Escape from Pearl Bailey
Encyclopedia
"Escape from Pearl Bailey" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of American Dad!
. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 9, 2008. This episode centers around Steve Smith
and his friends Snot, Toshi, and Barry, who all plan to escape Pearl Bailey High School, when all the cool kids sought to get back at them because of Steve's revenge scheme.
s and for hiring a Hollywood
hairdresser and a live buffalo
. As he garners support for Debbie, Steve neglects his friends. Debbie seems to be winning the election until a slam page is posted online, causing her to lose. Determining Lisa and her friends caused Debbie to lose the election, Steve executes an elaborate revenge scheme on three of them: he feeds laxative to a buffalo which excretes on Amy, fills Janet's leg with fat during a liposuction
procedure, and allows a prostitute to infect Lisa's teddy bear so Lisa develops herpes from snuggling with it. Debbie is horrified by Steve's acts and ends their relationship. Steve learns that his friends posted the slam page; they wanted him to spend time with them rather than devoting all his time to Debbie.
As soon as they learn that Steve is the culprit, everyone in the school, including Principal Lewis because Janet is his daughter, chases down Steve's group. After reconciling with each other, Steve and his friends try escaping from the school, while Lewis offers a $500 reward to anyone who catches them. The four manage to get past everyone until they stumble into an area filled with goth students. After Steve tells everyone the reason he sought revenge on the girls was he genuinely cares for Debbie, she tells the goth students to let Steve and his friends go. The four make it outside, and Steve spots Francine in her car waiting for them. The students cut them off and corner them in a bus. Steve tells his friends the only way out of their situation is to face the students head on. They leap out of the bus to go out in a "blaze of glory".
rated this episode Grade B+, saying: "American Dad pulled the meta trick as well in tonight's oddly Steve-centric episode, having Stan remark that it was nice of Steve to acknowledge the rest of the family, even if it was only that one brief scene. An episode devoid of any Roger or Francine sounds some warning bells for me, but "Escape From Pearl Bailey" was surprisingly rich despite the fact that it focused exclusively on Steve, his occasional girlfriend Debbie, and his pimply geek squad of friends. A lot of the nonsensical funny that's usually Roger's milieu came courtesy of fat friend Barry–"They're making puberty!"–but a robust storyline, buffeted by a couple of nice parodies (The Warriors and Kill Bill, I think, though I might be confusing Kill Bill with some movie that it ripped off) played to American Dad's strengths of working within familiar plots to create a kind of warped take on the traditional American sitcom. I can't say I didn't find myself wishing for a brief reprieve from Steve's whine about halfway through the episode, but it maintained momentum thanks to the episodic structure of Steve's revenge on the popular crowd following their (supposed) attack on Debbie's student-council election, and the obstacle-course structure of the gang's escape from the angry hordes of students looking to avenge said revenge. And even though there was a lot going on–there were really three different stories being told–it didn't overshadow quite a few good gags. (My favorite: Debbie reaching out to the underdogs in her speech, calling out the Doctor Who
fans, the Christian weight lifters, and the league of red-headed gentlemen.)
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 9, 2008. This episode centers around Steve Smith
Steve Smith (American Dad!)
Steven Anita “Steve” Smith is a character from the animated television series American Dad!. He is Stan and Francine Smith's only son and Hayley's younger brother as well as the youngest of the series' 6 main characters. Steve is voiced by Scott Grimes.According to TVTDB.com, Steve's original...
and his friends Snot, Toshi, and Barry, who all plan to escape Pearl Bailey High School, when all the cool kids sought to get back at them because of Steve's revenge scheme.
Plot
At Pearl Bailey High School, Steve gets back together with his ex-girlfriend Debbie, making his friends jealous, while Lisa Silver is running for Student Council President. Steve persuades Debbie to run against her after Debbie learns that Lisa spent the school's money for fetal pigFetal pig
Fetal pigs are unborn pigs used in elementary as well as advanced biology classes as objects for dissection. Pigs, as a mammalian species, provide a good specimen for the study of physiological systems and processes.-Use in biology labs:...
s and for hiring a Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
hairdresser and a live buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
. As he garners support for Debbie, Steve neglects his friends. Debbie seems to be winning the election until a slam page is posted online, causing her to lose. Determining Lisa and her friends caused Debbie to lose the election, Steve executes an elaborate revenge scheme on three of them: he feeds laxative to a buffalo which excretes on Amy, fills Janet's leg with fat during a liposuction
Liposuction
Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty , liposculpture suction lipectomy or simply lipo is a cosmetic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body...
procedure, and allows a prostitute to infect Lisa's teddy bear so Lisa develops herpes from snuggling with it. Debbie is horrified by Steve's acts and ends their relationship. Steve learns that his friends posted the slam page; they wanted him to spend time with them rather than devoting all his time to Debbie.
As soon as they learn that Steve is the culprit, everyone in the school, including Principal Lewis because Janet is his daughter, chases down Steve's group. After reconciling with each other, Steve and his friends try escaping from the school, while Lewis offers a $500 reward to anyone who catches them. The four manage to get past everyone until they stumble into an area filled with goth students. After Steve tells everyone the reason he sought revenge on the girls was he genuinely cares for Debbie, she tells the goth students to let Steve and his friends go. The four make it outside, and Steve spots Francine in her car waiting for them. The students cut them off and corner them in a bus. Steve tells his friends the only way out of their situation is to face the students head on. They leap out of the bus to go out in a "blaze of glory".
Production
The rest of the Smiths appear in only one scene throughout this entire episode when Steve tells them that he finally got his revenge, although Francine does make a second appearance in her SUV during the last scene when Steve and his friends make it outside of the school building. Other than Stan and Francine, who each has only one line of dialogue, the family does not have any speaking roles.Reception
Genevieve Koski from The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
rated this episode Grade B+, saying: "American Dad pulled the meta trick as well in tonight's oddly Steve-centric episode, having Stan remark that it was nice of Steve to acknowledge the rest of the family, even if it was only that one brief scene. An episode devoid of any Roger or Francine sounds some warning bells for me, but "Escape From Pearl Bailey" was surprisingly rich despite the fact that it focused exclusively on Steve, his occasional girlfriend Debbie, and his pimply geek squad of friends. A lot of the nonsensical funny that's usually Roger's milieu came courtesy of fat friend Barry–"They're making puberty!"–but a robust storyline, buffeted by a couple of nice parodies (The Warriors and Kill Bill, I think, though I might be confusing Kill Bill with some movie that it ripped off) played to American Dad's strengths of working within familiar plots to create a kind of warped take on the traditional American sitcom. I can't say I didn't find myself wishing for a brief reprieve from Steve's whine about halfway through the episode, but it maintained momentum thanks to the episodic structure of Steve's revenge on the popular crowd following their (supposed) attack on Debbie's student-council election, and the obstacle-course structure of the gang's escape from the angry hordes of students looking to avenge said revenge. And even though there was a lot going on–there were really three different stories being told–it didn't overshadow quite a few good gags. (My favorite: Debbie reaching out to the underdogs in her speech, calling out the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
fans, the Christian weight lifters, and the league of red-headed gentlemen.)