Peter: But where are those good, old fashioned values...
Chris, Meg, Brian, and Stewie: ...On which we used to rely?
The whole family, joined by backup singers: Lucky there's a Family Guy! Lucky there's a man who / positively can do / all the things that make us...
Stewie: ...Laugh and cry!
The family: He's... a... Fam...ily... Guy!
Family Guy is an Animated Series created by Seth MacFarlane about a Dysfunctional Family who...well, that's about it, really. It presents us with four main characters—slow-witted blue-collar jerk Peter, who is basically a crueler, more imbecilic, and often more cheerful Al Bundy; smart and efficient (and constantly closer-to-Earth) housewife Lois; insecure teenage Meg; and good-hearted but moronic son Chris—and puts them through a series of adventures usually sparked by Peter's selfishness and/or idiocy. In addition to these somewhat cookie-cutter characters are two additional ones, Brian the martini-sipping intellectual dog and Stewie the laser-toting megalomaniac baby, although they've gotten much more screen time in recent seasons.Chaotic and somewhat out of the ordinary, the show is notorious for its Cutaway Gags, as well as targeting literally every subject under the sun with a million gags per minute. Depending on who you ask, it's either sloppy, unstructured and tasteless, or unorthodox and acceptably simple entertainment. With later seasons, the randomness increased and character dynamics shifted, with Stewie becoming less of a mad conqueror and more of a showman with homicidal, homosexual, and/or violent tendencies, Meg becoming a Butt Monkey (supposedly due to the fact that the writers felt her too bland a character) and Brian becoming more and more of a pompous loser. The animation style became stiffer, and the show as a whole, if it was to be believed, became more mean-spirited. It's drawn flak for this, but its fanbase is as loyal as any other.The show made history for American network television for being uncancelled — twice. FOX announced the show's cancellation after its second season in 2002. The show was resurrected not long after, but ratings suffered as its time slot changed constantly and it competed against the ratings-behemoths ofSurvivor and Friends. After the third season, FOX called the show "canceled for good". But in 2005, the show was resurrected yet again, due to popular request, impressive ratings for the reruns on [adult swim], and unusually successful DVD-set sales. Family Guy is now one of the network's most successful franchises, promoted by the suits with the same fervor as 24, The Simpsons and American Idol. This made Seth MacFarlane THE highest paid Hollywood writer for a few years after its second revamp- it allowed him to produce the Spin-Off series The Cleveland Show, and American Dad, both under the same studio, along with the Star Wars spoof Family Guy Presents: Laugh It Up, Fuzzball.As a final point, it's worth remembering Seth MacFarlane is not as heavily involved in the writing of more recent episodes as you might think. While he's still an executive producer, and thus can veto scripts, chances are he's not the one you should aim bile at when it comes to specific gags, aesops and messages in the plotlines.Vent all your complaints hereVote for the best episode hereHas its own wiki
The Last Horse Crosses The Finish Line- Said by then Villain Protagonist Stewie Griffin when Lois Griffin stumbled upon his evil lair while doing some household cleaning and slowly putting the pieces together while walking around. Stewie does kill her, but it turns out to be All Just a Dream.
invokedIt Was His Sled — What Peter says during his video message for anyone watching Citizen Kane (along with the line, "There, I just saved you two long, boobless hours.")
Tropes:
Abusive Parents: Played for laughs, especially if it concerns Meg.
Acquired Situational Narcissism: This trope is done heavily. Peter getting plastic surgery, Meg getting a makeover, Joe getting new legs, Chris becoming popular, and Brian becoming a bestselling author.
Actor Allusion: Robot Chicken features in the episode Road to the Multiverse, again with Chris championing it.
Stewie: How's it feel to be on a major network for 30 seconds?
Chris: FUCK YOU!
In the "Super-Griffins" segment of "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1", during a town hall meeting to discuss how to handle the newly-enhanced Griffin Family, Mayor Adam West has mentioned that he has tangled with super-beings before, a nod to his role in the 1960's television series of Batman.
Aesop Ju Jitsu: Understandable, since this isn't a show that lends itself to coherent morals.
Affably Evil: Stewie Griffin often talks about wanting to Take Over the World, but he's easily a nicer person than at least Peter and Lois.
A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: In an early episode, Lois inherits a mansion and money from her rich aunt. In the 10th season, the Griffins win the lottery.
In Death Has A Shadow, Peter is given welfare but when Lois finds out she is pissed. In order to make her happy, Peter threw all the money away.
Airplane Arms: For a split second, in the episode "No Meals On Wheels", after Peter shocks Lois in a little trap of his (It Makes Sense in Context), he runs away, makeshift cape flapping....in a very familiarmanner.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Used in the episode "Family Gay" where Peter sleeps with several men at once while he is under the influence of the 'gay gene' that was injected into him earlier in the episode. Although it's not like he'd be terribly opposed to an orgy with ten other women as a straight man, as long as Lois was cool with it.
The problem is that it's presented as something gays usually do. When Peter and Lois want to rekindle their relationship, celebrate an anniversary or something like that, they usually go on a second honeymoon, romantic dinners, try new sex techniques or roleplay; they never ever suggest to have an orgy.
Actually, in Brian Does Hollywood, Peter explicitly states he's tried to get Lois to participate in a threeway for quite some time to no avail.
Plus, it's purely satire. It's common for ignorant, small-minded bigots to think that all gays are like this. Seth Mc Farlane, a strong supporter of gay rights, is simply mocking those uneducated stereotypes.
The Dallas "Dream Season" potshot, complete with live action collaboration by Patrick Duffy and Victoria Principal.
Everyone was assuming that the big murder mystery episode would be this. Only for the next episode to officially prove that yes, Muriel Goldman, James Woods, Dianne Simmons, and Jillian's husband are Killed Off for Real.
All There in the Manual: Meg's friends are Beth (short-haired blonde), Patty (redhead), Esther (black girl with glasses), Ruth (puffy-haired brunette) and Collette (the long-haired brunette in "Fifteen Minutes of Shame").
Alternate History: Brian and Stewie go back to the year 1999 and wind up seeing their past selves and their old hijinks. Despite Stewie's warning to not to tamper with anything in the past, Brian decides to tell his past self about the September 11th terrorist attacks. Flash forward to the current time, Brian is seen in the news as a hero for preventing a terrorist attack. Brian sees this as a good thing, but his actions caused a a much bigger problem.
Always Save the Girl: Often subverted with Meg. Peter and Lois even agreed that if they could only save two of the children in a crisis, they'd leave Meg behind. She calls them out on it.
Anal Probing: In one Cutaway Gag, Quagmire has been abducted by aliens and inquires about anal probing. They reply that they don't do it anymore. After a short pause, Quagmire asks if they still have the device.
Peter: Hi, I'm Peter Griffin. Y'know, we had a lot of laughs tonight, but I'll tell you what's not funny: Killing strippers. Strippers are people too, naked people who may be willing to pleasure you for a price you negotiate later behind the curtain of a VIP room. Besides, there's no reason to kill them, because most of them are already dead inside. Good night!
Animation Bump: Usually utilized in fight scenes and musical numbers. Somewhat subverted in that the earlier seasons (1-3) had more frames of animation than the later ones from season 4 on.
Arch-Enemy: Peter Griffin and Ernie the Giant Chicken.
Stewie has Bertram, his half-brother by Peter's donated sperm and a lesbian mother.
Chris has the The Evil Monkey, who was never really evil. The monkey was just socially awkward and had a copper deficiency.
Peter and Brian have James Woods until he was killed off in the season 9 premire episode..
Aren't You Forgetting Someone?: In "Ready, Willing, and Disabled", Joe keeps thanking people for his Special People's Games win, but he never thanks Peter (the man who coached him), and so pretty soon Peter is pretty upset with Joe over it and reveals him as a fraud.
In another episode Lois asks this very question to Peter, who answers in the affirmative and walks over to the previously unseen Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, etc., and gives them the same bullcrap the Wizard did, instead of addressing the person Lois was talking about.
Another episode when Peter found Jesus.
Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: Demonstrated in "Untitled Griffin Family History" when Meg is surprised that the burglars have no interest in raping her. She goes so far as to chase them, to the point where the burglars sue Meg for sexual harassment.
Armor-Piercing Question: In "A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Bucks", Bob Funland tells a misbehaving Peter that he owns the theme park that he's visiting. Then he asks Peter, "So what have you done with your life, ya jerk?" Peter is embarrassed, even moreso when his cover story that he's Neptune, God of the Sea backfires when the real Neptune shows up.
Art Evolution: Compare the pilot◊ to the first episode.◊ Hell, compare that to the newer episodes.◊ Now they're also utilizing CGI and widescreen, the former mentioned by Seth MacFarlane as a much better substitute to specific things. (IE vehicles, the beer bottles in "Peter's Two Dads".)
Hell, compare the first 21 episodes of season 3, which still use the rather crude animation style leftover from the first two seasons, to the until-just-recently-unaired episode, "When You Wish Upon A Weinstein" (which uses a blend of the animation of seasons 4+ and seasons 1-3)!
Art Shift: The 2009-10 season premiere had Brian and Stewie visiting various alternate universes, including one drawn in a Disney style, a Robot Chicken universe in Claymation, and another drawn in an extremely abstract style.
Fans are already calling the Disneyesque sequence to be one of the best in the show.
Of course, there are other episodes that showcase different animation styles, such as Stewie dancing with Gene Kelly in place of Jerry the Mouse, and the whole family crudely animated to spoof The Simpsons' start on The Tracy Ullman Show.
Don't forget the few moments Brian and Stewie are transported into the real world. I must admit, real baby Stewie was quite cute.
Now that the show's finally gone HD (Even more Art Evolution was employed), the intro was finally re-animated and looks MUCH better, and supporting characters replace previous generic, faceless characters.
When Brian and Stewie meet themselves through time travel to the year 1999 (when the show first debuted), the entire scene is in the style of the pilot (with Brian and Stewie poking fun at the glitchy animations), including being in SD instead of HD! When the duo goes into the altered future, the art style shifts to a clay animation-like style.
Artistic License - Chemistry: Angela attempts to kill herself with carbon monoxide by suffocating on her own car's exhaust fumes, which appears white. Except...carbon monoxide is colorless.
But car exhaust is not, necessarily. CO is only one component of it.
Actually, the visible part is water vapour.
Ascended Extra: Quagmire's sister and her abusive boyfriend were introduced as a one-off gag in the Season 8 episode "Jerome Is The New Black". Flash forward to Season 10, they become the main focus of the show's seriously takenVery Special Episode.
Likewise Mort Goldman, who was introduced in season 3 for two episodes as Neil's father and the embodiment of all Jewish stereotypes taken Up to Eleven, got his breakout role in the "Lil' Griffins" segment of "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1", and has since been a regular member of the Family Guy cast. We hope the same can be said for his son.
Ascended To Carnivorism: Whatever you do, don't let an elf get near one of Santa's flying reindeer.
Seth MacFarlane loves 50's music and he's not afraid to remind you of that whenever he gets the chance (Conway Twitty, Frank Sinatra Jr. and the New Rat Pack).
In the "Road to the Multiverse" episode, there's a universe where earth became a hellhole (indirectly) because Frank Sinatra never existed.
Can you tell he enjoys old movies and musicals? MacFarlane's a good Real Life example of "born in the wrong decade" and it shows in his work.
He also seems to have a thing for showing or alluding to women on the toilet. This was even lampshaded in the DVD commentary.
Also, Seth or somebody else on the staff really seems to like chubby girls.
There's also a weird... thing... happening with breast expansion/growing that pops up in both Family Guy AND American Dad. Yikes.
Rumor has it that a lot of it actually comes from Seth Green, who was allegedly a big participant in the fat fetish scene for a time before abandoning it for the sake of his career.
Author Avatar: Brian. Stewie may also qualify in some cases as well.
Brian being an Author Avatar is especially true because Brian's voice is simply Seth MacFarlane talking in his own voice (Seth has even admitted in interviews that sometimes when his tastes change, Brian's change is reflecting that, such as in his liquor/cocktail of choice changes, and that Brian is Seth taking a bit of himself and putting it into the show more directly).
Peter was this in the beginning, as he mirrored some of the creator's interests in sci-fi films and series, like Star Wars and Star Trek.
Author Existence Failure: Famously averted: MacFarlane was booked to fly on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston on September 11, 2001. A combination of a hangover and a travel agent’s incorrect departure time caused him to miss the flight by 15 minutes.
Bad Present: In "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story", there's a cutaway where Walt Disney, who is shown to be cryogenically frozen, awakens and wants to be re-frozen because a bad present for him is that the Jews are still alive.
Bait and Switch: "So you remember that movie about the father who got drunk in this large hotel with this young boy, and the boy starts seein' paranormal stuff, and the guy ran all over the place with an ax, and the guy started talking to his fingers? Can't you just see Stewie doin' that?! Well, here's The Shawshank Redemption."
This line from "Running Mates":
Peter:" I'm going to stop you the only way I can... (lifts up axe in very sinister manner)BY KILLING YOU...!' (camera fades to Peter using axe as hammer to drive his campaign sign into the front lawn)(calmly)'' ...in the race for school board president!
Bedmate Reveal: There's a cutaway where Stewie wakes up to find a girl his age in bed with him.
Stewie: Oh God, please tell me we didn't do it.
Belief Makes You Stupid: After the series got renewed and the reason why a lot of die-hard fans have jumped ship.
Berserk Button: Never run out of paper towels; Lois will go ballistic.
Not sure that counts; when that happened, Lois had already been through one disaster after another and Christmas was turning into a massive headache. She was trying to keep everyone's spirits up and make the best of an utter catastrophe, but the paper towels thing just pushed her over the edge.
A more straight example would be Chris' reaction whenever Peter mocks Robot Chicken.
Better Than Sex: When Stewie grows a strong fondness for Flappy Jack's pancakes in the episode "Love Thy Trophy", he at one point insists that the pancakes are better than sex.
Big Ball of Violence: In "And the Wiener Is...", Quagmire gets in the way of a violence ball, courtesy of Andy Capp and Flo. After getting out of the ball, he asks, "What the hell? Did I just get laid??"
Bigger Than Jesus: In the episode "Brian Writes a Bestseller," after Brian does exactly that, he remarks about his newfound fame by sharing his thoughts on The Beatles' controversy.
Brian: I used to think that John Lennon was kind of a jerk for saying The Beatles were Bigger Than Jesus, but now, I mean, I'm not saying that I am, but I get it.
When Jesus becomes famous in the episode "I Dream of Jesus," one newspaper runs the headline "Jesus Is Bigger Than Jesus."
Big "NO!": Peter's reaction to being told his parrot has died.
There's a Running Gag with this trope and Cleveland in the bathtub, which continued even after he got his own show.
Quagmire belts out a Big "NO!" upon finding out that his transsexual father slept with Brian.
Also when Brian informs him that he slept with two Filipino women... and a man
Quagmire: You mean three Filipino women!
Brian: ...
Quagmire: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Big "WHAT?!": Frequently. Peter drops one in this exchange from "Hannah Banana":
Evil Monkey: Gah, I left my cell phone at that Monkeykid barbecue. Peter: I thought you said it was a father-son barbecue. Evil Monkey: Yeah, but it was up in Monkeykid. Peter:(stammers)WHAT?!?!?
