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Tearjerker (American Dad!)
Encyclopedia
"Tearjerker" is the tenth episode of the third season of the animated comedy series American Dad!
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on January 13, 2008. As the episode follows a story based entirely from a James Bond
film, each American Dad! character plays a role of another: Stan
as Agent Stan Smith, Francine Smith
as Sexpun T'Come, Hayley
as Miss Peacenickel, Steve
as S, Avery Bullock as B, Roger as Tearjerker, Klaus
as Tchochkie Schmear, Greg Corbin as Peddie, Terry Bates as Mannie, Chuck White as Professor, and Captain Monty as Gums. This episode follows Agent Stan Smith during his infiltration of a movie set, where he finds Matthew McConaughey
to be a robot, as well as Johnny Depp
during his visit on Tearjerker's island. Tearjerker, the main antagonist of the episode, is a business tycoon
who has been abducting celebrities from his spa and replacing them with robots that will star in his horrible movies. While in the meantime he is pressured to accept a marriage by Sexpun T'Come, Stan goes to stop Tearjerker from premiering his tragedy film in cinema
s worldwide, making those who watch it cry to death literally.
"Tearjerker" was written by Jonathon Fener and directed by Albert Calleros. It was met with mostly positive reception from television critics, with much of the praise going into the character development of the antagonist. It features guest appearances from Seth Green
and Don LaFontaine
, along with several recurring voice actors and actresses for the series.
agent jumps out of a cable car, and the woman next to him tells her henchmen to follow him. After the agent kills one of them and prepares to shoot another, Agent Stan arrives to assist him. Stan blows up the henchmen, which creates an avalanche, causing the two agents to fall over a cliff. They open their parachutes, though the British agent and his parachute is crushed by Stan's falling snowmobile.
Stan's boss, B (Bullock), assigns Stan to infiltrate a movie set produced by Tchochkie Schmear (Klaus). Stan travels to Tunisia
to investigate one of Tchochkie's movies, Bark of the Covenant. There, he finds Matthew McConaughey
working on the set, only to find out he is a robot when Stan exposes milk to him. He also discovers that Schmear had been hired by Tearjerker (Roger). Suspicious, Stan arrives at a Monte Carlo
casino, where he is introduced to Sexpun T'Come (Francine) and Tearjerker himself. Although he does not know how to play Baccarat
or Craps
, which are Tearjerker's expertise, Stan declares playing "highest number", which the players name the highest number they can think of. Stan wins the game and leaves with the invitation to the hotel. In the meantime, Sexpun gives Tearjerker Stan's wallet, containing his personal CIA
information.
On his way to Tearjerker's island, Stan meets Johnny Depp
, who turns out to also be a robot when he forces the milkshake down his throat. Tearjerker orders Sexpun to seduce Stan, but when she approaches him, he proposes a marriage to her, and she falls in love with him as well. Meanwhile, Tearjerker plans to use his masterpiece tragedy film, Oscar Gold, depicting a mentally retarded
alcoholic Jewish boy and his cancer
-ridden puppy
during The Holocaust
, to make the moviegoers cry themselves to death literally. Stan and Sexpun embark on a boat tour, which ends in Tearjerker's office room, where Tearjerker ties the two to a chair with ropes and forces them to watch his film, which simultaneously premieres in cinema
s throughout the world. With everyone on the verge of crying to death, Sexpun accepts Stan's proposal of marriage. Stan suddenly recalls the engagement ring given to him by S (Steve). He asks her to put it on, and Sexpun does so, which causes her breasts to swell, breaking the ropes. Discovering Adrien Brody
and Halle Berry
in Tearjerker's dungeon
below the floor, Stan records a video of their celebrity baby, posts it on the internet, and makes a mass phone call, redirecting the moviegoers' attentions from the film to the video. Furious, Tearjerker unleashes his soldiers to kill Stan, though instead they end up plummetting through the poorly-constructed floor to the bottom. Tearjerker attempts to flee in an escape pod
in order to create an even sadder film (6 hours of a baby chimp trying to revive its dead mother). Shortly into the air though, his pod malfunctions and falls into a volcano
. After Stan and Sexpun are married, Tearjerker's hand rises from the lava pit briefly but then falls back in.
