| "White Rice" | |
|---|---|
| American Dad! episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Bob Bowen |
| Written by | Rick Wiener Kenny Schwartz |
| Production code | 5AJN15 |
| Original air date | November 21, 2010 |
| Guest appearance | |
| |
"White Rice" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of American Dad! . It first aired in the United States on Fox on November 21, 2010. This episode mostly centers around Francine, who has consistently been involved in various arguments with Stan about her bringing her parents into their home. Stan convinces Francine to go see a therapist to help smoothen their relationship, which turns out to be a hypnotist. The hypnotist, named Sal, eventually tells her to let go of the repressed memories she had from Stan. Later that day, Francine discovers a secret stash, which contain videos of her doing stand-up comedy when she was younger. Francine is enraged that Stan erased her memories of being a comedian. She later lands a role in a sitcom entitled "White Rice", and she vows to pursue her dream of being famous and rich.
This episode was written by Rick Wiener and Kenny Schwartz, and was directed by Bob Bowen. It was met with mostly positive reception from most television critics upon its airing, with much of the praise stemming from the main storyline, as well as the humor. This episode was viewed by 4.83 million homes during its initial airing, and acquired a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielson ratings. [2] This episode feature a guest appearance from Jason Alexander, as well as several recurring voice actors and actresses for the show. [3]
Greg and Terry see Stan and Francine outside having an argument as Francine wants to consider moving her aging parents to town, and Stan does not want to discuss it. Stan tells her he will go to a therapist with her, making her happy. However, it turns out the therapist is a hypnotist named Sal, who Stan brings Francine to every year to be hypnotized into doing stuff he prefers while he gets a sandwich, always walking out before Sal can finish asking Stan to get one for him. Sal tells Francine she will not remember the sessions, and she represses her memories. A year goes by and Francine has exactly the same argument with Stan again, and they go to see Sal again. Stan goes to get a sandwich again before Sal can finish asking Stan to get him one, making Sal angry. When Stan comes back in the room 20 minutes later, Sal tells Francine she will remember everything Stan made him repress. Stan is horrified, and asks Sal why he did that; Sal replies that Stan's been coming to him for twenty years, and never once offered to bring him a sandwich whenever Stan went out for one. Stan tries hypnotizing Francine the same way Sal did, but she knees him in the balls while he yells "Emilio!".
Francine scolds Stan as she remembers everything from Stan not vaccinating Hayley's twin brother (resulting in his death) to Stan sleep-punching her. When they return home, more repressed memories come back, and Francine remembers that she had a secret hole in the floor in Stan's plate room, which used to be Francine's home office. Francine discovers a videotape in the hole and puts it in Roger's VCR to find out she was once a comedian that made fun of Asians, mainly referring to her being adopted by Chinese parents. Francine decides to pursue her dream as a comedian, with Roger as a persona named Sweeps McCullough being her agent. Francine is mad that Stan does not watch her comedy routine, and convinces Stan to go. Roger gets some executives to watch her show. Francine throws up at the beginning. Stan, convinced that her life as a comedian is over, leaves. Francine and Roger come back with good news, that Francine has been picked up for a new sitcom on Fox. Francine's dream takes her to Hollywood, where her new show is recorded.
Stan, sad that Francine is gone, sulks on the couch. Klaus convinces him that he needs to accept the changes if he wants to get Francine back. Stan rushes onto the set, with everything that Francine has wanted to discuss in the last twenty years. Stan comes onto the set of Francine's new show and talks with Francine, showing that Stan has gotten twenty dogs, one for each year she wanted to talk about it, painted the kitchen purple, etc. It turns out Francine only wanted to discuss those matters, before she actually decides whether to do them or not. Stan and Francine make up, accepting that they can live their lives in Los Angeles. The crew then watch the premier of the show White Rice. But despite its comedic success, the show ends up being canceled after a single joke because Asians found her jokes to be too racist. Francine and Stan move back to Langley Falls with Roger killing off his persona. Back at home, Francine finally discusses her parents moving in, and they both agree that it is a terrible idea.
Meanwhile, Steve gets another fish which Klaus starts falling in love with. Over the duration of the episode, they get married and they have children that resemble each other. Unfortunately, this does not turn out well, because Klaus' "wife" is a dumb mindless fish that starts eating their children, not just out of hunger, even leaving one half-eaten. Eventually Klaus is ignored and the relationship falls apart, culminating in Klaus killing her and using Stan's shovel to bury the body.
