American Dad! Is no stranger to potential cancellation. "Hot Water" was set to be the series finale, driving the episode with an over-the-top musical-themed Hot Tub-based story that killed off part of the main cast in a spectacular, unforgettable episode. Then you had "Blagsnarst: A Love Story" which while tame compared to Hot Water was a literal and metaphorical end to American Dad; or rather its run on FOX as the channel has quietly canceled AD!. "Echoes" was optioned as another potential series finale due to the troubled waters caused by the Warner-Discovery fiasco that led to many shows and movies being shelved. It's a funny, insane, well-written and frankly excellent episode that would have served as the perfect series finale; yet it isn't. The plot manages to make room for the entire family while focusing primarily on Steve learning about an apocalyptic creature coming to destroy the planet as he tries to stop it to little success. The episode manages to be one of the grandest episodes in the series with a great monster design and true stakes in the future of the family, ending with a sweet reunion of the family that nicely ends the series while winking to the audience should it not be the final episode. However American Dad was renewed so there is a little bonus piece to the story showing an alternate universe of the family having different, less disastrous results. Overall a great episode.
3 Reviews
A wasted subplot spoils a potentially good episode
Rooooguuu31 December 2022
Sometimes you have to end the world to create a great American Dad episode. This includes the GOAT "Rapture's Delight," written back when the Smith Family had actual personalities and hadn't been reduced to their most obnoxious traits. Then there was the epic 200th episode-one of the best anniversary episodes of any series ever. (200 Rogers...what more needs to be said?)
Sadly, their latest attempts to end the world (Brave N00b World) and now, "Echoes," come nowhere close to capturing the glory of these classics.
It KILLS me to write that. I remember watching the pilot back in college and the Smiths immediately dethroning the Griffins as my favorite MacFarlane family.
With 22 episode seasons, every show is going to have a few misfires. With the latest season of American Dad, the good episodes were so rare that they became the misfires.
On paper, we should love this episode. Their end of the world episodes are great more often than not. There were a handful of decent jokes but the episode's protagonist, Steve, points out exactly what was wrong with the story when he wonders where Roger is at, remarking he'd be perfect in this situation.
He would have been. Instead, the writers decided to remove Roger and Klaus from the main story and forced them into a B storyline that was poorly executed, asinine, predictable, and stopped the main story dead in its tracks. Instead of having Roger team up with Steve or diving deeper into the family dynamic while Steve confronts the end of the human race, they waste precious time on his subplot. Roger's storyline ended precisely how we knew it would in this mess of an episode.
The fact that they felt they needed a secondary plot to fill up the 21 minute run time is a good sign they no longer know how to write for the main characters. The main characters have been completely reduced to their worst qualities that they don't even seem to care what happens during the episode. Neither does the audience.
Roger's best personas are organic to the story and emerge from the events at hand. In recent seasons, the writers seem to have forgotten this. "Echoes" is a prime example of, "What if Roger did (blank)" persona that has no connection to the plot and fails to connect with the viewer.
"Echoes" completely fails to live up to the standard of past "end of the world" episodes and makes even a diehard fan start to wonder if maybe it's time we end the series instead?
Sadly, their latest attempts to end the world (Brave N00b World) and now, "Echoes," come nowhere close to capturing the glory of these classics.
It KILLS me to write that. I remember watching the pilot back in college and the Smiths immediately dethroning the Griffins as my favorite MacFarlane family.
With 22 episode seasons, every show is going to have a few misfires. With the latest season of American Dad, the good episodes were so rare that they became the misfires.
On paper, we should love this episode. Their end of the world episodes are great more often than not. There were a handful of decent jokes but the episode's protagonist, Steve, points out exactly what was wrong with the story when he wonders where Roger is at, remarking he'd be perfect in this situation.
He would have been. Instead, the writers decided to remove Roger and Klaus from the main story and forced them into a B storyline that was poorly executed, asinine, predictable, and stopped the main story dead in its tracks. Instead of having Roger team up with Steve or diving deeper into the family dynamic while Steve confronts the end of the human race, they waste precious time on his subplot. Roger's storyline ended precisely how we knew it would in this mess of an episode.
The fact that they felt they needed a secondary plot to fill up the 21 minute run time is a good sign they no longer know how to write for the main characters. The main characters have been completely reduced to their worst qualities that they don't even seem to care what happens during the episode. Neither does the audience.
Roger's best personas are organic to the story and emerge from the events at hand. In recent seasons, the writers seem to have forgotten this. "Echoes" is a prime example of, "What if Roger did (blank)" persona that has no connection to the plot and fails to connect with the viewer.
"Echoes" completely fails to live up to the standard of past "end of the world" episodes and makes even a diehard fan start to wonder if maybe it's time we end the series instead?
You Have To Watch It Twice
koepfer1 March 2023
Another episode focusing on Steve with a funny but kind of neglected sub-plot with Roger doing some whipping. Things get turbulent, but with a happy ending, sort of.
The plot is well thought out and most jokes sit well. Most importantly, you have to watch the episode twice in a row to really understand the meaning of some of the passages.
Overall, the episode showed another intelligent take on life's decisions and how crazy things can get based only on one tiny and seemingly random choice.
American Dad is consistently better than Family Guy, which unfortunately does not reflect in the ratings. And now you better get ready to lick some crack!
The plot is well thought out and most jokes sit well. Most importantly, you have to watch the episode twice in a row to really understand the meaning of some of the passages.
Overall, the episode showed another intelligent take on life's decisions and how crazy things can get based only on one tiny and seemingly random choice.
American Dad is consistently better than Family Guy, which unfortunately does not reflect in the ratings. And now you better get ready to lick some crack!
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