The Family Guy time travel episodes are always memorable adventures, with Brian and Stewie visiting all kinds of different eras in history. Brian and Stewie are often thrown together in a lot of madcap situations, from their many road trips to episodes exploring their strange relationship. These episodes are always memorable, but on special occasions, fans are treated to the Stewie and Brian time travel episodes which take their adventures on Family Guy to a whole other level.
One of Brian and Stewie’s favorite pastimes is using Stewie’s time machine in the Family Guy time travel episodes. Season 1 of Family Guy showed Stewie building the time machine to avoid the pain of teething. While several different Family Guy characters have used the device to travel in time, Stewie and Brian are always at the center of time-travel shenanigans. Stewie and Brian use the Family Guy time travel episodes to have plenty of fun and deliver some of the more emotional moments in the show’s history.
8 “The Road To Germany”
Season 7, Episode 3
The first of the Family Guy time travel episodes on which Stewie and Brian embark came during season 7, episode 3, with “Road to Germany.” The episode begins with Mort Goldman stumbling into Stewie’s time machine while at the Griffins’ house after mistaking it for a bathroom. Stewie and Brian decide to follow Mort to the past to bring him back. This takes them to 1939 Germany at the precipice of World War II. In “Road to Germany”, they quickly find Mort but realize that the return pad is broken.
In what’s gone on to be known as one of the darkest Family Guy episodes, Brian, Mort, and Stewie travel to England while being pursued by Nazis to obtain more uranium fuel, which powers this version of the return pad. They manage to get the uranium after Stewie poses as Hitler and return home safely, 30 seconds before Mort originally enters Stewie’s room. To ensure these events don’t repeat themselves, though, Stewie kills the version of Mort who traveled through time by putting him in the time machine and blowing it up.
7 “The Big Bang Theory”
Season 9, Episode 6
The next Stewie and Brian Family Guy time travel episode is season 9, episode 6, titled “The Big Bang Theory.” The episode isn’t a crossover with the hit sitcom of the same name, but instead is a tale about Stewie nearly being erased from the universe. It begins with Stewie using the time machine to make fun of Brian, leading to the two pals fighting over control of it. This takes them outside the space-time continuum and Stewie discovers that he created the universe with the Big Bang.
After returning to the right point in time, Stewie’s half-brother Bertram decides to use the time machine to erase Stewie from existence. This forces Stewie and Brian to go back in time again to try and stop him, resulting in Stewie learning that Leonardo da Vinci is his ancestor. Through a twisted turn of events, Stewie has to kill Bertram (one of Stewie’s best rivals) and become his own ancestor before returning to the present day.
6 “Back To The Pilot”
Season 10, Episode 5
Family Guy season 10, episode 5, “Back to the Pilot,” sees Brian and Stewie take a very different trip through time. It begins with Brian wishing he could find a tennis ball he buried ten years before and Stewie offering to take his dog companion back in time to figure out where it is. This takes them back to the pilot episode of Family Guy, but Stewie and Brian mess up the timeline when Brian tells his past self about 9/11.
The chain reaction of events from this detail brings the U.S. into a post-apocalyptic state.
The chain reaction of events from this detail brings the U.S. into a post-apocalyptic state. Brian and Stewie go back in time once more to try and fix the timeline. This didn’t work at first either, as Brian’s origin changes, and he is now the author of the Harry Potter books instead. The duo goes back in time again and encounters multiple versions of themselves from different futures. It only ends once the original Stewie prevents him and Brian from ever going back in time in the first place.
5 “Yug Ylimaf”
Season 11, Episode 4
The next Stewie and Brian time travel adventure takes place in Family Guy season 11, episode 4, “Yug Ylimaf.” It begins with Brian using Stewie’s time machine to pick up women and unknowingly increasing the trip counter. He tries to reduce the counter but breaks the machine in the process.
