How This Became The Worst Episode Of Family Guy 

I always saw this as Seth McFarlanes symbolic exit from the show, he seems to have moved on to other projects and stopped putting his creative energy into Family Guy.

The fact that somebody got a Brian RIP tattoo will always be hilarious

Theres an episode called "Dog Gone" where Stewie fakes Brians death to show Brian how much he means to the family, and its held much better than this episode.

There seemed to be no point in even killing Brian off in the first place, if they were just going to replace him with Vinnie, THEN kill Vinnie off, and bring Brian back as if nothing had even happened. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Bojack Horseman presents how you should let the death of a character have an impact on the other characters. *Free churro*

I remember when this episode first came out. Some guy literally got a tribute tattoo of Brian on his arm. Can't imagine how stupid he felt after they brought him back.

I really think that the torch that Family Guy once held is honestly carried on by American Dad. It embodies all the great character writing that Seth MacFarlane is surprisingly capable of while keeping the humor that made earlier season of Family Guy great.

I remember when I first saw this episode back when it first aired. I did actually feel sad to see Brian die and they made it so dramatic in the hospital, but looking back at it now it almost just seemed like it really was just a publicity stunt. There was even an episode that came out I forget when I think it was like a season later and Brian just had literally not shown up in the episode at all and then there was like this banner at the bottom of the screen with a little icon of Brian and text saying "hey have you noticed that Brian hasn't appeared even once in this episode? Oh you haven't? Then what was all the fuss about us killing him off before?" Okay I don't think those were the exact words but it was basically along the lines of that.

This is why Gravity Falls is bittersweet for me. Sure I would love 100+ seasons…if the quality stayed. But 2 well made seasons might be a more realistic ask, even if it hurts to see the end

I think it would’ve also been important to mention that Brian as a whole, also got ruined as a character prior to his “death”. LS Mark explains it PERFECTLY in that one video.

The start kinda makes sense, you need the time machine to be out of the picture to even do a death story in the first place. However the episode could have been done much better, and using time travel two episodes later to undo said death defeats the whole purpose.

At least south park had a whole season where Kenny stayed dead. I knew they were going to bring Brian back the whole time, but I was just upset that we get Vinny for basically 2 full episodes. I saw his whole character as someone you can't really keep on for too long, but I assumed it would have been for at least 10 or so episodes until sometime around the finale. Make him likable enough for me to actually feel sad he's not on the show anymore.

I wasn't watching at the time, but in hindsight, the first half of the episode where Brian dies being a time travel story probably should have been a bit of a tip off that it wasn't permanent lol

Saying the show's point of no return was in season 12 is pretty generous in my opinion. You briefly mentioned the season 4 return showing immediate signs of a downgrade which is the exact moment I feel like they lost their way. Between the animation getting worse, the cutaways existing to kill time, and the overall vibe being negative and mean-spirited, it was like watching a totally different show.

“Is it better to love a show that is lost too soon?” **Spongebob Squarepants has entered the chat**

I just started rewatching the entire series… I cannot get over how funny this show used to be. About midway into season 4, you can tell the cutaways start to stop making sense with the plot of the episode more and more. And as a 37 year old who has followed this show and did the whole Adult Swim/DVD thing, it’s about guaranteed this is the episode (The Life of Brian) we all stopped caring about this show.

I was actually kinda getting used to Vinnie honestly. I was interested in seeing how far they would take it. But it didn’t last long. Then Brian somehow became more of a douche when he came back.

I can tell seths touch is gone and he’s moved on to other projects

I was like "This sucks, but what a ballsy move". But when they backpedaled and brought Brian back, it just felt like a cowardly copout.

The writers of Family Guy know exactly how to make an emotionally charged story based on well rounded and fleshed out characters. The episode "Stewie and Brian" (or was it "Brian and Stewie"?), where they're locked in the bank vault, manages to tell a great story and explore their friendship without the need for cutaways and non sequitur

What I love is the traction this episode brought when it first released. Articles online, petitions, mass outcrying and let’s not forget the tattoos. The tattoos that I know for a fact some people still have to today. Complete hysteria over a two episode story. Beautiful

When I first saw the episode, I knew they'd bring Brian back. It felt like it was trying so hard to make me feel sad and pathos to the point it was manipulative.

I had stopped paying attention to Family Guy years before that episode aired but heard about it online. I immediately thought it was just a publicity stunt to boost fledgling ratings. They fact that they brought him back so soon pretty much cements that for me.

Releasing this video on the day of the new season's premiere was noticed by this viewer.

