Roger Smith's Best Personas On American Dad

With over 300 episodes and counting, Seth MacFarlane's "American Dad!" has become a genuine pop culture phenomenon since it first aired back in 2005. It owes its success to its surreal brand of humor, its relatable storylines, and, perhaps more than anything, its entertaining characters — none more so than the show's breakout character Roger Smith.

An amoral, narcissistic alien who crashed on Earth in the late 1940s, Roger moved into the Smith household after saving CIA agent Stan Smith from an accident at Area 51. Dwelling in the family's attic, Roger spends his time shuffling through different disguises that allow him to venture into the outside world, each possessing a unique name, backstory, personality, and style of dress.

With "American Dad!" having been on television for so long, Roger has been able to invent a huge range of memorable personas, many of whom have served key roles. From dangerous villains and power-mad authority figures to his surprisingly sweet characters, these are his all-time best.

One of the earliest named personas Roger adopts in "American Dad!," Professor Jordan Edelstein made his debut in the first episode of Season 2, "Camp Refoogee." Roger creates Edelstein as a fun role-playing activity with Francine, who takes on the part of Edelstein's wife, Amanda Lane. A wealthy and adventurous upper-class couple, Edelstein and Lane have been married for 17 years. Head of the Political Science Department at Harvard University, Edelstein is a commercially successful author with a 140 IQ who leads an eventful life. Prone to cheesy yet charming jokes, he is near-sighted, he has traveled extensively, he has lengthy explanations about all of his personal belongings, and he once had a brief romantic affair with '50s Beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

While Roger and Francine's role-playing game begins innocently enough, things soon spiral out of control when Francine makes up details about Roger's character, such as the fact that he is an Economics professor — a subject Roger says that Edelstein abhors. In retaliation, Roger begins fabricating humiliating information about Lane's past, and the situation becomes increasingly intense as Francine and Roger try to one-up each other in front of their dinner party guests. Before long, the whole scene becomes a parody of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" with Roger inhabiting the role of the emotionally repressed Richard Burton character and Francine playing his overbearing wife (played by Elizabeth Taylor in the film).

Roy Rogers McFreely is a persona born out of Roger seeking revenge against Stan for refusing to pick up grenadine for his Roy Rogers cocktail. Knowing Stan's affinity for authority, Roger (under the guise of Roy Rogers McFreely) becomes chairman of the Homeowners Association, using his newfound authority to antagonize Stan.

During his short time in office, McFreely has a fire hydrant built in front of the Smiths' home, allowing him to have Stan's car towed away. He also orders trash pickups to commence in front of the Smith household first thing in the morning, and he sets up motion-sensing lights on the Smiths' lawn, all designed to get under Stan's skin. It's only when Stan finally relents, allowing Roger a voice in the house, that McFreely resigns his position as chairman, comically revealing to Stan that he is, in fact, Roger in disguise (as though Stan never knew).

There's a lot to like about Roy Rogers McFreely, from his love of his namesake cocktail, his admiration for salsa music and impressive dance skills, to his embroidered all-white cowboy getup. It's a character that also reveals the depths of Roger's infamous pettiness, as well as how corrupt Roger can become when given even the smallest amount of power.

Captain François Dubonais wasn't on the screen for long compared to Roger's other, more prominent personas, but he still stood out. Roger appears as the character for less than a minute in Season 4's "Jack's Back," bringing Captain Dubonais out when he and Hayley are engaging in an argument, both of them cycling through a series of characters to get the upper hand in their fight. With Hayley playing the character Mama Maroush — a senior member of the Armenian Mafia — Roger quickly reverts to François Dubonais, a French Interpol captain who has devoted a decade of his life to bringing Mama Maroush's criminal organization to justice.

Captain Dubonais remains a memorable entry in Roger's colorful gallery of personas for several reasons. Interestingly, he's one of the few characters Roger gives a unique voice to, speaking with an over-the-top French accent that makes Monty Python's French Taunter look tame. Decked out in a Humphrey Bogart-like trench coat and rocking a pencil-thin mustache, the captain is a dapper character. His brief appearance shows Roger's talent for not only switching disguises in a heartbeat but also his ability to quickly think up an entire canonical backstory for a character, no matter how relatively minor they turn out to be.