Bilingual Bonus: In one episode, the family hides out from the law in "Asian Town". Their apartment is above a Chinese restaurant that, judging from the sign, is actually Japanese-run...
An earlier episode has two Cubans falling out of a crashing plane and speaking in Spanish, with gratuitous subtitles in Korean (Trilingual Bonus?).
Cuban 1: (Oh my god, We're gonna die!)
Cuban 2: (Do you remember if I closed the garage door this morning?)
The recurring fisherman characters speak Spanish and Portuguese...to each other.
Less a Bilingual Bonus and more of a dialectical one, in one episode with the cutaway scene to that episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation wherein Captain Picard comments that Commander Worf's forehead "Looks like a fanny". To Americans, it sounds like Picard is comparing Worf's forehead to someone's bottom. However, to English audiences, "fanny" is a slang term for the vagina. This is especially amusing given that the line is delivered by Patrick Stewart, who is English and would know of the meaning. Plus Klingon foreheads do look more like vaginas than bottoms.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Lois, originally the most compassionate and down to Earth member of the family, has gradually leaned into this trope. Was arguably more a case of Comedic Sociopathy humor in having a usually sweet character act callous in earlier cases (especially when Meg was involved) though as the show has progressed Lois seems to have evolved more into a genuine jerkass.
We can even count how indignant she was about Meg being in love with a prisoner in "Dial Meg For Murder".
There are however some genuine story-centric moments she proves to be rather pretentious or self-serving in her nice-guy image. eg. attempting to have sex with Meg's boyfriend or becoming drunk with power from her Martial Arts skills, to the point of raping her husband (it is worth noting she blamed Peter for provoking her for both instances). Also since Rule of Funny makes up half the cast's personalities anyway, it's hard to separate one instance from the other. Her behavior has even been lampshaded at least once:
Lois: Ya see? I'm part of it. *laughs excited* I'm part of the joke just like everyone else!
Peter: We all know that no woman anywhere wants to have sex with anyone, and to titillate us with any thoughts otherwise is — is just bogus. Lois: Ah, he is so right on. Women are such teases. That's why I went back to men.
It has now culminated with a cut-away gag where Seth basically says he prefers Adult Swim over Fox since A.S. doesn't censor truly tasteless and offensive jokes like Fox does.
And there's also the way Adult Swim itself gets made fun of a lot, even though Adult Swim is a big part of how Family Guy got Un Cancelled. Stewie and Peter often say that it "isn't a real network" and treat it as though barely anyone has heard of it.
In the premiere after it was brought back, before the opening credits Peter says they've been canceled. He then lampshades it by saying FOX has to "make room for quality programs such as..." and then lists EVERY show FOX had recently canceled. Then this:
Lois: Is there no hope?
Peter: Well I suppose if ALL those shows go down the tube then we might have a shot.
The Blank: Peter's "poker face" on "Screwed the Pooch".
Blood Bath: When God gets pissed at Peter for creating a religion based around himself and starts attacking the Griffins with the seven plagues of Egypt, one sees Stewie's bath water turn into blood. While the rest of the family is freaked out, Stewie is enjoying himself.
Stewie: "How positively delightful! It's as if someone stabbed Mr. Bubble!"
Bloodier and Gorier: While more on par with cartoonish slapstick violence in early episodes, the show has became increasingly graphic and shock oriented in it's portrayal of violence and bodily harm as it has evolved. Even when gore isn't involved violence often has a disturbingly uncanny portrayal at times.
Bloodless Carnage: While Family Guy doesn't spare the audience the sight of blood in the later seasons, in the second-season episode "There's Something About Paulie", a mobster gets submachine-gunned to death without a single drop of red being spilled.
Blowing A Raspberry: One episode has Peter blowing a raspberry every time Meg's name is mentioned, prompting Chris to then repeat Meg's name over and over again until Lois tells him to stop.
Peter: Hang on a second, did you just say I was fat?
Doctor: Well, yeah, you are pretty fat.
Boisterous Bruiser: Mickey McFinnegan, the hard-drinking loud-talking crude-joking town drunk of McSwiggen Village (a position of great respect, mind you), and Peter's biological father.
Boot Camp Episode: A continuation of the Brian/Stewie duo episode tradition features one in which both of them are placed in the army.
Joe: You're under arrest for harbouring an escaped convict. Meg: Oh, well, I guess that's only fair since I did hide him from— WWWWHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUT?!?!
Bottle Episode: A rare animated example in "Brian and Stewie" — just one "set" and two characters, both of whom are voiced by the same guy. Is there a Bottle Casting trope?
Brain Bleach: In-Universe, just one look at Meg and a store clerk and camera guy screamed in fear, poured gasoline over themselves, lit themselves on fire and jumped out the conveniently placed window. Later on, Stewie's look at a porno magazine and the time Brian showed him 2 Girls 1 Cup.
Brian: This [pie] is really good! What's in there?? Meg: Oh, just some apples, and some cinnamon... and my hair... Brian:(beat)What.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In one episode, Peter is sexually attracted to Connie D'Amico, an underage high school girl. He keeps saying and doing increasingly disturbing things until he starts humping Connie as she lies unconscious on the floor, turns to the camera and angrily shouts: "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? It's a cartoon!"
"The fourth wall! You're breakin' the fourth wall!"
In the episode "Dial Meg for Murder", Peter uses the TV Guide to find out what will happen.
They even manage to use those clips for the commercials for the episode. It works in both contexts.
In "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven", after Meg reveals that she's become a born-again Christian:
Peter: "That's right, folks, it's gonna be a Meg episode, stick around for the fun... (puts remote on kitchen table) Here's the clicker. No one would blame ya..."
"Who expected that? Except everyone, 'cuz Fox ruined it in the promos."
Brian and Stewie have an extended conversation on whether or not Loretta is close enough to being a main cast member to understand Stewie. An offscreen voice also states "We're filming!".
"Okay, they're dead, alright? We're not gonna be seeing them again." - Stewie in "Saving Private Brian" after he murders Vern and Johnny with a gun.
On the Thanksgiving episode the studio executives suddenly didn't have an appropriate cut-away gag when Peter set-up a joke and panicked. After playing a cut-away that didn't have any significance to the one Peter set up he wonders aloud what exactly happened to the studio people.
Breast Attack: Actually invoked by Lois. When Peter decided to solve all his problems by kicking, Lois insisted he should kick her in the breasts.
Breast Expansion: On the episode "I Dream of Jesus," Peter asks Jesus to give Lois huge breasts and Lois' boobs grow to absolutely enormous size.
In "I Take Thee Quagmire", Lois is trying to ween Stewie and as a result, her breasts swell. Said swelling is what pulls Quagmire from his new-found monogamy and wanting to get out of his marriage to Joan.
Breathless Non-Sequitur: From the episode And Then There Were Fewer: "And I am not saying another word until I speak to my lawyer, because why is he wearing shorts?"
Brick Joke: Frequently used. In "Dog Gone", Brian tells the father in Family Circus to "fuck your wife in the face". Later, Peter reads a very surprising issue of Family Circus.
At the beginning of the episode "Family Gay", Peter buys a brain-damaged horse who eventually dies, so he flings its body into Mort's pharmacy. At the end, Mort throws the corpse through the window of the Griffins' house, shouting, "Take back your fucking horse!"
In "To Live and Die in Dixie", Peter dares Brian to enter his General Lee through the window Dukes Of Hazzard-style, but forgot to roll the window down and as a result Brian is knocked out cold upon colliding with the window. Four years and a cancellation later on in "The Fat Guy Strangler" Brian throws a rock at Peter's head. Peter, assuming Brian meant to throw it at Patrick (the titular murderer), tells him he missed and Brian replies "No I didn't. That's for rolling up the damn window when I tried to jump into the General Lee."
In "Love Thy Trophy", Peter, Cleveland, and Quagmire beat up the cable guy to get free cable. Later on in the episode, Joe (who was not involved in the beating) says that he is the only one on the block who pays for his cable.
In the Season 4 episode "Perfect Castaway", Herbert asked Brian if he had any ice cream trucks for sale to attract the kids with. In the Season 9 episode "And Then There Were Fewer", he's driving one.
Near the beginning of "Halloween on Spooner Street", Peter and Joe play a prank on Quagmire. The entire rest of their B plot is a set-up for Quagmire to get them back.
In "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air," Adolf Hitler is seen in a cutaway juggling fish while riding a unicycle. After a cutaway where Cleveland remarks about the scene, Peter is shown kicking Hitler in the groin, causing him to fall off the unicycle. Peter: "See, we had a plan for that all along."
"Brian! I'm Ready! Are you in or out?" from "Barley Legal"
British Royal Guards: Subverted where Peter believes the guard won't move. However, he does and responds to Peter, "Nope, that's just our women."
Brother-Sister Incest: Family Guy finally went down this road when Meg and Chris ended up doing 7 minutes in Heaven at a Halloween party. Neither one knew it was the other since they had masks on. As expected, they both completely freak out when they find out. Later on though, they seem pretty proud of the fact that they scored with someone of the other gender.
The Bus Came Back: Inverted, sort of, as "The Splendid Source" has Peter and co. getting back together with Cleveland during a road trip.
Loretta in "Love Blactually".
The bus even survived a crash, as evidenced by Kevin Swanson's return in season 10.
Butterfly of Doom: In one episode about time travel, Brain and Stewie go back to the pilot episode for some reason, and Brian warns his past self about 9/11 (the pilot having aired/taken place in 1999). When they get back to the present, they find that Brian singlehandedly prevented the attacks, which at first seems like a good thing — then we find out that without the "fear-mongering" caused by The War on Terror, Bush lost his reelection in 2004, and eventually led the South in starting a second Civil War, which eventually leads to most of the East Coast getting nuked. Naturally, Stewie and Brian go back to try and stop Brian from warning his past self, at which point Hilarity Ensues.
Butt Monkey: Meg (though she wasn't that much of a Butt Monkey in the early episodes; just a teenage girl who wanted to be like the popular kids).
A very near literal instance comes from the episode "Petergeist", where the exit from the spirit world is actually her butt. An excellent illustration of her family's attitude to her comes from the same episode:
Peter: Lois, dammit, we both agreed, remember? If we could only save two we leave Meg!
It's getting less blatant in season 8.
Most recently, most of an episode has Meg telling her family that they are all a Jerkass to her and that she's tired of being treated like a Butt Monkey. This is pretty much negated as she goes back on her words at the end to ease they're feelings after they're told the Awful Truth.
Brian is probably the biggest one on the show. Any time Brian says or does something like dating a new woman or stating his political beliefs, everybody mocks and attacks him for the rest of the episode while he tries to either rationally explain his position or just ignore them. They continue to attack him for the rest of the episode until the end when The Dog Bites Back, and most of the time they just Yank the Dog's Chain and he ends up in the same place or worse off than he was before.
Peter and Stewie arguably go through as much torture and humiliation as the key Butt Monkeys in the series, it is merely balanced by them dishing out as much as they take.
Christmas Episode: Played straight in "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas". Then nine years later came "Road to the North Pole", which deconstructed Santa's job and work environment to Hell and back.
C-List Fodder: "And Then There Were Fewer" trimmed the extended cast
Call Back: One episode has Peter find a golden scroll that lets him get a tour of a brewery. He runs home in excitement and trips on the sidewalk, holding his knee in pain for several seconds. Another episode several seasons later plays this scene in nearly the exact same way, except it is Lois running home after hearing she got the job as a news reporter, but when she trips, she winds up hurting her breasts and holds one while in pain.
Chris: [Monkey] even helped me with my geometry homework. Peter: How did he know you were having trouble with geometry? Chris: BECAUSE HE ASKED!
That's nothing compared to Meg pointing out all her family flaws and reducing Lois to a puddle of her own self-esteem.
Camp Gay: Brian's cousin Jasper, and sometimes Stewie; Peter when he became gay.
Can't Get Away With Nuthin': Parodied. Some of Chris' friends convince him to drink some vodka and the principal bursts in as soon as he puts the bottle to his lips.
Captain Morgan Pose: Peter strikes the pose three times in a campaign ad. First he's in a classroom, and he puts his foot on a desk. Then he's in a school hallway, and he puts his foot up on another desk. Then he's in the middle of a football field, and there just happens to be another desk for him to stick his foot on.
Captain Obvious Aesop: Parodied when a Congressman finally realize that smoking is bad.
Congressman: Smoking is a horrible vice! It shortens life expectancy and pollutes our air. And according to recent polls, air is good!
Captive Date: Meg does this to Brian when she falls for him.
Car Meets House: A drunken Stewie drives Brian's car into The Drunken Clam. Also, the Kool-aid Man gets his comeuppance when someone crashes into his living room for once.
Cash Lure: Happened in a Manatee Gag from "Road To Rupert" when Peter recalled having good times with an anvil, the gag being Peter setting up a trap with said anvil, using a dollar bill as bait. Of course, since this is Peter, he falls for it.
When it's revealed that Lois' mother is Jewish, Carter attempts to bait her this way (due to the Greedy Jew stereotype) so she would get wet (by Carter's Super Soaker toy, folks). She doesn't fall for it, but Carter soaks her anyway.
The Cast Showoff: Happens often. Mostly when a character voiced by MacFarlane sings — he has extensive vocal training and ability.
Casual Kink: The sex between Peter and Lois is almost always presented as a mutually loving and kinky relationship; they're even seen discussing their day-to-day lives moments before they suit up and Lois cheerfully informs Peter that "the safe word is banana".
Catch Phrase: In "Welcome Back, Carter", Peter forces Carter to come up with a series of catchphrases for him. The one he likes best is "tell it to my butt, cause he's the only one that gives a crap!" Lois seems to think highly of it too.
Tom Tucker has: "And now this..."
Cerebus Syndrome: Although it more than likely won't continue into later episodes due to it being a one-shot thing MacFarlane wanted to do, ''Brian and Stewie" actually got shockingly in-depth and serious.
Season 9. Season 8 occasionally treaded into this as well.
Notably the ep. Screams of Silence: The Brenda Q Story. It's basically an animated Lifetime movie.
Characterization Marches On: It is odd to watch the really early episodes where Meg was treated with respect and love by her family, like Peter trying his hardest to help her out at the school newspaper or Lois helping her to get revenge at Connie.
Also Stewie and Brian's relationship has developed significantly since the first season, where they very obviously despised each other. Now they often seem the only people who significantly care much for each other.
And let's not forget that in an early episode, the Griffins are punished with the plagues of Egypt and Brian says that "God is pissed," but in later episodes he is an outspoken atheist.
Lois, through seasons 1-2 and some of 3, started off as a stereotypical 1950's housewife who tries to uphold a morally (even if they are outdated) upright household, and was completely oblivious to her infant Villain Protagonist child's plans to kill her and take over the world. Starting with Season 3's "And The Wiener Is..." and "Lethal Weapons", she started to take an aggressive, even sociopathic stance with her Nice Guy image gradually becoming a hypocritical facade.
Complete with Oompa Loompa style midgets (the "Chumba Wumbas") who sing a hilariously cruel song about the lack of wheelchair access.
A somewhat more accurate version appears as a one-off joke flashback where Peter chewed the gum (you know the one), and denied doing it (despite it being obvious he did).
Cheated Angle: The artists have to cheat Stewie's head to keep it football-shaped.
Chekhov's Gag: Spider-Man saving people, the fire truck documentary from "Petarded," — Take your pick.
