Toy Whorey

"Toy Whorey" is the eighteenth episode and season finale of the eighth season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 13, 2012. The episode plot mainly revolves around Stan trying to stop his fourteen-year-old son, Steve from playing with toys.^[1] The title and Steve's fantasy parodies Toy Story.

This episode was written by Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Tim Parsons and Jennifer Graves. This episode generally received positive reviews. Kevin McFarland from The A.V. Club rated this episode a B-.

Plot

Stan gets tired of Steve's playing and insists that it is time he becomes an adult. Stan hatches a plot to get rid of Steve's toys but he overhears and plants booby traps. Klaus suggests that Steve will get over his toys when he gets with a girl so Stan decides to take Steve to Mexico to get him laid. On the way, Stan gets annoyed when Steve has taken along one of his toys. When they arrive at the whorehouse, the girl completely shocks them and they decide to keep looking elsewhere but continue to strike out and Stan also finds their car tires have been stolen. Getting a ride, they find that their chauufers are a drug cartel and get themselves kidnapped.

In captivity, Stan gives up but Steve improvises a toy to make Stan eat and keep his strength up. Stan gets into Steve's fantasy and when Steve sees his kidnappers are also suffering invites them into his fantasy, managing to trap them in the cell while he and Stan escape. Amazed, Stan finds out that Steve feels that sometime he needs to escape reality but Stan doesn't quite buy into it. As they throw the makeshift roach toy out the window, the roach, named Pedro, complains about being abandoned. The episode ends with Pedro giving one of Security Officer Peña's signature goodbyes.

Meanwhile, Francine falls at the store and gets free steaks. Roger offers to get some wine but finds he is out and goes out, crashing his car in the process. Arriving at the wine store, he finds the bottle he wants has been sold to Greg and Terry. He goes to see them about getting the wine but they refuse to let go of it. Roger continues to try but fails. Frustrated, Francine goes over and helps herself to the wine but when she opens the bottle she is knocked through the wall by one of Roger's traps allowing Roger to take both steaks.

Reception

"Toy Whorey" first aired on May 13, 2012 in the United States as part of the animated television night on Fox. Like most of the season, the episode was last in the animation television line-up. It was preceded by episodes of The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, and its sister shows Family Guy and The Cleveland Show.This episode was watched by 4.13 million U.S. viewers, with a 2.0/5 rating share in the 18-49 demographic group.^[2]

Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B- saying: "Toy Whorey" isn’t intended as a finale due to the nature of animation production cycles, but it’s a lesser version of other episodes this season. “Wheels & The Legman And The Case Of Grandpa’s Key” more effectively used whimsical fantasy; “The Scarlett Getter” used every character and had a great guest star, and the aforementioned “Virtual In-Stanity” was a more emotionally affecting father/son plot with bigger laughs.^[3] Dyanamaria Leifsson of TV Equals gave the episode a positive review saying: "What Stan couldn’t realize until the end of their adventures, was that while Steve still enjoyed using his imagination and playing with toys, he was not necessarily immature. Steve is interested in girls, he’s got friends, and he’s got hobbies. Still, in keeping with the typical American Dad structure for plots that revolve around Stan, he was incapable of realizing these things until he had put everyone through hell so he could learn that lesson on his own terms."^[4]

References

External links

• "Toy Whorey" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Toy Whorey" at TV.com