Stan's Food Restaurant
Encyclopedia
"Stan's Food Restaurant" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of American Dad!
. It aired on Fox
on November 14, 2010. This episode — which focused on Stan's dream of opening his own restaurant — is the 100th broadcast episode 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.
This episode was met with mixed to generally positive reviews from television critics, with much of the praise stemming from the humor of the episode. It was viewed by 5.38 million homes during its original airing, and it acquired a 2.6 rating from the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielson ratings. It features the guest performances of Curtis Armstrong
, Alex Cuthbertson, Roberto Perlas Gomez, Swoosie Kurtz
, Hayden Panettiere
, and Don Tai Theerathada.
Meanwhile, Steve meets Ashley, who was kicked out of her last school for having too much sex. She invites Steve over while her parents are out of town, asking him to bring a friend for her friend Julia. When he comes over with Snot, they find that Julia is actually a doll. Snot's frustrations eventually culminate to Ashley assuming that Snot "raped" Julia. After an unpleasant experience while Julia "gets an abortion", Steve and Snot attempt to make it seem as though Julia killed herself. But when Ashley realizes she was "murdered", Steve gives up, leaves in frustration, and calls Ashley a weirdo.
that would be written by Boyle. As of this episode, each of Seth MacFarlane's main characters have owned a restaurant of some sort. Peter Griffin owned Big Pete's House of Munch, Cleveland Brown owned a deli while still living in Quahog, and Stan Smith owned Stan's Food Restaurant.
In addition to the regular cast, actress Hayden Panettiere
, actress Swoosie Kurtz
, actor Roberto Perlas Gomez, and actor Don Tai Theerathada guest starred in this episode. Recurring voice actor Curtis Armstrong
reprises his role as Steve's friend, Snot, having last done so in season six's "Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls
". Writer Alex Cuthbertson also made a minor appearance as well.
"Stan's Food Restaurant" was broadcast on November 14, 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
. This episode was viewed by 5.38 million homes during its initial airing, despite airing simultaneously with Desperate Housewives
on ABC
, Undercover Boss
on CBS
, and Sunday Night Football on NBC
. It garnered a 2.6 rating from the 18-49 demographic, the lowest rating out of its timeslot. This episode's total viewership and ratings were significantly down from the previous episode, "Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls
", which was viewed by 6.3 million viewers during its initial airing, and received a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
"Stan's Food Restaurant" was met with mixed to generally positive reception from television critics and fans alike. It currently holds an average score of 6.9/10 by users of the Internet Movie Database
, based on 38 votes. On TV.com
, it currently retains an average score of 8.1 out of 10 by the users, based on 57 votes. Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
wrote a review with mixed reactions. He wrote, "I don't have a lot to say about tonight's American Dad, which had a lot of my favorite elements of the show, from Stan and Roger working together to Stan trying to realize some long lost childhood dream to Steve putting up with someone who's bonkers just to get laid, but never gelled as much as I wanted it too." However, he went on to praise the humor of the episode, writing, "There were plenty of laughs, like Stan and Roger putting their argument on hold to go witness the birth of a baby calf or the increasingly insane list of things on Stan's restaurant." Concluding the review for the episode, he wrote, "I think where the episode ultimately didn't work as well for me was when the dueling restaurants plotline came along, simply because that split up Roger and Stan into two separate stories in an episode that didn't have room for that sort of thing. I get why it happened, and I liked Stan realizing his dream [...], but it felt like there was more to mine here than actually got mined, and that made the episode a funny one that didn't quite have a strong story to hold it together. He went on to give the episode a B-, the third highest grade of the night, beating out The Cleveland Show episode "Little Man on Campus", but scoring lower than The Simpsons episode "Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life
" and Family Guy episode "Baby, You Knock Me Out
". Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave a positive review for the episode, writing, "It was fun seeing Stan's restaurant actually succeed, once he got out from under the yoke of Roger taking over the first dream. Maybe pancake plates and chocolate chip meatballs are things MacFarlane has actually considered. I think the MacFarlane universe is big enough now to support a restaurant chain. Maybe he could partner with a theme park on rides."
The Parents Television Council
, a conservative campaigning group and frequent critic of MacFarlane's work, named "Stan's Food Restaurant" as its "Worst TV Show of the Week.". It was actually the first episode of a MacFarlane program to receive the "honor" in the 2010-2011 season. In an extremely negative review for the episode, the group wrote, "The completely ludicrous sexual content on the show had absolutely no business being there. The subplot with Ashley and Julia was preposterous and labored, at best. But the jokes about molestation were offensive and disturbing, making light of a sensitive topic." In conclusion of their review, they went on to write, "Now that MacFarlane’s shows have made it back into the schedule, it’s probably safe to assume that the triple-threat of trash will make it back into this column’s rotation fairly regularly. It’s enough to make one wonder… when does baseball season start again?"
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 aired 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...
on November 14, 2010. This episode — which focused on Stan's dream of opening his own restaurant — is the 100th broadcast episode of American Dad!, an accolade currently bestowed on 100 A.D.
American Dad! (season 6)
American Dad!'s sixth season began airing on October 3, 2010. and ended after 19 episodes on May 22, 2011. Guest stars of this season include Jason Alexander, Sarah Chalke, Hector Elizondo, Anthony Michael Hall, Hayden Panettiere, Lou Diamond Phillips and Burt Reynolds.-Episodes:-External links:* ...
for production order. It was written by Brian Boyle and directed by Josue Cervantes.
This episode was met with mixed to generally positive reviews from television critics, with much of the praise stemming from the humor of the episode. It was viewed by 5.38 million homes during its original airing, and it acquired a 2.6 rating from the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielson ratings. It features the guest performances of Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...