The Chew Toy: Meg. Brian when it comes to his inability to hold a relationship.
Joe's son Kevin didn't fare much better, making three season 4 appearances, and one more in season 5 before disappearing entirely. Darkly lampshaded two seasons later; when Peter asked about him, Joe deadpanned "He died in Iraq." However, he made a surprise returning appearance in the recent Thanksgiving episode.
Death disappeared for a long while, though he reappeared in "Friends of Peter G." to show Peter what life would be like if he continued to binge drink.
Jasper, Brian's gay cousin, vanished after the Season 4 episode, "You May Kiss Uh... the Guy Who Receives".
Carol's infant son born in "Emission Impossible" is not seen in "Brothers & Sisters" the only other episode where his mother appears on screen. He has never been mentioned at all but could be living with his biological father.
This trope was discussed in "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz", where one of Peter's sermons for his new Fonz-centric religion focused on Chuck's disappearance.
Brian's son has never been seen again and was only briefly referenced in another episode.
Cliffhanger: Naturally used on the two parters "The Thin White Line"/"Brian Does Hollywood" (at the end of part one, Brian leaves the Griffins), "Stewie Kills Lois"/"Lois Kills Stewie" (Lois returns from the "dead" to proclaim that Stewie tried to kill her), and, in syndication, "Bango Was His Name-O"/"Stu & Stewie's Excellent Adventure" (Stewie meets his future self).
Cold Opening: More common in the earlier seasons. It almost always featured a TV or movie parody that the family was watching, though there were a few exceptions. Examples:
"Death Has a Shadow": The Griffins watch "The Brady Bunch".
"Brian in Love": In a dream, Stewie destroys Neighborhood of Make-Believe before getting ready to kill Mr. Rogers himself.
"Fifteen Minutes of Shame": Peter watches The Joy Of Painting and paints the family from Family Ties.
"The Story on Page 1": The Griffins watch "Sherry and the Anus".
"Fore Father": The Griffins watched "Little House on the Prairie".
"Brian Does Hollywood": A fake recap of the previous episode (parodying the TV Cliffhanger) opens the show.
"North By North Quahog": Peter tells the family that they've been canceled and names off all the short-lived FOX shows that aired as replacements for Family Guy.
"Excellence in Broadcasting": The family watch the widescreen version of the Brady Bunch (this was the first standard length widescreen episode).
Colossus Climb: Stewie manages to pull this off against...
Amusingly continued after they make up later on and go out to restaurant, only to start fighting again when they both insist on paying the bill.
Commuting On A Bus: Cleveland and Donna have made regular guest appearances on Family Guy after "The Splendid Source".
Completely Missing the Point: In "German Guy", Chris mentions a bunch of things Herbert has Chris do that Herbert gets off on and Chris is thinking Herbert has him do those things because Herbert believes in free labor.
Composers: Ron Jones began as the sole composer. Walter Murphy (who wrote the theme song) was given composing duties during season 2 and now the two alternate episodes, occasionally co-composing.
Salesman: Now I know you've been here all day, so if you'll just sign this contract without reading it, I'll take your blank check and you won't not be not loving your new timeshare in no time.
Conspicuous CG: Season 4 onward for vehicles, Backgrounds and even humans on occasion.
Continuity Nod: Rush Limbaugh guests in "Excellence in Broadcasting", where Chris recalls the time Fox News Channel revealed he was Fred Savage in a costume, which Lois defends as a lie even though it's true and she reported it (in the episode "FOX-y Lady"), because on even truth becomes a lie if told on Fox News.
Contrived Clumsiness: After seeing Jillian's boyfriend accidentally trip a waiter and immediately spring into action to prevent him and his drinks from spilling over, Brian tries to do the same in order to impress his former girlfriend, by deliberately tripping the next waiter to walk by. The waiter falls, his drinks crash, and he questions why Brian would do something like that. Adding insult to injury, the waiter had just recovered from recent hand surgery, and was told he should not have come into work that day, but Jillian's boyfriend massages his hand and makes it better.
Couch Gag: Before the opening sequence was created, Seth originally suggested each episode open with a parody of different tv show's classic opening credits. While this concept was ultimately deemed too expensive, a few examples have made it to the final show, such as Family Ties, Will and Grace (used as a cutaway gag instead), That Girl (animation created for the opening was used instead as a joke in "Mr Griffin Goes to Washington"), and Law & Order. Little House On The Prarie and All in the Family have had their end credits parodied, right down to the font style. And, of course, the actual regular opening is a parody of Archie and Edith at the piano.
Cowboy Bebop At His Computer: In "Baby Not on Board", a radio station identifies Roxette's "The Look" as "You've Got the Look". This would be a Refrain From Assuming, but the phrase "you've got the look" never appears in the song; it's always "she's got the look".
The Dish Network summary for the episode "Lois Kills Stewie" assumes that a Cutaway Gag about Stewie auditioning for American Idol is the focus of the episode.
The Comcast summary for the episode "Jerome Is The New Black" claims the focus of Quagmire's hatred is Jerome.
Coy Girlish Flirt Pose: Lois when she played a catholic schoolgirl as part of sex roleplaying.
And if you're Meg, it's literally a Crapsack Multiverse.
Crap Saccharine World: The earlier seasons, though still ripe with darker humour, were played with a much more whimsical sitcom-esque setup, with most of the cast (even antagonists such as bank robbers) being highly cheery and friendly. It is only later on the cynical tone kicks in and the show evolves into a high order Crapsack World.
He's getting his edge back in season nine. After all, he sniped Diane Simmons, pulled a bazooka on some teenagers who stole his Halloween candy, and traveled all the way to the freaking North Pole to try to assassinate Santa Claus, from whom he'd wanted yellow cake uranium.
Crossover: A brief bit with American Dad (Seth's other animated show) in both "Lois Kills Stewie" and "Meet the Quagmires". Though Seth has stated he toys with the idea to make a proper one.
Stan appears for a one-shot cutaway gag in "Excellence in Broadcasting."
Brian also appear on in the episode of American Dad "The People V. Martin Sugar."
Roger and Klaus have both appeared the Star Wars specials
Joe Swanson replaces Stan in the opening intro to American Dad in a cutaway gag.
Cue The Rain: In "Brian Writes a Bestseller", Stewie is stuck without a ride and without cab fare. He says, "Well, at least it's not raining." Promptly subverted when a man runs up, stabs him, and leaves him for dead.
In "Believe It Or Not, Joe's Walking On Air", Peter, Cleveland and Quagmire attempt to "recripple" Joe after healing his disability inflates his ego. He soundly pummels all of them, none of them able to lay a single hit.
Cure Your Gays: One part of "Family Gay" has Brian and Stewie sending Peter to a straight camp to "cure" him.
Cutaway Gag: Sometimes number from few to many, although there have been distinctive episodes without cutaways ("Brian and Stewie", "And Then There Were Fewer")
Stewie: If your teacher questions you about these bruises, what will you say?
Chris: I got hit by a baseball! (cries)
Another instance happens in "Wasted Talent" where Stewie beats up one of Lois's piano students for causing a racket playing piano while he is watching television:
Lois: OK, Jimmy... oh my God, what happened?
Stewie: Yes Jimmie, what happened?
Jimmy: Uh, uh... [glances back at Stewie]... I fell.
Darker and Edgier: The series seems to have taken this turn. While an adult show, the gags of initial episodes were much more toned down and limited in mature humor, and even had a touch sentimentality. Post-Uncancellation the excessive mix of Dead Baby Comedy, Comedic Sociopathy and Cringe Comedy has made the newly formed Sadist Show of acquired taste to say the least.
The episode "The Story of Brenda Q". While there are a few jokes thrown in, overall the episode is very serious. It's about Quagmire's sister, Brenda, being beaten by her boyfriend. Unusually for Family Guy, the topic is treated very seriously. Some of the abuse scenes are actually a little hard to watch.
Dating What Daddy Hates: Carter Pewterschmidt despises Peter, and isn't at all happy that Lois dates and eventually marries him. A rare example of this trope being Gender Flipped also occurs when Peter's staunchly Catholic father despises the Protestant Lois.
Dawn Attack: One of Peter's inventions flings Stewie into a tree, where he sees the Keebler elves plotting to "attack the Rice Krispies guys at dawn".
Dead Baby Comedy: Always happened throughout the show, though more common in newer episodes, especially in "Episode 420" where it showed a depressing, more realistic ending to the Tina Fey/Amy Poehler film "Baby Mama".
A children's song in the same vein as "Ring Around the Rosies", but in relation to the Lockerbie disaster:
"It's raining luggage and babies and limbs and daddy doesn't come home."
And of course...
"I'm just a prom night dumpster baby~~~"
Dont forget...
Brian: Stewie I killed one of my own kind! I mean how would you feel if you killed a baby!
Stewie: Well actually I've killed seven...
When Death himself gets killed in a car accident, another Death comes to tell him that he's going to be reincarnated as a Chinese baby. Death disappears, then immediately reappears.
Death: "Girl?"
Death: "Girl."
Dead Guy Puppet: Though it wasn't someone he killed, Peter finds an Indian burial ground in his backyard, including a skull. He names it "Chief Lou Diamond Phillips" and uses it as a puppet, among other things.
Deadpan Snarker: Death, Brian, Stewie, and occasionally Peter.
Quagmire has been becoming this more recently as has Chris. Lois slips into this on occasion. And after Taking center stage Cleveland has become somewhat snarkier.
Brian, though, is probably the most obvious example.
And as mentioned above, the Christmas Episode gets deconstructed.
Deep South: At least one full episode devoted to this trope. Seth MacFarlane is reportedly not a fan of the South.
Two, actually: season 3's "To Love and Die in Dixie" (where The Griffins are sent to Bumblescum, Alabama as part of Witness Protection) and season 5's "Boys Do Cry" (where The Griffins flee to Texas to escape religious nuts who think Stewie is possessed).
It's worth noting that they portray the South in distinctly different ways in each episode. In the former, the locals are inbred hillbilly stereotypes but basically good people, while in the latter, they're behind-the-times intolerant Jerkasses.
Demoted to Extra: Neil Goldman used to appear a lot in the pre-cancellation seasons. However, once his dad Mort was introduced in season 3, he began to appear less often. He wasn't seen during season 5, had two brief cameos in one episode of season 6 and another in season 7, and was again absent for season 8. Also, Connie D'Amico, a popular girl who often antagonized Meg suffered a similar fate. Note that this characters only appeared in Meg-centric episodes, when nowadays Meg herself is victim of this trope too.
Brian - down-to-earth voice of reason and Only Sane Man in a world filled with jerks and morons, or a self-righteous and intolerant Ted Baxter who belittles anyone who disagrees with him?
Depraved Bisexual: Meg is shown to have a crush on Connie. This is apparent when she tongue kisses her unconscious body in "Dial Meg for Murder" and in "Stew-roids" when she grumbled that she was still going to masturbate to Connie in the bath even after Connie said no.
Deus Exit Machina: Some characters seem to suddenly vanish for plot reasons.
Stewie: I'm not going to no Jewish school! Sitting around all day with a bunch of short, hairy guys. I'll feel like I'm on the forest moon of Endor. Chris: Didn't you make that joke the other day?
Lois: "Peter, we're lost. Would you please ask for directions?" Peter: "We are not lost. And even if we were I can't ask a human being for directions." Lois: "Why not?" Peter: "Because I'm a man. Haven't you ever seen a stand-up comedian, Lois?"
Disney Villain Death: Diane Simmons, who is killed when Stewie shoots her and she falls off a cliff in the Season 9 premier.
In "North by North Quahog", Mel Gibson dies falling off Mount Rushmore.
Disproportionate Retribution: As a gag showing a Humiliation Conga of how bad Peter often treats Meg, it culminates with Peter sitting on the couch, watching TV, and shooting Meg in the face with a revolver just because she walked by and said "Hi dad."
Distracted by the Sexy: In "Don't Make Me Over", the prisoners stop attacking Peter once Meg in her hot form walks on stage.
Divorce Requires Death: In one episode, Quagmire gets married to a woman who turns out to be insane and threatens suicide every time he tries to divorce her.
Domestic Abuse: Usually played for laughs, but finally taken very seriously in the episode "Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q", which is about Quagmire's sister and her abusive boyfriend.
Don't Explain the Joke: A common criticism of the show that, Seth being Seth, is somewhat lampshaded.
The entire point of Fouad is to ignore this trope.
Michael: Are aces high or low? Peter: They go both ways. Bill: Did you hear that? He said they go both ways! (laughter) Ted: Like a bisexual. Carter: Yes, Ted, that was the joke.
Mayor West: By the way, I should tell you I've got aides. Carol:WHAT? Mayor West: Yeah, they're right over there waiting for me. Aide #1: Ready to go when you are, sir! Mayor West: Poor guys. They both have AIDS. (cut to Live-Action Robert Loggia) Robert Loggia: NOT!! OKAY!!!
Dumbass DJ: "Dingo and the Baby", who were much less dumbass & annoying than "Weenie and the Butt."
Ears as Hair: Peter's line about Brian's appearance at an upcoming dog show: "We haven’t even talked about how you’re gonna wear your ears. You know, ’cause I was thinking up."
Well, she could have been on estrogen for a while and been binding the resulting breasts, and the long hair we see her with could be a wig. Admittedly, though, that was a VERY fast recovery from the gender reassignment surgery!! Particularly when Ida has sex with Brianso soon after the surgery.
Even Evil Has Standards: There was a somewhat debatable example, when Quagmire clearly had a chance to take advantage of Meg, and didn't. Debatable because he's not evil, just a pervert. (Considering Quagmire has been shown to be a serial rapist, kidnapper, and deliberately spreads STDs, I think he's evil. But Your Mileage May Vary).
In "Chick Cancer", Stewie is shocked by Brian's thoughtless racism:
Stewie: I mean, what kind of man would I be if I ran off now?
Brian: Well, you would be a black man.
Stewie: Whoa, whoa, whoa, what was that?
Brian: Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That was my father talking.
Stewie: You, uh, gotta work on that man. Bad dog.
Another Stewie example: Lois tries to feed him...
Lois: Okay, Stewie, the airplane's coming in for a landing.
Stewie knocks the spoon out of her hand.
Stewie: Well, looks like the pilot was JFK Junior. *pause* Ooh, even I found that to be in bad taste.
When Brian became an extreme Republican, his attitude became too much even for Rush Limbaugh.
Even Nerds Have Standards: Neil Goldman is apparently so hideous that not even someone as desperate for attention as Meg would want him.
Everyone is Bi: Almost every, if not all characters has had at least one gay experience on the show.
Executive Meddling: In-universe example: Brian Griffin has an idea for a show at CBS. Unfortunately it's altered beyond recognition by the execs. The reemergence of James Woods to twist the knife didn't help, either.
Evil Detecting Dog: Played with when Death tries to chat up a woman who works in a pet shop, and she can't hear a word over every single animal going berserk.
Evil Detecting Baby: Ironically enough, Stewie recognized that the head of the oil company wasn't a very nice man.
Stewie: "He don't sit right with me, Lois. He don't sit right with me."
Eviler than Thou: In one episode, Stewie created a machine to make him more evil. It malfunction and instead created a doppelganger.
Experimented in College: "Partial Terms of Endearment" reveals Lois dated another girl named Naomi in college.
