The dramatis personae for Seth MacFarlane's second animated sit com, American Dad, featuring some background information on the characters and tropes they provide examples of. More to come.
The Smith Family
Stan Smith
The man of the house, a CIA agent later promoted to Deputy-Deputy Director. Although an extreme right-winger to the point of parody with a tendency to forget the lessons he's just learned, he still loves his family. Voiced by Seth MacFarlane.
Acrofatic: Stan's got a rather large gut, but doesn't stop him from doing handsprings and being a proficient CIA agent.
Bald of Awesome: One episode revealed that Stan is completely bald, and has been trying to keep it a secret from everyone. Except everyone already knew, and none of them cared. He then decided to keep wearing his wig and no one ever cared enough about it to mention it again afterwards.
Cross Dresser: Doesn't hide from his family the fact that he wears panties and if it was socially acceptable, would wear mascara because it makes his eyes "pop like firecrackers".
Dropped a Bridge on Him: This happens to him at the end of "Hot Water" for no real reason, but like Kenny McCormick, he is alive and well in the next episode.
Word Of God is Stan died because they expected Hot Water to be the series finale, and reasoned "what better way to end the show by killing the main character?" The show wasn't cancelled, so Hot Water became a season premier.
Flanderization: Believe it or not, Stan in the first episode was the example of a stereotypical conservative, obsessed with politics, Ronald Reagan, America and keeping his family safe, he was an extremist, but deeply cared about his family and was really overprotective, but by the second episode, he began to evolve into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, however at the end of the day, despite his selfish aspects, feels bad about it and learns a lesson every episode, even though it's Aesop Amnesia
Freudian Excuse: Stan was extremely unpopular in his childhood due to his nerdy ways. As a result he bully's Steve for also being nerdy hoping to break him of said habits, in order for Steve to have the life he didn't.
Additionally, his father was never around, which didn't exactly teach him good parenting.
Going Native: Stan has a strong tendency to do this; lampshaded by Francine in "Stan of Arabia".
Hilariously Abusive Childhood: His father left him when he was young and his mother forced Stan to fill his role as provider despite being eleven years old. As a result, he is very emotionally stunted and has unrealistic expectations of the people around him.
Hot Dad: Looks pretty good if you don't mind the gut.
Jerkass: Most of the time. His Jerk with a Heart of Gold moments are usually overshadowed by some of his crueller acts, such as a scheme to get back at a car salesman that happened to involve abandoning his own family as prequisite.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Arguably Stan's callousness has been toned down or at least been placed in more well-intentioned light in later seasons. It is a rule for the creative team that, in his own mindset, Stan's actions are for the well being of his family and country.
Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Numerous episodes go out of their way to emphasize this, especially The Most Adequate Christmas Ever, where God actually had to tell Stan face-to-face that no, he does not know everything and he can't.
Papa Wolf: He might not agree with Hayley, and he might not have much in common with Steve, but if anyone insults or harms either of them, that person's going to be in pain for a long while.
In a DVD-exclusive special on the creation of American Dad, Seth [MacFarlane] describes the show as "What would happen if a 1950s anti-Communism short film announcer had a wife and kids?"
Which is relentlessly parodied in one episode. Stan, when his rocket boot malfunctions, is thrown into a knife shop, a lemon juice fountain, and a cactus farm, among other things, screaming the exact same scream every time.
The episode "A Smith In The Hand", where Stan discovers the joys of masturbation, has a different Stock Scream that they use every time Stan sets off the fireworks.
Stop Helping Me!: Hurricane! drastically shows that Stan has got no idea what to do in a crisis situation, and despite Francine's plea to stop helping, Stan doesn't listen and keeps making the situation worse.
Francine (sadly/shocked): You harpooned me. I asked you to go and get help, and you harpooned me.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He fears seagulls. Or rather he feared them, as he mentions he got over the fear in a later episode where he interacted with them (a hand wave, as the plot required said interaction).
