WhileFamily Guyhas plenty of memorable lines, the show’s funniest quotes go beyond mere jokes and highlight the qualities that make the series unique. Family Guybegan airing back in 1999 and the animated sitcom shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. 2024 will see the arrival ofFamily Guyseason 23, and Comedy Central will begin airing reruns of the series as new episodes arrive weekly.Family Guyseason 23’s specialsprove that the show is also adapting and changing to keep up with competitors likeSouth ParkandThe Simpsons.
Family Guy’s New Network Restores My Confidence After Season 23’s Surprising Change
While Family Guy season 23’s surprising change might have seemed worrying, recent news of the show’s future is reassuring for longtime viewers.
Since it began,Family Guyhas fused the R-rated adult comedy ofSouth Parkwith the family-oriented premise ofThe Simpsons. As the show’s sardonic theme song notes,Family Guyis ostensibly a show about family. However, the show’s wanton violence, pointedly un-PC humor, and frequent shocking content ensure that it is not family-friendly viewing.Family Guyhas lost viewersover the years thanks to pushing boundaries too far, but its surreal sense of humor has also helped shape modern adult animation. This is proven with a look back atFamily Guy’s best quotes.
25“Believe me, Chris, you don’t wanna mess with drugs. I tried them once. Big mistake, things got way too real.”
Season 2, Episode 14, “Let’s Go to the Hop”
Family Guy’s cutaway gags have always been a unique element of the show’s humor, but season 2, episode 14, “Let’s Go to the Hop,” took this further than ever before with an audacious meta-gag. After Peter admitted that he once had a bad experience with drugs,Family Guysuddenly cut to a live-action sequence featuring a human actor dressed as Peter freaking out on a park bench.
Season 8, Episode 21, “Partial Terms of Endearment”
Despite all the show’s controversies,Family Guy’s only banned episodewas surprisingly thoughful. Season 8, episode 21, “Partial Terms of Endearment," saw Peter and Lois struggle with whether to terminate an unexpected pregnancy. The episode’s blunt closing line was a bracing surprise that provedFamily Guystill could shock viewers.
Season 18, Episode 9, “Christmas is Coming”
Family Guy’s treatment of Meg has always been terrible, but the show has begun to acknowledge and mock this mistreatment in recent years. In season 18, episode 9, “Christmas is Coming,” Peter’s embarrassed admission that he had trouble finding Meg’s room reaffirms just how little attention the family, and by the extension the show itself, pays her.
22“You remember that episode ofThe Brady Bunchwhere Bobby saved Greg’s life and Greg became his slave?”
WhileBrian and Stew’sFamily Guyadventureshave become legendary over the years, season 2, episode 13,“ Road to Rhode Island,” started this multi-decade trend. In a classic bait-and-switch gag, Brian admits he owes Stewie a favor and Stewie reminds him of the famousBrady Bunchepisode, only to then reveal that he just wants Brian to tape the episode for him.
21“I want you to call us every week and then every few weeks and then never.”
Season 19, Episode 18, “Meg Goes to College”
Family Guyseason 19 briefly promised to upend the show’s well-worn formula by sending Meg to college. Although this change didn’t last, Lois’s matter-of-fact demand that Meg contact that family less and less underlined just how muchFamily Guy’s Griffin parents want to get rid of their eldest child.
20“You hear that tone you’re using? That’s penis repellent right there.”
Season 9, Episode 1, “And Then There Were Fewer”
Season 9, episode 1, “And Then There Were Fewer,” was a murder mystery parody that ended Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons’ catty rapport for good by killing off Diane. However, before that twist, Tom’s retort to Diane’s criticisms highlighted how acerbically funny their interactions had been over the years.
The episode provided a huge laugh when Brian, typically the Griffin family’s resident intellectual, reminded viewers that he was a dog at the end of the day.
19“Dogs don’t have a good sense of time. Could be three hours, could be three years, I don’t ******* know.”
AlthoughFamily Guy’s Christmas episodescan sometimes be sweet, season 9, episode 7, “Road to the North Pole” featured a surprisingly dark story. Still, the episode provided a huge laugh when Brian, typically the Griffin family’s resident intellectual, reminded viewers that he was a dog at the end of the day.
18“They sent you a card, but it said “For Peter”, so you must have thought it was “From” you, so you didn’t… You know, it’s just easier to call you stupid.”
Season 3, Episode 16, “A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas”
Brian’s attempts to mock Peter often fall flat, since Peter is too dull to register them as insults. The family dog realized this in season 3, episode 16, “A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas,” although this dynamic ensures that the duo have remained friends despite how often Brian dismisses his owner.
17“That is when they’re not looking down at their phones.”
Season 16, episode 6, “The D in Apartment 23”
A lot ofFamily Guy’s best episodesfeature wild, surreal humor, but the show can also mine laughs by mocking its tired formula. Stew’s cliché complaint about students always using their phones was followed by him smirking at the camera, a moment that acknowledged and laughed at the joke’s laziness and predictability.
16“No. Now you’re being acute.”
Season 7, Episode 16, “Three Kings”
Many ofFamily Guy’s movie parodies work because the show goes the extra mile and focuses on small details of the source material. WhereThe Simpsons’ worse Treehouse of Horror episodessometimes seem to be written by people who haven’t seen the movies they are spoofing,Family Guy’s “Acute/Obtuse”Shawshank Redemptionjoke featured an attention to detail that betrayed a real love for the original movie.