gave it a mixed review, going on to write, "I wasn't wild about tonight's "Tearjerker", though I did appreciate that it tweaked the Bond conventions into an original story rather than doing a straight-up recreation. It seems so easy to do a Bond parody, especially when your main character is a CIA agent." However, he went on to praise the Tearjerker character portrayed by Roger, writing, "The most obvious inspiration–Roger as the arch-villain–was also the funniest. Sure, "Sexpun DeCome" and "Peacenickel" were chuckle-worthy throwaways, but Roger's–excuse me, "Tearjerker's"–plan to create the world's saddest movie [...] being foiled by Mike, the world's worst contractor, provided for some nice Roger tantrums [...]. He went on to give the episode a C+, the highest grade of the night, scoring higher than the Family Guy episode "McStroke
". Donald Campbell of U-Wire gave the episode a four out of five stars, going on to write, "Seth MacFarlane
has brought laughter to quite a few Americans - most of them under the age of 30 - with his two series, Family Guy and 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 on Fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
in the United States on January 13, 2008. As the episode follows a story based entirely from a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film, each American Dad! character plays a role of another: Stan
Stan Smith (American Dad!)
Stan Smith is a character from the animated television series American Dad!. Stan is a Central Intelligence Agency officer. Although once a case officer, he is now a weapons expert. Stan is voiced by the series' creator and executive producer, Seth MacFarlane.-Summary:Stan Smith born 12 February,...
as Agent Stan Smith, Francine Smith
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:...
as Sexpun T'Come, Hayley
Hayley Smith (American Dad!)
Hayley Dreamsmasher Smith Fischer is a character from the animated television series American Dad!. She is voiced by Rachael MacFarlane, the younger sister of one of the series co-creators, Seth MacFarlane....
as Miss Peacenickel, 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...
as S, Avery Bullock as B, Roger as Tearjerker, Klaus
Klaus (American Dad!)
Klaus Heissler is a fictional character on the television series American Dad!. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Despite possessing the brain of a German man and living in the body of a goldfish, the Smith family keeps him under the guise that he is their pet goldfish.-Production history:Dee...
as Tchochkie Schmear, Greg Corbin as Peddie, Terry Bates as Mannie, Chuck White as Professor, and Captain Monty as Gums. This episode follows Agent Stan Smith during his infiltration of a movie set, where he finds Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
to be a robot, as well as Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
during his visit on Tearjerker's island. Tearjerker, the main antagonist of the episode, is a business tycoon
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
who has been abducting celebrities from his spa and replacing them with robots that will star in his horrible movies. While in the meantime he is pressured to accept a marriage by Sexpun T'Come, Stan goes to stop Tearjerker from premiering his tragedy film in cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s worldwide, making those who watch it cry to death literally.
"Tearjerker" was written by Jonathon Fener and directed by Albert Calleros. It was met with mostly positive reception from television critics, with much of the praise going into the character development of the antagonist. It features guest appearances from Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
and Don LaFontaine
Don LaFontaine
Donald Leroy "Don" LaFontaine was an American voiceover artist famous for recording more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers. His nicknames included "Thunder Throat" and "The Voice of God"...
, along with several recurring voice actors and actresses for the series.
Plot
A BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
agent jumps out of a cable car, and the woman next to him tells her henchmen to follow him. After the agent kills one of them and prepares to shoot another, Agent Stan arrives to assist him. Stan blows up the henchmen, which creates an avalanche, causing the two agents to fall over a cliff. They open their parachutes, though the British agent and his parachute is crushed by Stan's falling snowmobile.
