Minstrel Krampus
"Minstrel Krampus" is the eighth episode of the ninth season and the 160th overall episode of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on December 15, 2013, and is written by Murray Miller and Judah Miller and directed by Josue Cervantes.[1] The title of the episode is a play on words, being similar to the syndrome menstrual cramps.
| "Minstrel Krampus" | |
|---|---|
| American Dad! episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Josue Cervantes |
| Written by | Murray Miller Judah Miller |
| Production code | 7AJN19 |
| Original air date | December 15, 2013 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Daran Norris as Jack Smith | |
In the hip-hop parody of Beauty and the Beast, a notorious Christmas demon known as Krampus kidnaps a bratty Steve, so Stan and Roger must travel to Bavaria to save him with the help of Stan's estranged father. Meanwhile, Hayley takes a job at the airport to get her family Christmas presents.
Plot
It starts with a book with the narrator eventually saying that children are at their worst at Christmastime, because they have all realized that they'll still get whatever they want regardless of how they behave. We see the family go shopping at the toy store. When Francine rejects a toy that Steve wants and complains – even slapping Stan in the face – saying, "I'm a bad boy and I get what I want", before getting all the toys he wants. He then breaks out in a song singing that he is "Bad Bad Boy". Stan and Francine then visit Stan's dad to teach Steve a lesson. So he tells the legend of Krampus which Steve disbelieves in and Stan about him being in a pot and leaves. Then Klaus tell Hayley what she got for the family which Hayley say "not yet" and sings a song about picking the perfect gift. She then finds Roger at a bar and asked him for something which Roger already did. It then cuts to Stan opening the jar which Krampus escapes from and kidnaps Steve. Now its cuts to Stan telling his dad about him releasing Krampus. He then release him and he tells Stan where he is when at that point he ditches Stan and drives off. Then Krampus take Steve to a jail cell where he eventually sings a song about his legacy. Then he says what pain is and continues until he scolds Steve and leaves. Back at the house, Stan tells Roger about the problem and that only Jack knows where but he took off. And says Santa hates him going back to Season 6 Episode 8 clip when he is getting revenge for the Smiths. Roger eventually take Stan to the north pole where Santa lives and asked for his help when Santa accepts only if they help him kill Krampus. It then cuts to a talking roll of toilet paper talking to Steve then a plunger, a tea pot, and a toilet. They then tell him that Krampus is not bad and to bring him to him when he reveals that he wanted to apologize to Jack for not beating up and instead eats his great great grandmother's strudel. Steve tells him that everyone makes mistakes and what's important is he's back. Now Stan, Roger, and Santa go on their journey to kill Krampus with 3 kids following. Then we see Jack complain about his delayed flight to Jamaica and he finds Hayley who sings a Jamaican version about getting the perfect gift, which makes Jack change his flight to Bavaria to save his grandson. It cuts to Steve apologizing to Krampus for being a jerk and Krampus thanking him for reminding him of what he does. Finally it cuts to Steve, Santa, and those 3 kids killing all the inanimate objects while Roger watches and Steve begs them to stop. Santa then successfully kills Krampus and reveals that he is the bad guy; Krampus disciplined children because he genuinely loved and cared about them while Santa just spoils them and makes money off of it. Then Santa tries to kill Stan when Jack takes the bullet and his ski impales Santa giving Stan enough time to get the gun. Santa then throws a knife which lodges in the wall with it saying "I'm dying" and then Santa retreats. Jack then tells Stan that he realizes the importance of family saying he's proud of Stan and that the world needs Krampus before he dies. His and Krampus' blood come together and Krampus soul goes to Jack's body and becomes Krampus. Stan and Krampus talk until Krampus have to leave. He leaves and says "better be nice or I'll beat you until blood comes out your ears and eyes" and wishing us a merry Christmas before saying "and also your ass". This ends the tale and the end of the book ending the episode.
Production
The episode was originally scheduled to air on December 16, 2012, but was replaced by a repeat of "Wheels & the Legman and the Case of Grandpa's Key" out of sensitivity for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[2][3] To compensate for this, they aired the episode "National Treasure 4: Baby Franny: She's Doing Well: The Hole Story" on December 23, 2012.[1]
Reception
Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A−, saying "I loved pretty much every part of this. The Hayley plot provides enough simple laughs before basically trailing off into nothing. Francine has very little to do outside of getting verbally abused by Steve. But Stan’s interactions with his father and Santa, and mostly Steve growing into the Belle role and Krampus as a soulful, James Brown-esque Beast (sung by Charles Bradley) was the best part of this Christmas special. It’s not my favorite that the show has ever done, but it’s yet another example that American Dad knows how to do Christmas episodes that stand out during the season more than any other program on television."[4] The episode was watched by a total of 5.00 million people, this made it the fourth most watched show on Animation Domination that night, losing to Bob's Burgers, Family Guy and The Simpsons with 8.48 million.[5]
References
- "American Dad! Episode Guide 2013 Season 9 - Minstrel Krampus, Episode 8". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- Agard, Chancellor (2012-12-15). "Fox pulls new episodes of 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad' after shooting". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
- "School Shooting: 'Family Guy,' 'American Dad' Originals Replaced With Repeats". The Hollywood Reporter. 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
- McFarland, Kevin (2013-12-16). "American Dad: "Minstrel Krampus"". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- "Sunday Final Ratings: '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down, No Adjustment for 'Revenge' or 'Survivor'". Tvbythenumbers. 2013-12-08. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2013-12-17.