Bully for Steve
Encyclopedia
"Bully for Steve" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season
of the animated
comedy series
American Dad!
. It originally aired in the United States
on Fox
on April 25, 2010. The episode follows Stan who is unhappy with Steve
's passive behavior, so he poses as a bully for Steve to toughen him up, despite Francine
's disapproval.
The episode was written by Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Rodney Clouden. "Bully for Steve" was watched by 5.31 million viewers in its original airing. The episode received positive reviews with its main plot, along with mixed reviews with its subplot, from critics. The episode features guest performances of Jeff Fischer
, Kevin Michael Richardson
, Cleo King
, and Erik Durbin.
experience being bullied by a Greek person named Stelio Kontos. He also tells Steve that, as bullies do not just go away, he is forced to deal with them. Francine opposes this approach, saying that violence is never the answer, so Stan threatens to beat Steve up further if he ever tells her he is being bullied by his dad.
Francine notifies Principal Lewis of her increasing concern for Steve, and despite Stan's threats to keep Steve from telling, Lewis reviews the security camera. Francine finds out that Stan is the bully, and runs him down with her car as he tries to escape from her wrath. Furious of Stan's actions, Francine tries to train Steve to fight back, though unsuccessfully, and Steve is unable to dodge Stan with an old lady disguise. Finally accepting that he cannot avoid being bullied, Steve decides to settle the fight at the school playground the next day at 3:00. Instead of fighting by himself, Steve hires Stelio Kontos to beat Stan up. Stelio mercilessly beats up Stan, leaving him bloodied and bruised until he finally admits defeat. After the fight, Stan is considerably injured and humiliated, but respectfully acknowledges Steve for overcoming his bully in his own way.
Meanwhile, Reginald asks Hayley out on a date, which she agrees. They arrive at the carnival and encounter Jeff Fischer, who is working there. After engaging in a brief conversation with each other, Hayley and Jeff reconnect, with Reginald understanding. Roger attempts a career as a crime scene
photographer, and finally achieves success with a picture of Stan's injuries from the fight.
, their previous episode being "Don't Look a Smith Horse in the Mouth
." Ron Hughart
and Brent Woods served as supervising directors for "Bully for Steve." Erik Sommers served as the main producer for the episode, with Laura McCreary and Erik Durbin serving as co-producers, along with Chris McKenna
and Matt McKenna as supervising producers. Walter Murphy
, a regular music composer for the music of MacFarlane
-produced shows, including the opening theme songs of American Dad! and The Cleveland Show
, composed the music for the episode.
In addition to the regular cast, actress Cleo King
guest starred in the episode. Recurring voice actors Jeff Fischer
and Kevin Michael Richardson
, and co-producer Erik Durbin also guest starred in the episode.
with the musical group Train
. Francine directly mentions the marine theme park Sea World
when she says she needs to "punch a dolphin," while Steve mentions the social networking site Facebook
, where he says he found Stelio Kontos. Towards the end of the episode, Cap'n Crunch
appears at the police station when he decides to give Roger the job for presenting the injured Stan, demonstrating Roger's talents in crime scene photography.
, The Cleveland Show
, and Family Guy
. It was watched by 5.31 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings
. The episode also acquired a 2.7/7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Cleveland Show but scoring below The Simpsons and Family Guy. The episode's ratings increased slightly from the show's last episode, "Merlot Down Dirty Shame
," and its total viewership increased by 2.65%.
The episode's main plot was met with positive reception by television critics and fans alike upon its initial release, while its subplot received mixed reception. The Los Angeles Times
Show Tracker blog gave a positive review to the episode. They comment its main plot, Stan teaching Steve a lesson, as "the next best thing to Roger’s insanity." Jason Hughes of TV Squad also praised the episode overall, commenting that the main plot of Stan bullying Steve "was a stroke of genius by the creators of 'American Dad.'" Hughes said it "fits in perfectly with [Steve's] character." He added "it led to so many other funny moments in the episode," noting both instances of the janitor's sudden werewolf transformation at school and the footage showing Principal Lewis "drinking an entire case of beer and peeing on the basketball hoop before heading off." However, he gave a mixed review to the episode's subplot involving the relationship between Hayley and Reginald, saying he could not "bring [him]self to really care about this relationship, or even Reginald at all." In a simultaneous review of the episode of The Simpsons that preceded the show, Todd VanDerWuff of The A.V. Club
gave "Bully for Steve" a positive review, saying that the episode overall was "just purely funny." He praised Stan for "missing more and more work for this ridiculous quest to make Steve a better man," as well as Stelio Kontos for his own theme song and his fight scene with Stan. Overall, VanDerWuff said that the episode's main plot worked, suggesting that the relationship between Stan and Steve, their "mutual lack of understanding," is analogous to that between Homer
and Lisa
in The Simpsons
. However, like Hughes of TV Squad, VanDerWuff criticized the episode's secondary plot, commenting Hayley and Reginald's relationship, "which seems to have reached its ending [...], continues to just not work, [...] since the ending to the storyline was fairly abrupt and out of nowhere." He rated the episode an A-, the highest grade of the night, scoring higher than The Simpsons episode "The Squirt and the Whale
."