Francine Smith (née Ling, Dawson)
The matriarch, wife of Stan and mother of Hayley and Steve. A fairly happy housewife, if not a little loopy at times, although she does wish she could do stuff outside the house other than grocery shopping. During her years growing up, she was the adopted daughter of the Chinese Lings after her birth parents, the Dawsons, abandoned her as a baby at an airport since bringing babies to first class wasn't allowed. Prior to hooking up with Stan, she was very promiscuous (currently has the largest rose garden dedicated to the men she had sex with prior to meeting Stan) and wild. Voiced by Wendy Schaal.
Let's just say, even Stan (who usually has a very low sense of self-preservation) is smart enough to be scared of her when she gets angry. Example? Season 1, episode 4.
She nonchalantly admitted to stabbing her college roommate to death while the Smiths were having dinner at a restaurant.
Bi the Way: Sort of. She has had sex with women before, and seems perfectly willing to make out with a woman to get backstage at a rock concert. But she is primarily straight, compared to Linda Memari.
Blonde Republican Sex Kitten: Sort of. Compared to Stan, Francine is much more apolitical (she likely doesn't understand politics in general.)
Cloud Cuckoolander: The brief times her head comes back to earth, she can be very intelligent. The rest of the time... well... remember the box she thought was a TV? Nuff said.
Gasshole: Has been seen belching loudly as a throwaway gag on occasion, usually after drinking something.
Genius Ditz: For the brief periods of time when she tried to pursue something outside of being a housewife, she is ridiculously good at what she does. To the point where she once became and oceanologist, and published a paper on how she found a thought-to-be-extinct species! Of course, Stan always brings things back to a screaming halt (to the point where he deliberately sabotaged the American economy because that was the only way to stop her career as a real estate agent).
Mama Bear: Messing with Steve and Hayley is a sure way to get you killed by Francine, whether you're her husband or not. When Jeff seemingly decided to break off his engagement with Hayley for 50,000 dollars, Francine was so disgusted she tried to kill Jeff by unloading Stan's gun into his face. If it wasn't for the fact that Stan removed the bullets, Jeff would be dead right now. And when she discovered Stan had been bullying Steve in order to toughen him up, Francine chased him through the school, jumped out a window, and ran after him with glass in her hair until he drove off. She then rammed his car off the road with her's.
Stan: What the hell, Francine! You t-boned me bro!
Parental Abandonment: Her real parents left her at an airport after being told they couldn't bring any children on the flight.
No, they could bring children on the flight, just not in first class.
Retired Badass: She was once in a fight club and in prison, and if you hit her Berserk Button she becomes a Combat Pragmatist who will do anything short of killing her family members if they cross her (she rammed Stan with a four-wheel-drive!).
Stalker with a Crush: When she was younger she had a crush on her algebra teacher, Mr. Feeny. He didn't take her seriously, and then his wife found her in their closet smelling his clothes and cutting herself. Francine lied to the police about them being lovers, so he was arrested and eventually killed himself in prison.
Not so Above It All: While she is much more sane than Stan, she still engages in zany schemes, like trying to assassinate George Clooney because she felt he upstaged her (season 1 finale).
Recent episodes avert this by making her more socially-awkard and Stan closer to Earth.
Yandere: To her son, Steve (non-romantic example).
Actually, Francine has moved away from this aspect in the later seasons, and when San starts having issues with Steve growing up Francine's the one who has to set him straight.
Younger than They Look: Francine's able to unintentionally pass herself off as a teenager when she's up to it. In the first season, after Stan accidentally erased the last twenty years of her life from her memory, Francine noticed no significant change in her physical appearance (except for pubic hair).
Hayley Dreamsmasher Smith Fischer
Daughter and the oldest of the two Smith siblings. As a kid, she and her father were close due to sharing the same beliefs, but as she became a young adult, her views became the complete opposite of her dad's, causing the two to butt heads often; for instance, she's in favor of gun control, while he isn't. That's not to say that she doesn't get Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments with Stan, and shares more than a few personality traits from her father, both negative and positive. Voiced by Rachael MacFarlane (Seth's sister).
The Artifact: Arguably even more than Klaus, who one can argue has never really been a major character. Hayley was the second character created for the show after Stan, when the premise was supposed to be a modern "All in the Family". When politics was phased out in the first two seasons, Hayley's screen time and storylines were dramatically reduced.
Demoted to Extra: Considering how little scenes and lines she has in recent seasons and that here are fewer episodes and subplots about her she tends to fit this trope.