Every now and again, Roger portrays someone who already exists within the context of "American Dad!," appearing several times as individual members of the Smith family and portraying real-life celebrities like Kevin Bacon. One of these pre-existing characters includes General Juanito Pequeño, the dictator of a small South American nation called Isla Island.

When the real Pequeño is accidentally killed while spending time with Stan, the CIA man tricks Roger into playing him, a way to ensure that the United States gains access to Isla Island's lucrative oil reserves through an international treaty. When Roger discovers Stan's deception, he decides to stay on Isla Island, becoming yet another corrupt ruler. During his time in office, he changes the island's name to Bananarama, switches the national anthem to "Venus," and orders the citizens to paint the entire island yellow — only to change his mind halfway through and order it to be painted turquoise instead.

As we mentioned while discussing Roy Rogers McFreely, things tend to get out of hand quickly when Roger is placed in a position of authority. As Pequeño, Roger regularly abused his office for his own gain, having servants severely punished over minor infractions (such as improperly buffed floors or poorly-made desserts). It's always a wild ride when Roger is in charge, and here, it's no different — Pequeño remains one of Roger's most corrupt officials yet.

As you might expect, Roger has quite a few mad scientist-type characters at his disposal, none more unhinged or sketchy than his '90s era character, Dr. Gerald Ya Ya. A drug manufacturer and part-time dealer, Dr. Ya Ya encounters Stan and Francine when they go back in time in Season 7's "The Kidney Stays in the Picture." The couple helps Ya Ya find the missing ingredient for his lifelong project — the street drug, ecstasy.

With his massive, magnified eyes and unkempt white hair, Dr. Ya Ya is one of the most instantly recognizable characters Roger has dreamed up, appearing as a cross between Albert Einstein and Walter White. His screen time is minimal, but he still manages to delight viewers with his wild-eyed, drug-induced "glow stick dance" and his hilarious pronunciation of Cuba.

Roger's appearance as Ya Ya in the episode also highlights some of his past backstory prior to meeting the Smiths, establishing the fact that he spent "years" developing the formula for ecstasy with his roommate, Dave, before he ever encountered Stan. In the present, Dr. Ya Ya also briefly pops up as a friend on Francine's Facebook, having invited her to join a group dedicated solely to bashing Stan.

Roger has created several personas who have pursued criminal careers outside of the Smith household, foremost among them the professional fake ID seller Kevin Ramage. Heavily tattooed and dotted with piercings, Ramage appears as a low-level street thug trying to intimidate Hayley and Steve, who are pushing into his "turf" in the counterfeit license business in Season 9's "Faking Bad."

As part of his intimidation tactics, Ramage orders his burly twin henchmen to beat him up in front of Hayley and Steve, promising the Smith kids that such rough treatment is waiting for them if they don't leave his territory. After Steve has a falling out with Hayley later in the episode, he joins with Ramage's outfit, quickly getting in over his head when Ramage arranges a deal to sell fake IDs to a drug cartel.

A Slim Shady lookalike with a role similar to Jesse Pinkman's in "Breaking Bad," Ramage is a hopelessly inept crook whose incompetence knows no bounds. Despite thinking he's a legitimate criminal, Ramage is anything but, with the latter part of the episode showing just how humorously out of his element he is when it comes to hardcore criminals like the Armenian mob.

One of the most kindhearted and genuinely decent of Roger's many personas, Tom Yabo is a down-to-earth yoga enthusiast who marries Stan's mother in Season 8's "American Stepdad." Though Stan initially thinks Roger has only married his mother, Betty, as a way to keep a spot in the house — Stan was going to kick Roger out of the attic so that his mother could move in — he soon grows closer to Tom, forming a close paternal bond with him as they spend more and more time together. However, the entire marriage is soon revealed to be part of a scheme planned by Betty to cash in on Tom's life insurance policy.