"White Rice" was broadcast on November 21, 2010, as part of the animated television block on Fox. It was preceded by The Simpsons , and its sister shows The Cleveland Show and Family Guy . It was viewed by 4.83 million homes during its original airing, according to the Nielson ratings, despite simultaneously airing alongside Undercover Boss on CBS, the 2010 American Music Awards on ABC, and Sunday Night Football on NBC. [2] It received a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, the lowest rating in the block, scoring slightly lower than The Cleveland Show and The Simpsons and significantly lower than Family Guy. [2] This episode's total viewership were significantly down from the previous episode that first aired a week earlier, although the rating slightly declined. The previous episode, "Stan's Food Restaurant", was viewed by 5.38 million homes during its initial airing, and acquired a 2.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic. [4]
"White Rice" was met with mostly positive reception from many television critics. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the episode a very positive review, writing, "This was one of my favorite American Dad shows in a long time. It's hard to write good stand-up that's supposed to be funny, and for a while, I thought this would be a fatal flaw of the episode, but, no, we're supposed to think Francine's stand-up is pretty bad. That's why Roger's able to so easily sell her to Hollywood." [5] She went on to praise the episode for its humor, writing, "The bits where Francine stars in her own sitcom walk the fine line between "so bad it's funny" and "so bad it's bad," particularly once Stan shows up and starts shooting the place up, and the scenes where Francine remembers everything Stan had had her repress in her therapy sessions [...] were very funny." [5] To conclude her review for the episode, VanDerWeff wrote, "A very, very solid episode with a lot of laughs." [5] She went on to give the episode an A−, the highest grade of the night, beating out The Simpsons episode "The Fool Monty", The Cleveland Show episode "Fat and Wet", and Family Guy episode "Brian Writes a Bestseller". Jason Hughes of TV Squad wrote a review with mixed reactions, writing "American Dad didn't delve as deeply into its controversial subject matter of racial stereotypes on television, as the episode was focused more on the importance of communication in a successful marriage. Unless, of course, you have Jason Alexander [...] on hand to help your wife repress all those nagging things she's been complaining about each year like Stan does. Then you can just erase all those uncomfortable topics from her memory and go on with your merry life." [6]
"The Vacation Goo" is the first episode of the fourth season of the animated series American Dad!, an episode produced for Season 3. It originally aired on September 30, 2007. This episode centers around the Smiths, whom start to develop communication issues with each other. Francine becomes aggravated that the family cannot congregate with each other during dinner. Stan later plans for a vacation in Hawaii, only to be interrupted by Roger. The family subsequently go on several virtual vacations, only to have Francine go into an emotional breakdown. The Smith family go onto a cruise, but Francine's suspicions get the best of her and the Smiths are stranded on an island.
"Surro-Gate" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of American Dad!. It originally aired on December 2, 2007. This episode mainly focuses on Stan, who hears the news that his gay neighbors Greg and Terry are planning on starting a family through IVF. Stan at first takes this as a joke, and tries to convince them to remain childless. When Greg and Terry have trouble finding a donor, Francine offers to be the surrogate mother for the couple's baby. Stan is enraged when he finds out that his wife is the surrogate for Greg and Terry's baby, and he later vows to take the infant to Nebraska to put her up for adoption. Meanwhile, Roger and Steve play a trick on Klaus, only for him to seek revenge on the two.
"Moon Over Isla Island" is the second episode of the sixth season of American Dad!, an episode produced for Season 5. It first aired in the United States on Fox on October 4, 2009. This episode mainly centers around Stan, who starts taking advantage of his relationship with Roger on various occasions. Stan is later told to meet up with General Juanito Pequeño, the dictator of a small island nation in the Caribbean. The General suddenly dies of suffocating on a corn dog, so Stan convinces Roger to pretend to be General Pequeño by telling him that they are going on a "friends vacation". While on the island, Roger finds out that Stan has been taking advantage of him again for his own personal gain, and their friendship starts to hang in the balance.
"My Morning Straitjacket" is the seventh episode of the sixth season and the eighty fourth overall episode of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 22, 2009, and is written by Mike Barker and directed by Chris Bennett.
"Rapture's Delight" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series American Dad!. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 13, 2009. This episode centers around Stan and Francine's life after the vast majority of the church, including Hayley and Steve, are raptured. When Stan begins to blame Francine for not getting into heaven, Francine ends their relationship and befriends a man whom she later finds out to be Jesus. Francine becomes his bride, leaving Stan behind to participate in the armageddon.
"Don't Look a Smith Horse in the Mouth" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of American Dad!. It aired on January 3, 2010 on Fox and is the first American Dad! episode to air in 16:9 720p high-definition.
"Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls" is the third episode of the sixth season of the animated comedy series American Dad! It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 7, 2010. The episode follows Stan as his title of having the best haunted house is threatened by a neighbor. To tempt people to come to his house, he uses serial killers as the house's main attraction. Meanwhile, Steve falls in love with Toshi's sister Akiko as they go trick-or-treating.
"Stan's Food Restaurant" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of American Dad!. It aired on Fox on November 14, 2010. The episode—which focused on Stan's dream of opening his own restaurant—is the 100th episode overall of American Dad!, an accolade currently bestowed on 100 A.D. for production order. It was written by Brian Boyle and directed by Josue Cervantes.