Hypocrite: A lot of humor tends to revolve around this. In some cases she is incredibly shallow about her own ethics and views, albeit Depending on the Writer.
Although she says that she is a feminist, she secretly dresses as a Fifties housewife and bakes pies, entering them in contests under the name "Carlotta Montarrey".
She dumps boyfriends, frequently Jeff, coldly and nonchalently on numerous occasions (perhaps most notably dumping Avery Bollock over phone, mid way through a presentation, on live TV, a second before he was going to promote Stan) and is occasionally outright termed as a "slut". When a boy dumps her however, she goes out and out Ax Crazy (to the point that the police have threatened her to have her put in jail for life if she gets dumped again).
Mama Bear: In Season's Beatings, despite denying any maternal instincts, the minute she sees the baby Jeff adopted she starts sobbing uncontrollably with joy over "her baby". To the point that she was willing to kill Stan to protect Nemo, even if he is the Anti-Christ.
Not so Different: Her and Stan. Despite their contrasting views, they still share quite a few personality aspects; they are stubborn, self righteous and politically extreme people who often show a disregard for their partner (when she is with Jeff anyway) and try and force them to conform to their world view.
Electra Complex: Hayley once entered a relationship with Stan's C.I.A. double, Bill... yeah.
Out of Focus: Since about season 3 onward, compare her screen time and plot/sub-plot focus to Stan, Francine, Steve and Roger. In some episodes, she's lucky to have comparable screen time and lines to Klaus. See Artifact above.
Straw Hypocrite: At her very worst. While she does show genuine devotion to her beliefs at times, a lot of her actions seem to be solely to outrage her Control Freak father, and has attempted to bail out a few good times she is made to go through with the consequences of her actions.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Surprisingly, averted. In Roy Rogers McFreely, Hayley points out to Stan that, since Roger's in charge and his views are counter to his, Stan is now part of the counterculture, and therefore on the same side with Hayley. Rather then argue, Stan realizes she's right and the two form a group to undermine Roger's control on the neighborhood. The episode showed that, if not for their clashing points of view, Stan and Hayley would get along great.
The Unfavorite: Her middle name says most of it, as well as Stan's disdain for her and Francine's blatant favoritism for Steve.
Unstoppable Rage: If the guy is the one who ends the relationship, she'll go on a destructive rampage.
Averted in the episode "American Dream Factory", where illegal Mexican immigrant Paco breaks off a relationship with her, with no adverse effects. Of course, this is likely due to the fact that this episode is almost two years older than Pulling Double Booty, the episode where this trait made its debut.
She also was a holy terror during various stages of puberty: when told that she had to wear tampons now that she was on her period, Hayley (who was wearing a skirt) threw the tampon box away and sat on the Smiths' new white couch, she yelled at her parents for not getting bigger boobs, and when Roger cracked a joke about a pimple on her face, she threw Roger through a window and set the living room on fire.
Weirdness Magnet: She always seems to attract questionable men, and being sucked into an environmental cult with a man who planned to be turned into a tree, as well as having dinner with a psychopathic serial killer who just killed his father.
The younger of the Smith siblings. A nerdy teenager who has his own circle of nerd buddies and quests for tail. While otherwise unsuccessful at the game of love, he does have an on-again/off-again relationship with heavyset goth Debbie Hyman, which seems to have resumed as of 'Escape From Pearl Bailey'. Voiced by Scott Grimes.
Hollywood Genetics: It has been explicitly said that Steve has red hair (though on television, it appears brown). His mom has blonde hair and his dad has black hair with blond recessive genes.
His mom is not a natural blonde, however; she's shown in one episode to dye it from brown.
Though generally, young children will have blonde hair that darkens with age.
The Jinx: In both the case of animals and romance. The few he successfully gains the affection of tend to meet a terrible fate. Simon the cat seemed to make the connection.
Large Ham: Seems to inherit his father's melodramatic tendencies.
Slap-Slap-Kiss: Has this in one episode with an underage Indian girl.
Small Name, Big Ego: He wrote a Saturday Night Live sketch called "Quantum Rape", about a guy in jail for raping Scott Bakula who tries to explain to his cellmate what Quantum Leap is and failing. Steve finds this hilarious. Jon Stewart didn't. Steve comes to the logical conclusion that Stewart was raped as a child which is why he thinks it's so awful.