Despite Betty's scheme, Tom still uses the opportunity to form a father-son relationship with Stan. During the episode, we see Stan go from distrusting Roger to watching them partake in clichéd family activities, such as rebuilding an old car together. Given Roger's pettiness and selfishness in the past, we (like Stan) assume the worst about Roger's motivations at first. The most unexpected thing about the episode is that Tom has been genuine the entire time, using his marriage to Betty as a way to actually bond with Stan.

Roger doesn't have many likable or sympathetic personas under his belt, which makes Tom a special kind of character. By the end of the episode, we can't help but be surprised by Tom's surprisingly cathartic interactions with Stan, finally giving the surly CIA agent the father figure he always wanted.

A riff on '00s teen comedies, Scotch Bingington appears in Season 3's "Spring Break-Up." In the episode, Roger creates Scotch as the ultimate party animal, having grown angry over an MTV program detailing the previous year's wildest spring break party. Seeking to throw the ultimate college bash and be crowned "King of Spring Break," Roger takes the opportunity to throw a massive party while Francine is away, inviting busloads of college students to the Smith residence.

By the time Francine has left for her parents' place, Roger (as Scotch) has almost completely converted the Smith household into the ideal party mansion. Within the span of a few minutes, Roger fills the Smiths' living room with sand and sets up an indoor volleyball court, installs a margarita-filled waterfall, a lazy ride filled with beer, a human-sized hamster wheel, a "tunnel of booze," and a huge stage in the backyard.

Sporting a homemade crown and with a scepter that shoots Chivas Regal, Scotch is very much the stereotypical college frat bro. As "American Dad!" fans are sure to know, when Roger gets a specific goal in his head, he goes the extra mile to make it happen. Scotch brings out all of Roger's craziest, carefree traits and amplifies them tenfold.

As handsome as Clark Gable and as suave as James Bond, Dan Ansom Handsome is described by Francine as Roger's "most charming, irresistible persona," a character that "no woman can resist." Effortlessly cool and endlessly confident, just hearing Dan Ansom Handsome's name is enough to drive women crazy, as Francine — who seems completely enamored by Dan — tells Roger.

Dan appears in the Season 7 episode "The Scarlett Getter." Roger is smitten when he meets CIA agent Shannon Sharpe, an old crush of Stan's. Stan scoffs at the notion that Roger could romantically pursue someone like Shannon, offending Roger. When Francine grows irritated by Stan mooning over his old crush, she invites Roger to interact with Shannon as the debonair Dan Ansome Handsome — and it appears to work.

Despite Shannon's attraction to Dan being a ruse that put her one step closer to capturing Roger on behalf of the CIA, something can certainly be said about the onscreen presence Dan Ansom Handsome commands. Making his introduction by sliding down the banister of the Smiths' staircase while mixing a martini, Dan Ansom Handsome's reputation precedes him. He's definitely one of the most charismatic personas we've seen Roger portray to date.

Far and away Roger's wealthiest persona, Max Jets (full name Maximus Horatio Shamus Benny and the Jets) was an elderly eccentric who occasionally visited the Smith family, showering them with cash and extravagant gifts. He made his fortune by blackmailing Bill Gates — he claimed to "know something" about the Microsoft billionaire. Max finished a six-year prison sentence for an unspecified crime in the Season 8 episode "Max Jets." In it, the Smiths warmly welcome Max to their home, each vying for his financial attention. Before long, a gold-digging waitress is trying to secure Max's wealth for herself.

Described by Klaus as "rich and obnoxious," Max was a millionaire (possibly even a billionaire) who used his comically large quantities of money to act like a jerk. To ensure their relationship with Max stayed intact and that the river of gifts Max continuously gave them didn't dry up, the Smiths allowed Max to act as crudely as he wanted.

No matter how poorly Max could treat people, you have to hand it to him — he had style. From hiring a celebrity musician to perform at his wedding to flying a panda bear in from China to officiate the ceremony, Max Jets is without a doubt one of the most flamboyant personas that Roger has ever created. It's just a shame that his son Jerry (also Roger) schemed with his fiancée to kill him for his fortune, with Roger essentially stealing from himself.