- 2:07 Lots of shows have been un-cancelled, this was hardly the first. Speaking of, _Futurama_ is back, again, again… - 4:17 The reason the episode started abruptly "media in res" like that is because six months before this, _Star Trek Into Darkness_ came out and did the same thing with the movie opening with Kirk and Spock running form random, unknown threats on that red-plant planet (which in turn was probably just a rip-off of _Raiders of the Lost Ark._ )

I saw you guys accidentally upload this yesterday LOL

Many shows change a lot over the years and after the golden seasons they have a lot of low points

Life of Brian was not even in my mind. Yes I was sad that Brian died, but at the same time the show was and is funny as hell. I love it

Great video guys as always 👍 I love family guy and the simpsons but I think it's time to put both show to rest 😀

I feel like most people that were angry at Brian’s death at the time just heard about it without watching the episode. The time travel plot setup is pretty on the nose. It’s not good by any means, but still pretty clear that he’s coming back

Me who has never seen any episode of family guy: Time to watch this

Although the show changes when it comes back and feels less story driven, i’m glad it did come back S5-7 have some great content

Hell naw they kilt brain griftin… naw dog for real… 💀 spunch bop will never recover from this 💀

As much as I loved early Family Guy, I'm thankful Seth basically moved on to The Orville and is giving that his full attention.

Saw this last week when you originally uploaded it😂

So many people were talking about this stupid episode while failing to remember that every character had died multiple times. I don’t understand why this was a big deal. There is no consistent continuity in family guy.

I always thought they brought Brian back due to the backlash. I remember the shows after his death not having a synopsis due the family guy team scrambling to take it back. I highly doubt Vinny was meant to be a short term character because it seemed like they really wanted switch up the Stevie/Brian dynamic

Yeah I got burnt out on this series after their first few seasons. The constant abuse and putting down of their daughter got old real quick with me.

It isn’t even the episode itself It’s what it represented

I'll admit that episode made me very sad the first time I saw it...

I think what truly makes this the worst episode(although not my least favorite) is the fact that they ignore so much of the past continuity of the series. Like okay, Stewie can't get get parts for his time machine, sounds reasonable at a glance, until you consider every other one of his inventions. Taking into account the episode "Brian and Stewie" where they became, or at least I felt became, true best friends, with Stewie even admitting to Brian that he cares about him more than anyone else, Stewie could have easily traveled to where the parts were and stolen them, he could have gone to a universe where the parts guy didnt get killed, he could have made a clone of Brian like in the episode "Quagmires Baby", although it would have been a temporary solution at worst, at best it could have been a permanent one if he applied himself in fixing the flaws that cause the clones to turn into goo. Like, to ignore all of that, and have Stewie just give up, is a slap in the face to the audience, and to the relationship Stewie and Brian have. He wouldn't just give up, he would go to any and all lengths to get his dog, his one and only best friend, back to life. Like, honestly, it's not really even anything else in the episode that bothers me, even though I wouldn't say I actively laughed or even enjoyed the rest of the episode, Vinny was cool while he was around, even with the stereotypical Italian shtick, he had some good moments. All in all, I can agree with the general consensus that this is one of, if not the worst, episode of family guy. Let's keep in mind though, there could be some people who liked the episode, or even have it as one of their favorites. I am not one of them, but it is a better episode at least than the one where Peter and Lois force Stewie into child acting.

American Dad continues to get fresher...

im so glad you mentioned that one episode because i started re watching the series and when I saw that episode I teared up at the end. I was not expecting the ending to be that sad and so glad they wrote it in.

I honestly don’t think this the worst episode of family guy. “Stewie Is Enceinte” was the first time I had no fun watching an episode of family guy, and actually legitimately hated the show. It truly felt like it was done completely on purpose as an attempt to end the show or atleast make people hate it enough to end it. While I agree that “The Life of Brian” wasn’t great but it wasn’t that bad considering this isn’t a show that usually takes itself that seriously. I had fun with Vinny and enjoyed having a break from the character of Brian. I personally think there a lot of episodes that are worst I so many ways. Family guy new season has shown me it’s still can be funny and is getting back to a bit more character focused stuff. The most recent Meg focused episodes of the last season was one of the funniest I’ve seen.

I remember my brother telling me about this episode before I watched it, he was talking about how stupid people were for both getting upset about Brian's death, and not realizing there was a bigger plan for the overall story. For instance, About 5 minutes in, Stewie mentions how he had traveled to the future, during christmas, to get the new toys coming out around that time, foreshadowing his chance to get ahold of his own time machine and set things back. It was subtle, but so many idiots were so butthurt over Brian's "death" that they didn't even think about this fact. I mean yeah, it doesn't change what the show has become, but they had it all figured out from the start and were just telling a story, and people overreacted to a cartoon character dying. 🙄 The whole three-episode saga was brilliant, but they didn't take into account how stupid the fan base is as a whole. As can be seen in the comments of this video 🙄

Personally i still love family guy. I watch it nearly every day. But this was a bad episode. But family guy is much like a bad pizza, even if it sucks I'll still eat it.