Stan's boss, B (Bullock), assigns Stan to infiltrate a movie set produced by Tchochkie Schmear (Klaus). Stan travels to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
to investigate one of Tchochkie's movies, Bark of the Covenant. There, he finds Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
working on the set, only to find out he is a robot when Stan exposes milk to him. He also discovers that Schmear had been hired by Tearjerker (Roger). Suspicious, Stan arrives at a Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo Casino
The Monte Carlo Casino is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It includes a casino, the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte Carlo....
casino, where he is introduced to Sexpun T'Come (Francine) and Tearjerker himself. Although he does not know how to play Baccarat
Baccarat
Baccarat is a card game, played at casinos and by gamblers. It is believed to have been introduced into France from Italy during the reign of King Charles VIII , and it is similar to Faro and Basset...
or Craps
Craps
Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
, which are Tearjerker's expertise, Stan declares playing "highest number", which the players name the highest number they can think of. Stan wins the game and leaves with the invitation to the hotel. In the meantime, Sexpun gives Tearjerker Stan's wallet, containing his personal CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
information.
On his way to Tearjerker's island, Stan meets Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, who turns out to also be a robot when he forces the milkshake down his throat. Tearjerker orders Sexpun to seduce Stan, but when she approaches him, he proposes a marriage to her, and she falls in love with him as well. Meanwhile, Tearjerker plans to use his masterpiece tragedy film, Oscar Gold, depicting a mentally retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
alcoholic Jewish boy and his cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
-ridden puppy
Puppy
A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies may weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier...
during The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, to make the moviegoers cry themselves to death literally. Stan and Sexpun embark on a boat tour, which ends in Tearjerker's office room, where Tearjerker ties the two to a chair with ropes and forces them to watch his film, which simultaneously premieres in cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s throughout the world. With everyone on the verge of crying to death, Sexpun accepts Stan's proposal of marriage. Stan suddenly recalls the engagement ring given to him by S (Steve). He asks her to put it on, and Sexpun does so, which causes her breasts to swell, breaking the ropes. Discovering Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
and Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
in Tearjerker's dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
below the floor, Stan records a video of their celebrity baby, posts it on the internet, and makes a mass phone call, redirecting the moviegoers' attentions from the film to the video. Furious, Tearjerker unleashes his soldiers to kill Stan, though instead they end up plummetting through the poorly-constructed floor to the bottom. Tearjerker attempts to flee in an escape pod
Escape pod
An escape pod is a capsule or craft used to escape a vessel in an emergency, usually only big enough for one person. An escape ship is a larger, more complete craft also used for the same purpose...
in order to create an even sadder film (6 hours of a baby chimp trying to revive its dead mother). Shortly into the air though, his pod malfunctions and falls into a volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
. After Stan and Sexpun are married, Tearjerker's hand rises from the lava pit briefly but then falls back in.
Reception
"Tearjerker" was met with mostly positive reception from most television critics. In a simultaneous review with Family Guy, Genevieve Koski of 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...
gave it a mixed review, going on to write, "I wasn't wild about tonight's "Tearjerker", though I did appreciate that it tweaked the Bond conventions into an original story rather than doing a straight-up recreation. It seems so easy to do a Bond parody, especially when your main character is a CIA agent." However, he went on to praise the Tearjerker character portrayed by Roger, writing, "The most obvious inspiration–Roger as the arch-villain–was also the funniest. Sure, "Sexpun DeCome" and "Peacenickel" were chuckle-worthy throwaways, but Roger's–excuse me, "Tearjerker's"–plan to create the world's saddest movie [...] being foiled by Mike, the world's worst contractor, provided for some nice Roger tantrums [...]. He went on to give the episode a C+, the highest grade of the night, scoring higher than the Family Guy episode "McStroke
McStroke
"McStroke" is the eighth episode of season six of the FOX animated series Family Guy, which originally aired on January 13, 2008. The title is a play on McDonald's terminology of putting "Mc" in front of common words...
". Donald Campbell of U-Wire gave the episode a four out of five stars, going on to write, "Seth 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,...
has brought laughter to quite a few Americans - most of them under the age of 30 - with his two series, Family Guy and American Dad.