Taking his inspiration from the Jennifer Lopez song "Jenny from the Block," Jenny Fromdabloc is the teenage girl persona Roger adopts when he dates Snot in the Season 6 episode "Jenny Fromdabloc." After seeing Snot get rejected by Hayley, Steve and Roger formulate a plan to cheer him up, creating Jenny as a way to boost Snot's confidence.

Jenny and Snot are soon official. When Steve begins to think the romance has gone too far, he reveals one of the several lies Roger has been telling Snot to make their relationship appear authentic. However, Steve is shocked to find both Snot and Roger emotionally torn apart by the ending of the relationship, prompting him to try and get the two back together. As Jenny, Roger manages to patch things up with Snot — only to fake her death by having Jenny get hit by a bus.

A native of New Jersey, Jenny is among Roger's most likable characters. Her relationship with Snot may have been based on a lie, but she began to feel legitimate affection for the struggling teen as they dated. Like with his other nonviolent personas, it can be hard to know whether Roger is being totally genuine, but in the end, Jenny wanted what was best for Snot.

Ruby Zeldastein is a medium who Roger invents when the Smiths become haunted by a supernatural presence in the Season 9 episode "Poltergasm." Having been unnerved at the odd happenings occurring within the Smith household, Roger calls in the one person he believes can help, "a medium to the other side who makes a hell of a shoofly pie." An obvious parody of the "Poltergeist" character Tangina (played by Zelda Rubinstein, whose name clearly served as the inspiration for the "American Dad!" character), Ruby explains that Francine's years of frustration in the bedroom have somehow manifested into a physical presence. This presence will dwell in the house until Francine's desires are fulfilled.

The great thing about Ruby — other than her hilariously on-the-nose character name and her dainty Southern voice — is how utterly unhelpful she is over the course of the episode. She's able to figure out what the cause of the disturbance is, but she is otherwise useless, appearing more concerned about her paycheck than actually helping the Smiths. Arguably her shining moment comes when she quickly draws a symbol in the air after telling the Smiths about the "Poltergasm" phenomenon, informing them she has the term trademarked and that they will have to reimburse Ruby should they produce any scripts they write about their experiences in the house.

Roger has always been prone to dramatics — his sensitivity and tendency to get easily offended have been the basis for numerous "American Dad!" episodes over the years. A notable example of this comes in the form of the Phantom (Roger's take on the titular character from "The Phantom of the Opera"), who appears in the Season 4 episode "Phantom of the Telethon." When the U.S. government pulls critical funding from the CIA, Stan looks for a way to raise money for the agency. After mocking Roger's idea to start a telethon, Stan takes the idea to his superiors and then proceeds to take credit for it himself. As revenge, Roger dons the ghost-white half-mask of the famous musical character, sabotaging Stan's telethon.

Considering how weird and wonderful Roger's roster of characters is, the Phantom had no business standing out so much. However, the fact that Roger takes his role so seriously really sells it, elevating this vigilante to a distinguished spot on this list. His constant attempts to derail the telethon range from harmless pranks like untying Stan's bowtie and messing up the teleprompter to dropping an entire boat on Jeff. His dedication to the role even sees him trying to reenact several scenes from the original musical, including abducting Steve and dressing him as Christine Daaé.

Yellow journalism is one of the most dishonest, disingenuous tactics a news organization can employ to boost ratings. Knowing that, it shouldn't be surprising that Roger indulges in it during the Season 9 episode "News Glance with Genevieve Vavance." Trying to settle down in a legitimate profession, Hayley begins interning for a news reporter — only to find out that the reporter is actually one of Roger's personas, a no-nonsense news anchor named Genevieve Vavance.

At first, Hayley tries to focus on stories of importance to her, highlighting environmental issues she feels are underrepresented in most news outlets. Genevieve, however, quickly squashes her aspirations, underscoring the value of ratings above all else. When Hayley convinces Steve to run away for what she hopes will be a small news story to pique her audience's interest, Genevieve takes her story and runs with it, eventually framing Stan, Francine, and Hayley for kidnapping Steve and holding him hostage in the woods.