Well Done Son Guy: Tries to impress Stan, who is repulsed by his nerdiness and lack of athleticism.
Roger Smith
An alien who self-describes as effeminate and alcoholic who was taken in by the Smiths after he saved Stan from death by grenade during a lockdown at Area 51. Also a master of disguise out of necessity, to avoid suspicion from the rest of the planet. Voiced by Seth MacFarlane.
Beyond the Impossible: He has a persona named Ricky Spanish who's even more of a Jerkass than Roger himself and is hated by every single person in Langley Falls. At the end of that episode, you can add Steve to the list, since "Ricky" framed him for robbery and got him sent to jail.
Bi the Way: Confirmed as of "You Debt Your Life." After realizing that realizing Andy Dick took his place after he moved out (temporarily), we get this quote:
Roger: Oh my God! Another fey, pansexual, alcoholic nonhuman...I've been replaced!
Breakout Character: Hasn't quite supplanted Stan as the main character, but he's come close.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Just about any of Roger's previously established personas are extremely competent at what they do, the most blatant example being Jeannie Gold, wedding planner (and prostitute).
Determinator: If his motives are selfish enough, he can achieve ANYTHING. He pursues Haley and Jeff with the money they cheated Stan out of across the entire planet. When he's convinced to kill the Smith family, he's able to escape from an excessively secure underwater prison. Not even leaving the planet is enough to escape him.
Disproportionate Retribution: Frequently plays this trope to it's most extreme. One notable example being when he conspires to make Steve's life a living hell after Steve ate his cookie and said: "You snooze, you lose."
One episode has Stan calling Roger a selfish fat failure. Roger responds by planning on destroying the planet.
After starting a chauffeur service and trying to be as polite and respectful as possible, he gets stiffed for twenty dollars by five frat boys. Roger proceeds to hunt each one of them and run them down, in the limo, even when the last one managed to get on a plane. Roger somehow managed to get on the plane's wing, run the guy down by driving through the plane, and kills everyone on board. As he and Klaus are parachuting down, he sees a stewardess parachuting next to them, and unbuckles her for no good reason other than he's "got the blood lust".
Another episode had Roger attempting to kill the entire Smith family because they roasted him for his birthday (even though he was sure he wanted it and he had a huge misconception on what a roast is). When he finally gets a hold of everyone, he forces the Smiths to roast each other, but it backfires because they are used to making fun of each other.
Expansion Pack Past: His life since his arrival to Earth during the Roswell incident.
Faux Affably Evil: Roger when he's in a manipulative mood.He can act nice if he wants to be at times, before stabbing them in the back and/or abandoning them.
For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: Went to a sci-fi convention without a disguise. Oddly enough, this was the one time he avoided interaction with people.
The Gump: In his lifetime he's responsible for creating disco in the 1970s (through a time paradox, admittedly), instigating the death of Biggie Smalls, creating Jar Jar Binks, inventing ecstasy in the 1990s, and turning Raven-Symone into an actress (after he kidnapped her from a park when she was a child).
Heroic BSOD: In Wiener of our Discontent, he is put out of action when he finds out he was supposed to be a crash test dummy
It's All About Me: While pretty much all the family display this trait on occasion, Roger takes it to sociopathic extremes.
Jerkass: Can shift into a comedic monster on occasion. Depending on the Writer, he's shown to be perfectly willing to exploit or even murder his closest friends for minor offenses or indulgences.
In the Blood/Freudian Excuse: It would literally kill Roger to be nice. His species have to let their 'bitchiness' out frequently otherwise it vents out in bile and vomit.
Just because his species has to let their bitchiness out doesn't entitle Roger to most of the atrocities he's committed. There's a line between being rude and bitchy, and being an amoral sociopath, and Roger's crossed that line numerous times. His "Ricky Spanish" persona alone qualifies for Complete Monster status, considering he's done such things as defecating in the chest of a person undergoing open heart surgery, to killing Avery Bullock's wife for no reason.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Roger was more toned down in early episodes, acting little past an obnoxious Cloudcuckoolander and showing more frequent gestures of genuine care and sympathy to the Smiths. As his costumes and outside lifestyle became more active however his apathy and psychotic traits became more and more prominent.
