Some of Family Guy’s best episodes over the years involve the usage of Stewie’s time machine. The ability to move through time enables the writers to bend the rules of reality even more than usual, and often leads to some of the show’s most inspired storylines. Let’s look back at every time travel episode, and see which episode was finest of them all.
9. “Chap Stewie” – Original Air Date: May 18, 2014
There was certainly an interesting idea here, with Stewie being born into another, wealthier family. Unfortunately, the episode only spends a few minutes touching on that premise. If we had seen more of Stewie struggling to relate to his English family, the payoff would have likely been more rewarding. Instead, we just get a few brief scenes of life being miserable for Stewie, and so he moves back with the Griffins. This episode has its moments (Unga-Bunga!), but it spends too much time getting to the main storyline, and fails to properly execute an admittedly strong concept.
8. “Stewie, Chris & Brian’s Excellent Adventure” – Original Air Date: January 4, 2015
I don’t really have any particular issues with this one, but it didn’t seem quite as memorable as the other time travel episodes. Chris’s lack of intelligence has been mentioned over and over again, and every episode has the predictable conclusion where he ends up being smarter than we thought. Still, there were some amusing bits with Stewie, Chris, and Brian traveling through various eras (particularly when Stewie mistakes Hitler for Charlie Chaplin), but even that felt like a lesser version of “Road To the Multiverse.” Not an awful episode, but nowhere near as enjoyable as many of the adventures that came before it.
7. “Yug Yilmaf” – Original Air Date: November 11, 2012
This one was remarkably similar to “Back to The Pilot,” with previous episodes being re-visited, but it was clever enough that I wasn’t bothered too much by that. Brian accidentally sets Stewie’s time machine backwards, so the world goes into reverse time. The best scene here is when Brian and Stewie revisit their experience with Ipecac bottle, except this time, they’re taking the vomit back in. Yes, it was gross, but in a rather inspired way. Naturally, Brian saves the day just in time to stop Stewie from being unborn, and as we leave the hospital, there’s a rare genuinely sweet moment when Peter asks if Stewie is smart, or if he’s “like me.” Peter tends to be a jerk in the later years, but that one got to me a little bit.
6. “Road To Germany” – Original Air Date: October 12, 2008
The first of the “Road To…” episodes to involve time travel, this episode sees Brian, Stewie, and Mort take on Nazis in World War II. Naturally, with source material like this, good taste was not a major concern, with one memorable scene showing a dead Nazi soldier come back to life just to call Mort a “filthy Jew,” while Stewie responds “you should be glad his human resources person wasn’t here to hear you say that.” Really, though, the only joke that bothered me was the McCain/Palin button appearing on a Nazi’s uniform, which felt gratuitous and tacked-on. Otherwise, this is an was hilarious episode, although it’s not for the faint of heart.
5. “Life Of Brian/Christmas Guy” – Original Air Dates: November 24, 2013 & December 15, 2013
A shocker when it happened, we briefly dealt with the possibility that Brian might be permanently dead. Of course, this wasn’t the case, as he was revived after just one episode without him. While the conclusion may have been dissatisfying to Family Guy fans who wanted to see the show do something truly daring, it’s worth noting that Brian’s death was handled quite well. The usually nihilistic show does a fine job of displaying genuine emotion from every family member, especially Stewie. Brian wasn’t gone long, but this was a fascinating way of exploring what life without him might be like.
4. “The Big Bang Theory” – Original Air Date: May 8, 2011
First of all, any episode with Bertram is amazing. Really, he might be the most underutilized character on the entire show. Also this is just an hilarious episode, with Stewie deciding to get revenge on Brian by using his time machine to embarrass him in the past (he even steals the Peanut Butter Jelly Time bit!). This is all well and good until he goes too far back, and accidentally creates the universe. Now, if Bertram kills Stewie, he’ll inadvertently destroy civilization. As this is happening, we find out that Stewie is related to Leonardo Da Vinci (which makes sense), and of course, Bertram ends up being foiled. It wasn’t hard to figure out where things were going with this one, but that didn’t make the payoff any less satisfying.
3. “Mind Over Murder” – Original Air Date: April 25, 1999
You could debate the inclusion of this episode because Stewie is using a different, more simplistic time machine than the one we would we see in later episodes, but it’s a really funny episode, and it’s worth discussing here. Stewie attempting to move past the teething process is the sub-plot, while the main storyline focuses on Peter being under house arrest after punching a woman he thought was a man. He creates a bar in the basement, and neglects Lois in the process, leading her to start singing in the bar, first to get his attention, but later to spite him. Peter is a bit of a jerk here, but it’s nice to remember when he behaved poorly by accident rather than maliciously. A fun reminder of how different the show use to be, while also a precursor of time travel episodes to come.
2. “Back To The Pilot” – Original Air Date: November 13, 2011
In which Brian and Stewie travel back to the first episode of Family Guy in order to find a bone that Brian buried in the yard. Comparing the animation styles of past and present day Family Guy is hilarious (“The TV’s not even plugged in!”), as is the interaction of past and present iterations of Brian and Stewie — present-day Stewie realizes that he’s gone a bit soft. The best joke here is probably the interaction with the Kool-Aid Man, which ends horribly. The whole thing culminates in 100 Brians and Stewies debating whether or not they should prevent 9/11 from happening, and they ultimately decide not to. Would you expect anything less from this show?
1. “Road To The Multiverse” – Original Air Date: September 27, 2009
Not just the finest time-travel episode, but quite possibly the best of the entire series, or at least since it returned to the air in 2005. Countless different animation styles are explored here, and the writers don’t waste any opportunity to experiment with the possibilities for different universe. The Disney universe (scene above) is probably the best part, if only for how dark things turn when Mort Goldman shows up, and is quickly brutalized for being Jewish (“Oh right, this is a Disney universe.”), but we also get the spot-on Flintstones parody, the guy who shouts compliments from very far away, and the Universe Where Everyone Has To Poop Right Just Now. It was clear the writers had a riot putting this together, and the result was one of the most uproarious episodes in Family Guy‘s history.
