Of Ice and Men
Encyclopedia
"Of Ice and Men" is a second season episode of the animated series American Dad!
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...

The title is a play on the title for the famous novel, Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....

.

Plot

This episode begins in the year 2045, where Klaus
Klaus (American Dad!)
Klaus Heissler is a fictional character on the television series American Dad!. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Despite possessing the brain of a German man and living in the body of a goldfish, the Smith family keeps him under the guise that he is their pet goldfish.-Production history:Dee...

 – who, inexplicably, has been returned to a human body – tells his grandson a bedtime story about his past:

Every winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...

, 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,...

, without explanation, becomes aloof and goes off by himself for entire days or nights, which causes Francine to become depressed. During an attempt to confront Stan in their bathroom, Francine accidentally stumbles upon an underground secret passage
Secret passage
Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel. Such passageways are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow occupants to enter or exit buildings without being seen...

, guarded by traps and a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

 (Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...

). After following him to the surface, Francine is astonished to see Stan figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

. Stan explains that he once was a competitive figure skater, but his overzealousness lead to his partner getting injured, and as a result he is afraid of skating with other people. However, Francine convinces him that skating can be a fun couples activity, and Stan slowly begins to enjoy skating.

Francine eventually enters herself and Stan in a contest, which horrifies Stan; he tells Roger
Roger the Alien
Roger Smith, is a character from the animated television series American Dad!. He is a space alien, reminiscent of the Roswell greys, but with the body that resembles E.T., and lives with the Smith family. Roger is sarcastic, amoral, self-centered, and hedonistic...

 part of his backstory he didn't tell Francine: due to his extreme competitiveness
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...

, he continued his figure skating routine
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...

 despite his partner's injury, and then drove across the country with her to protest his poor score, rather than take her to the hospital. However, upon discovering the contest's prize is a set of wigs which he wants to play with, Roger convinces Stan that he and Francine should participate. Stan still has the extreme competitiveness, it goes for a second, then he sees Greg and Terry skating together, so it comes back. Stan quickly becomes overly competitive with Francine and eventually dumps her as a partner in favor of Roger, who turns out to be an excellent figure skater.

While telling the story, Klaus reveals to his grandson, that he was once a fish. He then becomes more interested in that fact than the actual story.

At the competition, Stan sees a rather inept elderly couple who, despite their low score, are happy and enjoy each other, causing him to realize that he should be skating with Francine. He rushes home, tranquilizes Francine, and brings her to the rink. She wakes up with the two of them skating, and the two argue as they do a flawless routine. They decide to leave without seeing their score.

Roger later returns home with the wigs, and it's revealed that he won by skating with Greg after having Terry attacked, ala Tonya Harding
Tonya Harding
Tonya Maxine Harding is an American figure skating champion. In 1991 she won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and placed second in the World Championships. She was the second woman, and the first American woman, to complete a triple axel jump in competition...

's attack on Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Ann Kerrigan is a two-time American Olympic figure skating medalist and 1993 U.S. champion.-Early life and skating career:...

.

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...

 and his friends order binoculars, but somehow receive a Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 mail-order bride
Mail-order bride
Mail-order bride is a label applied to a woman who publishes her intent to marry someone from another country. This term is considered offensive by some people. The mail-order bride industry is the economic trade of contracted domestic partnerships, often between citizens of different countries or...

 instead. 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....

, however, convinces the woman to protect her interests and not do anything sexual with them until one of them marries her. The four boys hold a contest to decide who gets to marry her, and Snot wins; however, at the wedding, Toshi, who learned Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 to woo her, makes an impassioned plea for her, and she leaves Snot for him.

Klaus then finishes his story. When his grandson asks if he was ever a shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....

, Klaus angrily replies that he was two sharks and a monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...

before telling him to sleep.
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