Merlot Down Dirty Shame
Encyclopedia
"Merlot Down Dirty Shame" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of American Dad!
, originally aired on April 18, 2010 in Fox
in the United States.
in an elevator. After they inexplicably get out, they buy two special high-five necklaces to mark their friendship. Several months later, Roger goes wine tasting with Francine
(in place of Stan, who bailed on her). Francine, who is mad at Stan, drinks an excessive amount of wine and gets extremely drunk with Roger. After going to several bars, Roger ends up kissing Francine in a hotel. Francine, who was at least sober enough, pushes him off. They both view this as a minor incident, but Roger is afraid that she would tell Stan and ruin their friendship. Francine decides to tell Stan when he shows up because he misses her, but Roger tries to cover it up. Roger becomes increasingly afraid when Stan punches a crippled man who bumps into Francine and makes a sexual comment. After trying everything to keep Francine from telling Stan, Roger knocks her out and buries her alive. Taking a hint from a man who tried to hit on Francine the night that they kissed, Roger tries to get Stan to kiss Mia, an unattractive bartender whom Roger pretends to be his own girl, to make him and Stan even. Francine somehow gets out eventually, but Roger falsely accuses her of kissing him to cover it up. Stan gets mad at Francine and threatens divorce, but Roger decides to come clean after Stan reveals that he will sell the house and Roger will be homeless as he cannot live in the attic anymore. Roger, as he did with Francine, knocks out Stan and buries him alive to tell the truth. Roger delays digging up an enraged Stan. Some time later, Stan viciously beats up Roger (who is inexplicably in a cat costume) and uses the high-five necklaces as earrings for Francine.
Meanwhile, Steve
has a lucid dream, but he refuses to teach Klaus to experience one himself. Hayley
, who finds his dreams annoying, teams up with Klaus to embarrass Steve by convincing him to perceive reality as another of his dreams. Hayley runs past several red lights and asks Snot to a date. Believing that he is still dreaming, Steve goes to school in pajamas and jumps out a window with a attractive girl, thinking that he could fly. He becomes injured and the girl is impaled on a fence. Now wearing a full-body cast, Steve expresses his anger towards Klaus and Hayley, fearing that the girl's family might prosecute him for attempted murder. Snot, who sold all his toys to get a limo for his date with Hayley, is rejected by her apathetically.
rated this episode Grade B, saying: " It's probably hard to explain just why I laughed at this episode so much. I haven't quoted it nearly as much as The Simpsons down in the stray observations, and when you explain the main storyline - Roger is worried Stan will be upset with him after he drunkenly kissed Francine - it sounds like pretty standard sitcom misunderstanding fodder. Instead, it becomes something that gets steadily more and more genius, as Roger, clad in a disguise that makes him look like some sort of suburban lothario, progresses to more and more ridiculous ways of keeping Stan from finding out the truth from Francine. By the time Stan finally does find out (when he's buried underground, no less), the situation has progressed to such a strange place that Stan's unrestrained rage makes way more sense than the rage of the henpecked husband might on, say, Still Standing. At the same time, I also really enjoyed the storyline where Klaus and Haley tried to keep Steve believing that he was lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is one of those things that has lots of potential for laughs but never turns up in shows (or at least never turns up all that often), and the increasingly bizarre lengths that Haley and Klaus had to go to to keep the guy believing until it all ended disastrously were very, very funny. I guess that's what sets American Dad apart from the other shows. It tells coherent storylines, yes, but it's also constantly raising the stakes in those storylines in ways that make sense within its daffy universe. This maybe wasn't the funniest episode of the show ever, but it was still very well done.
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...
, originally aired on April 18, 2010 in Fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
in the United States.
Plot
The episode begins with Roger comforting a crazed StanStan 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,...
in an elevator. After they inexplicably get out, they buy two special high-five necklaces to mark their friendship. Several months later, Roger goes wine tasting with Francine
Francine Smith
Francine Smith is a fictional character on the animated television series American Dad!. She is the wife of Stan Smith and the mother of Steve and Hayley. Francine is voiced by Wendy Schaal.-Fictional character biography:...