Showing colson from agents of shield was the perfect thing to do for that part, they killed him so many times and then just brought him back lol

The episode in south park where they kill Chef was equally scatterbrained but the death scene was strangely poignant, the echo from Kyle screaming "you bastards" and Stan saying "we love you" before he turns back across the bridge is genuinely sad.

Honestly sitcoms have a shelf life of about 10-11 seasons (see Modern Family) after that there's no new jokes to tell.

There's no point in which i didn't believe Brian would come back a way or another. It was just a poor creative decision on the part of the writers and on a bad timing. I'm pretty sure if they were gonna kill him now no one would care given how much characters like him have declined.

Name of song being played please? You got good taste in music.

What you said at the end, really spoke volumes. The show is a shell of what it used to be.

I think it’s time for Family Guy to end.

I'll admit that I don't like the episode, but I'll also admit the scene where Brian dies is a pretty good tear jerker, especially for me, and it's hard to get me to cry at sad stuff

One of my favorite Family Guy episodes ever happens to be one of the few ones with Vinny, “Into Harmony’s Way” when Peter and Quagmire become a songwriting duo. Shit is hilarious

Ive only seen the first 10 minutes on tik tok. didnt know whst this episode was actually about

For being as bad as the life of Brian is there is in my opinion a worse family guy episode season 4 episode 6 titled Petarded to me this episode fundamentally changed Peter and how people delt with him cause in the first 3 seasons and the 5 episodes of season 4 before this episode people on the show were willing to call Peter out on his antics but after the episode everyone just accepted Peter’s antics and essentially got to do whatever he wanted with no real consequences

The worst episode of Family Guy is the next episode of Family Guy.

The Number ONE rule of show biz is "leave 'em wanting more... NOT less!" Last night (9/25/22) saw the season openers of The Simpsons, Bob's Burger and Family Guy. The Simpsons characters are all now like fish-outta-water dealing with elements and situations that don't fit them. Even Bob's Burger (the newer kid on the block) seems to be running out of good ideas- last night's episode didn't cause me to laugh much. Since Family Guy was one of their parody episodes (not too bad but not that great either) it didn't really predict what the rest of the 22-23 will bring but the last few seasons weren't too memorable. Maybe Fox should retire everyone and focus on the under rated (but currently funnier than the others) Duncanville!

The worst Family Guy episode I've watched was where Brian got kicked out of the Griffin's house because of a Tweet. I get what Seth MacFarlane was trying to do with that episode but it was pretty sad to watch ngl.

The episode where Stewie impregnates himself using Brian's DNA will always be infinitely worse.

See, i remember the first airing of this episode, they had basically teased before it something like “one of the griffins won’t make it through this episode” and left it a mystery, even if the episode was bad that feeling of suspense was wild

Episode 6 and 8 of that season just made it clear they had long past jumped the shark.

I am a big fan.

Maybe it's just me but I've always thought season 4 to like 7 or 8 was the best version of family guy. I know season 1-3 where more heart felt but imo that just gave more validity to the "Simpson Clone" allegations. I feel as if the later season try to parody show the Simpson and othe sitcoms and that's what made the show so good. I think family guy should have leaned into the parody aspect of the show more considering their writers aren't constantly good at making well rounded likable characters.

7:20 "death is a powerful storytelling tool" beautiful🙏🏽😭

A shame because what saved Family Guy was the pairing of Stewie and Bryan. Particularly when the episodes involved both traveling on Stewie's time machine and they gave the viewers an opportunity to learn about history and cultures while mercilessly mocking them at the same time. After killing Bryan they also became simply stereotypes. I would have said this was Family Guy's worst decision....... Then the Simpsons crossover happened.

hey i mean their tactics to keep viewers engaged and interested in an older series with gimmicks and negative press are kinda workin if you’re making a video essay about the episode like 9 years after it aired

I started watching family guy way after season 4, so as someone who basically grew up on its downfall portion, I've always viewed it as something to watch when board. I think the animation is way better now, and maybe they should just update the old show with the new animation style and redo (but not change) the voices to their modern version, which also sounds better. The old show is more wholesome, and even as someone on the outskirts of the fanbase, I can really see the devolving nature of the show. I grew up on the new stuff though, so the old show is a bit jarring to watch sometimes and I can't gain to much of an attachment to the show overall. Can laugh at its jokes sometimes, but its usually just amusing.

Are these reposts? I feel like I’ve already seen your recent videos including this one

This really felt like it was only done to create controversy. To regain interest in a show that had alienated so many people prior to that episode airing.

After it became all about Peter and being a jerk or painfully unfunny. Family Guy died after 5 seasons.

