- Release Date: September 17, 2006
While on the run from the gym teacher, Steve meets and falls for a chubby Perky Goth named Debbie, but Stan disapproves of her because of her weight. Meanwhile, Roger falls for Debbie and the family becomes concerned when Stan's crash diet is making him anorexic.
Tropes
- All for Nothing: Steve breaks up with Debbie hoping that this will help Stan with his eating disorder, but when he finds out Stan still isn't getting better on purpose, he rightfully calls him out on it.
- Bait-and-Switch: When Stan puts a collar on Steve that's set to self-destruct in 24 minutes, Steve barely makes it to Debbie's place before the collar goes off. Cut to a funeral at a graveyard... and Steve is perfectly fine, with no explanation as to how he took the collar off.
- Balloon Belly:
- After Stan overfeeds him with his meals, Klaus ends up covering the entire fish bowl.
- Subverted with Stan himself. He seems to be getting fatter and fatter, but it turns out he was only hallucinating himself as such. In reality, he is almost nothing but skin and bones.
- Body Horror: Because of his anorexia, Stan ends up horrifically thin.
- Brick Joke: Early in the episode Stan suggests Hayley try using make-up to be more attractive. At the end Hayley does put on make-up and Stan says it makes her look like a whore.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Though there are some jokes around it (i.e. Stan screaming after eating chips and shooting his pot-roast to pieces), Stan's anorexia is nonetheless played completely straight.
- Chubby Chaser: Steve falls in love with Debbie Hyman, who's fat, much to his father's displeasure.
- Roger develops an obsession for Debbie, even calling her a female Mr. Belvedere.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: The bulimia counselor suggests his patients try this, as opposed to eating disorders, specifically suggesting dating black men.
- Diet Episode: This episode revolves around Stan trying to lose weight through dieting that reaches dangerous levels.
- Epic Fail: During his CIA exercise drill, Stan passes out two seconds upon moving, giving Bullock no choice but to send him home for the day. Of course, considering the state he's actually in, it's somewhat justified.
- Grub Tub: When Stan unknowingly contracts anorexia, he fools the family into thinking that he's properly eating the food on this plate by disposing most of it in the family pool and keeping it covered up so nobody would see it. Francine only discovers it when she gets knocked into the pool and just barely manages to get out before she gets covered up by the automated cover.
- Heel Realization: After realizing Steve broke up with Debbie to help him with his anorexia, Stan sees how unfair he was being to Debbie and encourages her to go back with Steve.
- Hypocrite: Stan constantly shames Debbie for being overweight, but when his family points out he is rather overweight himself, he gets self-conscious to the point of becoming anorexic.
- Hypocritical Humor: A Running Gag throughout the episode is Stan complaining that Hayley never wears makeup. At the end of the episode Stan notices Hayley is wearing makeup and he says she looks like a whore.
- Innocently Insensitive: After Steve broke up with Debbie to please Stan:Stan: In a few weeks, I'll be a regular Debbie.
(Steve starts crying)
Stan: Steve, what's wrong? What about the word "regular" set you off? (pulls out some candy) Here, have a Little Debbie.
(Steve continues crying)
Stan: What, now it's the word "little"? You know, why don't I put on some Debbie Gibson and we can talk about it?
(Steve cries even harder) - Jerkass: Zack keeps pressuring Stan to lose weight despite already being in an immensely unhealthy state and convinces him that his family is lying to him when they are trying to help him. Subverted when it turns out Zack doesn't exist and is just a part of Stan's ego-fueled imagination.
- Jump Scare: The reveal of Stan's horrifyingly skinny state is pretty sudden, especially when we're first shown him with a massive belly.
- Missed Meal Aesop: Stan eventually sees the error of his ways from refusing to eat.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When the therapist explains that people often get anorexia due to changes at home, Steve thinks it's his fault Stan is like this because he invited Debbie to the house.
- Nothing but Skin and Bones: When Stan takes off his shirt, it is revealed Stan has reduced to this because he hasn't eaten in the past few weeks.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: A lot of lines take on a very different tone following the reveal. At one point, Bullock singles out Stan with a disapproving look at his gut when mentioning that the obstacle course should be no problem for "a fit agent", and tells him that he's suspended until he's dealt with his "weight problem"; while the audience still sees Stan as chubby as he sees himself, and Stan takes the criticism as proof that he's fatter than ever, he was in fact painfully emaciated and so malnourished that he could barely walk.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Toward the end of the episode, Steve lays into Stan for his attitude.Steve: Debbie was the best thing that ever happened to me, and you drove her away because of your stupid obsession with how people look! I had a real connection with someone for the first time in my life, and all you cared about was her appearance!
- Shown Their Work: This episode realistically ventures through the aspects of anorexia, as Stan keeps thinking he's fat despite being emaciated and even hallucinates a mentally abusive fitness coach based on his insecurities.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Stan shoots his pot roast several times.Stan: Die, calories, die!
- Truth in Television: It is common for anorexics to have a personal trainer within their thoughts who keep pushing them to the limit no matter how fragile they become.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Veronica, an anorexic girl, is downright distainful of others' attempts to help her, naturally believing she's still fat, and offers Stan ways to prevent himself fattening up.
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: Though most episodes revolve around Black Comedy, this is one of the few that treats a serious topic with such earnesty.
- Very Special Episode: This episode tackles the subject of eating disorders and their effects.
- A Weighty Aesop: Subverted. After it's pointed out that he's put on some weight, Stan takes it to extremes and tries to get as skinny as possible. At first it looks like Hayley and Francine are trying to sabotage him by putting fat in his diet food as payback for banning Steve from seeing his fat girlfriend Debbie, but in a twist, it's revealed they're trying to get him to put on weight because he's suffering from anorexia and is actually so thin, you can see his skeleton.
- Weight Woe: Deconstructed. Stan becomes self-conscious to the point he develops anorexia and becomes as thin as a broomstick.Stan: (looking at the mirror) My God, it's true. I've become one of them! (gobbles on some chips) AAAAAAAAAH!
- Wham Line: When Stan departs from the CIA and heads back home, Francine tells him he does have a weight problem, but it's not obesity.Hayley: Dad, we've done some research and we think you're anorexic.
- Wham Shot: Stan takes his shirt off to show how "fat" he's become, but the family gasps in horror when it reveals Stan only imagined himself as such; he is actually emaciated. Also, when Stan talks to Zack, his family sees no one, demonstrating that he is an imaginary character invented by Stan's ego.Francine: It's worse than we thought!Stan: (is actually so thin you can see his skeleton) I know! I'm a huge tub of lard!
- Wrongfully Attributed: The head of the anorexics meeting keeps calling Stan a teenage girl. Given his bland attitude to what's happening around him, he's likely just going through the motions of approaching anorexics' problems, who are usually all female.