Favoring tabloid journalism and sensational news over factual reporting, Genevieve will lie and falsely mislead her entire audience so long as it means her program earns high ratings. She's without a doubt one of the most irredeemably twisted of Roger's disguises.

Perhaps Roger's most famous and successful persona, Chex LeMeneux helped the American ice hockey team win the gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Stan discovers this in Season 5's "The Return of the Bling," and, being a huge fan of the famous team, is totally awestruck. That is, until Roger reveals that he was using steroids at the time.

Roger's appearance as Gollum may steal the second half of "The Return of the Bling," but his handful of scenes as Chex are a definite highlight of the episode as well. Captured on a series of still photographs and old news tapes, Roger pieces together his hockey career with Stan, showing the battered and bruised Chex competing against some of the world's best hockey players.

More beast than man (even using his arms to walk around in the manner of a gorilla), Chex is arguably Roger's most unstable character, prone to steroid-induced bouts of anger when given even the slightest provocation. At one point, Chex attacks his whole team and a news crew after a teammate good-naturedly slaps him with a towel.

A hilarious parody of Dog the Bounty Hunter, Horse Renoir is the persona Roger adopts after discovering that there's a bounty for Jeff's arrest in Season 2's "Joint Custody." Roger partakes in a "Roger Fashion Show" to find the right persona to pursue Jeff before settling on the mullet-rocking, goateed Horse, a veteran bounty hunter from the bayou.

After making his introduction on the back of a motorcycle, Horse demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge and almost immediately derails his new career. For example, when he tries to track Stan by calling the credit card company, he completely bungles the whole thing by being unable to answer basic questions about Stan, such as his social security number, his date of birth, or even his mother's maiden name.

Of course, it's normal for Roger to think of elaborate backstories for his characters and then fail to live up to the persona he actually creates. Horse is everything a bounty hunter shouldn't be — he's an unprofessional, cowardly, overly sensitive biker who hates confrontation, and he nearly kills himself and Stan accidentally several times throughout the episode.

One of the funniest aspects about Roger's numerous personalities is how many of them have a life outside the Smith residence. Take, for example, Frank Trueblue, an aspiring police officer who flunked out of the academy, and who is now in a relationship with a mild-mannered woman named Stacy. Frank appears in the Season 12 episode "A Nice Night For a Drive," driving Stacy and her two children to the zoo so he can pick up a belt sander he bought on Craigslist.

As Frank and the family drive down the highway, Steve and his friends egg his car. As retaliation for the prank, the irate Frank chases Steve all over Langley Falls, threatening to run him over while basically holding Stacy and her family hostage. Luckily, before Frank can kill Steve, Stacy calms him by mentioning details about their relationship, including a sentimental vacation they spent in Montauk.

Roger's most unhinged persona, the hotheaded Frank is described by Roger as "essentially a cop." According to Roger, Frank's name and haircut are all the qualifications he needs to be a police officer — in addition to driving a bright blue Dodge Charger. He's the definition of a loose cannon, a man who will go into a dramatic rage when someone drops a fork at dinner, ruining the whole evening. To Frank, the most minor inconvenience is a big deal, creating some hilarious moments for viewers.

Roger isn't a follower of the rules by any stretch of the imagination, frequently mocking most laws and the individuals that enforce them, often to the chagrin of the straight-laced Stan. His violations of the law are usually flagrant, but sometimes he's more subtle. For evidence of this, look no further than his shrewd businessman character Martin Sugar, who Roger portrays in the Season 6 episode "The People vs. Martin Sugar."

Sugar's appearance in the episode comes when he is summoned to court to answer for crimes related to his unethical business practices. In particular, the crimes involve allegations that Sugar ran an underground sweatshop, using undocumented immigrants to produce counterfeit luxury handbags. Though obviously guilty of his crimes, Sugar successfully charms everyone in court — including the lead prosecutor — by appearing as a kind-hearted, generous employer. Of course, the reality couldn't be further from the truth.

