Irregarding Steve

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“Irregarding Steve”
American Dad! episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 8
Guest stars Jon Stewart, John Krasinski as Gilbert
Written by Chris McKenna, Matt McKenna
Directed by Pam Cooke
Production no. 2AJN12
Original airdate December 10, 2006
Newspaper Headline "Trans Fats Banned In NYC, Fat Trannies Still OK"
Season 2 episodes
American Dad - Season 2
September 10, 2006 – May 20, 2007
  1. Camp Refoogee
  2. The American Dad After School Special
  3. Failure is not a Factory-Installed Option
  4. Lincoln Lover
  5. Dungeons and Wagons
  6. Iced, Iced Babies
  7. Of Ice and Men
  8. Irregarding Steve
  9. The Best Christmas Story Never
  10. Bush Comes to Dinner
  11. American Dream Factory
  12. A.T. The Abusive Terrestrial
  13. Black Mystery Month
  14. An Apocalypse to Remember
  15. Four Little Words
  16. When a Stan Loves a Woman
  17. I Can't Stan You
  18. The Magnificent Steven
  19. Joint Custody
← Season 1 Season 3 →
List of American Dad! episodes


"Irregarding Steve" is the eighth episode of the second season of the FOX animated series American Dad!.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Nonsensical Prologue

Without warning, terrorists kill everyone except Francine and Klaus. Klaus manages to save her, and reveals his name to be Professor Max Hammer. After escaping Mexican vampires, they discover the lost city of Atlantis. Klaus and Francine move in to kiss, but it is revealed to be Klaus' daydream.

[edit] Actual Story

Steve's high opinion of his dad's intelligence is shattered when he receives a failing grade on a presentation on fossils that Stan helped him with (as a result of Stan's belief in Creation Science). As a result, Roger convinces him that they can manipulate Stan for whatever they want. This works for a short while, but after repeatedly mocking him (such as for saying the word "irregardless"), Steve is grounded by Stan for disrespect.

Steve and Roger leave home for New York City, where they think their intelligence will allow them to make it big. Francine worries about Steve, but is mislead to believe that they are actually just hiding out in the tree house; Stan thinks that they should wait for Steve to come and apologize. However, during a thunderstorm, lightning hits the treehouse and destroys it, which causes everyone to think that Steve and Roger have died.

In New York, Steve and Roger's dreams do not pan out. Steve tries to get a job writing sketch comedy, but is rejected by Jon Stewart as his skit package is horrible. Roger claims to be an expert in trading stocks, but loses all their money on the New York Stock Exchange, which he had mistook for the Hollywood Stock Exchange. The two soon find themselves on the street, with Steve as a prostitute. Beauregard La Fontaine, who Roger and Steve had met earlier when they arrived in the city, hires Steve, not for sex, but as a petty servant. Beauregard in particular takes pleasure in mocking Steve for any mistake he makes, such as mixing up the words "lay" and "lie." When Beauregard comments that Steve must have an equally stupid father, Steve realizes that he had made a mistake about Stan, attacks Beauregard, and then steals his money, which he and Roger use to return home.

Meanwhile, back at home, the Smiths had become distraught over Steve and Roger's "death," and as the family begins to fall apart, Stan suggests they go on a vacation to get away from their problems and gain a sense of order. They decide to use the money they had been saving for Steve's college education for this, and soon descend to selling all of Steve's possessions before he returns home alive.

[edit] Squirrel Subplot

A subplot that obviously parodies What's Eating Gilbert Grape? involves a family of squirrels that live in Steve's tree house---a morbidly obese mother with two sons, one mentally retarded and the other a mature one who must take care of both of them. When the mother dies (apparently from a heart attack), the smarter squirrel realizes he must care for his brother alone. After the lightning destroys the treehouse (including their mother's body), the two stowaway on a bus and ride far away from their troubles.

[edit] Cultural references

  • The title is a reference to the movie Regarding Henry.
  • Steve mocks Stan by pointing out the ill logic behind the word irregardless.
  • That's So Raven is referenced when Stan is watching television and comments "that is so Raven."
  • When Steve and Roger are sitting in a restaurant in the NYC cafe, Roger is dressed as Andy Warhol.
  • Steve's prostituting himself while dressed as a cowboy is a reference to Midnight Cowboy, which won the 1969 Academy Awards for best film and best director. The music at the end of the episode (the guitar intro to "Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson) is from the film.
  • The red hunting cap that Steve wears as he and Roger head to New York is an allusion to Holden Caulfield in J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.
  • When Steve and Roger announce their intent to go to New York City, Roger is dressed like Mary Richards from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
  • Roger sitting in a swivel chair with Klaus dressed up as a cat is a reference to James Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who can often be seen in the movies petting a white Persian cat.
  • Roger utters Après moi, le déluge (after me, the flood), a quote attributed to 18th century French king Louis XV and the motto of 617 Squadron of the RAF.
  • Roger states at one point that he shotgunned a 40 of Robitussin and everything seems kind of awesome.
  • The French movie Le Dîner de cons seems to be parodied when Beauregard LaFeyettane invites Steve into his bedroom and ridicules his intelligence. The plot in "Le Diner de Cons" ("A Dinner with Morons") is the same: a group of friends find a moron to mock at their Sunday dinner party.
  • In the background, when you see the New York skyline, you can hear a rendition of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
  • In Klaus' dream, the car becomes a submarine, similar to the Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me.
  • There is a reference to Quantum Leap and Scott Bakula in the episode. When Steve and Roger run away to go and live in New York, and Steve tries to make it as a comedy writer, he presents a list of ideas to the daily show frontman Jon Stewart. One of the sketches is entitled 'Quantum Rape', in which a man who rapes Scott Bakula, is sent to jail, where he tries to explain the premise of Quantum Leap to his cellmate with no avail. In the show the sketch is based on a similar sketch one of the show's writers came up with, and presented to Jon Stewart in accordance to the commentary.
  • When Stan was telling a story about him when he was in Denver, he called Denver 'The Windy City' which was Chicago. Denver's nickname is 'Mile-High City'


Preceded by
“Of Ice and Men”		 American Dad! episodes Followed by
“The Best Christmas Story Never”