Finances with Wolves

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Finances with Wolves
American Dad! episode

Klaus: Before and After
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 19
Written by Neal Boushell, Sam O'Neal
Directed by Albert Calleros
Production no. 1AJN18
Original airdate January 29, 2006
Newspaper Headline "Tantric Sex Conference Ends Prematurely"
Season 1 episodes
American Dad - Season 1
May 1, 2005May 14, 2006
  1. Pilot
  2. Threat Levels
  3. Stan Knows Best
  4. Francine's Flashback
  5. Roger Codger
  6. Homeland Insecurity
  7. Deacon Stan, Jesus Man
  8. Bullocks to Stan
  9. A Smith in the Hand
  10. All About Steve
  11. Con Heir
  12. Stan of Arabia: Part 1
  13. Stan of Arabia: Part 2
  14. Stannie Get Your Gun
  15. Star Trek
  16. Not Particularly Desperate Housewife
  17. Rough Trade
  18. Finances with Wolves
  19. It's Good to Be Queen
  20. Roger 'n' Me
  21. Helping Handis
  22. With Friends Like Steve's
  23. Tears of a Clooney

  Season 2
List of American Dad! episodes


"Finances with Wolves" is an episode of the animated series American Dad!.

[edit] Plot

After receiving a hefty bonus of $20,000 from work, Stan buys extravagant gadgets, such as a large Flavor Flav clock, to wear around his neck,and also a rocket boot while Francine pleads for her dream kiosk (having had sex with celebrities to get them to fund her). Upset about his lack of support, Francine steals five thousand dollars from him to open a muffin shop without his approval and gives Stan a taste of life without a housewife (including her hard earned $2000). In a desperate move, Stan puts Klaus' brain back into a human body (that of the front man of an Earth, Wind & Fire cover band who tried to overcharge the CIA) in an unauthorized brain switch, thinking that Klaus will cook breakfast for him. Thinking once Francine gives up on the kiosk, he'll put Klaus back in the fish. But he soon discovered it was a huge mistake as Klaus takes him hostage, flushes his fish body down the drain and sets out to win over Francine. Taking five grand, Klaus remakes his human appearance by shaving his head and buying new clothes. He buys all the muffins at the kiosk to have dinner with Francine, being the more supportive person she would like. Meanwhile, Steve is convinced he's a teen wolf after watching a horror film and getting attacked by a wolf who seems to like Francine's muffins.

In actuality, Roger adopted the same wolf from the woods, named it "Felicity" and, in the night, it killed a dog and covered Steve's room with blood. In the night, Steve and his friends go into the woods for his friends to kill him with a silver bullet; the actual wolf shows up, having ran away when Roger took a picture of them (then he came upon a rattle snake) and, in a confusing situation, they wind up thinking a silver bullet restored Steve to his normal self.

In another sub-plot, Hayley tries to show her eco-centric side to stop the expansion of the mall. She then meets Arboreus, a man who believes he's a tree trapped in human form (his feet are in a large pot) and his crew. She joins them to make a protest at the mall. But first, to show her devotion, Arboreus says she's got to make out with a tree, which she finds preposterous.

Meanwhile, Stan arrives at the mall but can't find a parking spot revealing the ruse; but Arboreus turns eco-terrorist, setting off a series of bombs, blowing up a statue in the mall. Klaus dives out of the way to protect his new body; Stan, however, pushes Francine out of the way, but the statue piece hits his clock necklace; Klaus' body is half-crushed, and his brain is transferred back into a fish to save him. Hayley, furious that Arboreus nearly killed her parents, knocks him over, shattering his pot, revealing his legs and underwear. He tries to cover himself with soil.

[edit] Cultural References

  • The title is a reference to Dances with Wolves, a 1990 Kevin Costner film.
  • In a flashback scene, Francine apparently did sexual favors for a member of ZZ Top.
  • In the same flashback Francine gets out of a bed that's occupied by the members of Dexy's Midnight Runners. They mistakenly believe her name to be Eileen, and the lead singer begins to write a song, humming Dexy's Midnight Runners signature tune, "Come on Eileen", thus giving a rather raunchy origin to that particular song.
  • The film Steve and his friends see is titled "The Soiling", a direct reference to The Howling.
  • There is a scene showing an Irishman selling hotcakes at the mall near where Francine is selling muffins, when his employee asks him why no one is buying from him, he states "Because i'm Irish, Jimmy. Because i'm Irish." This is obviously an example of the harshness of discrimination (in this case, Anti-Irish), which is an odd issue for this cartoon.
  • The song played during the Klaus exploiting his new body montage is "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire. Before, Stan tells Klaus the body belonged to the lead singer of an Earth, Wind & Fire Cover Band.
  • Public Enemy's song, "911 Is A Joke" plays when Stan has the Flava Flav clock on. Oddly enough, this is an unusually liberal song for Stan to be listening to.
  • The tune played in the scene where Stan is trying to find a parking space is an instrumental remix of "Been There, Done That" by Dr. Dre.

[edit] Notes

  • The shop in the first scene that everyone is standing by is called "EXPENSIVE N USELESS"
  • When Stan shows the family the robot frog he purchased, he is actually speaking Mandarin Chinese to it, not Taiwanese as he claims.
  • When Hayley goes outside and notices the bulldozers, the beeping sound of one backing up can be heard despite both bulldozers are moving forward.
  • While Roger waits for his sea monkeys to be born, there's a sign "Maternity Ward" pasted on the wall.
  • Roger names his sea monkeys Romeo and Anastasia.
  • This is the only episode in the series that has 6 separate stories of equal weight, i.e. everyone in the family has a story line: Stan has a $20,000 bonus; Francine has a muffin kiosk; Steve thinks he's a werewolf; Hayley joins a group of eco-terrorists; Roger brings home a wolf from the woods; Klaus gets a human body.
  • On the DVD the same headline appears as in the previous episode "Rough Trade".
  • In the Season 3 Episode "Stanny Slickers 2: The Legend of Ollie North Gold" Stan mentions he helped Francine in his small business, making reference to his kiosk.


Preceded by
Rough Trade
American Dad! episodes Followed by
It's Good to Be Queen