Every Which Way But Lose
Encyclopedia
"Every Which Way But Lose" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the animated series American Dad!
.
loses his dad's respect by not coming in first in a chemistry
competition at school, he joins a junior football team, the Wolverines. However, Stan
becomes the team's head coach, and his hyper-competitive nature soon leads him to cut Steve from the team. Back home, Steve cries, telling Roger what happened. This infuriates Roger, since Stan also made him cry several times in the past, and he convinces Steve to help plot their revenge.
Roger and Steve get even by forming their own football team, the "Nexus Six Series Replicant
s," to spoil the Wolverines' perfect season. However, the team does very poorly, and by the final game of the season, they have only had one successful snap. Nonetheless, Roger assures his Replicants they can spoil the Wolverines' party. The game starts off in the Wolverines' favor, but by covering Steve with a slimy substance excreted by Roger, the Replicants finally win a game. Unfortunately, instead of crying, Stan tries to hang himself, ending up in a hospital psychiatric ward.
Meanwhile, Francine, who is very desperate to win the blue ribbon for a pie at the Langley County Fair, discovers that Carlotta Monterey, a mysterious competitor to whom she always loses, is actually Hayley
in disguise. At the fair, however, both Francine and Carlotta lose to Roger (in disguise as EmmiLou Sugarbean), who had been secretly competing with both of them for years. Roger won because this time he used fruit and sugar, instead of soggy napkins and gerbil meat, in his pie.
To cheer Stan up, Steve takes him to the fair, but discovers that he still wants to kill himself over the football loss. Steve decides to show his dad a much less drastic way to cope with losing and takes him to a carnival game
. Stan tries (and fails) to win and pulls out a dagger, threatening to slit his throat with it. In a passionate speech (a reference to Matthew McConaughey
's speech in A Time to Kill
), Steve convinces his dad to accept the loss instead. Stan finally does so and cries, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief, and tells Steve that they're having "a father-son moment." Steve reacts by punching his dad in the groin and telling him to "quit ruining it!", the reverse of an earlier gag where Stan did the same thing to Steve.
for its original airdate, behind ABC's Desperate Housewives
and NBC's Celebrity Apprentice
. It had a 2.5% rating and a 6% share among 18-49 year olds and a 3.1% rating and a 9% share among 18-34 year olds.
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...
.
Plot
When SteveSteve 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...
loses his dad's respect by not coming in first in a chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
competition at school, he joins a junior football team, the Wolverines. However, Stan
Stan Smith (American Dad!)
Stan Smith is a character from the animated television series American Dad!. Stan is a Central Intelligence Agency officer. Although once a case officer, he is now a weapons expert. Stan is voiced by the series' creator and executive producer, Seth MacFarlane.-Summary:Stan Smith born 12 February,...
becomes the team's head coach, and his hyper-competitive nature soon leads him to cut Steve from the team. Back home, Steve cries, telling Roger what happened. This infuriates Roger, since Stan also made him cry several times in the past, and he convinces Steve to help plot their revenge.
Roger and Steve get even by forming their own football team, the "Nexus Six Series Replicant
Replicant
A replicant is a bioengineered or biorobotic being created in the film Blade Runner . The Nexus series—genetically designed by the Tyrell Corporation—are virtually identical to an adult human, but have superior strength, agility, and variable intelligence depending on the model...
s," to spoil the Wolverines' perfect season. However, the team does very poorly, and by the final game of the season, they have only had one successful snap. Nonetheless, Roger assures his Replicants they can spoil the Wolverines' party. The game starts off in the Wolverines' favor, but by covering Steve with a slimy substance excreted by Roger, the Replicants finally win a game. Unfortunately, instead of crying, Stan tries to hang himself, ending up in a hospital psychiatric ward.
Meanwhile, Francine, who is very desperate to win the blue ribbon for a pie at the Langley County Fair, discovers that Carlotta Monterey, a mysterious competitor to whom she always loses, is actually Hayley
Hayley Smith (American Dad!)
Hayley Dreamsmasher Smith Fischer is a character from the animated television series American Dad!. She is voiced by Rachael MacFarlane, the younger sister of one of the series co-creators, Seth MacFarlane....
in disguise. At the fair, however, both Francine and Carlotta lose to Roger (in disguise as EmmiLou Sugarbean), who had been secretly competing with both of them for years. Roger won because this time he used fruit and sugar, instead of soggy napkins and gerbil meat, in his pie.
To cheer Stan up, Steve takes him to the fair, but discovers that he still wants to kill himself over the football loss. Steve decides to show his dad a much less drastic way to cope with losing and takes him to a carnival game
Carnival game
A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway....
. Stan tries (and fails) to win and pulls out a dagger, threatening to slit his throat with it. In a passionate speech (a reference to Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
's speech in A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill (film)
A Time to Kill is a 1996 film adaptation of John Grisham's 1989 legal thriller novel of the same name. Directed by Joel Schumacher, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Sandra Bullock, Samuel L...
), Steve convinces his dad to accept the loss instead. Stan finally does so and cries, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief, and tells Steve that they're having "a father-son moment." Steve reacts by punching his dad in the groin and telling him to "quit ruining it!", the reverse of an earlier gag where Stan did the same thing to Steve.
Reception
According to the TV By The Numbers website, this episode took third in the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
for its original airdate, behind ABC's Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
and NBC's Celebrity Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. Season 8)
The Celebrity Apprentice 2 is the eighth installment of the United States version of the reality television series, The Apprentice. It premiered on March 1, 2009. The Celebrity Apprentice 2 aired for two hours on Sundays at 9:00 Eastern time...
. It had a 2.5% rating and a 6% share among 18-49 year olds and a 3.1% rating and a 9% share among 18-34 year olds.