"Fart-Break Hotel" is the ninth episode of the seventh season of American Dad!. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 16, 2011. The episode follows housewife Francine as she becomes frustrated and bored with her daily routine of taking care of her family. But when Roger accidentally passes lethal gas in the house, the family moves into a luxury hotel for a week. While there, Francine decides to assume the identity and life of a familyless career woman, the CEO of a concrete company.
"Stanny Boy and Frantastic" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on January 23, 2011. This episode centers around the couple of Stan and Francine, who are bored with their lives. In a desperate attempt to get out of the house, Stan and Francine take Hayley's tickets to a circus in order to invite and bond with a couple. While at the show, they both meet Tom and Cami, a young couple. All four go out on various outings, and Stan and Francine begin to have trouble keeping up with the fast-paced lifestyle of Cami and Tom.
"A Piñata Named Desire" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It first aired on Fox in the United States on February 13, 2011. This episode mainly centers on Roger and Stan, who begin to experience tensions growing against each other for the dominant figure in the house. Roger becomes tired of Stan's stance as the authoritarian figure of the house, and he challenges Stan's leadership qualities. Stan insists that he is better than Roger at everything, and he tells him that he has a mission that involves acting. Unknown to Stan, Roger spies on him, only to find out that Stan is a terrible actor. Roger later boasts to the house that he is a better actor than Stan, but he eventually teaches him to improve his acting skills. Meanwhile, Steve and his friends plan to throw their last slumber party together.
"You Debt Your Life" is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on February 20, 2011. The episode focuses on two of the show's main characters, Roger the Alien and Stan Smith. After he saves Roger from being run over by a bus, Stan has repaid what Hayley calls his "life debt", which forces Roger to moving out of the household, and Stan replaces him with Andy Dick. Roger intuitively figures out he can get reaccepted by Stan and move back in by forcing him into a new life debt, by getting him attacked by a polar bear at a zoo and then saving his life at Area 51. Meanwhile, Steve and his friends abuse the power of being public announcers at Pearl Bailey High School.
"Jenny Fromdabloc" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It first aired on Fox in the United States on April 17, 2011. This episode mainly centers around Steve, who tries to comfort his friend, Snot, after facing rejection from Hayley. Snot goes into a deep state of depression after realizing that Hayley does not have any feelings for him. Steve devises a plan that requires Roger to impersonate a teenage girl from New Jersey. Roger ends up developing a deeper relationship with Snot, much to the frustration of Steve. He begins to feel threatened, as Snot develops into a charismatic and arrogant individual that Steve's friends look up to. Meanwhile, Stan wishes to live a more urbane lifestyle and starts drinking martinis, but his low alcohol tolerance causes him to pass out on several occasions and run around Langley Falls in a drunk tangent.
"Hurricane!" is the second episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It first aired on Fox in the United States on October 2, 2011. The episode's plot mainly revolves around the Smith family, who prepare for evacuation in response to an oncoming hurricane. Reluctant to leave his home, Stan encourages his family to ride out the storm in their house with him. The hurricane sends a flood to the city of Langley Falls, which puts the entire family in danger.
"Home Wrecker" is the seventeenth episode of the sixth season American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 8, 2011. This episode mainly centers around the couple of Stan and Francine, whom become divided over the architectural style wanted for the renovation of their kitchen. Greg and Terry, the Smiths' gay neighbors, intervene in the situation. Greg and Terry criticize the strength of Stan and Francine's marriage, much to their frustration. A bet is made in regard to the Smiths' rocky relationship: if Terry and Greg were to win the bet, they would receive the marriage license of Stan and Francine. Meanwhile, Steve, his friends, and Principal Lewis take advantage of Barry's proficient ability to count cards; however things become awry when they try to remove Lewis of his cut.
"Flirting with Disaster" is the eighteenth episode of the seventh season and the 114th overall episode of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 15, 2011, and is written by Keith Heisler and directed by Pam Cooke.
"A Ward Show" is the third episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series American Dad! It aired on Fox in the United States on November 6, 2011. The episode's plot mainly revolves around Roger becoming Steve's legal guardian, but he gets a little overzealous in the parenting department. Meanwhile, Stan and Francine decide to go on a vacation to Flash Flood Acres, The Largest Water Park in the Universe. But after spending two hours there they go on every ride, so they decide to get a refund from the manager, but fail when they learn he would not be back until Thursday.
"Virtual In-Stanity" is the fifth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 20, 2011. The episode plot mainly revolves around Stan making a desperate attempt to bond with his son, Steve by creating an avatar in the form of a teenage girl.
"The Scarlett Getter" is the sixth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 27, 2011. The episode plot mainly revolves around Francine, who accidentally leads Roger to a dangerous alien hunter while trying to get revenge on Stan.
"The Missing Kink" is the fifteenth episode of the ninth season and the 148th overall episode of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on April 14, 2013, and is written by Jeff Chiang and Eric Ziobrowski and directed by Pam Cooke and Valerie Fletcher.