In spite of Taken a level of Jerkass he still has moments of clarity
Pet the Dog: Despite having little to no sense of empathy the majority of times, he is often shown to genuinely care about Stan. The entire reason he came to be with the Smiths is because he went out of his way to save Stan from a botched CIA attack. Even in later episodes Roger's friendship is sometimes exploited by Stan, which is saying a lot considering the former's usual tendancies.
Karma Houdini: Has he ever suffered for his horrible actions?
Ironically how much he suffers is usually reverse proportional to his own misdeeds. He can get away with all sorts of horrific and outright murderous schemes but the odd time he plays The Chew Toy is usually when he has done nothing wrong.
There are however some episodes where he fails to get away with his atrocities. For example in 'The People vs. Martin Sugar', Stan had the jury vote him guilty thus leading the judge (tearfully) to sending him to prison.
Laughably Evil: He shows little, if any thought for his family and friends' well being, and committed all sorts of heartless or outright murderous acts for the most trivial and petty reasons and so it goes without saying he is a fan favorite.
New Powers as the Plot Demands: Among which include being flame-retardant, ultra-buoyancy, the ability to learn one's memories by probing them, the ability to change costumes in under a second (usually done off-screen or when Roger throws up a cloud of confetti), and the ability to move "really, really fast."
Overprotective Dad: Surprisingly without crossing into abusive territory when he becomes Steve's legal guardian.
Justifiably in Stanny Tendergrass, it's revealed that there is at least one persona that a person CANNOT see through, and instead sees Roger actually as that person. For Stan, it is Mr. Vanderhill, Francine, a Korean kid who shoots pool with a giant chopstick, Hayley's is her sandal repair man and Steve's is Elisha Wiltner, who Steve went on 9 dates with.
Reality Warper: A subtle case. Whenever he comes up with a backstory for one of his personas, logic bends to his will to make those backstories true. This includes being the birth mother of two fully grown men, and also being the teenage birth son of a human family, complete with pictures of him growing up! Roger is perhaps the greatest actor ever! Surpassing even Fred Savage.
Super Speed: Allowed him to fake the death of a persona in Season 6
The Sociopath: Self-confessed, no less. When he becomes a Dirty Cop (after being on the force for 3 hours) he says that
Plus I'm a sociopath so all this fits me like a glove.
Token Evil Teammate: None of the Smiths are particularly saintly in behaviour, however Roger is the most consistently malicious of the cast. Less evident in earlier episodes where Roger was more sympathetic with Stan or Klaus usually acting as the more malvolent of the family.
The Unfettered: Playing into his Lack of Empathy, Roger will cheat, abuse or even murder others without a second thought to achieve his goals. Taken to absurd lengths at times since he can find even menial goals and ambitions and rotate their ends around completely callous and deranged schemes (a plan to get a free T shirt involved him manipulating Francine and Hayley to try and kill each other).
The Übermensch: YMMV, but if it is at all possible to play this trope strictly for laughs, you could make a case for Roger. He is goal oriented, amoral, refuses to accept outside authority, and if he wants something, even something totally impossible, he makes it happen through nothing more than sheer force of will and a complete ignorance of objective reality.
An East German athlete trapped in the body of a goldfish thanks to a scheme by the CIA to prevent him from winning the gold at the 1986 Winter Olympics because he was from the "communist East." Stan was assigned to looking over Klaus, and as such the talking fish has become an honorary member of the Smith family. Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
The German dub changes this, implying he is a communist and former Stasi member.
He once got a horrified reaction when he mentions his grandfather drove the kiddy train at Auschwitz... Zoo, and points out there is more than one thing in that town (which was and is actually Oświęcim, Poland).
The Chew Toy: Arguably the largest amongst the similarly luckless Smith family.
Chivalrous Pervert: Spent most of the early seasons trying to woo Francine. Less prominent later on where he seems to have gained a respect for Stan and lost interest in Francine for the most part.