American Dad! (season 5)
American Dad!s fifth season aired starting on September 27, 2009. The season consists of episodes - nine from the 4AJNxx production line and four from 5AJNxx...
of the animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
comedy series
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
. It originally aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on April 25, 2010. The episode follows Stan who is unhappy with Steve
Steve Smith (American Dad!)
Steven Anita “Steve” Smith is a character from the animated television series American Dad!. He is Stan and Francine Smith's only son and Hayley's younger brother as well as the youngest of the series' 6 main characters. Steve is voiced by Scott Grimes.According to TVTDB.com, Steve's original...
's passive behavior, so he poses as a bully for Steve to toughen him up, despite Francine
Francine Smith
Francine Smith is a fictional character on the animated television series American Dad!. She is the wife of Stan Smith and the mother of Steve and Hayley. Francine is voiced by Wendy Schaal.-Fictional character biography:...
's disapproval.
The episode was written by Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Rodney Clouden. "Bully for Steve" was watched by 5.31 million viewers in its original airing. The episode received positive reviews with its main plot, along with mixed reviews with its subplot, from critics. The episode features guest performances of Jeff Fischer
Jeff Fischer (actor)
Jeff Fischer is an American voice actor known for his work in commercials, cartoons, and video games. In 2005 he was chosen to announce the Teen Choice Awards....
, Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
, Cleo King
Cleo King
Cleo King is an American actress probably best known for her roles as Aunt Lou in the HBO drama series Deadwood and Helene Parks in Boston Public. She is also known for portraying police officers, most notably Officer Gardner in The Hangover, and as the abrasive yet helpful school liasion officer...
, and Erik Durbin.
Plot
Stan learns that Steve is too passive and resorts to confronting Steve as a bully. After a physical confrontation, Steve quickly figures out the bully is his own dad. Stan changes the topic to his own high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
experience being bullied by a Greek person named Stelio Kontos. He also tells Steve that, as bullies do not just go away, he is forced to deal with them. Francine opposes this approach, saying that violence is never the answer, so Stan threatens to beat Steve up further if he ever tells her he is being bullied by his dad.
Francine notifies Principal Lewis of her increasing concern for Steve, and despite Stan's threats to keep Steve from telling, Lewis reviews the security camera. Francine finds out that Stan is the bully, and runs him down with her car as he tries to escape from her wrath. Furious of Stan's actions, Francine tries to train Steve to fight back, though unsuccessfully, and Steve is unable to dodge Stan with an old lady disguise. Finally accepting that he cannot avoid being bullied, Steve decides to settle the fight at the school playground the next day at 3:00. Instead of fighting by himself, Steve hires Stelio Kontos to beat Stan up. Stelio mercilessly beats up Stan, leaving him bloodied and bruised until he finally admits defeat. After the fight, Stan is considerably injured and humiliated, but respectfully acknowledges Steve for overcoming his bully in his own way.
Meanwhile, Reginald asks Hayley out on a date, which she agrees. They arrive at the carnival and encounter Jeff Fischer, who is working there. After engaging in a brief conversation with each other, Hayley and Jeff reconnect, with Reginald understanding. Roger attempts a career as a crime scene
Crime scene
A crime scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists....
photographer, and finally achieves success with a picture of Stan's injuries from the fight.
Production
The episode was written by series regulars Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson and was directed by series regular Rodney Clouden. It is the second episode Clouden, Fusfeld, and Cuthbertson worked on this seasonAmerican Dad! (season 5)
American Dad!s fifth season aired starting on September 27, 2009. The season consists of episodes - nine from the 4AJNxx production line and four from 5AJNxx...
, their previous episode being "Don't Look a Smith Horse in the Mouth
Don't Look a Smith Horse in the Mouth
"Don't Look a Smith Horse in the Mouth" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of American Dad!. It aired on January 3, 2010 on Fox and was the first American Dad episode to air in 720p high-definition.- Plot :...
