A.T. the Abusive Terrestrial

Infobox American Dad! episode
Title =A.T. the Abusive Terrestrial
Series =American Dad!


Caption =
Season =2
Episode =12
Airdate =February 11, 2007
Production =2AJN17
Writer =Dan Vebber
Director =Joe Daniello
Guests =Peter Graves as Mr. Pibb
newspaper_headline = "HOMEMADE VALENTINE PROVES THOUGHT DOESN'T COUNT "
Episode list =List of American Dad! episodes
Season list = Infobox_American_Dad!_Season_2
Prev =American Dream Factory
Next =Black Mystery Month

__NOTOC__"A.T. the Abusive Terrestrial" is a second season episode of the animated series "American Dad!". The title is a reference to the blockbuster film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial".

Plot

Roger tries to hang out with Steve, who is busy working on his science project. Eventually, he ruins Steve's project and the latter yells at him. After singing a song about how he used to be Steve's alien, Roger drunkenly wanders around town and eventually come to the home of a little boy named Henry. He states that Roger is "his alien" and they begin hanging out. However, the relationship eventually begins to turn abusive (Henry being much stronger than he first seemed). Steve realizes what is happening, but Roger shows the typical signs of denial.

Meanwhile, Stan and Francine have an argument. Knowing her weakness, Stan takes them to their usual kiss-and-make-up spot: the Mr. Pibb factory. After having sex in the waiting room, they reminisce about all the times they've had while drinking Mr. Pibb and go on a tour of the factory with childlike wonder. The transsexual tour guide, Bob, reveals that Mr. Pibb is ceasing production. Stan and Francine take it upon themselves to save their favorite drink, stealing the "Pibb-mobile".

Steve tries to convince Roger never to see Henry again, but the alien is still being won over by him. Henry threatens to inform the government of Roger's existence if Steve tries to do anything. Eventually, Roger calls Steve for help when he is trapped in the bathroom with Henry trying to beat him. Roger calls back a few seconds later saying everything is fine now; Steve decides to come anyway. At Henry's house, Steve tells Roger that he has a plan to get him away from Henry.

Stan and Francine's grass-roots campaign to save Mr. Pibb is a resounding failure. They scare away signatories, without realizing it. The Pibb executives discover what "the couple that was always hanging around at the factory" is doing and they decide to put a stop to it. Cornering the Smiths at their home, the executives reveal the "real" Mr. Pibb (whom no one had come to visit at the retirement home in over a year and a half). Mr. Pibb convinces them that "it does not matter what soda you drink; it's having someone to drink it with". Realizing their error, Stan and Francine begin making out on the porch when the executive Gordon asks where the Pibb-mobile is.

Roger convinces Henry that he is dying and is having his people come to bring him home. In the woods, they see the Pibb-mobile (driven by Hayley) covered in Christmas tree lights, which convinces Henry that it is a real spaceship. However, Steve (who was using his project to provide smoke effects) emerges from the woods due to inhaling the smoke. Nevertheless, Henry is still convinced it is a ship; he thinks Roger was planning on taking Steve back to his planet. He tries to convince Roger to stay; however, Steve gets Roger to come with him because he is not his alien, but his best friend. Roger then kicks Henry in the crotch. Steve and Roger then enter the Pibb-mobile and drive off.

Cultural references

*Henry's name might be a reference to Henry Thomas, the actor who played Elliot in E.T.
*Roger sings a song about Steve growing up and no longer needed him that is similar to the Randy Newman song "When She Loved Me" sung by Jessie the Cowgirl (Singing voice provided by Sarah Mclachlan) from "Toy Story 2".
*Roger and Steve are seen eating a former Betty Crocker snack, Dunkaroos.
*Kim Mitchell's "Go For a Soda" is played during the Mr. Pibb montage.
*Roger's quote, "Check it out, I blinded us with science!" is a reference to the 1983 song "She Blinded Me with Science" by Thomas Dolby.
*When Stan and Francine take a tour of the Mr. Pibb factory, a rubber glove covers a bottle of soda as the bottles travel by on the assembly line. This is a reference to the opening sequence of "Laverne & Shirley".
*The house that Roger drunkenly ends up in and is adopted into is a duplicate of the house in E.T.
*When Stan plays his mixtape in the Mr. Pibb mobile, the song is, appropriately, "Cold Beverage" by G. Love and Special Sauce.
*The disguise Roger wears just before he meets Henry is similar to Ron Burgundy's from the film "".

Notes

*The flashback during Roger's song shows how Stan was able to get Roger to come live with them four years ago: by introducing him as a present at Steve's tenth birthday. Naturally, contrary to Steve's reaction, Hayley and Francine are horrified at the first sight of him.

*Cable guide summaries of this episode credit comedian Patton Oswalt as the young boy who finds (and ends up abusing) Roger. However, according to DVD commentary, Masam Holden is the voice of the boy. Patton Oswalt voices the Mr. Pibb tour guide.

*In the "When I Was His Alien" musical montage, the girl who slaps Steve when he tries to get his arms around her is Kim (the girl who thinks Roger is Steve's sister who got burned in an accident involving bleach massages) from the season one episode Stan Knows Best

*The Mr. Pibb factory tour guide, anticipating his sex-change operation, strokes a box of tampons, which implies that he doesn't know that these sorts of operations don't result in a complete sex-change. The same thing happened to Mr. Garrison in an episode of South Park.

* A rejected story idea had Roger run away to an old couple who he lived with before he met Stan. They were to be voiced by Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas who starred in E.T.