'American Dad' -- Let the Restaurant Wars Begin! (VIDEO)

Stupid dreams are important. Without the main character suddenly launching into a new obsession, we'd barely have any episodes of 'The Simpsons,' 'Family Guy,' -- or 'American Dad,' for that matter. And on the new episode of 'A.D.' (Sun., 9:30PM ET on Fox), Stan Smith is inspired by -- what else? -- an idiotic childhood dream.

Ever since he was a kid, Stan has held onto a single happy memory -- his mom (guest Swoosie Kurtz) taking him out for dessert after his father abandoned them. Inspired by this, Stan opens his own restaurant, but has no idea how to make it work. So he enlists "lovable" alien Roger to assist him.

Of course, in the annals of bad 'American Dad' ideas, "embarking on a crazy dream" is followed only by "asking Roger for help" ... in terms of things that lead to disaster.

The crazy thing is -- Stan's dream works out! His new eatery features dishes like pancake plates, chocolate chip meatballs, ravioli hamburgers, and Raisinets carbonara -- all of which sound disgusting, but also totally awesome.

Stan's success fills Roger with jealous rage. The alien opens a rival restaurant, and he attempts to destroy Stan's place. But even this fails to spoil Stan's plan. Ironically, it's only when Roger gives up his own restaurant that he ruins Stan's hopes, which then explode in a fireball of glory. Though Stan's moment is brief, he manages to conquer his fears. "If it doesn't work, it is no longer a dream," he says during the episode, and he was terrified that things wouldn't work out. Fear of failure held him back -- but he tries, succeeds, and then loses it all with Roger's help.