Stan of Arabia

"Stan of Arabia" is a two-part episode of the first season of American Dad!. Part 1 is the twelfth episode and Part 2 is the thirteenth episode of the season, and they first aired in the United States on Fox on November 6, 2005 and November 13, 2005, respectively. The episode follows Stan Smith who plans a party for his CIA boss Avery Bullock, who relocates his family from their hometown Langley Falls to Saudi Arabia. Stan appreciates the country's culture of women subservient to men, and he burns all the Smiths' passports, preventing the family from returning back to the United States.

Plot

"Stan of Arabia: Part 1"

Stan and three co-workers plan a surprise party for Avery Bullock commemorating 25 years of service with the CIA. Stan takes charge of planning the party but imposes all his responsibilities upon Francine, who refuses because she is committed to her play performance on the same day. Steve bribes Hayley into driving him to see the latest Michael Moore semi-documentary. Hayley is disgusted by the movie as it turns out to be pornographic. Steve tries to stay, but Hayley calls the ushers, who remove him for being under age 17 in an R-rated movie. At the party, Stan kills Jay Leno for insinuating that Francine wears the pants in their relationship. He takes Leno's position at the front podium and unintentionally insults Bullock. Bullock relocates the Smiths to Saudi Arabia.

While Hayley and Francine initially appreciate the country's culture because women are not objectified, Stan displays ignorance of it. During his new job supervising oil pipelines, he remains suspicious of the Arab workers. Stan explains his hardships with his wife, which befuddles them because women in Saudi Arabian society must be accompanied by men outside the house. Francine discusses with three Arab neighbors their husbands' hardships, but the three immediately attend to his every whim when their shared husband arrives home. Francine asserts her rights within the house, refusing to listen to Stan's final say on everything. Stan acquires an Arab woman as his second wife, nicknamed "Thundercat", who obeys his every command. Francine tries to prevent Thundercat from stealing her position as Stan's wife, escalating to physical violence between the two. Roger, dressed as a Saudi woman, searches for booze at a bazaar but ends up sold to a male Arab by Steve. Steve uses the cash to buy a Mercedes-Benz. While driving the desert, he crashes his vehicle into an oil derrick. While escaping a bad date with the neighbor's son, Hayley leaves a Burger King and is chased down by the police because she is unescorted by a man. Stan turns down Bullock's offer of returning to the United States, claiming the Smiths have a better life in Saudi Arabia. He renounces his family's citizenship and burns their passports.

"Stan of Arabia: Part 2"

Francine makes a phone call to Bullock, who tells her that he offered her husband the CIA job back but he rejected it. Francine argues with Stan at the bazaar, conveying the misery of a woman living in Saudi Arabia by singing a musical number, an illegal act. In court the judge sentences her to death by stoning. Stan realizes that marriage is an equal partnership, rejecting Thundercat and asking to be killed along with Francine. After asking the judge how can a man commit a crime, Stan makes out with a police officer and is sentenced to death for homosexuality.

The man who bought Roger from Steve takes the alien to a palace, where he enjoys the high-class life. Upon learning the palace owner merely wishes to engage in sexual intercourse with him, Roger obliges. Hayley is rescued from the police by a man who becomes her new boyfriend. After the two sleep together he leaves a note telling her not to go to the United States Embassy. Believing he is a terrorist planning to bomb the building, she goes to stop him, only to discover he is just a Shawarma King vendor. Hayley beats him up and is sentenced to stoning along with Stan and Francine. Lost in the desert since he crashed his vehicle, Steve has a vision of God in the guise of Angelina Jolie, who shows him her boobs, turning him into a prophet. Steve returns to the city and shares his experiences with the citizens, who listen to him until he declares that God is a woman, prompting them to sentence him to stoning with his family.

The Smiths are trapped in the ground at a colosseum with the spectators prepared to stone them. After Stan prays for a miracle, George W. Bush rescues the family and declares that democracy has arrived in Saudi Arabia, leading to a celebration. However, Bush's appearance was only Stan's fantasy, and the Smiths are still stuck in the ground. Roger convinces the palace owner, who is also a spectator at the stoning colosseum, to arrange for the family's release. The family returns to America having learned to appreciate it.

Cultural references

The title of the episode is a parody of that of the movie Lawrence of Arabia. The musical number and Hayley's line, "Nothing is written", is also from the film. Stan threatens to shoot Francine "one of these days", a reference to The Honeymooners. Stan mentions Lieber's television series Lost when he wanted to install cable. When Haley, Steve and Roger are walking through the market streets they pass by a stall owned by Jawas selling droids, a reference to the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. In a play Francine had been rehearsing in, she plays Mrs. Potts of Beauty and the Beast. Assistant-director Bullock's line "I like big Asian butts and I cannot lie" is from the song "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot with the word "Asian" added. The movie Steve and Hayley attend to makes satirical references to Michael Moore's documentaries, which are often criticized for containing inaccurate facts.

The name of Stan's second wife Thundercat comes from the Rankin/Bass-produced animated television series ThunderCats. Hayley's boyfriend asks Hayley a question concerning Ross and Rachel, who are characters of the sitcom series Friends. Later, when her boyfriend does not want Hayley to find out he is potentially a terrorist, he says "al-Qae..." and Hayley responds with "...holics Anonymous", referencing Alcoholics Anonymous. In order to stall the palace owner from killing him, Roger distracts him into a conversation of living a rich life in Beverly Hills like in the teen drama series 90210. Also, the way Roger stalls his Saudi husband by telling him tale after tale is similar to that used in the story One Thousand and One Nights. Roger's final line, "What happens in Saudi Arabia, stays in Saudi Arabia", is a variation on the slogan, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas".

Reception

The two-part episode was the subject of criticism by the Saudi government. The English daily ArabNews published an article that accused the series of engaging in Arab-bashing. As a result, the two-part episode was banned in Saudi Arabia, although the TV series itself does not air there.

External links

• Stan of Arabia: Part 1 at IMDb
• Stan of Arabia: Part 2 at IMDb