Exposition Cut: Parodied in one episode. Peter comes up with a plan to stop students from using drugs at the Quahog high school. Peter is seen in the principal's office saying, "... and that's the plan." The principal points out that Peter never actually gave a plan but rather walked into his office and said this line.
Expy: Peter and Brian are expies of characters from Seth MacFarlane's old prototype "Larry and Steve".
Failure Is the Only Option: Any episode that centers around Brian. Trying to get a girlfriend? He'll lose em in some form or another. Trying to publish his book? It'll bomb horribly. Trying to finish college? Will fail the final test. Trying to make friends with someone who hates him? No dice. Say the least, if it's about Brian don't expect any happy endings for the guy. Or at most, him unable to accomplish what he set out to do.
Fake High: Once in a Cutaway Gag where Stewie thought he had drunk some alcohol but it was only apple juice; and once when all the family were beating each other up Brian gave everyone some of his "prescription" Happy Pills and everyone blissed out, but once Brian revealed that they were only sugar pills they went back to fighting each other.
Fanservice: Only evident on the DVD extras, but Seth MacFarlane is quite handsome and you can't resist that deep, sexy voice. For the more traditional Fanservice there are a few shots of Lois in various states of dishabille throughout the series.
"There's Something About Paulie": The two women wrestlers in the supermarket.
Various episodes: All the women from Stewie's "sexy parties".
Fantasy Twist: Stewie once fantasised about what his life would be like when he was grown up; the fantasy consisted of a balding, middle-aged Stewie asking his wife about an unfamiliar entry on their phone bill.
Fan Vid: Parodied. In one episode, Stewie makes a video with the Bryan Adams song (Everything I Do) I Do It For You. It's full of random effects and Shout Outs to various famous works of art. Of course, when Brian (the dog, not the singer) points out that he doesn't get the storyline of the video, Stewie promptly tells him to "Shut up!"
Fast Forward Gag: An episode where Peter and Lois consider buying a TiVo has the salesman fast forward through their argument to get to the point where they agree. In the middle of the argument, Chris enters choking on something and Lois gives him the Heimlich Maneuver.
Fat Camp: After Lois lost her memory from Stewie's attempt at matricide, she works at a fat camp and tries to keep the kids from eating each other.
Faux Affably Evil: Stewie in the early seasons and Peter himself in the later seasons.
Faux Horrific: Stewie seeing a woman's lower parts for the first time.
Quagmire's Ghost Story is clearly only scary to him.
Faux Symbolism: Played with in Stewie's music video for Susie, "Everything I Do." We see Stewie as a snowman, walking by a woman playing cello, and him utterly destroying and trashing a hotel room. Try and guess what that all means.
Brian: I'm not following the story here.
Stewie: SHUT UP!!!
Fawlty Towers Plot: In the first episode, Peter doesn't want to tell Lois that he's lost his job, leading to this.
Cleveland: Is there anything that doesn't give you a boner, Glenn?
Quagmire: People who use the word 'rubbish' when they mean 'garbage'.
If a cutaway is anything to go by, Peter has a thing for school girls when he and Lois role-played before sex. Not to mention Lois seems to have various bad boy and violence fetishes.
Fetus Terrible: Stewie was quite the bastard even before he was born. Ditto for his half-brother Bertram.
"Happy fiftieth birthday, Lois."
Fiction 500: Peter for one episode. Mr. Pewterschmidt all the time.
Flanderization: A lot of it since the revival, particularly Brian's politics, Lois's sex drive, Meg being the show's punching bag [though Brian is slowly becoming this thanks to the episodes "Jerome is the New Black" and "Dog Gone"], and Stewie's gay undertones being gay instead of being an evil baby bent on killing his mom and ruling the world. About this, Seth MacFarlane said that doing the take over the world thing every week was "getting played out".
Also in "Ain't Nothin' But Mutton Bustin" of The Cleveland Show it is lampshaded that Stewie has become from Evil mastermind to Curious baby to Gay. With a "Family Dude" Doll of "Stevie" when the doll spoke it exclaimed "I'm Gaaaaay!!!"
Joe. At one point he was a decent cop, and a great athlete, who just happened to be in a wheelchair. Now, being in a wheelchair just seems to be his thing, and he does not really appear to do as much or any police work anymore.
Cleveland too. Nothing more than just the black guy who has a few lines. Severe downgrade from former best friend status. Though it doesn't really matter, considering that Cleveland left Quahog and got his own spin-off.
Lampshaded with the episode with the "text in what happens next" feature, where Cleveland only appears at the end for the viewers to "vote" on his line for that episode.
Peter and Lois too. Peter used to just be a moron who tried to do what's best for his family in spite of his shortcomings but is now just the idiot Jerkass. Lois has gone from loving, sensible, and slightly sex crazed mother to nymphomaniac who really doesn't give a damn about her family. Well actually, she might care about her family but she explicitly hates Meg, she's never seen anywhere near Chris, and Stewie is off on his own almost all the time so it's up to you to decide. Although, despite the mild Flanderization in seasons four and five, Peter and Lois also remained the earlier parts of their personalities, but when Seth Mac Farlane left the show's creative-writing department, their newer personalities were overly-exaggerated to the point where neither Peter, nor Lois are that caring about their family anymore. However, the seasons 6-present could be considered non-canon, due to lack of involvement with the original creator.
Chris has been the least Flanderized, but his role in the series is gradually shrinking, though he has gained an unexplainablebaseline of intelligence. Starting from season 8, like Quagmire, Chris became more cynical and smarter than his original personality intended him to be, this must be due to Flanderization of Peter and Lois, as neither hardly care about their children anymore.
Quagmire's sexual tendencies were exaggerated to the point of being an outright perverted borderline-rapist. This has been toned back in later episodes. His Kafka Komedy related resentment towards Brian also started off as a subtle awkward moment after Stewie he supposedly offended his girlfriend in "The Man With Two Brians". In later episodes fate seems to lead Brian to fuel Quagmire's now occasionally violent hatred towards him. Since season 8, not only has he started hating on Brian, he's become really cynical, has an anger problem, and is frequently really intolerant of certain things: For example, Joe shouting "GET SOME GET SOME, YEAH!" in "Excellence in Broadcasting", and Peter shooting him and Joe in the eye in "Lotteryball Forever" (although it was reasonable, as Peter was being inconsiderate, but Quagmire's anger problem really shined there)!
Brian has probably been the worst recipient of this. He started out as a Only Sane Man and Straight Man for Peter and Stewie. After the show was uncanceled, he began to drop some comments that mirrored some of Seth MacFarlane's political views. However, by Season 7 this was taken to the extreme with many episodes focused on Brian's political views, much to the audience's dismay. Fortunately, this trend stopped in Season 8.
Granted, Stewie has apparently lampshaded his own Flanderization on at least two occasions where he realized he was losing his villainous touch and attempted to de-flanderize himself by (the first attempt) attempting to kill Lois again, and (the second attempt) getting back to inventing for the sake of evil. We see only traces of his older characterization, but not much at all.
Lois' father, Carter, also has his share of flanderization. He went from being a father that just disapproves of the husband his daughter married to a guy that stoops down to making Peter's life hell and doing childish acts just for the sake of making Peter remotely upset if it gets him to leave Lois. Lois takes advantage of this from time to time by pretending to get a divorce so her father can do her any favor she asks. His ruthlessness also exceeded past being an Obnoxious In Law to Peter into an outright Corrupt Corporate Executive with occasional Card-Carrying Villain shades.
Flashback Cut: In "Airport '07", Peter spits some chew into a cup. Stewie grabs the cub and, assuming it's a drink, goes to take a sip. Brian starts to warn Stewie, but thinks back to the events in "Patriot Games" when Stewie mercilessly beat Stewie for not paying up after a sports bet. After thinking about that, Brian shuts up and lets Stewie drink the spit-up chew.
Subverted once in the episode "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air", we never see the result of giving a monkey the keys to an amusement park.
Also in the episode where Stewie and Brian join the army and Stewie makes a reference to one of Peter's antics and sets up for a cutaway that never manifests. He simply says "What? No clip? Oh, thought we had a clip." and the scene continues.
And again in the Spies Like Us parody where he (Along with Brian, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd) get beaten up by a mind-conditioned Adam West. Stewie tries to mutter a line that'll trigger a cutaway but it come out unintelligible. We then cut to said cutaway where Stewie standing in a blank space and admitting the joke didn't come out right.
And again in the second James Woods episode, wherein Woods actually threatens Peter with the prospect of "setting up another one of his random flashbacks"
Also in the episode "Tiegs for Two", Peter says that his favorite shirt was stained by wine at a cocktail party hosted by Michael J. Fox. Instead of the flashback, Peter appears in front of a grey screen, stating that the writers don't want to show the cutaway, saying that it's 'just too sad', and explaining what the basis of the joke was. However, the writers eventually tell Peter to show the clip.
Flat Earth Atheist: Brian is an atheist... despite the fact that God and Jesus are frequently seen in Quahog and he's actually met both of them on several occasions.
Not to mention how in one episode in the early seasons Brian was trying throughout most of the running time to convince Peter to stop getting people to worship him so that the real God would stop sending plagues upon them.
Of course, sometimes the show goes out of its way to justify his beliefs. "Family Goy" ends with Jesus himself saying that all religions are "pretty much crap", followed by an off-screen Brian shouting "Thank you!"
Floating Timeline: Played straight, subverted, and lampshaded. Played straight: Show's been on for 7+ seasons, but the children are still in school; Stewie is still a baby. Subverted: Chris goes to high school. Lampshaded: Peter bemoans Bonnie's pregnancy: Peter: "You've been pregnant for like 5 years. Either have the baby or don't." Eventually they did an episode dealing with the birth. Immediately after the nurse says "It's a girl!", Quagmire comments "I can't believe she's already 18." (Note, however, that this was just a throwaway joke; so far the daughter has been shown to be younger than Stewie.)
Another incident is the episode where Brian accidentally sells Stewie's stuffed teddy bear. At one point Brian comments that Stewie is getting too old for it anyway and he should move on, followed by:
Stewie: Brian... I'm one year old...
Brian: Still?
Stewie: What?
Brian: What?
Averted with Cleveland Jr, who ages a lot from his last appearance on Family Guy to The Cleveland Show (though it will probably be played straight later on in the latter show).
Franchise Zombie: Based on this interview, MacFarlane himself believes the series has become this, to say nothing of the haters.
The Freelance Shame Squad: When the popular kids pelt Meg with rotten meat during her halftime routine, everyone in the stands points and laughs at her. It's worth noting because this was long before Meg became the over-exaggerated Butt Monkey that she is now.
Free-Range Children: Stewie generally wanders about the world with little concern from Lois and Peter. Hell, in one episode he even joined the army. The only concern we see is from Lois is for Chris, who is more of age (although competence could be argued, considering that this is Chris).
Friction Burn: In one episode, Peter drank Red Bull, giving him a rush of energy, and then milked a cow so rapidly, its udder burst into flames. In the same scene Chris, who also drank Red Bull, was seen running around screaming, pantsless and his groin ablaze.
Friendly Tickle Torture: Lois does this to Stewie during a cutaway for nearly one minute straight... then throws up on him. In a different episode, Peter tickles Lois and she retaliates by hitting him in the face with a frying pan and breaking his nose.
Fur and Loathing: When Lois wanted a fur coat, she sold out her environmental views, rather than just saving up.
Furry Confusion: Anthropomorphic dogs like Brian and Jasper are shown alongside regular, non-anthroporphic ones such as Brian's mother, Biscuit and the Pewterschmidts' dog, Seabreeze.
Occasionally lampshaded.
"I was the one who could talk."
Future Loser: Stewie, and to a lesser extent Chris and Meg, in "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story".
Chris and Stewie might be saved from from that sad future at the end of the episode, but they let Meg run her course.
Garage Band: Chris starts a metal garage band in one episode.
Gay Aesop: MacFarlane (and possibly other staff members) is a gay rights activist, so this kind of moral isn't surprising. These episodes still frequently end with a Broken Aesop.
The first thing everyone does when it looks like they're locked in is whip out all their cellphones. Alas, there's no signal, but that's more than most mystery characters can say.
After a few people have died, they only move in a large group.
Also this:
Captain Kirk: "There is a good chance someone will be killed! The away team will consist of myself, Mr. Spock, Sulu, and Ensign Ricky."
Generation Xerox: Possibly. In a Cutaway Gag within Season Three's "Lethal Weapons", Lois reveals that, when she was a child, she was this, big, aggressive, she-ape of a child (who was hideous, despite the Lois we know years later). Fast-forward 27 years later, and we have Meg, whose appearance constantly shifts from homely to borderline monstrous.
George Washington Slept Here: In an attempt to convince a historical society that the Big Fancy House he inherited had $50,000 worth of history occur in it (so he could sell it to them as repayment of a debt), Peter scratched a fake "Jesus Was Here" message on one wall and tried to make it look like the Underground Railroad had passed through it. This was a disaster. Then it turned out that the house had been a presidential brothel frequented by Abraham Lincoln, among others.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: Too many examples to recount, as regular Family Guy critic the Parents Television Council frequently states in its "Worst TV Show of the Week" reviews panning any given show that creator Seth Mac Farlane is trying to see how much bawdy content he can get away with before being sanctioned by the FCC.
In "Quagmire's Dad", Family Guy actually got away with poking fun at how the French word for "seal" (phoque) sounds eerily like the English word "fuck". They proceed to use phrases like "sick phoque", "sick-twisted phoque", and "ugly phoque and bitch" ("ugly fuckin' bitch"), all uncensored. We stress again: they got away with saying this on the air.
Girl of the Week: Any character introduced as a love interest for Meg, Chris, Stewie or Brian (Jillian being the only subversion).
Giftedly Bad: Brian is this when it comes to being a writer.
Gilligan Cut: Had them in the earlier episodes, not so much now.
"The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire" parodied the Gilligan Cut in the scene where Peter and Brian catch Loretta having sex with Quagmire. They both agree that telling Cleveland is the last thing they want to do. Cut to later; Peter and Brian have done every other activity in the world and declare that the only thing left to do at this point is to tell Cleveland that Loretta is having an affair.
Peter: Forget it, Death. I'm not going to do your dirty work. There's no way I'm getting on that plane. Absolutely no way, and that's final.
[cut to reveal that Peter is still there]
Peter: See? I'm still here. And there's nothing you can say that'll change my mind.
Death: Either you kill them, or I kill you.
[cut to reveal Peter on plane]
Good Angel, Bad Angel: Parodied on the first episode "Death Has a Shadow" where the Devil appears on Peter's shoulder and convinces him to go out drinking, but the angel who tells him not to do it never comes because he's stuck in traffic, and again in "Ready, Willing, And Disabled" where the Angel shoots the Devil, then holds Peter at gunpoint and forces him to go over and comfort Joe.
Good Is Not Nice: Nearly everyone on the show that doesn't have outright villainous qualities fits this trope.
Good People Have Good Sex: Peter and Lois still get it on at regular intervals. However, they're into BDSM and bizarre roleplaying.
Great Way To Go: Parodied with a parrot who...did not die well.
Gratuitous German: In "German Guy", the former Nazi commandant's real name is Schlechtnacht—"bad night"—while his fake/cover name is Gutentag—"good day". Also doubles as a Bilingual Bonus.
Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook: In the episode "Dial Meg for Murder", Meg falls in love with a convict, and goes to jail for harboring him after he escapes. When she comes out, she is a lot meaner and starts fighting back against everyone who mistreated her. By the end of the episode, Brian has to stop her from robbing a convenience store at gunpoint.