Martin Sugar is a noteworthy Roger persona owing to his clashing personalities. On the surface, he's a likable enough guy prone to making lame jokes. As it turns out, though, Sugar's actual personality is far more sinister. But, as shady as he is, we can't help falling for his nice guy act as easily as the jury does.

As previously mentioned, Roger is known for pursuing multiple lives outside of his existence with the Smiths. Many of his personas have their own individual careers and complex personal lives to deal with. One of the first examples of this we see on "American Dad!" is the character Sidney Huffman, the kindly Bible manufacturer from the episode "The One That Got Away."

It's not unusual for Roger to inhabit multiple characters at once, but what's interesting about Sidney is the fact that not even Roger realizes he and Sidney are the same person. Learning that his bank account has been maxed out, Roger tries to find the person responsible, soon coming to the realization that the thief is actually a persona he created that has since gained a mind of its own.

The complete opposite of Roger in every way, Sidney is a well-spoken, warm-hearted person who avoids alcohol, drugs, and even swearing. The product of Roger's split personality, he's definitely the most down-to-earth and caring disguise the alien has ever had. Unfortunately, such kindness could never have coexisted with someone as chaotically sociopathic as Roger, who lies to Sidney — he assures him that they can live peacefully side by side, only to literally stab Sidney in the back. "Sorry, Sid," Rogers says. "You were a good egg, and that cramps my style."

The closest disguise Roger has to a supervillain, Tearjerker appears prominently in two themed "American Dad!" episodes, Season 4's "Tearjerker" and its sequel, Season 9's "For Black Eyes Only." Breaking from the regular continuity of the show, the two episodes lampoon the James Bond series of spy films, presenting Stan as a secret agent who regularly combats his nemesis, the wealthy international terrorist Tearjerker.

In terms of personality and appearance, Tearjerker is more along the lines of Dr. Evil than he is 007's archenemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld. In the first episode he appears in, Tearjerker's evil plan is to make the saddest movie ever made in the hope that audiences will cry themselves to death (as revenge for Tearjerker not being taken seriously when he tried to make it as an actor). Despite seemingly dying at the end of the episode, Tearjerker reappears in "For Black Eyes Only" as a reluctant ally to Stan — that is, until he betrays him and sides with the episode's main villain.

Tearjerker has all the classic makings of a Bond villain: There's the over-the-top name, the striking visual appearance, the extravagant secret hideout (a luxury fortress built into the side of a volcano with his face etched into the side), and the overly complex plan for world domination. Ultimately, it's not even Stan who beats him in either episode, with Tearjerker meeting his end through his own incompetence or disloyalty.

Among Roger's most fully-realized characters is intrepid wedding planner Jeannie Gold. In Season 5's "Shallow Vows," Francine and Stan look for a way to celebrate their forthcoming 20th wedding anniversary, with Roger helpfully suggesting they renew their vows in an official ceremony under the care of Jeannie Gold, "wedding planner extraordinaire." Completely dedicated to her job, Jeannie oversees every aspect of Stan and Francine's vow renewal, recreating their original ceremony as closely as possible. Jeannie also takes it upon herself to improve some of the wedding's weaker aspects, threatening Hayley and Steve with her psychopathic sidekick Valik (also Roger) in the process.

The funniest thing about Jeannie — other than her seemingly being the sworn enemy of her estranged brother, Ricky Spanish (Roger's most heinous persona) — is how seriously she takes her job. She spends fortunes on her wedding ceremonies, and she carries everything she needs to guarantee a perfect wedding in her purse (like Band-Aids for sore heels and a needle and thread for torn clothing). She also somehow has two teenage sons enrolled at Columbia University's film program to record all her weddings in order to make DVD copies for guests, showing just how extensive Roger's disguises can become when he's away from the Smiths.

Officially named Braff Zachlin, the Legman is one half of Roger and Steve's private investigating duo Wheels and the Legman. The team serves as a comedic portrayal of '70s and '80s TV private detectives, born out of Roger and Steve's avid love for the genre. They are basically playing a children's game when they adopt their alter egos, with Wheels and the Legman seldom leaving the house on a case, charging $20 a day plus expenses, and using a teddy bear as their receptionist.