Hidden Depths: Klaus before being transformed into a fish was highly accomplished; he studied at Viardina European University and may have a doctorate in therapy. He owned a Ferrari and was an Olympic class skier. However, as none of that is relevant to being a goldfish it's frequently overlooked or ignored.
I Reject Your Reality: This, along with The Mad Hatter, and Cloud Cuckoolander. His mental health has obviously deteriorated due to being stuck in the body of a fish, and he's fully aware of it. He has conversations with himself, and has narrated his life and those around him as a DVD commentary, among other instances of insanity.
Jerkass: Albeit toned down in later episodes, where he's usually too desperate for human interaction.
One-Scene Wonder: He usually doesn't appear often, or have much plot relevance most of the time, but when he does appear you can expect a funny line or two.
Supporting Characters
Avery Bullock
Deputy Director of the CIA and Stan's superior (he's only Deputy-Deputy Director). Also a right-winger, but not to the same level of absurdity as Stan. Notably, despite being married, he has had sex with Hayley. Also has a thing for "plump Asian" chicks. Voiced by Patrick Stewart.
Actor Allusion: The writers will occasionally have him say something that sounds like a quote by one Jean-Luc Picard.
Adam Westing: More or less the character's reason for existing. Literally any time the writers can get him to say something that would sound ridiculous coming out of Captain Picard's mouth, they will.
Ax Crazy: In more recent episodes, he's become progressively unstable.
Bald of Awesome: Though considerably less that Stewart Himself
Homosexual life partners and co-anchors at W-ANG-TV, and neighbors to the Smiths. Francine was a surrogate mother for their daughter Liberty Belle, or "Libby." They're voiced by Seth MacFarlane and Mike Barker respectively.
Badass Gay: Both Terry and Greg at times, such as when Terry punches Stan in the face for kidnapping their daughter.
Beta Couple: Arguably the most prominent relationship on the show after Stan and Francine (and maybe Jeff and Hayley).
Happily Married: Although not technically married, one of the sweetest couples in animation history, with few arguments and a multitude of tender moments between them.
Hollywood Pudgy: Greg. In his words he's "straight thin, but [he's] gay fat." Greg is indeed noticeably pudgier compared to Terry.
Kent Brockman News: They tend to squabble and unload their dirty laundry while at work.
Parental Abandonment: Terry suffered this from his father Tank after Terry revealed to him that he's homosexual and gave him the choice of accepting that or leaving.
Papa Wolf: After Stan kidnapped their baby, the two managed to rouse up support from numerous gay truckers to stop Stan. After Stan returned Liberty (and the kids he stole from a lesbian couple) Stan expected to be forgiven because he learned a lesson. Terry decked him.
With Friends Like These: Greg and Terry have been known to spend a numerous amount of time with Stan and Francine, but a couple of instances have proven that the two hate the Smiths.
Jeff Fischer
Hayley's on again off again stoner boyfriend. They get married in the premiere of season 6. Voiced by Jeff Fischer.
Adult Child: In "For Whom The Sleigh Bell Tolls" Stan is incensed that Jeff still believes in Santa Claus. He turns out to be real later in the episode.
The Millstone: He rivals Stan in his ability to make situations go from bad to worse.
Noodle Incident: In one episode Hayley is pissed and fed up with him trying to win her back, but Jeff tells her something offscreen that apparently causes her to fall in love with him and elope. What he said is never revealed, probably because there's no believable way they could write something that emotional.
Noodle Incident: One time he and Steve encountered a mystery of the disappearance of his bicycle, but they dropped it after the case turned into a double rape homicide.
With Friends Like These: Snot turns on Steve a lot, like stealing his girlfriend and throwing an apple at him when he had his scoliosis brace on. Snot himself has suffered from some of Steve's schemes in turn.
Barry Robinson
Steve's mentally retarded friend. Voiced by Eddie Kaye Thomas. He's actually a criminal mastermind when off his meds, and his evil side is voiced by Craig Ferguson.
Berserk Button: Don't deprive him of his candy. Last person who did it got shot. Then Barry jammed then twisted his finger in the wound for good measure.
Good Is Dumb: Looking into his history, he represents this well. He's also arguably the most docile of Steve and his friends and the dumbest. ...with his meds anyway. Without them he's an evil genius.