Hands Go Down: When Brian and Stewie are searching for Mort at a Jewish wedding:
Stewie: Uh, excuse me. We're looking for a Mr. Goldman. (Every man raises their hand) Brian: Mr. Mort Goldman. (Half the men lower their hands) Stewie: He's a small business owner. Tends to whine a lot. Kind of a hypochondriac. (The half that lowered their hands raise them again) Stewie: No, no! You can't put your hand back up after you've put it down...You know what, never mind.
Happy Dance: When Peter finds out his father has died, Lois and Brian calmly walk outside and break into a quick victory dance [which stops when Brian grabs Lois's boob and Lois smacks Brian into the trash] before coming back inside to console him.
Have I Mentioned I Am Gay?: Stewie is constanly hinted as being gay, however, he's never fell in love with another boy so far (aside from his crush on Brian, which is mostly a joke), yet he's been with many girls.
That's because he's in a committed relationship with Rupert, his stuffed bear.
Headphones Equal Isolation: Parodied in "Fore Father": Peter is spraying the house with a hose, and accidentally breaks Meg's window, which causes her fishtank to break and spill all over her carpet. Meg, who's in her room wearing headphones, notices this and instead of cleaning it up, simply turns her music louder.
Used again, with her happily listening to music and unable to hear Brian testify to court that Meg's real father is a man named Stan Thompson.
Heel Face Turn: Happens when one murderer stabs himself, realizes how much pain it causes to its victims, and believes he belongs in prison.
Stewie, most specifically with Brian.
He's Back: Evil Stewie as of "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair"...possibly.
Heh Heh, You Said X: In "E. Peterbus Unum", Peter mentions that it's his duty to keep the children safe, then laughs because he said "duty". He laughs again because "duty" reminds him of "diarrhea", which he says to Lois to get her to laugh.
In another episode where Brian is replaced by "New Brian", Brian decides to leave after thinking it 'long and hard'. Cue Peter laughing. Subverted afterwards when Lois says "I hope it doesn't be a boner to you.", and Peter doesn't react.
Hero Insurance: Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken's fights cause rampant property damage through Quahog and the surrounding area, but never have to compensate anyone for it.
Holding Both Sides of the Conversation: Stewie pretends to be a girl in order to get on his favorite TV show, Jolly Farms Revue. When a girl he has a crush on comes over to meet his girl persona, he quickly goes to change into his girl costume while he argues with himself, pretending to be both Stewie and the girl.
Hollywood Tone Deaf: Stewie when he tried out for American Idol. Ordinarily, he can sing.
Homage: The ninth season premiere is faithfully done in the form on Agatha Christie-style mystery movies.
There is also a great homage to the first Naked Gun film in the opening to one episode, in which Stewie infiltrates Afghanistan and opens up a can of whoop-ass on Osama bin Laden. The scene is also a homage to Yoda's fight scene in Star Wars Episode II.
Chris giving a sensual tongue kiss to Peter after reconciled about the scout race.
Hug and Comment: Near the end of Season 8 episode "Quagmire's Dad", Glenn hugs his father who has undergone sex reassignment surgery, then an embarrassed exchange implies that Glenn has got aroused.
Hypocritical Humor: Family Guy's theme song talks about violence and sex in the media, when the show itself is notorious for being one of the most violent and sex-themed of well-known TV shows.
On two separate occasions, Lois has mocked Brian for dating unintelligent people, whilst being married to someone who is legally retarded.
Another notable example would be "Road to Germany", where Brian remarks that Nazis portrayed Jews in an extremely offensive way. The leaflet that prompted him to say so showed the Nazis' idea of a Jew - namely, Mort Goldman alongside a Star of David.
Out-of-universe example: Brian and Stewie sang a song at the 2007 Emmys about how sad it was that all the shows on television were complete trash. Incidentally, the music was the same as a song on the show about how the FCC is evil for all of its "extreme" censoring.
A third example involves Herbert calling Brian a pervert and ordered him to leave his property after the latter asked him to sign a petition to legalize gay marriage.
I Can Change My Beloved: Lampshaded and parodied in the episode "The Former Life of Brian". Brian tries to impress a recently-widowed mother (only referred to as "Jared's Mom") by putting on a magic show for her son, only to find out that she already has a boyfriend, Paul:
Paul: ...I'm a great guy! I'm unemployed, but that makes her feel useful in the relationship.
Jared's Mom: I'm gonna fix him!
Paul: Our relationship will do fine on that basis.
Jared's Mom: If he had his life together, I wouldn't be into it.
Paul: But I don't!
Brian:(exasperated) God, I am so sick of this crap!
Peter to Ryan Reynolds in "Stewie Goes for a Drive"
Which is odd, considering Peter isn't actually related to any of them.
Actually, at least one of them is Peter's direct ancestor, Nathaniel "Nate" Griffin, meaning that while it is diluted to an insane degree by this point, Peter is technically part African-American.
Except that Nate shares his last name, meaning he's related to Peter on his father's side... which runs into Fridge Logic when we find out that Francis isn't his real father.
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Played with, then dropped. The original idea was to name every episode with an ominous title, having to do with death or murder — many of them named after radio programs of the 30's and 40's. This was dropped eventually when the writers realized it was difficult to identify episodes without resorting to the Friends convention of "you know, the one where..."
I Don't Pay You to Think: In "The Thin White Line," Peter tells a rehab counselor "Yeah, well I don't pay you to think, hot lips, in fact, I don't pay you at all... Count it!"
If I Were a Rich Man: One of the few shows where this tends to be acted on. Repeatedly.
Ignore The Disability: Brian frequently falls victim to this trope, has occured at least twice with Tom Tucker's son, and multiple times to hide his suggested racial insecurities (a Fawlty Towers Plot occured from one in "Peter's Got Woods").
Brian: This whole situation has just turned his life upside-down face.
(Stewie slowly turns to Brian bewildered)
I Have My Ways: Lois hints at her wily, secretive ways of obtaining a map of her neighbor's house. Cut to a scene of her walking into City Hall and asking for a map.
Cleveland: Oh, no, they're shootin' at us! Peter: Good thing bad guys are such terrible shots. Chasing Officer:(firing every which way) MAN, these guys are elusive!!
"And The Wiener Is" makes fun of this directly with a joke about characters at a shooting range shooting at targets that identify with their character. The joke ends with Stormtrooper shooting at a Luke Skywalker cut-out and missing every shot.
Implausible Deniability: Lois in front of all the evidence that her brother is a serial killer.
Interdimensional Travel Device: Stewie invents a remote control that can travel to many universes, including one where Meg is hot, but still ugly compared to everyone else.
Inept Talent Show Contestant: In one episode, Peter and Lois form a hippie-esque folk duo, A Handful of Peter, and perform at a talent show. They're so stoned they simply stand there and scream and wail, but in their collective mind's eye they're performing a song called "In God's Eyes We Are All Hot".
Informed Attractiveness: Lois is considered to be one of the hottest women on earth. Although she's indeed attractive, there are other female characters hotter than her.
Jarring is her similarity to supposedly super-ugly Meg (sans the glasses and hat).
Informed Flaw: Played straight with Meg's supposed ugliness, the writers acknowledge that she isn't as ugly as many characters point out, but tend to exaggerate this for laughs.
The Internet Is for Porn: Surprisingly, Quagmire had no idea you could get porn off the Internet until someone told him in a 2009 episode. The next time we see him, his left arm is swollen to Popeye-like proportions. (Who knew that Quagmire was left-handed?)
Interspecies Romance: Brian had many human girlfriends, and it's implied that he had sex with almost all of them. The most prominent examples are Jillian (his only girlfriend for more than one chapter) and Lois (Brian's love for Lois is a recurring gag; they were also married for over a year in the episode "The Perfect Castaway", and Lois mentioned at the end that if Peter hadn't come back she would have finally had sex with Brian).
Brian's cousin Jasper. Yes, one of the only gay characters in Family Guy is a dog (at least they decided to cut out a scene that implied he was going to rape his husband).
Iron Buttmonkey: The entire family. Ironically, Meg, the series' regular Buttmonkey, gets the least physical abuse.
Irony: Seth MacFarlane using his natural voice for a non-human character, while using different voices for human characters.
Listen to the line in the opening theme where Peter and Lois menion their distate for violence in movies and sex on TV, then watch any random episode.
The episode taking place during a hurricane as part of a multiplayer theme night where The Cleveland Show and American Dad also took place in said hurricane. All 3 were meant to air in May but were all postponed due to a severe storm that killed 300 people. When did they eventually air? On October 2nd, at the tail end of hurricane season.
I Was Quite a Looker: A mild version and not directly stated by the character it's directed at, but in "Meet the Quagmires" Death sends Peter back in time to relive being eighteen again and Brian comes with him. He and Peter are at the country club pool where Peter worked when he was a teen, and Lois walks up:
I Was Told There Would Be Cake: Stewie is aware that the perks of marriage is this wonderful, pleasurable thing called sex, it's just that he thinks that sex is some sort of cake.
Insane Troll Logic: In the episode "No Meals on Wheels" Peter proves that (in his words) "cripples aren't cool". His favorite actor, Mark Harmon, doesn't need a wheelchair. Mark Harmon is cool. Therefore people who need wheelchairs aren't cool and shouldn't be allowed in his restaurant.
Insufferable Genius: Subverted in "Petarded"; Peter wins at Trivial Pursuit and becomes a condescending jerk who thinks he's smarter than everybody and rubs it in their faces. The catch is, all his questions were deliberately chosen from the easy category and it turns out he's mentally retarded.
Lauren Conrad not only turns out to be a closeted super-genius, she corrects everyone.
In the Blood: Stewie gets has his maternal grandfather's limitless cruelty & his father's complete lack of common sense. The perfect recipe for a Diabolical Mastermind.
Jaw Drop: Shown with Meg, Lois, and Chris after Peter got raped by a "breedin' bull" at a rodeo.
Keep Circulating the Tapes: The uncut version of "Chitty Chitty Death Bang" where Stewie hears Hitler's voice in his head. Also the uncut version of "A Hero Sits Next Door", which included a gag of a kid holding a John F. Kennedy pez dispenser that was accidentally shot by a police sniper bullet. It was absent from the seasons 1 and 2 DVD.
Kick the Dog: Stewie quite literally does this to Brian in one episode when Brian owes him some money.
Kill the Poor: In "A Picture is Worth 1,000 Bucks", Peter remarks that New York City is a lot nicer ever since Rudy Giuliani secretly had the homeless killed.
Killed Off for Real: Francis Griffin, Mr. Weed. Murial Goldman, Derek (Jillian's husband), James Woods, Bertram, and Diane Simmons as of Season 9.
Al Harrington of Wacky Waving Inflatible Flailing Arm Tube Men Emporium.
When Peter becomes one of the New England Patriots, he does a local spot for a car dealership complete with monotone reading, eyes following cue-cards, forced football references, and crappy redundant jingle.
Knockout Gas: Peter gave his rival a statue of himself that sprayed "Crazy Purple Knockout Gas!"
Lampshade Hanging: In "Dog Gone," Peter and Lois get into a pronunciation argument, just like Brian and Stewie often do. Stewie asks "Are we really doing this?"
"PTV": Stewie supplies his own exaggerated laughter (and applause) for the low budget sitcom "Cheeky Bastards".
"Airport '07": Peter doesn't want to kick Quagmire out of their house, until Quagmire mentions that Stewie should never use a pacifier that he's holding again. Peter says to Lois,the "OK, so I'll talk to him tomorrow?", followed by a laugh track and a parody of the Will and Grace eyecatch.
"Chick Cancer": A cutaway gag features "The Mayor of Comedy" pitching a Time-Life Music-type compilation called "Sitcom Punchlines of the '80s," with one of the volumes titled "Sounds of the '80s: Studio Audience," that volume being various canned studio and "laugh track" responses to stock jokes and cliches. (The albums were also a parody of various Time-Life Music series, one of which was "Sounds of the Eighties.")
Left It In: When Brian joins The Bachelorette, he makes some comments about Chevy Chase to the Confession Cam and then asks if they can cut that part out...and then goes on to say even more things about Chevy.
Let's Have Another Baby: After assisting his sister-in-law in giving birth, Peter first suggests stealing her baby, but then says this to Lois who agrees. That is, until they realize that they're too busy with Stewie to take care of another baby.
Lets See You Do Better: In "Brian Griffin's House of Payne," at the premiere party of Brian's new sitcom, the cast of Two and a Half Men are also at the party, much to Brian's surprise. When asked why they're here, Charlie Sheen responds, "Well you're always ripping on our show, let's see yours."
Limited Animation: Taken to extremes post-cancelation. Lampshaded like almost everything else at one point.
Lint Value: Implied when the family is stranded in another country without money — they go to the black market to be smuggled back into America, where there's a sign already posted that they do not except lint or bits of string as payment.
Littlest Cancer Patient: Poor, poor Abbie, Quagmire's five-year-old niece. She makes an appearance in "Road to the North Pole", and Brian mistakes her for a boy because she lost her hair from chemo.
Living Motion Detector: Parodied in an episode where Peter and Lois encounter a prostitute like this.
Locked in a Room: "Brian & Stewie", where the duo is stuck in a bank vault all night.
Logic Bomb: Peter does this to a robotic office suck-up that agrees with everything he says to try to make him stop:
Peter: ...And I hate myself. Suck-up: I hate you, too. You make me sick, you fat sack of crap! Peter: But I'm the president. Suck-up: The best there is! Peter: But you just said you hated me... Suck-up:(malfunctioning) But—not you the president—that you who said you hated—you, you who love—hate... Yankees... Clouds...(head explodes)
The Long List: most famously, after the series is brought back, Peter recites a long list of Fox programs that bombed while Family Guy was off the air, sarcastically calling them great shows. He then goes on to say that maybe Family Guy can come back on the air when they fail.
A similiar gag was used again (Family Gay) with race horses named after cancelled Fox shows with the announcer telling their positions.
Also on "Episode 420," Peter gets so high that, instead of setting up one of his flashback moments, he shows the viewers a list of celebrities he hates, including Stephen Dorff, Justin Timberlake, Dane Cook, Chris O'Donnell, Geoffrey Chaucer, Kathy Griffin, Andy Samberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Andrew McCarthy, Rita Coolidge, David Arquette, Carlos Mencia, Amy Winehouse, every rapper, Ethan Hawke, Dax Sheppard, Toby Keith, Joe Francis, Princess Diana, Chris Martin, Chris Martin again, Chris Martin's parents, Eve Plumb, Bonnie Franklin, Kate Bekinsale, Freddie Prinze Jr., Suri Cruise, The forehead guy from The Office, Garry Marshal, Paul Tsongas, and Chris Martin's ancestors.
In "Ocean's Three and a Half" Brian recites a list of songs named after a girl, when Stewie challenges him to do so
Quagmire's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Brian. Supporters call it a long overdue callout to Brian that outlines exactly why he's considered a Creator's Pet, while the detractors claim it's pure hypocrisy given that Quagmire...isn't exactly a pillar of morality himself (which he slightly acknowledges in it...).
Made of Explodium: The Amish buggy... and the Amish horse, from "I Never Met the Dead Man".
Made of Iron: During their fights, Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken suffer horrific injuries that should by all rights kill them, but Peter is never more than just breathless after the battle ends.
