The original post: /r/television by /u/Sydius on 2025-03-25 14:38:15.

Season 21 just ended, and it is full of great episodes, including a few that will be remembered as classics. In my subjective opinion, only one of the 22 episodes was a dudthe others are all at least good.

The season featured a bank heist, the equatorial bulge, some Space Jam, and classical music. There was an episode with multiple songs, and one that fits perfectly with other “weird” episodes like ‘Rabbit Ears’ or ‘Gold Top Nuts’.

The best part? Some of these episodes are great because they center around not Roger, but other family members. While having a character like Roger is an easy (but brilliant) way to keep a show fresh, AD’s writers consistently prove that they can write entertaining stories just about any of the main, and most of the supporting cast.

Also, I can’t recall any episodes with the (in my opinion) quite lazy formula of “three smaller stories based around a central theme, but completely removed from the main setting”.

Don’t get me wrong, American Dad is far from high art. It’s episodic, it’s silly (with a few episodes being downright stupid, but in a good way), sometimes a little disgusting and it won’t win any major awards. Yet, in my opinion, it is one of the better shows in its category. It is less tired and formulaic that The Simpsons, more creative than Family Guy, and more entertaining that Bob’s Burgers. It is stupid fun, but it is also smart. I would even go as far as to say it’s almost as good as Futurama in its prime. If nothing else, it’s not full of cutaways like Family Guy, and you won’t hate any of the main cast as much as The Simpsons make you hate Homer. Having Sir Patrick Stewart as a show regular is also a big plus.

If I was able to convince you to check out the season, here are a few episodes I can wholeheartedly recommend:

  • 21x01 - The Grocery Store Bank
  • 21x14 - The Girl Who Cried Space Jam
  • 21x15 - Get Him to the Greek Life Style
  • 21x20 - Silicon Steve

21x13 - The Clearview Motel and 21x22 - What Great Advancements! are also great, but they are more ‘out there’.

So, the TL;DR: show’s good, go check out a few episodes and have fun.