(in place of Stan, who bailed on her). Francine, who is mad at Stan, drinks an excessive amount of wine and gets extremely drunk with Roger. After going to several bars, Roger ends up kissing Francine in a hotel. Francine, who was at least sober enough, pushes him off. They both view this as a minor incident, but Roger is afraid that she would tell Stan and ruin their friendship. Francine decides to tell Stan when he shows up because he misses her, but Roger tries to cover it up. Roger becomes increasingly afraid when Stan punches a crippled man who bumps into Francine and makes a sexual comment. After trying everything to keep Francine from telling Stan, Roger knocks her out and buries her alive. Taking a hint from a man who tried to hit on Francine the night that they kissed, Roger tries to get Stan to kiss Mia, an unattractive bartender whom Roger pretends to be his own girl, to make him and Stan even. Francine somehow gets out eventually, but Roger falsely accuses her of kissing him to cover it up. Stan gets mad at Francine and threatens divorce, but Roger decides to come clean after Stan reveals that he will sell the house and Roger will be homeless as he cannot live in the attic anymore. Roger, as he did with Francine, knocks out Stan and buries him alive to tell the truth. Roger delays digging up an enraged Stan. Some time later, Stan viciously beats up Roger (who is inexplicably in a cat costume) and uses the high-five necklaces as earrings for Francine.
Meanwhile, Steve
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...
has a lucid dream, but he refuses to teach Klaus to experience one himself. 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....
, who finds his dreams annoying, teams up with Klaus to embarrass Steve by convincing him to perceive reality as another of his dreams. Hayley runs past several red lights and asks Snot to a date. Believing that he is still dreaming, Steve goes to school in pajamas and jumps out a window with a attractive girl, thinking that he could fly. He becomes injured and the girl is impaled on a fence. Now wearing a full-body cast, Steve expresses his anger towards Klaus and Hayley, fearing that the girl's family might prosecute him for attempted murder. Snot, who sold all his toys to get a limo for his date with Hayley, is rejected by her apathetically.
Cultural references
- When Haley and Klaus are tricking Steve, Klaus says "who stole the tarts" a reference to Alice in Wonderland.
- Roger dresses as Paul Giamatti's character from SidewaysSidewaysSideways is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne and directed by Payne. Adapted from Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, Sideways follows two forty-something year old men, portrayed by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, who take a week-long road trip to...
. - Roger mentions Stan's secret ice skating from Of Ice and Men.
- Hayley and Klaus share mental telepathy.
- The iconic mystery magnent on the Smith's fridge is finally said to be a security measure recording device.
- O'Day's Inn is a nod to episode Assistant Director John O'Day.
- Usher appears with Katherine Helmond in The Iconoclasts, a Sundance Channel show. Each episode pairs two "creative visionaries" who discuss their lives, influences, and art. Neither of which Kathrine or Usher understand anything about each other.
Reception
Todd VanDerWerff 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: " It's probably hard to explain just why I laughed at this episode so much. I haven't quoted it nearly as much as The Simpsons down in the stray observations, and when you explain the main storyline - Roger is worried Stan will be upset with him after he drunkenly kissed Francine - it sounds like pretty standard sitcom misunderstanding fodder. Instead, it becomes something that gets steadily more and more genius, as Roger, clad in a disguise that makes him look like some sort of suburban lothario, progresses to more and more ridiculous ways of keeping Stan from finding out the truth from Francine. By the time Stan finally does find out (when he's buried underground, no less), the situation has progressed to such a strange place that Stan's unrestrained rage makes way more sense than the rage of the henpecked husband might on, say, Still Standing. At the same time, I also really enjoyed the storyline where Klaus and Haley tried to keep Steve believing that he was lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is one of those things that has lots of potential for laughs but never turns up in shows (or at least never turns up all that often), and the increasingly bizarre lengths that Haley and Klaus had to go to to keep the guy believing until it all ended disastrously were very, very funny. I guess that's what sets American Dad apart from the other shows. It tells coherent storylines, yes, but it's also constantly raising the stakes in those storylines in ways that make sense within its daffy universe. This maybe wasn't the funniest episode of the show ever, but it was still very well done.