I always had the feeling that killing off Brian was made for shock value and nothing else, especially when we consider how hated he was during that time. At one point it feels like it's permanent by eliminating the time machine off the equation and getting Vinny into the cast, but SURPRISE SURPRISE, that was a troleador cara moment and Brian is back before the season even ends. That's the kind of shit you need to think through not one, not twice, but 30 times before putting it into motion if you are a writer. Brian's death got no impact afterwards because they couldn't spent a single episode without the status quo being changed. Comparing it to it's sister series, American Dad, when they cut a character, wether it be temporarly or permanently, it stuck for lots of episodes until reversed, to put an example, Hailey ran away with her boyfriend (now husband) Jeff and she was abscent for a bunch of episodes after until the writers decided to bring her back, now with Jeff as part of the household. If you are going to Thanos snap someone from the main cast, at least have the guts to stick with it for longer than an episode, like, have Vinny be part of the household for longer to fully establish who he is while Stewie starts to miss time traveling, at least as an incentive to rebuild the damn thing without Brian being the reason. I don't know why I go to the bother of writing long essays on a show I never liked in the first place, probably because it got to it's downfall so fast that almost no one remembers the moments this show was good, maybe a part of me wants to know how those high points were, maybe.

The DHMIS episode on Death is a much better portrayal of death and moving on. It's not only more funny, mature, and subtle, but the character of Stain Edwards is a really interesting portrayal of how adding a third wheel will make you miss your gone friend even more.

There’s one question that nobody seems to be asking, however… Who Killed Brian? Who was the one driving the car?

2:40 made me absolutely piss my pants laughing the first time I saw it, and again just now while I’m watching it years later lol

I love the brian wallows peter swallows rep, easily my favourite episode

This episode is far over hated. The episode where Brian and Stewie get stuck in a bank vault is exponentially worse

1:50 Family Guy was initially cancelled after it's first eight episodes in 1999. It was then brought back later that year, marking the start of season two. They cancelled Family Guy for the second time because of the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein".

Don't forget about all the people that are now tainted with "RIP Brian" tattoos that they got the day after the episode aired

I literally said this when they announced this "he won't stay dead" and two episodes later I was proven right

they always knew Brian wasn't dead. thats the expanation for everything.

I thought this was going to be complaining about the vomit scene where he regrets boning Quagmire's dad.

Yeah I remember coming to school the Monday after and people talking about it. I said it was 100% just to bring attention to the show and Brian would be back. And he literally did.

There's one thing (among many others but this one especially) Brian was murdered . He wasn't hit by accident, the car could clearly see him in the middle of the road during broad daylight and even gunned it but, the car is never mentioned again. Neither Peter or Stevie vow to track down the killer nor do they tell Joe their next door neighbor who's a cop that Brian was killed by a hit and run driver. Instead of fooling around for ten minutes and getting a new dog, the could've been another murder mystery.

I loved Vinny. I knew Brian was not going to stay dead (they advertised the Christmas episode with him the picture). It made it worthless and made me like a character that will never be brought up again or is given a split second 'joke' (it would not surprise me if they give a "He was put to sleep" joke real quick). I do miss Vinny.

The episode with Brian and Pearl made me cry as a kid

To me, the worst episode had to be when Stewie gets pregnant. Its....just....awful.

Is this video truly only 2 months old? I'm sure I already watched this two or three years ago

I wish they would’ve brought some actual nuance and sincerity by having Stevie fail to save Brian when he travels to the past, or doing something similar at least. Making Brian not come back until next season would’ve been a great move

Biggest Ratings Trap I've ever seen

Seashell Seahorse Party is a MUCH worse episode than this. It gave the worst reasons to maintain status quo for a joke people haven't found funny since

The moment I saw them kill Brian, I figured that it wasn't going to be permanent. I thought they'd use some kind of cop out to get him back.

I feel like the first part was meant to be off-putting because they heavily advertised that Brian would die in the weeks upcoming episode

It's like watching someone review Family Guy who's never seen Family Guy.

The problem with Family Guy is that decided to be serious story and it doesn't work. Because the whole point of the show from earlier seasons was to be comedic satire with cutaway jokes, one liners and characters to be one dimensional. But that was thrown out of the window somewhere in season 9 or 10. And it hasn't returned back since.

Seth said in the GQ video that he hasn't been in the writers room from season 12 and it shows

Family Guy has hit a wall, I was on the episode where Stewie made a reference to a singer that he '"stans" but no one got the reference and gets canceled for it. He then does Mr. Bombastic by Shaggy and I just turned it off immediatley. It hurts to watch since none of the characters are actually characters, unlike American Dad where they have to have character progression since they can't rely on cutaways.

I always assumed Brian would be back, they announced the Simpsons cross over before this and there would be no way they would have done it without Brian.

I knew exactly what episode he was going to talk about when I read the title