." Ron Hughart
Ron Hughart
Ron Hughart is an American animation director. He has worked on several shows, including The Ren & Stimpy Show, Family Dog, Futurama and American Dad!.He also worked on Ren & Stimpy as a layout supervisor and timing director...
and Brent Woods served as supervising directors for "Bully for Steve." Erik Sommers served as the main producer for the episode, with Laura McCreary and Erik Durbin serving as co-producers, along with Chris McKenna
Chris McKenna
Chris McKenna is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played for Queensland and Australia as well as club sides the Brisbane Broncos, South Queensland Crushers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. His usual position was second row, though while he played...
and Matt McKenna as supervising producers. Walter Murphy
Walter Murphy
Walter Anthony Murphy, Jr. is an American instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger. He rose to fame with the hit instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of passages from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in 1976, when disco was at the height of its...
, a regular music composer for the music of MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
-produced shows, including the opening theme songs of American Dad! and The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
, composed the music for the episode.
In addition to the regular cast, actress Cleo King
Cleo King
Cleo King is an American actress probably best known for her roles as Aunt Lou in the HBO drama series Deadwood and Helene Parks in Boston Public. She is also known for portraying police officers, most notably Officer Gardner in The Hangover, and as the abrasive yet helpful school liasion officer...
guest starred in the episode. Recurring voice actors Jeff Fischer
Jeff Fischer (actor)
Jeff Fischer is an American voice actor known for his work in commercials, cartoons, and video games. In 2005 he was chosen to announce the Teen Choice Awards....
and Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
, and co-producer Erik Durbin also guest starred in the episode.
Cultural references
A recurring gag throughout the episode is Stan insulting Steve with a sexual joke involving the usage of the phrase, "That's what your mom said last night," a variation of the original phrase, "That's what she said." When Stan is driving in his SUV right after fleeing the high school, he sings a soundtrack of Drops of JupiterDrops of Jupiter
Drops of Jupiter is Train's second album, released in 2001. The album's title is derived from "Drops of Jupiter ", its first single which was extremely popular and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song....
with the musical group Train
Train (band)
Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan , Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood ....
. Francine directly mentions the marine theme park Sea World
Sea World
Sea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...
when she says she needs to "punch a dolphin," while Steve mentions the social networking site Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, where he says he found Stelio Kontos. Towards the end of the episode, Cap'n Crunch
Cap'n Crunch
Cap'n Crunch is a product line of sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereals introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker Oats has been a division of PepsiCo since 2001. The product line is heralded by a cartoon mascot named Cap'n Crunch, a sea captain .-Development:Pamela Low,...
appears at the police station when he decides to give Roger the job for presenting the injured Stan, demonstrating Roger's talents in crime scene photography.
Reception
"Bully for Steve" was broadcast on April 25, 2010, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
, and Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. It was watched by 5.31 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. The episode also acquired a 2.7/7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating The Cleveland Show but scoring below The Simpsons and Family Guy. The episode's ratings increased slightly from the show's last episode, "Merlot Down Dirty Shame
Merlot Down Dirty Shame
"Merlot Down Dirty Shame" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of American Dad!, originally aired on April 18, 2010 in Fox in the United States.-Plot:...
," and its total viewership increased by 2.65%.
The episode's main plot was met with positive reception by television critics and fans alike upon its initial release, while its subplot received mixed reception. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Show Tracker blog gave a positive review to the episode. They comment its main plot, Stan teaching Steve a lesson, as "the next best thing to Roger’s insanity." Jason Hughes of TV Squad also praised the episode overall, commenting that the main plot of Stan bullying Steve "was a stroke of genius by the creators of 'American Dad.'" Hughes said it "fits in perfectly with [Steve's] character." He added "it led to so many other funny moments in the episode," noting both instances of the janitor's sudden werewolf transformation at school and the footage showing Principal Lewis "drinking an entire case of beer and peeing on the basketball hoop before heading off." However, he gave a mixed review to the episode's subplot involving the relationship between Hayley and Reginald, saying he could not "bring [him]self to really care about this relationship, or even Reginald at all." In a simultaneous review of the episode of The Simpsons that preceded the show, Todd VanDerWuff of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave "Bully for Steve" a positive review, saying that the episode overall was "just purely funny." He praised Stan for "missing more and more work for this ridiculous quest to make Steve a better man," as well as Stelio Kontos for his own theme song and his fight scene with Stan. Overall, VanDerWuff said that the episode's main plot worked, suggesting that the relationship between Stan and Steve, their "mutual lack of understanding," is analogous to that between Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. However, like Hughes of TV Squad, VanDerWuff criticized the episode's secondary plot, commenting Hayley and Reginald's relationship, "which seems to have reached its ending [...], continues to just not work, [...] since the ending to the storyline was fairly abrupt and out of nowhere." He rated the episode an A-, the highest grade of the night, scoring higher than The Simpsons episode "The Squirt and the Whale
The Squirt and the Whale
"The Squirt and the Whale" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season, which premiered on the Fox network on April 25, 2010 as the 460th episode for the series overall. In the episode, the Simpson family attempt to save a beached whale that washed up onshore, only for it to...
."