Home Adrone
Encyclopedia
"Home Adrone" is the third episode of the fifth season of American Dad!
. It first aired October 11, 2009, on Fox
. In this episode, Steve is left home alone and wreaks havoc with a military drone.
This episode was written by Erik Sommers and directed by Brent Woods. It received mostly positive response from most television critics, with much of the praise stemming from the main storyline, the jokes, and the chemistry between the passengers and the main characters on the air plane. This episode was viewed by 6.67 million homes during its original airing.
Meanwhile, Roger dresses up as a young girl named Katelyn on the flight. When the drone flies over, the plane is grounded and Roger finds himself unable to drink because of his disguise, so he dresses up as Stan. When the air marshal
notices that "Katelyn" is missing, he refuses to let the plane take-off and threatens to kill a passenger every minute. Francine and Hayley plead with Roger to get back in his girl costume but he is so drunk and into his persona that he has forgotten he was Katelyn. When he realizes this, he dresses as the girl again. However, as the plane taxis for take-off, the drone flies over and they are grounded again; Hayley swears at the top of her lungs at this.
In another side story, Steve had accidentally crashed the drone onto a squirrel, who happened to be the President of the squirrel community. The Vice-President takes over, and announces his first act as President is to investigate the contents of a neighboring bird feeder
.
rated this episode a Grade B, saying: "Another episode where two largely adequate plots added up to an episode that was greater than the sum of its parts. The “someone’s accidentally taken over a drone plane!” plot was used on Chuck last year, but other than that, I think it was a new one (though, granted, it would be weird if this plot suddenly showed up on Brothers & Sisters). The storyline where Roger, Haley and Francine ended up stuck on the plane on the tarmac was funny mostly for the ways that the characters interacted with each other and the passengers around them, but it was also a storyline that didn’t really go anywhere, kind of a throwaway. Had the episode stuck more with the opening storyline of Steve and his friends taking the drone on a joyride, I might have enjoyed it slightly more, just because storylines where there’s a misunderstanding between Steve and Stan that is patched up at the last minute are turning into a well this show goes to way too often, but the episode would have been worth it just for that gag about the squirrel president, honestly."
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 first aired October 11, 2009, on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. In this episode, Steve is left home alone and wreaks havoc with a military drone.
This episode was written by Erik Sommers and directed by Brent Woods. It received mostly positive response from most television critics, with much of the praise stemming from the main storyline, the jokes, and the chemistry between the passengers and the main characters on the air plane. This episode was viewed by 6.67 million homes during its original airing.
Plot
The family takes a trip to look at a potential college for Hayley, leaving Steve to watch over the house. When his friends arrive and realize he has the run of the house, they persuade Steve to break the rules. Going into Stan's study (which he explicitly forbade Steve from entering), they discover a briefcase containing flight controls and believe it is a video game. They play with it for a while before realizing that the console is actually controlling an unmanned military drone (which resembles the Predator Drone but with twin tilt-rotors). They crash the aircraft, but Snot brings it to a mechanic he could trust not to ask questions. Stan returns, having been barred from the plane for leaving to get a magazine in the terminal (even his CIA badge failed to get him in), to find that Steve has betrayed his trust and thrust them into a high-level security situation: if the CIA finds out the drone is missing, then they will literally cut off Stan's ass and hand it to him. They go to the body shop but the Chinese Mafia had taken the drone as payment for the mechanic's debts, only to sell it to a man for a parade. Stan accidentally informs them that the drone cost 50 million dollars, compelling them to get it back, as well as attack him. Steve calls Stan on his cell phone and tells him to get on the drone, as he remotely controls it away from the parade. This is, however, just the start for Steve to regain his father's confidence.Meanwhile, Roger dresses up as a young girl named Katelyn on the flight. When the drone flies over, the plane is grounded and Roger finds himself unable to drink because of his disguise, so he dresses up as Stan. When the air marshal
Federal Air Marshal Service
The Federal Air Marshal Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security...
notices that "Katelyn" is missing, he refuses to let the plane take-off and threatens to kill a passenger every minute. Francine and Hayley plead with Roger to get back in his girl costume but he is so drunk and into his persona that he has forgotten he was Katelyn. When he realizes this, he dresses as the girl again. However, as the plane taxis for take-off, the drone flies over and they are grounded again; Hayley swears at the top of her lungs at this.
In another side story, Steve had accidentally crashed the drone onto a squirrel, who happened to be the President of the squirrel community. The Vice-President takes over, and announces his first act as President is to investigate the contents of a neighboring bird feeder
Bird feeder
A birdfeeder, bird feeder, bird table, or tray feeder are devices placed outdoors to supply bird food to birds...
.
Cultural references
- The song that is playing when Toshi plays with the paper crane is a Japanese version of 'Daisy Daisy' sung by Brian Tochi (Toshiro Takashi) in the movie Revenge of the Nerds. The English version is same song is sung by HAL in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- The episode title is a reference to the movie Home Alone.
- When Barry says, "They found us, we're getting off the island!" it is a reference to the ABC show Lost.
- Rivers is a parody of Brooks, from The Shawshank Redemption.
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 a Grade B, saying: "Another episode where two largely adequate plots added up to an episode that was greater than the sum of its parts. The “someone’s accidentally taken over a drone plane!” plot was used on Chuck last year, but other than that, I think it was a new one (though, granted, it would be weird if this plot suddenly showed up on Brothers & Sisters). The storyline where Roger, Haley and Francine ended up stuck on the plane on the tarmac was funny mostly for the ways that the characters interacted with each other and the passengers around them, but it was also a storyline that didn’t really go anywhere, kind of a throwaway. Had the episode stuck more with the opening storyline of Steve and his friends taking the drone on a joyride, I might have enjoyed it slightly more, just because storylines where there’s a misunderstanding between Steve and Stan that is patched up at the last minute are turning into a well this show goes to way too often, but the episode would have been worth it just for that gag about the squirrel president, honestly."