The Legman is one of the few identities Roger has who he created with the help of another person. He and Steve devise an entire continuity for their fictional series and their starring detectives, establishing Legman as the "bad cop" of the duo, plagued by a troubled past. According to Roger, Legman was a NASCAR driver who swerved out of the way to avoid hitting a baby — the baby being, somehow, also the Legman.

The Legman has popped up in several episodes, usually when Roger and Steve are presented with a mystery that needs to be solved. These mysteries range from small things like trying to find Hayley's missing iPod Shuffle to trying to locate kidnappers who have taken Francine hostage. No matter what the case is, though, Roger is almost always shown to be the guilty party, even if he isn't entirely aware of it.

Roger has impersonated a ton of celebrities since "American Dad!" began airing. One of his best came early in the series' run — he pretended to be Kevin Bacon in Season 2's "Four Little Words." Feeling insecure after overhearing a mother and daughter commenting on the fact that he has no nose, Roger begins wearing a fake latex nose to pass as "normal" in front of people. Before long, people start confusing him with the famous "Footloose" actor, and Roger uses this assumption to get free stuff out of people. The eccentric alien almost effortlessly figures out a way to steal Kevin Bacon's identity and uses it to his advantage.

Throughout the episode, we see Roger pressure people into giving him expensive goods simply because he's a celebrity. When they don't, he launches into a tirade, calling them offensive names and screaming, "I'm Kevin Bacon!" Of course, as Roger's behavior worsens, the more damage he does to the real Kevin Bacon's reputation. As Hayley points out to Roger, "You may be beautiful on the outside like Kevin Bacon, but you're ugly on the inside." Seemingly seeing the error of his ways, Roger gets rid of his false nose and reconciles with Hayley and Steve, although it's soon revealed he merely ditched the disguise after causing a car accident, for which the real Kevin Bacon is blamed.

The closest thing Roger has to a wise character is Dr. Penguin. An apparent psychiatrist by trade, Roger acts as the voice of reason for the Smiths when they come to him with a problem, providing advice and possible solutions to their issues. However, as Klaus points out, Dr. Penguin's solutions are usually the easy way out, and are in fact harmful ways to deal with problems (he advises a guilt-ridden Steve to continue lying to his parents, telling him that "eventually, lying will become second nature and you'll stop feeling guilty about it").

Dr. Penguin is another of Roger's disguises that continually pops up. Though he usually appears as a therapist to the Smiths, he has also been shown to run group therapy sessions in the outside world. The income he receives from his official jobs supports Dr. Penguin's drug habits, according to Roger.

For as frequently unhelpful as Dr. Penguin's advice is, there are a few moments where we see him actually reach the family's inner emotions. Amazingly, he can cause someone to completely break down just by giving them a simple look, helping them come to terms with their feelings in a meaningful way. More often than not, though, Dr. Penguin simply pretends to be a therapist, sometimes even manipulating his clients to his advantage — such as trying to trick Stan into killing an innocent man who got the last pretzel at Wetzel's Pretzels (all in the name of Stan's clinical health, of course).

Roger is certainly not the nicest or most sympathetic "American Dad!" character, but even by his standards, Ricky Spanish is one ice-cold jerk. Described by Roger as a "lying, thieving sociopath" and "the worst character I have ever done," the mere mention of his name is enough to drive all of Langley Falls into a witch-hunt. A character so evil that Roger nearly destroyed the costume out of fear, Ricky Spanish has wronged every single person in Langley Falls in some shape or form. The inherent evil runs so deep that he's shown to corrupt anyone who wears his costume, possessing Stan when he tries portraying Ricky in Season 13's "Persona Assistant."

There aren't many television characters as vile as Ricky, a criminal who can't help but be bad. Even when Roger tries to redeem Ricky, he instinctively ends up betraying Steve, who was trying to help him right some of his past wrongs. Despite how impossibly terrible Ricky is, though, he's the kind of villain you can't help but love, becoming the highlight of any episode he appears in. He's a truly awful guy, but he's also Roger's best persona to date.