License to Till
Encyclopedia
"License to Till" is the fifteenth episode of the sixth season of American Dad!
. It aired on Fox
in the United States on April 10, 2011. During its first airing it was seen by 3.35 million viewers.
This episode was written by Matt Fusfeld & Alex Cuthbertson and directed by John Aoshima & Jansen Yee. This episode generally received positive reviews. Rowan Kaiser from The A.V. Club
rated this episode a Grade B.
Klaus tries to suggest Roger throw in the towel but Roger says he'll help Steve get his driver's license until Klaus points out that Steve is only 14 and too young. After checking the DMV manual, Roger concedes that Steve is too young to drive a car but has Steve arrive at school driving Solomon's tractor. The cool kids clique doesn't buy it and Steve returns to the farm. At a party later, the cool kids learn of a better party across town but no one is sober enough to drive. Roger hits on the idea of calling Steve to bring the tractor back to ferry everyone to the second party. Steve becomes a success and Roger photographs Steve being hoisted by the cool kids for proof of winning the bet with Klaus.
However, Snot and his uncle become concerned when Steve delays returning the tractor so Snot heads to the party where he is snubbed by Steve. As Steve is about to ferry the gang to Taco King, Steve's glasses are knocked off and a lens is broken, leaving him unable to drive. As the cool kids abandon him, Snot arrives with a spare lens. Snot reminds him of their friendship and they return the tractor, only to have it run out of gas and be useless for bringing in uncle Solomon's crop.
Meanwhile, after getting back from a mission, Stan discovers that his usual surprise gift for Francine holds no surprise anymore. Trying to surprise her, Stan tried jumping out and scaring her. When Francine explains that she meant a romantic surprise, Stan sets up an elaborate romantic night in the house but leaps out of the bathtub scaring Francine again. As Stan plans yet another surprise for Francine, Francine turns the tables and scares Stan twice in succession, leaving him shaking. Jeff and Hayley arrive home to find Stan standing in the middle of the street. Determined to avoid Francine, Stan decides to head to a hotel but after checking out the SUV, Francine grabs him from her place of concealment as a seat and they crash into a neighbor's garage where they decide to call a truce. Later, Stan arrives and loudly announces his intentions to Francine who confirms them back. As they agree that they got caught up in the moment, Stan places a box of Chinese takeout on the counter, but when Francine reaches for it the CIA's midget assassin leaps out and Francine stabs him in the throat with a pair of chopsticks, killing him.
graded the episode a B, stating "This episode of American Dad was almost pure family sitcom [...] It's almost a throwback to a simpler time in television, or at least it would be if there weren't two dead characters from Roger's drunk-driving and Francine's kneejerk stabbing response to being scared".
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 aired 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...
in the United States on April 10, 2011. During its first airing it was seen by 3.35 million viewers.
This episode was written by Matt Fusfeld & Alex Cuthbertson and directed by John Aoshima & Jansen Yee. This episode generally received positive reviews. Rowan Kaiser from 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...
rated this episode a Grade B.
Plot
When Steve and the guys volunteer to help Snot's uncle Solomon out on his farm, Steve dreams of hanging out instead with the cool kids. While Roger and Klaus hang out at the mall, After Roger brags about how he could make anyone cool, Klaus wagers Roger that he can't take the next loser to appear on the escalator and make him cool. After accepting the bet, to Roger's dismay Steve appears having been spotted about to arrive by Klaus. Forced to work with Steve, Roger tries to stuff Steve's shorts with sausage which fails when an assistance dog smells the meat and attacks him. Roger then suggests beating up a wimpy kid but the plan fails to gain Steve respect when he beats up a much younger female student.Klaus tries to suggest Roger throw in the towel but Roger says he'll help Steve get his driver's license until Klaus points out that Steve is only 14 and too young. After checking the DMV manual, Roger concedes that Steve is too young to drive a car but has Steve arrive at school driving Solomon's tractor. The cool kids clique doesn't buy it and Steve returns to the farm. At a party later, the cool kids learn of a better party across town but no one is sober enough to drive. Roger hits on the idea of calling Steve to bring the tractor back to ferry everyone to the second party. Steve becomes a success and Roger photographs Steve being hoisted by the cool kids for proof of winning the bet with Klaus.