Still a Mama Bear when it comes to Stewie. Willing to fight a vicious dog to get his teddy bear back. Making the mother of the older bully kid who stole Stewie's Halloween candy give it back plus the bully's candy plus forty dollars! (At 100% interest, compounded daily; when the woman nervously tells Lois she doesn't have forty dollars, Lois tells her that she'll be back the next day for eighty dollars. God only knows what Lois will do to her if she doesn't eventually cough it up. She even scares Stewie with that.)
Subverted at first and then ultimatly fullfilled when she tries to save Joe from falling down a sewer waterfall.
Lois: I can't hold on, Joe!
Joe: Pretend I'm your child, Lois! (Lois starts to let go) Not Meg, not Meg! (Lois finds the strength to pull him to safety).
Medium Blending: Seen in "Road to Rupert" during the Stewie/Gene Kelly dancing sequence, which combines live action and animation.
Also seen in "Let's Go to the Hop" when Peter said that doing drugs caused things to get too real for him, and the show cutaways to a live action Peter on a park bench saying: "Holy crap, I am freaking out!"
They use puppetry in "Foreign Affairs".
Me Love You Long Time: Lampshaded when Trisha Takanawa, upon meeting David Bowie, blurts out "Me love to meet Ziggy Stardust! I take you home! I make you fish ball soup!"
Wasn't she saying "Make love to me, Ziggy Stardust!"?
An earlier episode (the one where Joe is introduced) had Peter saying, "Me love you long time" to a prospective Asian softball player (as that's the only thing "Asian" Peter knows how to say).
Misplaced Accent: Santos and Pasqual are supposedly Portuguese fishermen yet speak in heavily accented Brazilian Portuguese.
Missing Episode: Two: "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" (banned because FOX censors thought it would meet with protests from Jewish anti-defamation groups because of Peter's line in his "I Need A Jew" song — "Though by many they're abhorred/Hebrew people I adore/Even though they killed my Lord". The episode finally saw the light of day on Cartoon Network around the time that Family Guy was returning to TV with new episodes. The "Even though they killed my Lord" line was changed to "I don't think they killed my Lord." The original line can be found on the season three DVD set) and "Partial Terms of Endearment" (banned because the storyline focused on Lois wanting to abort her best friend's baby after her best friend who hired her to be a surrogate mother dies. The episode aired in the UK on June 2010 and was released on DVD in September 2010).
For some reason, reruns of the Season Two episode "Fore, Father" are never shown.
Mistaken for Masturbating: Chris was once really just using the bathroom, but his Holier Than Thou grandfather assumed he was masturbating and railed against its sinfulness, scaring poor Chris away from what he was really doing for the rest of the episode. "God's watching me do Number Two? Aw man, I'm a sinner and God's a pervert!"
In a pre-cancellation episode, after Chris is caught peeping in the girls' locker room, Peter approaches Chris' room, and there's a rapid knocking sound, which turns out to be Chris, playing with a ball-and-paddle. Peter gives Chris his porn collection, then leaves, and the sound continues, then Peter realizes he's holding the paddle
Monkeys on a Typewriter: Peter references them in "The King Is Dead". In a twist, the monkeys are fully intelligent and speak exactly like regular humans.
Mood Whiplash: Dr. Hartman's conversation with Peter and Brian over a much needed kidney transplant. He tells Brian that because his kidneys are smaller, Peter would need both of his in order to keep living. He tells Brian that the procedure would kill him... Then he laughs as he notices a car being towed outside.
In "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows", there's a big mood whiplash after Brian tearfully says goodbye to a dying Pearl. Immediately after, Dr. Hartman comes in and says, "Hey, anybody wanna see a dead body?"
Motivation on a Stick: In "He's Too Sexy for His Fat", Peter gets Chris to run on a treadmill by sticking a plumber's helper to his forehead with a twinkie hanging from it.
Stewie isn't an animal, but despite being more intelligent than anybody else on the cast, he still has many natural baby instincts, such as loving The Teletubbies and going ballistic when he finds out they're going to Walt Disney World.
Negative Continuity: In "Baby, You Knock Me Out". Throughout the episode, people are surprised that Lois can fight so well and that she can be so aggressive, including Lois herself. Lois even says something to the effect of how she's never felt so powerful. Apparently everybody (including Seth MacFarlane and the show writers) forgot about "Lethal Weapons", the episode in which she mastered Tae Jitsu and became ultra-aggressive and drunk on power as a result.
In "The Fat Guy Stranger" (airdate- 2005) Lois revealed she was in her forties. "Meet The Quagmires" (2007) revealed Lois was 18 in 1984. "And I'm Joyce Kinney" (2011) revealed she legally starred in a porno film in 1981.
Nested Story Reveal: As it turns out, all the events of "Stewie Kills Lois"/"Lois Kills Stewie" was just a simulation that Stewie was running to see what would happen if he succeeded in his plan to Take Over the World.
Never Bareheaded: Meg and Chris are almost never seen hatless. Meg is especially notable: going hatless appears to be akin to nudity for her (she quickly covers up when discovered brushing her hair, and a makeout fantasy has her inexplicably hatless).
Never Live It Down: In-universe. Brian once dated A Brainless Beauty and was conflicted about it, however everyone (including Quagmire, who also dates brainless beauties) accuses Brian of only dating women for their looks (even though Brian once dated Pearl, the elderly woman who used to be a jingle singer, only to exile herself from society after trying to launch a legitimate singing career and being shot down, from season 3's "Brian Wallows and Peter Swallows").
Lois was in a porno but she learned to live with that and showed the video IN CHURCH.
Priest: "I may be a man of God, but THAT SHIT IS HOT!!!"
Never Trust a Trailer: Done a lot recently, especially with episodes featuring an A-Plot with Meg or Chris and a B-Plot with Brian and Stewie. The promotional image for "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven" was Stewie with the ST:TNG cast, as well as the summary. Six minutes into the episode, Peter announces that it's going to be a Meg Episode (although in the end it was more about Brian). The Star Trek cast got like one or two lines each. Another similar example is "Stew-Roids". All the promotional images and summary were about Stewie muscling up, and implied that the story involving Chris, Meg and Connie was a minor subplot.
Patriot Games has Stewie smashing a glass on a Brian's face, smacking Brian around, repeatedly punches Brian in the face, picking up a towel rack and repeatedly hitting Brian in the head with it, holding Brian's head into the toilet, then throwing Brian onto the floor saying the dog has until 5:00 to pay up. (Brian owed Stewie money because of a bet.)
He then shot him in both of his knees and lit him on fire.
In "Road to Rupert" after Meg had enough of being humiliated by Peter and his friends, she stops the car she's driving them in and immediately gets rear-ended. When confronted by the hostile driver of the vehicle behind her, she proceeds to beat the living hell out of the guy.
In "Dial Meg for Murder" Meg comes out of jail as a hardened psychopath and gets revenge on her abusive family and classmates. In it she beats the crap out of Peter twice and beats up the popular kids with a pillow case full of unopened sodas.
In "Quagmire's Dad", Quagmire administers a brutal beat-down to Brian after he finds out that Brian had sex with his father.
"Peter's Daughter"; "Hey Connie. Hi. I'm Peter Griffin, Meg's father. Say could you do me a favor? Ya see that fire extinguisher over there?..."
"The Hand that Rocks the Wheelchair": every murder committed by Evil Stewie.
Non-Specifically Foreign: The two long-haired blond guys first introduced in a cutaway about people whose English is just off enough that you can tell they aren't native speakers, but not bad enough to reveal where they're from.
Noodle Incident: An event Peter refers to in "Don't Make Me Over".
Peter:(after seeing Meg made over, but not knowing it was her) Oh, my god, Lois, it was twenty years ago, I'd never even heard the word "rubber"...!
Lois: Peter, this is Meg.
Peter: ...Oh.
No Such Thing As HR: The Pawtucket Brewery. The plot of one episode has Peter's boss Angela sexually harassing him; never once does Peter even consider taking it up with HR. (or even if the company has HR).
Notable Commercial Campaigns: In 2011 American channel TBS bought the rights to air The Big Bang Theory and advertised it by showing a clip of Peter jumping into midair and getting frozen there. After he says "Call a Scientist!" we cut to a clip from Big Bang of Leonard answering the phone. Oddly enough, the footage of Peter came from an episode which only five minutes earlier had featured a Big Bang parody complete with stars Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki voicing their characters.
Nothing Personal: In true gangster fashion, Stewie is surprised that Brian is so offended about giving him two brutal beatings over a late payment of gambling earnings in Patriot Games.
Stewie: I got my money and your wounds are clearing up nicely, can't we just let bygones be bygones?
Brian: You shot me in both my knees, and set me on fire. Piss off.
Not Quite Dead: Meg, Ernie the Giant Chicken, Connie D'Amico, and the Evil Monkey have all been pretty much left for certain death and somehow survived it.
Stewie: Attention, world leaders: I have 137 nuclear warheads trained on every capital city around the globe. The world is now under my control! (camera zooms out) But oh no, I'm naked. (world leaders laugh)
Not What It Looks Like: Brian squirting lotion on Stewie's sunburned body, from a certain angle, looks like he's ejaculating on Stewie, to which a passing-by Mr. Furley says, "Nevermind, I'll come back later!"
Played with when Peter gains an attraction to Lois' gained weight and is later found making love to the removed pile of fat from her lipsuction.
Peter: Errr, (defeated) this is exactly what it looks like.
N-Word Privileges: Referenced in a cutaway in an early episode involving Peter's ancestor Huck Griffin who now referred to his raft partner as "N-word Jim".
When Peter thinks the world was going to end, he mentions that he is going to go to the black section of town and say the N-word. He returns a short time later wearing a sash that says "King of the Black People," and says "They respected me for saying it."
Obvious Beta: Seth's earliest work, "Life With Larry", is quite clearly a very early version of Family Guy. Some of the jokes even carried over (see Recycled Script below).
Officer O'Hara: Subverted: the Irish cop on the police force is actually a guy who's good with impressions.
Off Model: In "Let's Go to the Hop", during the musical number, Peter's head keeps shrinking for no reason. This was even addressed on the DVD audio commentary.
Oh Crap: Lois has a terrifying one when she realizes that Diane Simmons is the killer at James Woods's mansion.
Older than They Look: One one-off joke shows Quagmire is actually in his 60's, despite looking younger than that.
What really makes this odd is when Quagmire's dad shows up, and he's the one who looks to be in his 60's, especially since he served in Vietnam.
Once an Episode: One character says "What the Hell?" to another.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Stewie rescues Lois from being shot to death by Diane Simmons...because no one but him is allowed to kill Lois!
Narrator: In the television comedy world, the people are entertained by two separate yet equally important types of shows: Traditional sitcoms that get laughs out of everyday situations, like trying to fix your own plumbing or inviting two dates the same dance, and animated shows that make jokes about farting. This is the latter.
Peter: Oh, sorry. I just farted.
The Other Darrin: Meg was originally voiced by Lacey Chabert (uncredited). She was replaced by Mila Kunis in the second season. This was lampshaded in the episode "Business Guy", where Peter tells Lois that he could have her replaced, and says: "Does the name Lacey Chabert mean anything to you?"
Out of Focus: Since the show returned, Lois, Meg and Chris only get one (sometimes two) episodes per season focused on them, while the rest of the season being focused on Brian and Stewie, and to a lesser extent Peter.
Peter: That's right...this week's episode is going to be a Meg episode. (Beat) It's ok, we understand...see you next week.
Overly-Long Gag: A self-admitted favourite of series creator Seth MacFarlane. Opinion is constantly divided over whether such gags make the show better or worse.
Overly-Long Scream: Peter does it when the experimental drug that temporarily turned him gay wears off in the middle of a group sex session. Also his shriek of acclamation when the drug first kicks in and Lois asks if he has turned gay. Also when his doctor performs an intimate anal examination.
Palette Swap: Lois' sister, Carol, is practically a copy of Lois, the only difference being the clothing and the hair.
Paranoia Gambit: Done successfully by Brian in "Patriot's Game" when Stewie, as payback for the brutal beating he gave Brian over the money that Brian owed him, offers Brian a free revenge shot. Brian agrees on the terms that he can use it at any time and that Stewie won't know when he will be hit. Brian does not use it, and Stewie goes crazy to the point of harming himself to even the deal. At the end of the episode, Brian evens it out by pushing Stewie in front of a moving bus. Also doubles as a Crowning Moment of Awesome for Brian.
Parental Incest: Oddly enough, One of the few things NOT poked fun of. Couple of examples would be the "incest episode" Peter mentioned after the Untold Story movie, and Meg getting yelled at by the family for making an incest joke.
Peter: Meg, I'm a redneck, which means I am about to do something to you that you will not remember until you're forty! *Meg screams and runs off* Meg, come back here! I meant sex!
Pineapple Surprise: Used in the climactic battle in "Lois Kills Stewie", though she is able to remove the belt before the explosion.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything / One-Hour Work Week: In the earlier episodes, Lois had a job as an at-home piano teacher. References to this job gradually dropped over time, and she has since been portrayed as a housewife.
Pet the Dog: Both Stewie and Quagmire have certainly had moments where they have done this.
A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: Peter goes from stealing a parrot as a pet from a veterinarian's office, to dressing as a stereotypical pirate, then hiring a pirate crew and finally going on the road and engaging a motorist in an epic swashbuckling fight, in the course of which Peter's car acquires a mast and sails.
Planet of Hats: Played straight in "Road to the Multiverse". Each universe that Stewie and Brian travel to has it's own special attribute; there's the universe where humans and dogs switch places, and then there's the universe where there's just one guy who gives compliments from far away.
Peter: Stewie, uh, how long you been all messed up and evil like this? Stewie: Oh, so now you're interested in Stewie. Last week when I made that macaroni picture of an owl, you didn't give a damn! Peter: That was an owl?
Plot Hole: A big one that is attributed to Brian being the Author Avatar. Brian is an Atheist despite meeting God AND Jesus on several occasions.
Poor Man's Porn: When Stewie finally succeeds in derailing Peter and Lois' plans to conceive a fourth child (about twenty seconds after he stops trying), Peter takes a lingerie catalogue into the bathroom.
Positive Discrimination: Subverted in "Extra-Large Medium" where a girl with Down's Syndrome is portrayed as a total bitch.
This is somewhat debatable however in that while she isn't portrayed in a positive light, it also doesn't portray her as being excessively stupid or other various stereotypes for people with this condition.
Power is Sexy: This is why Cleveland would have sex with Margaret Thatcher, despite the incredulity of the other guys. "Oh, so no-one else here thinks power is sexy?"
Precision F-Strike: Peter tells America to go fuck itself in "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story".
In "Peter's Two Dads", Brian says, "What the fuck?!" when he sees Peter on the couch, who just got done taking crack.
Previously On: Parodied and subverted at the start of "Brian Does Hollywood". All of the clips shown never actually occurred in part one, "The Thin White Line", and instead are send-ups of typical crime and court drama tropes.
Stewie: You want my badge number? Here! Here's my freakin' badge number!
Raised by Humans: In "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows", a bird makes a nest in Peter's beard before being frightened away. The bird had laid eggs in said beard which hatch and Peter ends up taking care of them until they are old enough to take care of themselves and fly away.