, Alex Cuthbertson, Roberto Perlas Gomez, Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters...
, Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
, and Don Tai Theerathada.
Plot
After another disastrous trip to a restaurant, Stan finally reveals to Francine why they can never find a restaurant that suits him: After his father left, Stan's mother took him to Johnson's Parlor in Philadelphia, where they had everything from chocolate covered hot dogs to cherry pie pizza. After they left, Johnson's exploded and Stan could never again relive the joy he had at the restaurant. Francine suggests that Stan open his own restaurant, and so Stan turns to Roger for help. As construction progress, Roger makes heavy changes to the layout, eventually kicking Stan out of the project. Stan takes control and opens his own restaurant right next door, which is a huge success. Unable to admit defeat, Roger blows up Stan's restaurant which ends up burning his own in the process. Roger explains it as a way to cover up the arson, by having Stan's place as the source of the fire.Meanwhile, Steve meets Ashley, who was kicked out of her last school for having too much sex. She invites Steve over while her parents are out of town, asking him to bring a friend for her friend Julia. When he comes over with Snot, they find that Julia is actually a doll. Snot's frustrations eventually culminate to Ashley assuming that Snot "raped" Julia. After an unpleasant experience while Julia "gets an abortion", Steve and Snot attempt to make it seem as though Julia killed herself. But when Ashley realizes she was "murdered", Steve gives up, leaves in frustration, and calls Ashley a weirdo.
Production
"Stan's Food Restaurant" was directed by Josue Cervantes and written by Brian Boyle. This would be the first episode of the sixth seasonAmerican Dad! (season 6)
American Dad!'s sixth season began airing on October 3, 2010. and ended after 19 episodes on May 22, 2011. Guest stars of this season include Jason Alexander, Sarah Chalke, Hector Elizondo, Anthony Michael Hall, Hayden Panettiere, Lou Diamond Phillips and Burt Reynolds.-Episodes:-External links:* ...
that would be written by Boyle. As of this episode, each of Seth MacFarlane's main characters have owned a restaurant of some sort. Peter Griffin owned Big Pete's House of Munch, Cleveland Brown owned a deli while still living in Quahog, and Stan Smith owned Stan's Food Restaurant.
In addition to the regular cast, actress Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
, actress Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters...
, actor Roberto Perlas Gomez, and actor Don Tai Theerathada guest starred in this episode. Recurring voice actor Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...
reprises his role as Steve's friend, Snot, having last done so in season six's "Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls
Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls
"Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls" is the third episode of 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...
". Writer Alex Cuthbertson also made a minor appearance as well.
Reception
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, and its sister shows The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
and Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. This episode was viewed by 5.38 million homes during its initial airing, despite airing simultaneously with 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...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and Sunday Night Football on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. It garnered a 2.6 rating from the 18-49 demographic, the lowest rating out of its timeslot. This episode's total viewership and ratings were significantly down from the previous episode, "Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls
Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls
"Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls" is the third episode of 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...
", which was viewed by 6.3 million viewers during its initial airing, and received a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
"Stan's Food Restaurant" was met with mixed to generally positive reception from television critics and fans alike. It currently holds an average score of 6.9/10 by users of the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, based on 38 votes. On TV.com
TV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
, it currently retains an average score of 8.1 out of 10 by the users, based on 57 votes. Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club
The 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...
wrote a review with mixed reactions. He wrote, "I don't have a lot to say about tonight's American Dad, which had a lot of my favorite elements of the show, from Stan and Roger working together to Stan trying to realize some long lost childhood dream to Steve putting up with someone who's bonkers just to get laid, but never gelled as much as I wanted it too." However, he went on to praise the humor of the episode, writing, "There were plenty of laughs, like Stan and Roger putting their argument on hold to go witness the birth of a baby calf or the increasingly insane list of things on Stan's restaurant." Concluding the review for the episode, he wrote, "I think where the episode ultimately didn't work as well for me was when the dueling restaurants plotline came along, simply because that split up Roger and Stan into two separate stories in an episode that didn't have room for that sort of thing. I get why it happened, and I liked Stan realizing his dream [...], but it felt like there was more to mine here than actually got mined, and that made the episode a funny one that didn't quite have a strong story to hold it together. He went on to give the episode a B-, the third highest grade of the night, beating out The Cleveland Show episode "Little Man on Campus", but scoring lower than The Simpsons episode "Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life
Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life
"Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons 22nd season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 2010.-Plot:...
" and Family Guy episode "Baby, You Knock Me Out
Baby, You Knock Me Out
"Baby, You Knock Me Out" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 14, 2010. The episode follows housewife Lois after she is convinced to become a championship boxer...
". Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave a positive review for the episode, writing, "It was fun seeing Stan's restaurant actually succeed, once he got out from under the yoke of Roger taking over the first dream. Maybe pancake plates and chocolate chip meatballs are things MacFarlane has actually considered. I think the MacFarlane universe is big enough now to support a restaurant chain. Maybe he could partner with a theme park on rides."
The Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
, a conservative campaigning group and frequent critic of MacFarlane's work, named "Stan's Food Restaurant" as its "Worst TV Show of the Week.". It was actually the first episode of a MacFarlane program to receive the "honor" in the 2010-2011 season. In an extremely negative review for the episode, the group wrote, "The completely ludicrous sexual content on the show had absolutely no business being there. The subplot with Ashley and Julia was preposterous and labored, at best. But the jokes about molestation were offensive and disturbing, making light of a sensitive topic." In conclusion of their review, they went on to write, "Now that MacFarlane’s shows have made it back into the schedule, it’s probably safe to assume that the triple-threat of trash will make it back into this column’s rotation fairly regularly. It’s enough to make one wonder… when does baseball season start again?"