However, Snot and his uncle become concerned when Steve delays returning the tractor so Snot heads to the party where he is snubbed by Steve. As Steve is about to ferry the gang to Taco King, Steve's glasses are knocked off and a lens is broken, leaving him unable to drive. As the cool kids abandon him, Snot arrives with a spare lens. Snot reminds him of their friendship and they return the tractor, only to have it run out of gas and be useless for bringing in uncle Solomon's crop.
Meanwhile, after getting back from a mission, Stan discovers that his usual surprise gift for Francine holds no surprise anymore. Trying to surprise her, Stan tried jumping out and scaring her. When Francine explains that she meant a romantic surprise, Stan sets up an elaborate romantic night in the house but leaps out of the bathtub scaring Francine again. As Stan plans yet another surprise for Francine, Francine turns the tables and scares Stan twice in succession, leaving him shaking. Jeff and Hayley arrive home to find Stan standing in the middle of the street. Determined to avoid Francine, Stan decides to head to a hotel but after checking out the SUV, Francine grabs him from her place of concealment as a seat and they crash into a neighbor's garage where they decide to call a truce. Later, Stan arrives and loudly announces his intentions to Francine who confirms them back. As they agree that they got caught up in the moment, Stan places a box of Chinese takeout on the counter, but when Francine reaches for it the CIA's midget assassin leaps out and Francine stabs him in the throat with a pair of chopsticks, killing him.
Cultural references
- At one point in this episode, a joke was made about one of the characters, Vince Chung, having a dark secret. A narrator instructed viewers wishing to know the secret to go to the website: www.VinceWasMolested.com. No such site exists as of early 2011, though the domain was registered to 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in late 2010. - The final prank of the episode features the midget assassin from the episode Four Little Words.
- Josh BycelJosh BycelJosh Bycel is a television writer/producer. He has worked on such shows as Veronica's Closet, It's All Relative, Andy Barker P.I., and American Dad. He has recently been hired as the executive producer and co-showrunner for the revamped ninth season of Scrubs.-Writer:*09.Scrubs **Our Drunken...
, Roger's high school name, is the actual name of a former supervising producer and writer for American Dad. - Barry is shown to have naturally curly hair.
- Barry tells Toshi that he has very serious diabetes.
- The title refers to the James Bond story & movie Licence to KillLicence to KillLicence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
. - The plot involving Steve and Roger is similar to the movie She's All ThatShe's All ThatShe's All That is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Iscove, and is a modern adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion...
. - While Steve tries out Roger's first plan, the song "My Dick" by Mickey AvalonMickey AvalonMickey Avalon is an American rapper from Hollywood, California. His debut self-titled solo album was released Nov. 7, 2006 on Interscope/Shoot to Kill Records in association with MySpace Records...
is playing in the background. - Roger is dressed similarly to James DeanJames DeanJames Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
character Jim Stark in the 1955 film "Rebel Without a CauseRebel Without a CauseRebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
". - In one of Francine's pranks, she pretends to be the driver's seat of Stan's SUV. This may be a reference to a similar scene in the movie Spy HardSpy HardSpy Hard is a 1996 American spy comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond films and other action films. The introduction to the song is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic-Plot:...
. - Klaus intends to use the money from the bet to buy shirts at an Old NavyOld NavyOld Navy is an American clothing brand as well as a chain of stores owned by Gap, Inc., with corporate operations in San Francisco and San Bruno, California. It is one of the first major corporations to house headquarters in the new Mission Bay district of San Francisco.Gap, Inc. was run by...
. - While scaring Stan, Francine wears a Predator mask.
- A Picasso art book is seen in the background while Klaus is painting.
- Klaus is painting a picture of ArielArielAriel may refer to:-Film:*Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award*Ariel , a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki-People:*Ariel , any of several real or fictional people of that name...
from The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
.
Reception
The A.V. ClubThe 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...
graded the episode a B, stating "This episode of American Dad was almost pure family sitcom [...] It's almost a throwback to a simpler time in television, or at least it would be if there weren't two dead characters from Roger's drunk-driving and Francine's kneejerk stabbing response to being scared".