When he and Stewie try to fix it, the machine explodes and causes time around them to begin moving backward at exponential speeds. They race against a ticking clock to fix the flow of time before Stewie becomes unborn. Stewie runs out of time as his birth nears and tasks Brian with finishing the repairs. Brian manages to fix the time machine and the flow of time, and he arrives at the hospital just as Stewie is born again.
4 “Life Of Brian”
Season 12, Episode 6
Family Guy season 12, episode 6, “Life of Brian,” is one of the show’s most memorable because it’s the Family Guy episode where Brian is killed off. The episode begins with him and Stewie on another time-travel adventure, though. They return to Jamestown after a previous adventure saw them give Native Americans guns to protect themselves.
Unfortunately, Brian is hit by a car not too long after, and Stewie cannot go back in time to prevent this from happening or rebuild the time machine.
Once the original versions of Stewie and Brian leave, the new ones approach the Native Americans and take back the guns. They then return to the present day and destroy the time machine after having too many near-death experiences. Unfortunately, Brian is hit by a car not too long after, and Stewie cannot go back in time to prevent this from happening or rebuild the time machine.
3 “Christmas Guy”
Season 12, Episode 8
It makes sense that one of the Family Guytime travel episodes would help undo the controversial killing of Brian. “Christmas Guy” doesn’t see Brian join Stewie on the trip to the past, but the dog is an integral part of the plot. Stewie is at the mall meeting Santa when he sees another version of himself from before Brian’s death at the store.
This gives him the idea to take the alternate Stewie’s return pad so that he can go back in time and save Brian. Stewie succeeds and saves Brian from being hit by the car. However, the episode ends on a bittersweet note when the current version of Stewie sends the return pad to the present and fades from existence.
2 “Stewie, Chris, & Brian’s Excellent Adventure”
Season 13, Episode 7
The most recent Stewie and Brian time travel adventure came in season 13, episode 7, titled “Stewie, Chris & Brian’s Excellent Adventure.” The episode revolves around Chris being on the verge of failing the 9th grade unless he can pass his upcoming history test. Stewie and Brian eventually try to help Chris study and realize that normal studying techniques will not work for him.
They later take Chris on a trip throughout history that allows him to learn about the Louisiana Purchase, meet Ernest Hemingway, and board the Titanic. While Chris doesn’t retain any knowledge from this adventure, it does result in the death of an ancestor of his history teacher, giving him a new one who doesn’t care as much about grades.
1 “Baby Stewie”
Season 18, Episode 15
While not a typical Stewie and Brian adventure, one of the Family Guy time travel episodes is technically season 18, episode 15, “Baby Stewie.” The episode sees Brian pointing out to Stewie that he’ll lose his intelligence during puberty. He convinces Stewie that this is true when he shows him a video of Chris Griffin being smart as an infant. In turn, Stewie decides to stop the process of aging by rearranging his DNA.
In the process, he ends up accidentally reverting himself to a normal infant. Unable to take a real baby Stewie, Brian decides to go back in time to convince Stewie that the video of Chris was a joke by playing it in reverse. Though the episode doesn’t see the normal type of Stewie and Brian time travel adventure, the episode does rely heavily on the time machine itself and is worth a mention due to its abundance of laugh-out-loud Brian and Stewie moments.
The Family Guy 9/11 Episode Featuring Time Travel Caused Huge Controversy
Family Guy isn’t a stranger to controversy and, until the adult animation boom of the late ’00s onward, was rivaled only by South Park in terms of outrage-inducing moments. One moment that continues to rile audiences, however, is Brian and Stewie’s 9/11-focused time-travel episode, season 10’s “Back To The Pilot.” The episode sparked uproar when it first aired in 2011 and would continue to make headlines for years afterward when it was rerun on live TV.
The episode wasn’t off-brand for the show, as the edgy
Family Guy
was already no stranger to 9/11 jokes.
