Every episode of American Dad! begins with a title sequence depicting Stan Smith's morning routine. The intro has undergone changes and updates over the years. For the first four seasons, one constant was the newspaper running gag.
Upon stepping outside, Stan retrieved the newspaper, which always had a prominent, new headline satirizing some aspect of American government, culture or current events. By the time the gag was officially retired, it had featured 53 original headlines. Here are seven of the most notable versions of the front page, sorted by the episode in which they appeared.
The fast pace of the 24-hour news cycle can sometimes result in rushed and incomplete stories to keep the steady flow of news going. This headline from American Dad! Season 1, Episode 2, "Threat Levels," parodies this phenomenon perfectly by suggesting how little substance some headlines truly have. The headline can also be interpreted as a brief summation of the show itself, as American Dad! makes frequent use of farcical elements, incorporating preposterous and improbable characters and scenarios to create its comedy.
Almost everyone is familiar with the classic "glass half empty or half full" expression. The Season 1 episode "Stan Knows Best" cleverly converts the common phrase into a headline-worthy scenario. The pairing of this headline and the episode's plot actually go hand-in-hand. The main storyline revolves around Hayley moving out of her parents' home after an argument with Stan, only to realize how difficult living in a van with her boyfriend Jeff can be.
When this American Dad! episode aired in 2005, economic downturns such as the dot-com bubble were still fresh in many people's minds. Not to mention the state of the economy continues to be a relevant topic today. This front-page story from Season 1, Episode 5, "Roger Codger," is a great one-liner that highlights just how turbulent and unpredictable markets can be, even when everything seems to be looking up.
Unlike most of the show's headlines, which deal with modern issues and conventions, this title harkens back to the timeless Brothers Grimm story of two siblings and the witch that wants to eat them -- Hansel and Gretel. It's hard to pinpoint any specific event that Season 1, Episode 6, "Homeland Insecurity," may have been referencing. This particular headline choice was most likely a clever rendering of a fairytale through a modern-day tabloid-style lens.
Stephen King's work has amassed an immense cultural relevance. His stories have been adapted for the screen over sixty times, including almost forty feature films. Therefore, it was not very surprising when Season 1, Episode 15, "Star Trek," revealed that President Bush had chosen to tap the horror specialist's unique expertise in serving his country. Of course, the headline is also a reference to the war on terror, which was still relatively new and expanding when the episode first premiered in late 2005.
For anyone who may not be aware, a bear market refers to a market state where prices have dropped, and investor confidence is low. This is an example of an American Dad! headline that may have been influenced by actual world events occurring at that time. When Season 3, Episode 8, "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever," first aired in December of 2007, the United States had just entered into a two-year bear market due to the Great Recession. The episode also aired in the middle of a Writers Guild of America strike, which delayed production on the following season, making it a turbulent time for both American Dad! and the country in which it was produced.
In addition to making jokes about current events and societal customs, the writers' room was not beyond throwing in a meta-reference to the format of print journalism and the running gag itself, as they did in Season 3, Episode 11, "Oedipal Panties." As one of the last six headlines used before American Dad! transitioned to a different gag (Roger's disguises), this particular version stands out from the rest for its self-referential nature.
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