Rape as Comedy: "Prick Up Your Ears," where Lois pounces on Peter after Peter declares that he's abstinent.
Lois also rapes Peter in the episode where she's taking martial arts classes, with him reacting as such and whimpering "Last night...Lois, was, THE MAN!"
Also the theme of numerous cutaway gags.
"One of the people you hit was a virgin whose hymen was busted, so rape."
Pulls a hat trick in "Dial Meg for Murder". The first time when Peter is attacked by the "Breeding Bull", second is when Meg sexually assaults Connie after beating her and the popular kids up with a bag full of soda cans, third is implied when Meg joins Peter in the shower with a Luffa.
Rearrange the Song: During season 3, the end credits music (an instrumental version of the opening theme) was rearranged with a big band motif. It was rearranged again during season 4.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Quagmire delivers one of these to Brian in the eight season episode 'Jerome Is The New Black.'
An earlier example: in "Play It Again, Brian", Brian delivers one to Peter regarding of how a bad husband he is. However, Peter countered with another one regarding Brian's inhability to hold a relationship.
Brian is once again on the recieving end of one from Bill Maher, Dana Gould, and Arianna Huffington in "Brian Writes A Bestseller", when he completely dismisses what he said in his own book in a desperate attempt to impress Bill when Brian guest stars on his show.
In "Seahorse Seashell Party", Meg gives one each to Chris, Lois and Peter.
Relationship Reboot: Played with when Quagmire lets slip one of his fantasies about Lois to Peter:
Quagmire: Is it possible she's a whore? ...You know, like on weekends, just to pay for her mom's dialysis? ...Like in my fantasy? ...Y'know what, let's start over. Hi, I'm Quagmire! (offers his hand)
Resentful Guardian: Lois Griffin has been shown to have feelings of contempt towards her oldest daughter Meg for being unable to have an abortion and therefore getting disqualified from participating in the Olympics. Instead she is now stuck raising her.
Retcon: The revelation that Peter's biological father is not Francis, but an Irishman named Mickey McFinnigan.
Also the revision of the founding of Quahog and mythicalization of the earlier Magic Clam story.
Stewie: I can't hide from this relationship. It's my responsability to deal with it. I mean, what kind of man would I be if I just left my family and all my responsibilities like that?
Brian: Well, you'd be a black man.
Stewie: (shocked) Whoa, what was that?!
Brian: (realizes what he said) Agh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that was my father talking.
Stewie: You, uh, you gotta work on that, man. Bad dog.
Road Sign Reversal: Subverted in "Chitty Chitty Death Bang". In order to get the circus parade to come to Stewie's birthday party, Peter looks as though he's going to do this, then he uses the sign to knock out the parade leader and take his place.
Room Full of Crazy: Patrick, Lois's traumatized brother, came to live with the Griffins. His room is decorated with photos of himself strangling fat people.
And a dead fat guy and a half dead fat guy who then eats the dead fat guy.
Stewie: So we're just gonna look the other way on this one, huh?
Rousing Speech: Peter gives one to Joe in "Ready, Willing, and Disabled" to build him up during the Special People's Games. Typically of Peter, though, he quickly gets off-track.
Joe: If I couldn't catch a two-bit criminal, how am I supposed to win a race?
Peter: Hey, what kind of talk is that? It's un-American! Did George W. Bush quit even after losing the popular vote? No! Did he quit after losing millions of dollars of his father's friends' money in failed oil companies? No! Did he quit after knocking that girl up? No! Did he quit after he got that DUI? No! Did he quit gettin' arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct at a football game? No! Did he quit...
It's good to know this before criticizing the show for inconsistencies. Seems that many have taken everything ever said in this show as official canon (of some sort) and call "plot hole" whenever a serious-plot moment crops up that contradicts an otherwise one-time gag.
Rule of Three: In "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci High", the teachers introduce the various classes at the school. For each class, Peter says, "Ah I love dodgeball/bundt/trombone cakes! Heads up!" The first two times, he throws an object at a random person, knocking them down. The third time, he actually plays the trombone and gets applause... only for Peter to throw the trombone after finishing.
In the Black Eye Griffin segment of "Untitled Griffin Family History", three of Black Eye Griffin's short films end the same way: With the character getting hit in the eye and shrugging at the camera while smiling widely, while "wah wah wah waaaaaaaahh" music plays.
Ollie, with the Blac-u-weather forecast. Originally a one-off (e.g. the Weather Mime), but used more and more since then.
Play me off, Johnny!
In the episode "Saving Private Brian", Stewie terminated this gag with extreme prejudice by shooting Vern and Johnny and proclaiming they will never be seen again. Ironically they were seen again as ghosts in a later episode "Back To The Woods" with Johnny appearing in Hell because, as Vern puts it, "Johnny liked little boys."
Someone saying "What the hell?" to someone else Once an Episode.
Peter's Giant Chicken Fistfights.
Every time "The Bird Is the Word" "Surfin' Bird" is played, after "I Dream of Jesus"
In the earlier seasons, every time Chris did something creepy or questionable Peter or Lois would flatly say "Go to your room."
The idea of Quagmire getting his own spin-off.
Nearly every episode, a character (most likely Peter) would waste an entire minute or two doing something mundane repeatedly (like making 'Dad noises') while any other character nearby would just watch with an unamused looking expression on their face.
Brian inadvertantly offending Quagmire via some misunderstanding, leading to a drawn out rage attack from the latter. Possibly Running Gagged since this gag has disappeared for almost a season with only occasional more subdued disagreements between the two afterwards.
Running Gagged: Quite a few examples. The evil monkey gag ended in Season 8 when he decided his time in Chris' closet has been enough, and leaves to live to Jake Tucker's closet.
Vern and Johnny get killed about a season after they were introduced. They come back as a Continuity Nod in ghost form.
The Giant Chicken fights. The last time they fought, they made amends and decided to go out to dinner, and they only continued fighting because they were arguing who would pay the check. Every few episodes, a Call Back is made to their dilemma.
Sadist Show: Cheerful bullying of mentally ill, disabled, or terminally ill constitutes an awful amount of the jokes in the series. If someone is in intense pain to the point of suicidal it will almost invariably be mocked and worsened to the extreme.
Samus Is a Girl: In the fourth episode of the series Peter punches out a "guy" who badmouths his son once too often, not knowing "he's" a pregnant woman. Justified as she looks like this◊.
Saving Christmas: In the episode "Road to the North Pole", Stewie and Brian attempt to do this, because Santa is exhausted to near death due to the increasing demand for presents. Predictably, they fail catastrophically.
Scratch Damage: This is all Meg is capable of in "Viewer Mail."
Second Person Attack: In "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", the singer on stage who says the next song is for all the ladies out there is given a punch by Peter, seen from the singer's viewpoint.
Self-Deprecation: One episode centered around Brian's attempts to befriend Quagmire. When he asks why he dislikes him so much, Quagmire goes off on an incredible tangent, obviously voicing the reaction some fans had toward Brian's Author Avatar status, including his religious and political biases.
Combining this with when Quagmire thought he was getting the spinoff and when he was trying to make an improv show, it seems that Seth MacFarlane is using Quagmire as a Self-Deprecation avatar as much as he uses Brian as an Author Avatar.
In the 100th episode special, Seth MacFarlane interviews several people about Family Guy (who don't know who he is). They all say that the show is terrible.
In the 150th episode special, when Brian and Stewie are talking about "Peter's Two Dads" where Peter visited Ireland:
Stewie: Did we explore the effects of the difficult political and agriculural dynamics that have rent Ireland for centuries?
A meta example is that one of the writers is Jewish, and in the commentaries he admits most of the Jewish jokes are his.
Self-Serving Memory: When Peter recalls his prostate exam, it is incredibly sinister, and totally wrong.
Sex for Solace: When Peter caught Loretta, Cleveland's wife, having an affair, he found Cleveland's lack of anger to be surprising. Lois suggested getting him to confront his emotions, but Peter instead insisted that Cleveland just needed a "Revenge Lay" in order to deal with the situation. Of course, they never quite got that far...
Shaggy Dog Story: "The Juice Is Loose", where Peter meets OJ Simpson, and, at first, attempts to prove that he murdered his wife and Ron Brown. But then, when he finds out, he despairs that he is innocent and can never get away from the accusations. So Peter lets him stay at his house, but the family is suspecious of him. The entire episode is set up as a twist on the normal narrative about OJ, with him actually being innocent. At the end, the town comes in an angry mob to kick him out, but then O.J. makes an emotional speech about how nobody is perfect, and we shouldn't judge people for making a few mistakes. It works, and the whole town is on his side. But then, he stabs and kills three people for absolutely no reason, and runs off. After which, Peter just nonchalantly says "Oh, I guess he did do it.", and the episode just ends.
Shoot the Dog: Literally done by the Board of Directors of the El Dorado Cigarette Company in the episode "Mr. Griffin Goes To Washington".
Shoot the Shaggy Dog: "420" is essentially this: long story short, Brian manages to convince everybody in Quahog to legalize pot, but Carter doesn't like it (it had something to do with his business losing money), and bribes Brian with publishing his horrible novel if he convices everybody to re-ilegalize pot. Brian does, but in the end his novel doesn't sell a single copy. However, this episode was meant to deliver a message about wonderful everything would be if pot were legal.
Shota Con: Herbert is a pedophile/ephebophile who lusts after little boys and male teenagers, especially Chris.
In "Back to the Woods", the ghosts of previously-killed characters Vern and Johnny are shown. Vern is in Heaven, while Johnny is in Hell. The explanation?
Vern: You might be wondering why Johnny is in Hell. (beat) Johnny liked little boys.
Shout Out: Aside from all the pop culture Shout Outs, there are several made specifically for viewers who live in Rhode Island, although these have gotten rarer since the show was UnCancelled.
Showgirl Skirt: The showgirl outfit in the opening, and in scenes with showgirls, all have the same design of a leotard and a headdress and skirt of feathers.
Sitcom Arch Nemesis: Peter vs Ernie the Giant Chicken. Brian also seems to be gaining a more mutual hatred for Quagmire as episodes progress.
Slapstick Knows No Gender: All examples of physical comedy, from random abuse, to violent murder, and even rape, are Played for Laughs regardless of the gender of the perpetrator or the victim.
Slow Clap: Subverted in "Brian: Portrait of a dog." After Brian wins his freedom, one man claps slowly to tempt the rest of the audience to join... They are unswayed.
Slow Motion: Parodied, with most anything else, in "The Kiss Seen 'Round the World": Meg swoons over Tom Tucker, who is walking in slow motion. It's assumed that he's only walking in slow motion in her fantasies, but no, that's how slow he actually walks, and people around him walk normal speed.
Sock It To Them: After Meg gets out of prison, Connie D'Amico and her friends are teasing her in the school cafeteria. Meg ignores them and buys a bunch of soda cans from a vending machine. She loads them into a bag, and uses the bag on the group Batter Up style.
Soundtrack Dissonance: the classy, somewhat 50's-esque, Frank Sinatra-ish BGM playing during many scenes (mostly shots showing the Griffins' house from the outside, anyway) just doesn't fit what this show is about. For starters, it's an [adult swim] show. Do the math.
Speaking Simlish: In "Mc Stroke," Peter believes he can speak Italian because he has grown a mustache. However, he only produces a series of "beepity boppity."
The butcher, who actually speaks Italian, has no problem understanding him and the two have a conversation with he and Peter speaking Italian and gibberish, respectively.
Spoof Aesop: Many of the early episodes ended this way with Peter or another character learning either something completely different from the events they experienced or bluntly admiring to learning jack squat like nothing ever happened. Commentary from Seth and the other writers state that this was their way of ending the episode without filling it with nonsensical bullshit with a mix of the writers not giving a damn how the story ended.
Stable Time Loop: Stewie ends up outside of the space-time continuum and has to overload the return pad to his time machine in order to return to existence. This event turns out to have been the cause of the Big Bang.
Status Quo is God: A few minor changes have stuck, such as Cleveland moving away (to get his own show) and Brian's relationship status. But for the most part, this is strictly enforced.
Spoofed on one episode, where things are set back to normal by recreating the infamous all just a dream ending from Dallas, complete with the original actors.
Another ep has Chris being chased by poachers in Africa. It's never resolved, but during the end credits Stewie says to Brian that "the Chris thing was just a gag, he'll be back next week like always."
Stealth Pun: In "Death Lives", Carter offers Peter $1 million to stay away from Lois. Peter replies:
Peter: She maybe worth a million dollars to you, but to me, she's worth nothing!
Stock Audio Clip: Every time Cleveland falls to the ground in his bathtub after part of his house is destroyed, the exact same vocal clip plays.
Cleveland: What the hell?! No, no no no no NOOOOOOOO!!!
Stock Superpowers: The Griffins each receive a superpower in the short Super Griffins.
Inverted by Derek Wilcox, Jillian's late husband, who's good looking, speak many languages, has superhuman reflexes and a huge penis, and repeatedly make Brian to look like a loser.
And of course even Peter can stand tall against Meg, who the whole universe seems designated to hate.
Suck E. Cheese's: Cheesie Charlie's in "Chitty Chitty Death Bang".
Suckiness Is Painful: In-Universe, Brian's novel, "Faster Than the Speed of Love". In one episode, his book wins an award by a special organization. Emphasis on special, much to Brian's dismay.
Sudden Humility: Peter starts discriminating against Joe for being handicapped, until the feud leads to an accident that leaves him temporarily wheelchair bound. Despite his initial insistance that he will treat his problem with far more dignity than Joe, it takes 40 minutes for him to breakdown from his incapability and apologize to Joe.
Suddenly Ethnicity: Subverted in "Halloween on Spooner Street", in which Quagmire convinces Peter and Joe that he's part Japanese as a set-up for a prank.
Take That: Many cutaways consist of nothing but one of the characters telling an actor how much they suck. Some examples include Peter as Christina Aguilera's manager and Stewie trashing Matthew McConaughey, who doesn't seem to mind.
Peter: You know what else grinds my gears? You, America. FUCK YOU! Diane?
This exchange:
Guy #1: Outrageous! How dare he say such blasphemy?! I've got to do something! Guy #2: There's... there's nothing you can do. Guy #1: Huh... well, I guess I'll just learn to develop a sense of humor...
Talking to Himself: Seth MacFarlane voices Peter, Brian, Stewie, Quagmire, Carter, Tom Tucker, Jake Tucker, Seamus and Dr Hartman. This trope is pulled off in every episode.
Lampshaded in one episode where Dr. Hartman and Carter are put in a conversation together, and notice that they have the same voice. One of them quips that "there are just so many voices in the world."
The Tape Knew You Would Say That: In one episode, Peter leaves a tape that tries to hold a conversation with Lois to convince her he's actually there. In a subversion, she figures it out when he starts to drift off topic.
Teacher/Student Romance: Chris and Mrs. Lockhart, until she asked him to kill her husband for her.
Technology Marches On: Just what are these mix-tapes Stewie and Lidanne like so much?
Teen Pregnancy: Well sort of. In the episode "Love Thy Trophy" Meg gets a job by pretending that Stewie is her son.
A more closer example is in "Peter's Daughter", where Meg falls in love with a young doctor named Michael, and has been dating him for a good while, but when the recently overly-protective Peter, who became like this after Meg nearly drowned in the flood, keeps butting in, Michael breaks up with Meg, and two weeks later, Meg believes that she's pregnant with Michael's baby, leading to a Shotgun Wedding. It turns out that Meg isn't pregnant because she had her period.
