Throughout it’s decade-long run, American Dad!‘s Christmas episodes have been a major treat for viewers, often ranking among the best episodes of the entire series. But which Christmas episode rules them all? It’s time to start some fiery yuletide debate as we rank every Christmas-themed episode of American Dad!
7. “Dreaming Of A White Porsche Christmas” – Original Air Date: December 1, 2014
Just to be clear, all the AD Christmas eps are good, so just because this one is in last doesn’t mean I’m not a fan. If anything, it could just be I haven’t watched it as many times over the years as the other ones, so the jokes haven’t reached their way into my vernacular just yet. Really, this was a strong episode, with the amusing premise of Francine, Hayley, Steve, Roger, and Klaus being Stan’s temporary family, while he’s actually married to a Stepford-ish wife and has a football player son. Still, this one didn’t seem quite as epic as past Christmas shows, despite some great Principal Lewis moments. But hey, I could feel differently by next year.
6. “The Most Adequate Christmas Ever” – Original Air Date: December 16, 2007
My only problem with this one is that it feels a lot like the one that aired the year before it (more on that in a bit). It was the second straight episode that involved Stan getting angry on Christmas Eve, and being taught a lesson by a bumbling-but-likeable female guardian angel. Seemed a bit repetitive. It’s still hard not to like it though, with Stan’s only good deed coming in a dream (“I just had the worst nightmare; I took advice from Steve!”), and of course, the adorable baby lawyer who gets a little cuter every time he wins a case. Redundant, but quite enjoyable nonetheless.
5. “Season’s Beatings” – Original Air Date: December 11, 2011
Ok, this is the point where every episode is straight-up awesome, and any critique is pretty middling. My favorite thing here is the scene where Stan beats up Roger-as-Jesus, and in calling him a “wine-loving bisexual,” appears to be speaking about Christ himself. Hayley becoming overprotective of her newly adopted Satan spawn child was amusing, and Steve falling under his spell was great, too. In the end, Roger gets Stan back into Church because his Pimp Cup turns out to be the Holy Grail. Would you expect anything less from this show?
4. “Minstrel Krampus” – Original Air Date: December 15, 2013
Krampus might be my favorite one-time character in the history of this show, and Danny Glover doesn’t a fantastic job voicing him (note: R&B singer Charles Taylor performs the musical numbers). In order for the story to work, you have to believe Steve acting far more spoiled than he normally does, but that’s a small leap to make in exchange for an episode this good. Pretty much every musical number is great (who doesn’t like it when Steve goes into his 90s boy band voice?), and the story works all the way through, with Stan’s father finally getting some redemption as he takes on the role of Krampus.
3. “For Whom the Sleigh Bell Tolls” – Original Air Date: December 12, 2010
The scene in which Steve accidentally shoots and kills Santa is probably the darkest moment in the history the show, other than the ending to “Blood Crieth Unto Heaven” (which was a non-canon episode, anyway). Luckily, everything after that is hilarious, and hey, it turns out Santa’s actually a huge jerk anyway. This episode manages to make multiple character developments work, showing Stan gradually begin to accept Jeff (they did that in like four other episodes already, but whatever), and Steve struggle with the accident, especially after he’s forced to use a gun again. Of course, the laughs were there, too, especially with the fantastic Bob-Todd the moonshiner (but the ladies call him Bert-Bert!), and Jeff’s desire for a helmet from The Golden Compass. Just a fantastic episode all around.
2. “The Best Christmas Story Never Told” – Original Air Date: December 17, 2006
The first AD Christmas special would set a high watermark for every episode that followed. This was when Stan’s conservative politics played a much bigger role in the show, and while that element didn’t always work, it does so perfectly here, as Stan becomes the quintessential Fox News-type, outraged about people saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” When he loses his Christmas spirit, he’s visited by the Ghost Of Christmas Past, and uses that as a chance to go back in time and kill Jane Fonda. While there, he gets Martin Scorsese off drugs, inadvertently causing the Soviets to win the Cold War. The whole thing is crazy and glorious, just as every future Christmas episode would be. At this point in the show’s run, we weren’t quite sure if American Dad! was going to make it, and I distinctly remember this being one of the first episodes that made me think wow, this show is really freaking good!
1. “Rapture’s Delight” – Original Air Date: December 15th, 2009
Not only the best Christmas episode, but likely the finest episode of the entire series as well. Probably the best the show has ever done at exploring the relationship between Stan and Francine, while also giving us an enthralling storyline. Pretty much every scene that takes place in the post-apocalypse world is fantastic. I think my favorite dark joke in the history of this show is Stan mistakenly shooting an innocent child because he thought he was the Anti-Christ, then responding with “…then I just picked a whole bushel of oopsie-daisies.” Sorry, that kills me every time. This episode has a fantastic ending that would also posit that everything that’s happened since this one actually takes place in Stan’s personal heaven, which is pretty interesting to think about. Really, though, this is just a perfect episode, representing the greatest height American Dad! has ever reached.
