • Steve: Anyway, Dad, my English teacher, Mr. Durbin, is your biggest fan. Can I get your autograph for him?
      Stan: Sure. "To Mr. Durbin, keep on rockin'. Yours in Christ."
      Hayley: Dad, that's Steve's report card.

    • Stan: I look around me and I see it isn't so!
      Steve: What?
      Stan: I mean, why'd you cheat?
      Steve: I'm sorry. It's just, creative writing is hard. I can't do it.
      Stan: "Can't"? We don't live in "Ameri-can't," Steve. We live in America. No, no, no, no, wait. We live in "Ameri-can." No, wait, that's not right, wait. We are "Ameri-can." Where was I going with this?
      Steve: Um, I said, "Creative writing is hard."
      Stan: Oh, yeah, yeah. Perseverance, Steve, it's all about perseverance. And if I Ameri-can't teach you about it, I have a friend who Ameri-will. Well, that sounded good. Had a bumpy start there, but I think I pulled it together.

    • Stan: Steve, meet Patriot Pigeon.
      Steve: You wrote a children's book?
      Stan: No, Steve, I wrote 3,012 children's books, each chronicling the adventures of Patriot Pigeon, who battles America's enemies by dropping red, white, and blue turds of justice.

    • Francine: Mr. Beauregard, I would love for you to put expelled uterine matter in my hair.
      Mr. Beauregard: Hmm. If I were you, I'd take your hair behind a shed and shoot it.

    • Francine: Anything for me?
      Stan: (Looking through mail) Just a postcard that says your hair looks like crap. Hey, it's from me.

    • Roger: A book about me? (Gasps) I'm gonna be a star! Steve, you're the best! Oh, my God, Stan, how upset are you? Seriously, on a scale from one to pissed. Oh, who gives a flying fig? I'm a star! (Laughs)

    • Stan: Ugh, Francine, when I look at your hair, I doubt I could eat the amount I want to vomit.

    • Bill Publisherman: Well, then, what you need is to get Steve on Cap'n Monty's Book Cavalcade, the hottest children's book show in Langley Falls.
      Stan: Great, put him on.
      Bill Publisherman: I'd love to, but to get on, he needs to have the number one children's book in town. And to get that, he'll need a hook.
      Stan: Right. We'll cut off one of his hands. People love the disfigured... and fear them.
      Bill Publisherman: No, a hook, an angle, a gimmick. Hmm. Is the boy gay?
      Stan: Why? Could that be a hook?
      Bill Publisherman: Hook?

    • Roger: Is it true? Were there really seven people at the book signing?
      Stan: (Sighs) Yes.
      Roger: Oh, my God, it's happening for me. I'm almost a star. Oh, there's my cell phone! Oh, my God, it's Johnny Depp. ("Answering" cell phone) Depp-ster, what's shakin'?
      Klaus: That's not a cell phone. That's a bar of soap you painted black.
      Roger: Yeah, hang on, J.D. Watch it, Klaus, or I'm gonna cram this bad boy 20,000 leagues up your butt.

    • Roger: (Enters Steve's room) You bastard! Roger the clumsy alien? Roger who sips his silly juice and goes on delusional rants? And it's not silly juice. It's necessary juice. (Throws book on floor) Watch your back. (Walks into door) Ouch. Oh, that ouchies. Ouchies. Ouch. (Leaves)
      Hayley: (Enters Steve's room) You bastard! Thanks to you, Dad spent all my college money buying you Dr. Seuss' first typewriter. (Leaves)
      Francine: (Enters Steve's room) You bastard! That's what I said to my old, ugly hairdo.

    • Steve: Now do I get to meet that centerfold?
      Stan: No, I just said that to motivate you so you'd carry me to the top.
      Steve: Dad, I can't believe you lied to me.
      Stan: Really? Huh. That's... that's kinda my whole bit.

    • Stan: Stop this nonsense, Steve.
      Kevin: Dude, his name is "S" now. And S does what S wants.
      Steve: And S wants to C.L.T.D.F.H.C.
      Snot: "Cut loose the dead weight from his coattails."
      Barry: There should be a "W" in there.
      Steve: Get in the trunk, Barry.

  • NOTES (10)

  • ALLUSIONS (8)

    • Roger: Watch it, Klaus, or I'm gonna cram this bad boy 20,000 leagues up your butt.

      This is a reference to the 1869 French novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and the 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

    • Pool: Jello
      In Steve's new house he has a pool filled with jello, which is from the Disney movie Don't Look Under the Bed.

    • Plaque: Han Solo
      When Steve was in his mansion, he looks at a man on a plaque on the wall. This man was Han Solo after he was frozen in carbon and given to Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars: Episode 5 & 6.

    • Cell Phone: Ring tone
      Steve's agent's ring tone is the theme song from the Halloween movies.

    • Mr. Durbin: Name
      Steve's teacher 's name could be an oblique reference to Sen. Dick Durbin (Dem-IL). Durbin drew much fire from conservative pundits and commentators for his recent comments about Abu Grahib and its purported torture of prisoners.

    • Opening Scene: Parody
      The opening is a parody of the famous opening shot of Sunset Boulevard, with a dead man floating face-down in a pool, and its unusual device of him narrating, in flashback, the stormy last days of a faded movie star's life and how he came to make her acquaintence.

    • Show: Cap'n Monty's Book Cavalcade
      Cap'n Monty's Book Cavalcade show is similar to Inside the Actor's Studio, even the captain and the way he talks is very similar.

    • Episode Title: Star Trek
      The title of this episode is also the name of a very popular sci-fi TV show. More Info

Today
1:30am
TOON
2:00am
TOON
1:00pm
TBS
10:00pm
TOON
10:30pm
TOON
Thursday
1:30am
TOON
2:00am
TOON
1:30pm
TBS
10:00pm
TOON
Friday
1:30am
TOON
1:00pm
TBS
1:30pm
TBS
10:30pm
TOON
More
Less