Temporal Paradox: Brian telling his past self about the terrorist attacks on 9/11 causes George W. Bush in the present time to not only be not elected for U.S. President in 2004, but he also throws a fit and causes the Deep South to break off with the North and basically repeats the Civil War, but with nuclear weapons. This causes Stewie and Brian to go back in time where Brian is about to screw up the timeline and tell them not to do anything in the past. This doesn't go over too well.
Tempting Fate: Seen in the short "He's Quagmire". A stuffy upper class man said: "I do hope nothing happens to spoil our fancy dinner party." Immediately after, Quagmire jumped on the table wearing a leopard G-string and said "Giggity!" over and over.
Also in "PTV", after the FCC shuts Peter's TV network down, he says that they can't censor the way people live in real life. Three guesses what happens next.
Subverted in "Stu & Stewie's Excellent Adventure" when Peter launches himself with a catapult:
"Excellent! These dominoes are set up exactly as I want them: right next to the good china. Now I'll just place this priceless faberge egg right in the center, next to my newborn, hemophiliac baby."
-Peter lands right outside the window- "Hey, those yours?"
That's All, Folks!: A parody of the famous Looney Tunes rings appears in "The Tan Aquatic With Steve Zissou" after Peter cuts himself shaving with a razor fan.
The Last Horse Crosses The Finish Line- The Trope Namer. Several people have fallen victim to it over the years, namely every single adult male (save for Brian) on Spooner Street, and several of the adult women, including Lois, who provides this quote through a dream she has about accidentially stumbling upon Stewie's lair while cleaning, and Stewie killing her upon uttering that line and a rather scathing dialogue.
Specifically in "The Perfect Castaways" when Brian breaks up with Lois:
Stewie: "Ah, bitch, you got jacked, bitch."
Throw the Dog a Bone: While she still is picked on, the writers have started to tone down the Meg bashing this season.
Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: This trope is pulled whenever Brian gets a human girlfriend.
Title Drop: Spoofed in "420" where Peter is shown being amused by various title drops in films ("The only way I can stop this crisis is by being Superman IV: The Quest For Peace!") Then later, a walk-on character says "I'm a family guy!" and Peter is thrilled.
Brian said "Stewie loves Lois!", which is the title of that episode.
Title Please: Exceptions being the Brian & Stewie "Road To..." episodes and "Viewer Mail #1", which had three different title cards for each segment.
Toad Licking: "Toad" becomes such a popular fad at James Woods High School, after a Colombian drug cartel's plane transporting the toads crashes near Quahog, that Peter winds up going undercover at the school as "Lando Griffin" to get the students to stop.
There was even a hilarious anti-drug PSA directly spoofing the classic Tootsie Pop commercial with Mr. Owl.
Kid: Mr. Toad, how many licks of you does it take to get to the center of a Rhode Island State Prison?
Token Minority: Two in the main cast, Cleveland and Joe; Lampshaded by Asian Reporter Trisha Takanawa and "Black-u-weather forecaster" Ollie Williams.
As well as "Hispanic Reporter Maria Hee-Ji-Jiminez?"
Jiminez.
I know what it is!
Tonight Someone Dies: The plot season 9 premiere "And Then There Were Fewer" said that many characters were going to die. However, only one of them was relatively important.
Too Hot for TV and Better on DVD: A lot of Family Guy episodes (particularly those aired after the show was Un Cancelled in 2005) have a lot of scenes and lines that FOX censors won't air or were cut due to time constraints. Cartoon Network airings partially restore some of the scenes and lines that were edited on FOX, but the DVD has all of the scenes and lines that were rejected by censors (either in the episode proper or as part of a deleted scenes reel)
Also, two episodes were banned: "When You Wish Upon A Weinstein" (was banned out of fear that Jews and Catholics would find the show's take on religion offensive. The episode aired years later with a line change and some light trimming of one scene) and "Partial Terms of Endearment" (banned for dealing with the hot-button topic of abortion. The episode did air on a UK TV channel and was released on DVD, but FOX is never going to reverse its decision not to air the episode and Cartoon Network might not air it, either).
One episode had Joe Sawnson regain the ability to walk, which boosts his confidence level tenfold. However, he gets a little too overconfident and starts to berate his friends for not meeting his high demands to improve in whatever activity they are doing. He even ditches Bonnie (who is still pregnant) and his friends to be with friends that he says are not lazy and can keep up with him. It takes Joe losing his ability to walk again to bring him back down to humble levels.
Similarly Meg, originally a Bratty Teenage Daughter that was ashamed of her family's antics, has became more docile and friendly, if only in her desperation for her family's love.
Train Job: Subverted. Peter and his father-in-law, Carter, try to do this, but the ticket taker tells them that no one rides the trains as much as they used to.
Tranquillizer Dart: In an early episode, Peter's boss devises a contest for the company picnic, which involves taking shots at the employees with a tranq rifle and seeing who can last the longest. Most of the employees drop like stones the moment they get shot... except for Peter, who ends up with more than a dozen tranquillizer needles stuck in him, and still manages to stay conscious long enough to win the contest. It would seem that this is either due to his relatively high body mass, which (in theory) would require longer for the chemicals to spread through his body, or due to the increased amount of fatty deposits, which would help isolate the venom from his bloodstream.
Transsexual: Handled with all the tact that a character vomiting for 28 seconds straight can bring to a topic. Although the show does deserves credit for Quagmire adamantly claiming that being a transwoman who is interested in men does NOT constitute being a gay man; it constitutes being a straight woman born into a man's body.
Trash of the Titans: When Lois went to jail for stealing, the house became a wreck.
Two Decades Behind: A lot of the references on the show are to 80s-90s stuff, even though quite a bit of their fanbase are college age, meaning they grew up in the late 90s-early 2000s.
Two Lines, No Waiting: Many episodes have a main plot and a "sub-plot" that happens during the main one. A notable aversion of this is the special episode "Brian & Stewie".
Un-Confession: Played for Laughs; in keeping with the show's increasing reliance on shock value, it normally involves Peter being a total Jerkass when inappropriate, or Lois admitting to some past (wild) indescretion.
The Unpronounceable: Brian has trouble pronouncing "Donald Nguyen" in "Model Misbehavior".
Don LaFontaine had trouble pronouncing "Jim Caviezel" in the trailer for "The Passion of the Christ 2", and finally just calls him "the guy from the first one".
"Kim... Bassenger? Basenger? Basinger?"
Unspoken Plan Guarantee: In "Airport '07", the plan to get Quagmire's job back is explained (with a dramatization even) before it's carried out. Guess how well the original plan went.
Uptown Girl: Lois and Peter, as shown by an early episode where Peter is at odds with her tyrannical father in order to gain his approval, which he never does. She marries him despite her father's insistence that she doesn't really love him or his covert attempts to kill Peter.
Vehicle Vanish: Subverted. "It would probably have been a good idea to get on that truck."
Vinyl Shatters: In the episode "I Dream of Jesus", Brian and Stewie break Peter's Surfin' Bird record; Stewie stomps on it with his foot and Brian smashes it further with a baseball bat.
"I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar": Peter is sent to a sensitivity camp to deal with his outrageous sexism. When he returns with a more sensitive and mature (albeit comically feminine) understanding of how to treat people, it makes his friends and family very uncomfortable and they try to figure out how to turn him back into a misogynist again.
"I Never Met the Dead Man": Peter is forced to cope without Cable TV throughout Quahog, and as a result becomes a happier, active person who genuinely enjoys family life and just living in general. Even though this was Lois' idea, she tries ineffectually to get him out of it. The solution appears nigh when William Shatner's car breaks down in front of the Griffin's house on his way to a conference on how television is great for people's lives...but then Peter gets Shatner to come with him to the Bavarian Folk Festival instead, where Shatner renounces the emphasis TV has had on their lives. Don't worry, Peter's still turned back to a TV-watching slob by the end of the episode.
Wham Episode: The premiere of season 9 kills off no less than three recurring characters, one of whom had been around since the beginning of the series.
The hurricane crossover. Meg gives most of the family a "The Reason You Suck" Speech, particularly towards Lois. This was similar in tone to "Brian and Stewie".
What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Herbert's fight with Mr. Gutentag in order to save Chris and Peter. The fight itself is extremely awkward, but the music was epic and Gutentag's death was just a fall from from a porch, but the camera angle and slo-mo really invoked this trope.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Neil Goldman. Okay, he was sort of Demoted to Extra at first, but the entire Griffin family got invited to James Woods's mansion...and yet only the Goldman parents were invited? A few episodes later, in "Road to the North Pole", we see Mort Goldman making some remarks related to him being Jewish in the context of a song about what the characters want for Christmas...with Neil nowhere in sight. Where the hell is he?
Quagmire's Littlest Cancer Patient niece (whom Brian mistook for a boy, and further cemented Quagmire's resentment for Brian) in "Road to the North Pole". She was hospitalized somewhere around the start of the third act and that was the last we heard of her.
The Campbells, the nudist family. They appeared in two episodes early in 2002, and then they completely disappeared except for a short cameo eight years later.
Although he was never given a name, there's the conspicuous absence of Carol's son, whom she conceived with her eighth husband. Lois and Peter were the only people present at his birth back in the early seasons (discounting an unconscious Dr. Hartman) and this event in turn inspired them to want to have more children of their own for a short while. Fast-forward a few seasons, and Carol's married and divorced her ninth husband, leading her to move in with the Griffins — and yet her son, who couldn't be that much older than a baby, is nowhere to be seen. Then she marries and moves in with Mayor West in a record amount of time and STILL her child isn't even referenced, let alone taken along. Was he adopted? Did he die? Does anyone even CARE that Lois and Peter's nephew has melted into thin air?
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: In "The Son Also Draws", Peter shows Chris a family of WASPS; not the animal, but a family of White Anglo Saxon Protestants who make passive-aggressive remarks towards each other at dinner.
Who's Laughing Now?: "Dial Meg For Murder" has Meg Take A Level In Badass and deliver a rather violent retribution on her abusive family and classmates.
"Stewie Kills Lois"/"Lois Kills Stewie" may also count, at least in Stewie's perspective even if it was all a simulation.
Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: Peter after his boss at Happy-Go-Lucky Toys died, though as of "Jungle Love", Peter is now employed at the Pawtucket Brewery. The myriad of odd jobs that Peter had (like Christina Aguilera's image consultant, a basement rat farmer, Lara Flynn Boyle's means of retaining warmth while sleeping, erotic writer, etc.) as seen through the Imagine Spots, flashbacks, aborted arcs, and Big Lipped Alligator Moments don't count because they're just put there for laughs.
Wise Beyond Their Years: Stewie is one year old but can build multi-verse transporters, time machines and laser weaponry.
Stewie himself tipped the audience off after learning exactly what the term "gay" meant, saying he could "totally get into that."
This was the same episode where he believed sex to be a kind of cake, remember? He was pretty much describing Heterosexual Life Partners in that scene.
"Well, it sounds like in that situation, I'd rather be the parking space than the car."
Earlier episodes showed him flirting with women (adult and his own age) and hinted at rich people orgies, though.
On the DVD commentary track to Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story the Word Of God says that they were originally going to make the tale about Stewie's coming out (the original title was "Queer as Stewie") but changed their minds, because they got so much mileage out of Stewie's inconsistently portrayed sexuality "both ways".
In recent episodes he seems to be swinging back and forth faster than a pendulum caught in a hurricane. In one ep he crossdresses to get a part on a children's tv show, then promptly falls in love with a girl, then in another one he keeps commenting on how hot he looks in boy-shorts.
Working on the Chain Gang: In the episode "Holy Crap," Peter has kidnapped the Pope by posing as his driver and he drives the Pope Mobile past one of these. The Pope doesn't realize anything is wrong and keeps waving at everything, including a chain gang, parodying Cool Hand Luke:
Luke: (takes his shirt off) Taking it off there, boss.
Guard: Take it off there, Luke.
Luke: (wipes sweat off his face) Wiping it off there, boss
Guard: Wipe it off there, Luke.
Luke: (waves at the Pope) Waving at the Pope there, boss.
Guard: Wave at the Pope there, Luke.
Wrong Parachute Gag: Brian is going skydiving. Right before he jumps out the instructor stops him and points out he grabbed "the one with silverware" in it. He tosses Brian another parachute... that contains an anvil.
"... that one's probably fine. ..."
Wunza Plot: Parodied in the cutaway with Stewie and The Rock as partners.
Also parodied in a deleted song (seen on the Vol. 5 DVD set) about a fictional sitcom called "Hope and Rape", about a former model and a former rapist living together.
Yandere: Meg in the fifth season episode "Barely Legal".
Meg in general for the last couple of seasons, really.
Also Quagmire's wife in the episode "I Take Thee, Quagmire".
Meg again in "The Hand That Rocks The Wheelchair", this time towards Joe, even going so far as to attempt to cripple herself for him.
Yes Man: Lampooned in "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington" when Peter gets his own company suck-up.
Suck-up: Morning, nice day!
Peter: It's a little cloudy...
Suck-up: It's absolutely cloudy, one of the worst days I've seen in years! So, good news about the Yankees.
Peter: I hate the Yankees.
Suck-up: Pack of cheaters, that's what they are! I love your tie!
Peter: I hate this tie.
Suck-up: It's awful, it's gaudy, it's gotta go.
Peter: ...And I hate myself.
Suck-up: I hate you too, you make me sick, you fat sack of crap!
Peter: But I'm the president.
Suck-up: The best there is!
You Monster!: Said to Peter after he tricks Dr. Hartman into giving him a flu shot that was in short supply and needed for the elderly. He responds with a reference to "Frampton Comes Alive."
Also by Brian when Peter tricks the Make-A-Wish foundation into bringing back "Gumble to Gumble" by pretending Chris has a terminal disease.
Brian to Stewie in "Brian & Stewie" when Stewie reveals that he made Brian eat his poop for a cheap thrill.
Brian:You son of a bitch, I could KILL you for that!
You Say Tomato: Stewie pronounces 'Cool Whip' as 'cool-huwip'. Brian tries fruitlessly to explain that it sounds weird, leading to Stewie using other w-silent-h words with the same weird pronunciation, totally unaware that he's doing it.
This becomes a minor plot point in one episode when Brian gets replaced by New Brain. Stewie begs Brian to come back and uses the "cool-huwip" shenanigans to get Brain to correct him, which Stewie missed a lot since New Brian is sickeningly sweet and doesn't hate anything.
Meg gets into it too in one episode, with the words "awhile" and "weird". The second is lampshaded by Brian: "Oh come on, that one doesn't even have an H in it!"
"It's all been 'ruweened'."
Another moment inverted this, with Peter making fun of Lois for pronouncing "nuclear" correctly, claiming "it's 'nukular', dummy, the S is silent".
You Squared: played for laughs between Brian and his estranged son:
"My pot! (beat) "Your pot?"
You Will Be Spared: Sort of. Stewie tells Peter that his death will be quick and painless when he changes the channel after Stewie got distracted by The Teletubbies.
Flappy the pancake man. "Flappy, good news! I've decided not to kill you!"
Your Cheating Heart: There was an entire episode where Peter and Lois' marriage was about to fall apart because she slept with Bill Clinton (twice!). Granted, it did set up a funny joke at the end where Peter also ends up sleeping with Bill Clinton.
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