Seth Macfarlane's American Dad is the beloved sister series to Family Guy that has made a mark of its own for its special brand of surreal, quirky humor found nowhere else. And while most of the series is often centered on the foibles and mishaps of its titular patriarch, a good portion of its other storylines go to his young ward and polar opposite, Steve Smith, and his own band of high school nerds.
Often striving to make a name for themselves and fighting off both high school shame and bully alike, these guys have been through some of the series' most interesting and friendship filled adventures. This list will be taking a step back from the tales of Stan Smith and the CIA, as it gives a special spotlight to the best episodes of Steve and friends.
10 Jenny Fromdabloc
As one of the main characters of the series, it would make sense to often take dominance within his group, a relative king among fools. He takes solace in the fact that he consistently gets to take charge of his group and dictate some of their best adventures and outings.
However, when Snot goes through a spiral after being rejected by Hayley again, Steve convinces Roger to boost his confidence by posing as his girlfriend, only for the two to actually do it in the process. Having his pride challenged by a proven, dominant male among his group, Steve tries to find a way to reclaim his throne, even if it means damaging Snot's newfound confidence.
9 Independent Movie
Though American Dad is a sister project of MacFarlane, it doesn't revel too much in the ways of parody. Aside from its James Bond spoofs, the series typically rolls around within its own, original content. On occasion, however, it likes to take a good jab at the culture surrounding it.
"Independent Movie" is a great example of this, as the sudden death of Snot's father leads Steve and co. on a transformative, cross-country adventure that would change their lives forever and the filter of the episode to a grainy, golden brown.
8 I Ain't No Holodeck Boy
While the hallways of Pearl Bailey and its sweat ridden jocks are often the primary predator of the boys, a competing obstacle in their lives is often Steve's ignorant, insistent father, Stan. When Stan finds the boys spending too much time playing video games instead of playing outside, he'd use his CIA connections to trap them within a woodland simulation within a holodeck.
The boys, however, soon realize his scheme and find a way to trick Stan to get in so that they can trap him there. With the ball in their court, they try to give Stan a taste of his own medicine, only for them to accidentally put the man in real danger and against the likes of baby Hitler no less!
7 Lost Boys
Steve's primary backbone has always been his friendship with Snot, Barry, and Toshi. When their friendaversary comes up and it conflicts with Roger's need for a squash partner, the gray, bulbous alien hatches up a plan to break up their friendship.
Scaring Steve into abandoning his friends, Roger manages to do so, only to soon find out that Steve is not only bad at squash but, without his support line, is kind of an obsessive person. Wanting to get some order back in his life, Roger finally subsides and helps Steve reconnect with his friends, using Klaus' own Florida-dwelling crew as inspiration.
6 Adventures in Hayleysitting
Steve and co. are kind of the furthest definitions of bad boys and party animals within the series. When Stan and Francine go out on a date and entrust Hayley to look after Steve, she arrogantly proclaims that it'll be an easy job. And, for a time, it was. The boys struggled to really show their wild, rebellious side during that night.
However, when they learn of a party going on in town, they use it as the ultimate opportunity to build up their street cred. However, a wild mishap at a pharmacy gets the boys in trouble with a meth head, leaving Hayley as the only one who can save them.
5 Steve And Snot's Test-Tubular Adventure
It's no secret that Steve and Snot have a little trouble with the ladies. With a dance looming near and after having been rejected by every girl in school, the duo hatch up a surefire scheme to get dates after learning about the CIA's new cloning technology.
Managing to steal the DNA of two, teenage girls, Steve and Snot are successful in cloning them, only to find that their clones need to gradually age into their true forms. With two babies at their laps, the duo spends their next few days raising their soon-to-be dates, soon finding that this utterly changes their relationship with the girls.
4 With Friends Like Steve's
After learning that Steve has no interest in his hobbies or any bonding time, Stan puts all of his fatherly energy into Steve's fat sidekick, Barry. For a while, this only steams Steve's jealousy.
However, when Stan removes Barry off of his medication, he inadvertently unlocks a new problem, as Steve must not only prove his love and respect for his dad but combat a new, evil threat within Barry. Who knew that they'd invented a pill for suppressing evil?
3 The Witches Of Langley
After being pushed off of their usual cafeteria table finally pushes the boys off the edge, they turn to the dark arts to gain a higher position within the school. And, for a bit, they did a good job of only using it to punish their old bullies and do some good in town.
They go on a nice, witchey montage that features plenty of butterflies and the group finally managing to understand Toshi. However, when Steve becomes tainted by blood magic, it's up to Snot, Barry, and Toshi to stop him before he does some real harm in town.
2 The Unincludeds
While going to parties hasn't exactly built up their cool factor, especially after a cruel egging during one outing, a mysterious janitor convinces the boys that the key to getting their cool is hosting a party for themselves, inviting only all of the other "unincluded" people around their school.
It isn't until a version Steve and Snot from the future come in to stop them that they realize that the janitor was only tricking them, trying to get them to peak early in life and change their karmic patterns in life. With Snot getting the raw end of the deal in his future, Steven needs to find a way to take away all of their cool factors.
1 Escape From Pearl Bailey
When Steve gets back together with Debbie, he assists her on a campaign to become school president, ditching his friends in the process. Feeling abandoned and jealous, the group sets up a slam page mocking Debbie that quickly enough sabotages her entire campaign.
Before Steve finds out, however, he goes on an entire rampage, enacting revenge on the popular kids he thought were responsible for humiliating Debbie. In perhaps the boys' truest test of friendship, "Escape from Pearl Bailey" tests if a rough break up and the killing intent of the entire school could really tear the boys apart.