Fart-Break Hotel
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"Fart-Break Hotel" is the ninth episode of the seventh season of ''
American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...
''. It originally aired on
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in the United States on January 16, 2011. The episode follows housewife
Francine :''This is a disambiguation page for the common name Francine.'' Francine is a female given name. The name is of French origin. The name Francine was most popular in France itself during the 1940s (Besnard & Desplanques 2003), and was well used i ...
as she becomes frustrated and bored with her daily routine of taking care of her family. But when Roger accidentally passes lethal gas in the house, the family moves into a luxury hotel for a week. While there, Francine decides to assume the identity and life of a familyless career woman, the CEO of a concrete company. The episode was written by Chris and Matt McKenna, and directed by Rodney Clouden. It received mixed reception among television critics upon its release, with many going on to criticize the main storyline. It was viewed by 3.58 million homes upon its original airing. The episode features guest appearances from
Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...
,
Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...
,
Richard Gant Richard Edward Gant (born March 10, 1944) is an American actor. His credits include the film ''Rocky V (1990)'', where he played the Don King-esque George Washington Duke; Hostetler in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006); and Owen in ''Men of a Certain ...
,
Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog S ...
,
Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...
,
J.K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...
, and
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004) ...
.


Plot

Francine :''This is a disambiguation page for the common name Francine.'' Francine is a female given name. The name is of French origin. The name Francine was most popular in France itself during the 1940s (Besnard & Desplanques 2003), and was well used i ...
's daily routine starts to get to her when the family complains about dinner being prepared with the wrong vegetable (okra). She imagines herself killing the family in revenge; after Francine threatens them, they agree to eat the dinner anyway.
Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
warns the family that he will have a bad reaction to the okra but eats it at Stan's urging. He farts a lethal gas during the middle of the night, prompting the family to leave their residence and stay at a hotel in
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for a week, which they are allowed to do for free, as Roger once stayed at the hotel and suffered an accident. Discovering that she has never taken the time to get in touch with herself, Francine decides to spend the day assuming the identity of a recently deceased concrete saleswoman, Sarah Blanch. At the work convention in the hotel, Francine becomes more and more impressed with the exciting life she has fabricated for Sarah and fully assumes her identity. Roger, attending the convention as a depressed salesman named Pete Pendelman, highly advises against becoming too absorbed in her character, to no avail. She demonstrates business prowess that lands her a
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
job in
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. Francine decides to give up her former life and her family to pursue a new life as Sarah. Meanwhile, at the hotel, Steve becomes drawn to a
Patrick Nagel Patrick Nagel (November 25, 1945 – February 4, 1984) was an American artist and illustrator. He created popular illustrations on board, paper, and canvas, most of which emphasize the female form in a distinctive style, descended from Art Dec ...
painting of a woman. The concierge,
Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...
, explains that the portrait was painted in 1981 at the hotel. Steve is disappointed that he cannot meet the woman in the portrait, but Héctor tells him that if he uses the power of his mind, he can will himself to travel back in time to meet his dream girl. He successfully travels through time and meets Roger as his 80's persona
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Lamborghini, and witnesses the (fake) accident that led to their week of free rooming. Steve eventually meets Nagel, who drugs his champagne. He awakens naked on the bed and sees the painting of the woman. Nagel explains that he painted Steve, revealing that Steve himself is the woman in the painting and the shock returns him to his own time. Héctor asks Steve if the woman in the painting was himself. When asked how he knew, Héctor reveals that he once fell in love; a painting of him as a woman is then shown. Ten years in the future, after having accepted the CEO position, Francine is a successful but lonely old woman. On her way to another convention, she visits her old house and sees that Stan and Steve have moved on with their lives (Stan having married another woman). She returns to the hotel for another convention and admits to Héctor that she regrets her decision to change her life and abandon her family. Héctor tells her that with the power of her mind she can also travel back in time and stop herself. She does so and arrives in the present, telling present-Francine not to accept the job and convincing her to stay with her current life with her family. Francine returns to her life as usual, but decides to make every Thursday her personal day away from her usual routine.


Reception

"Fart-Break Hotel" was broadcast on January 16, 2011, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was the first show on the line-up, followed by ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', ''
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'', and its sister shows ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'', and ''
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''. It was on a new timeslot of 7:30, as opposed to be the last episode in the Fox Animation Domination line-up. It was watched by 3.58 million viewers, according to
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, despite airing simultaneously with ''
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'' on
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, the ''
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'' on
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and the ''
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'' on
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. The episode also acquired a 1.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, the lowest rating of the line-up, in addition to having significantly lower ratings in total viewership. The episode's ratings decreased significantly from the previous episode. "Fart-Break Hotel" was met with mixed response from most television critics. Rowan Kaiser of ''
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'' wrote, "There are some conceptual jokes that inspire smiles, like the magical, Platonic concierge, and a few good lines but not much beyond that to salvage a tired premise." However, Kaiser made some positive comments on the opening scene of the episode. He went on to give the episode a C, scoring lower than ''The Simpsons'' episode "
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", tying with ''The Cleveland Show'' episode " How Do You Solve a Problem Like Roberta?", and ''Bob's Burgers'' episode "
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", while scoring higher than the ''Family Guy'' episode "
And I'm Joyce Kinney "And I'm Joyce Kinney" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 16, 2011. The episode follows housewife Lois as she becomes close friends wi ...
". Jason Hughes of the ''
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'' also gave it a slightly more positive review, going on to praise the side story. He wrote, "The side story featuring Steve traveling back to 1981 was clever, if not terribly original. It seemed to have elements of ''
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'' and ''
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'' and probably some others I'm not remembering, and culminated in the anticlimax of Steve being the model in the painting he so admired." However, he was more critical on the main plot, writing, "Francine's journey wasn't terribly unique either, and again it was odd seeing Roger stand in as the voice of reason. It's as if all the elements that make the Smith family who they are were switched around, and the show wasn't made better because of it."


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fart-Break Hotel 2011 American television episodes American Dad! (season 7) episodes Flatulence in popular culture Fiction set in 1981