Lines like “We did it, Brian — we made 9/11 happen! High-five!,” and the general premise of having to cause the September 11 attacks were deemed unpalatable by huge swathes of viewers and many more who’d never seen the show but still took to the internet to voice their concerns. Even though the Family Guy writers tried to keep the barbs self-referential, with Stewie quipping, “Wow. That probably wouldn’t look good out of context!” directly after the joke, many felt this was the moment Family Guy went too far.
However, this controversy wasn’t enough to stop Family Guy, and the show remains on the air well over a decade later. Family Guy was canceled for a while, but this was long before “Back To The Pilot” aired. While many found the time travel Family Guy 9/11 episode to be in poor taste, many commentators rightly pointed out that the intent was social commentary. The episode wasn’t off-brand for the show, as the edgy Family Guy was already no stranger to 9/11 jokes.
Complaints of this nature have a lot more merit when viewers are tricked into ingesting difficult topics by shows that avoid such subjects. “Back To The Pilot” also made some astute observations about 9/11’s impact on the United States and how the 21st century might have played out if it had been prevented – it’s uncomfortable, but nothing too taboo for the inevitable post-episode discussions. Family Guy may have controversially tackled the topic, but that’s expected from a show that gained its following from dark and edgy humor.
Brian & Stewie Episodes Are Often Among Family Guy’s Best
It’s not a surprise that there have been so many Stewie and Brian time-travel adventures as they have often been among the best Family Guy episodes. While the show can often be criticized for relying too much on pop culture references and random cutaway gags, episodes like “Back To The Pilot” and “Yug Ylimaf” highlight the clever writing the show can achieve as they try something new with the storytelling.
These Family Guy time travel episodes allow the show to break the rules and explore unexpected things while pushing the boundaries with humor. Even unpopular decisions like killing off Brian can be somewhat redeemed with a time travel story. With Family Guy showing no signs of slowing, fans can likely look forward to plenty more time-travel episodes in the future.
Are Brian & Stewie’s Time Travel Episodes Better Than The “Road To” Episodes?
Along with seeing Brian and Stewie jump through time, there have been a number of road trip episodes with the duo. These episodes pay homage to the classic comedies of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, like Road to Morocco and Road to Rio. These episodes see Brian and Stewie off on an adventure to some distant place where they find themselves in misadventures and usually find time for the musical number.
Episodes like “Road to Vegas” also explore the friendship between these two characters in inventive and entertaining ways
As fun as the time travel episodes have been, the “Road to” adventures are among some of the best Family Guy episodes of all time. They have gone beyond simply being road trip stories and proven to be versatile with “Road to the North Pole” offering a hilariously dark and twist Christmas episode and “Road to the Multiverse” adding a sci-fi twist to it. Episodes like “Road to Vegas” also explore the friendship between these two characters in inventive and entertaining ways.
However, in both the “Road to and the time-travel episodes, it is clear that Brian and Stewie-centric episodes rank among Family Guy‘s biggest highlights.
These Adventures Prove Brian & Stewie Are Family Guy’s Best Duo
While the time travel episodes of Family Guy offer fun premises and adventures that help make them standout installments in the series, it is the duo of Brian and Stewie that makes them so entertaining. There is no pairing of characters from Family Guy that would make these time travel antics more fun and the episodes only highlight the fact that Brian and Stewie together make for the ideal team.
The thing that makes Brian and Stewie work so well together is that they have so many different dynamics that they can work through. Peter and Lois are limited to being husband and wife while Brian and Peter are limited to being buddies. Peter and Chris are limited to a father-and-son dynamic. However, Brian and Stewie have been shown in many different ways and all of them are entertaining. They can bicker like an old married couple, do song and dance numbers together, they can be the worst of enemies, and they can be the best of friends.
The time travel aspects of their adventures together are not the highlight, they are simply a method of putting these two and their wonderful chemistry together in a new environment. The audience wants to see what other directions their relationship can go in outside of their adventures around Quahog. These episodes can feel ambitious, but they are just another excuse for Family Guy‘s star pairing to shine.