Parental Neglect: Suggested off screen. Though the fact that he's a calculating possessive psychopath off his medication might explain why they want to keep their distance.
Stop Being Stereotypical: This is the reason he didn't want to wear a samurai Halloween costume.
I will not be a cliche!
He has once complimented Steve when they dressed up in Star Trek attire, that he was not the one to play Sulu- That role was given to Barry, who ironically made 'me chinese' eyes for this purpose.
The Unintelligible: He only speaks Japanese, but it's subtitled, so the audience can understand even though none of the other characters can. Inexplicably, his mother, father, and sister speak fluent English.
The same episode his mother and sister are introduced brings up that he chooses not to speak English out of national pride.
In another episode, it is discovered that he seems to be 'haunted' by Minamoto a 12th century shogun, who he, ironically cannot understand and takes his phrases for something else like his friends do him.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Doesn't seem to like Steve very much (much of his dialogue is insulting remarks toward Steve, which of course Steve can't understand), but continues to hang out with him.
It's implied other kids aren't as nice to him.
Jack Smith
Stan’s father, a jewel thief and con-man. Voiced by Daran Norris.
My Beloved Smother: Subverted. Betty lives for Stan's attention but she's actually looking for a boyfriend so she can have somebody who'll make her happy. The relationship crosses into disturbing territory at times, but it's Stan that has the unhealthy obsession, not Betty.
What do you do when your mom's unhappy? Jerry left her feeling crappy? Sing her a shanty nice and snappy! Wash her in the bathtub!
Badass Teacher: Discovered Steve had just punched an Indian exchange student (a twelve year old girl) in the face, then shattered a hot pot of coffee in Steve's face.
Papa Wolf: Told the PTA to turn a blind eye to his daughter and her friends' revenge on Steve and his friends.
Cloudcuckoolander: A result of Flanderization as his eccentric tendencies gradually became more and more pronounced the more he appeared.
Depraved Bisexual: Was "prison married" for a few years, yet doesn't necessarily admit he's solely heterosexual and has professed fond memories of his time pushing cocaine and being given the pick of "girls, not women, girls" by his boss.
Fat Bastard: Crosses into this territory from time to time.
The Gump: His life was the basis for Different Strokes. Stan calls him out for how he left Dudley in the bicycle shop with the pedophile in The Bicycle Man. Brian mentions the real Dudley is messed up now.
Moral Myopia: See Papa Wolf. Said revenge was a case of Disproportionate Retribution, especially since they were no better in the first place, and it was all because of a case of Misplaced Retribution on Steve's part. Steve even explained it was his friends' fault, and they still wanted Steve as well, making it a case of Misplaced Retribution on their part as well.
Odd Friendship: Steve thinks he has this with Brian after he begins handling his paperwork. Even before then Steve had a tendency to refer to him by his first name. Then Brian sets him straight just before he plans on killing the two of them by explaining Steve was only his accountant.
One-Scene Wonder: Whenever he’s in an episode, you can bet this will be the case.
He was prominent in "Hot Water", however.
Where Did We Go Wrong?: Is deeply ashamed of his daughter Janet, for "more reasons than you can imagine".
Akiko Yoshida
Toshi’s sister, who often acts as a translator. Voiced by Grace Park.
Only Sane Man: Out of the entire show Debbie is possibly the most well-adjusted, rational, and emotionally mature character save for her interest in death.
Bi the Way or Lipstick Lesbian: Made out with Francine in "Not Particularly Desperate Housewives" as a way of saying a goodbye, despite being married to a man. Miraculously, this saves Francine from getting killed by the Lady Bugs, and Francine thanks Linda, thinking the kiss was a plan to save her. Linda, clearly disappointed, just goes along with that and claims she needed to get back home to her husbands that "she loves". Overall, it's suggest that Linda's not truly attracted to her husband and is a closeted lesbian, and it's revealed that her husband is aware of her preferences.
"Rough Trade", has her making her bust more noticeable by unbuttoning her shirt when she went to go borrow some sugar from Francine, which really was an attempt to hit on her. However, Linda quickly covers up when Stan comes to the door instead.
Demoted to Extra: Linda never really appeared in later seasons, along with her husband.
Justified, as she never had much of a personality beyond crushing on Francine.
