The "Road to ..." episodes, also known as the Family Guy Road shows, [1] are a series [2] of episodes in the animated series Family Guy . They are a parody of the seven Road to ... comedy films, starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour.
These episodes revolve around Stewie Griffin and Brian on a road trip in a foreign, supernatural or science fiction, settings outside the show's normal location in Quahog, Rhode Island. The first, titled "Road to Rhode Island", aired on May 30, 2000, as a part of the second season. The episodes are known for featuring elaborate musical numbers, similar to the original films. As of 2023, there are eight "Road to" episodes.
The "Road to" episodes contain several signature elements, including a special version of the opening sequence, custom musical cues and musical numbers, and parodies of science fiction and fantasy films. Many of the episodes are popular among television critics, and have been nominated for several awards. In 2000, "Road to Rhode Island" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)" category. In 2009, "Road to Germany", along with two other episodes from the seventh season, were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Comedy Series" category, the first time in 48 years multiple episodes of one animated series were nominated for the same award.
No. in Road to... episodes | No. in series overall | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | S2E13 | "Road to Rhode Island" | Dan Povenmire | Gary Janetti | May 30, 2000 | 2ACX12 | 6.47 [3] |
2 | S3E20 | "Road to Europe" | Dan Povenmire | Daniel Palladino | February 7, 2002 | 3ACX13 | 4.35 [4] |
3 | S5E09 | "Road to Rupert" | Dan Povenmire | Patrick Meighan | January 28, 2007 | 5ACX04 | 8.80 [5] |
4 | S7E03 | "Road to Germany" | Greg Colton | Patrick Meighan | October 19, 2008 | 6ACX08 | 9.07 [6] |
5 | S8E01 | "Road to the Multiverse" | Greg Colton | Wellesley Wild | September 27, 2009 | 7ACX06 | 10.17 [7] |
6 | S9E07 | "Road to the North Pole" | Greg Colton | Chris Sheridan Danny Smith | December 12, 2010 | 8ACX08 8ACX09 | 8.03 [8] |
7 | S11E21 | "Roads to Vegas" | Greg Colton | Steve Callaghan | May 19, 2013 | AACX20 | 5.28 [9] |
8 | S14E20 | "Road to India" | Greg Colton | Danny Smith | May 22, 2016 | DACX18 | 2.59 [10] |
"Road to" episodes typically consist of three parts following a series of theatrical or cultural-themed credits, and beginning with a segment at the Griffin family home in Quahog, Rhode Island. This segment usually establishes a conflict that Stewie and Brian must overcome by leaving Quahog and the rest of the Griffin family. For the second segment, Stewie and Brian obtain the established goal, which differs in each episode, and have included Brian reuniting with his mother in "Road to Rhode Island", [11] Stewie finding his lost teddy bear in "Road to Rupert", [12] or rescuing Mort Goldman, the town's pharmacist, in "Road to Germany". [13]
"[Road to the Multiverse] is a "Road" show, and traditionally, Dan Povenmire directed the "Road" episodes. He did "Road to Rhode Island", "Road to Europe", "Road to Rupert", and the "Road" episodes were always kind of a special situation. Brian and Stewie go on an adventure, kind of like Hope and Crosby, and it has special title cards, they sing songs.[...] This felt like a "Road" show.
Greg Colton, on "Road to the Multiverse" [1]
The "Road to" episodes are a parody of the seven Road to ... comedy films released between 1940 and 1962, which starred actors Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane came up with the idea to create the episodes, being a fan of the original film series. [14]
The first "Road to" episode, titled "Road to Rhode Island", aired in 2000 as a part of the second season of Family Guy, and featured Brian and Stewie attempting to find Brian's mother. [11] The episode was the first Family Guy contribution by director Dan Povenmire, and it was written by Gary Janetti, who had previously written for the show during its first and second seasons. [15] [16] [17] MacFarlane granted Povenmire substantial creative freedom. Povenmire recalled that MacFarlane would tell him, "We've got two minutes to fill. Give me some visual gags. Do whatever you want. I trust you." Povenmire praised MacFarlane's management style for letting him "have [...] fun". [18]
After the episode's success, including its nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award, a second episode in the "Road to" series was produced for the third season, titled "Road to Europe". The episode was inspired by the 1942 film Road to Morocco , including its musical number "(We're Off on the) Road to Morocco", which was previously parodied by the two characters, with new lyrics, in "Rhode Island". [14] Povenmire returned to direct the episode but this time it was written by Daniel Palladino, who was a guest-writer. [19]
The fifth-season episode "Saving Private Brian", originally titled "Road to Iraq", was at first intended to be the third installment in the Road series, however it was changed before airing.
The third episode in the series was not produced in the fourth season, but instead it was produced in the fifth season, titled "Road to Rupert", which followed Stewie in his attempt to relocate his teddy bear, Rupert, who was taken to Aspen, Colorado, was the last episode of the Road shows to be directed by Dan Povenmire. Povenmire left Family Guy soon after, following the conclusion of the fifth season, to create his own series, titled Phineas and Ferb , which has since been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards with two Emmy wins. [20] [21] It was written by Patrick Meighan who had written the fourth-season episode "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter". [22]
As a result, series regular Greg Colton, who had worked on "Brian Goes Back to College", "No Meals on Wheels", and also "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter", [23] [24] took over Povenmire's role as director of the "Road to" episodes. The next installment was titled "Road to Germany", which follows Brian and Stewie going back in time to rescue their neighbor Mort Goldman from the Nazi invasion of Poland. The episode was produced for the seventh season, it aired on October 19, 2008. [25] Meighan returned to write the episode. [25] After reading the script aloud, Jewish executive producer David A. Goodman said, "I'm going to get kicked out of my temple." [26]
The next "Road to" episode was announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego, California, on July 25, 2008. [27] [28] It was titled "Road to the Multiverse" and it was produced in the eighth season. Though it was not originally intended to be a "Road to" episode, Greg Colton convinced series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane and "Spies Reminiscent of Us" director Cyndi Tang to change the episode's title from "Sliders", [29] parodying the science fiction television series Sliders . [27] Colton's suggestion of the new title "Road to the Multiverse" was accepted, as was altering the premise of "Spies Reminiscent of Us", the season's original "Road to" episode. [30] The episode was not written by Meighan, instead it was written by Wellesley Wild who wrote "PTV". [31]
The sixth episode was announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, and follows Brian and Stewie on an adventure to the North Pole. It aired during the show's ninth season, and is titled "Road to the North Pole". The episode was the first Road show to be produced and broadcast in high-definition, [32] the first to be a full hour in length, and was directed by Colton. [30]
The tenth-season episode "Back to the Pilot", originally titled "Road to the Pilot", was at first intended to be the seventh installment in the Road series, however it was changed before airing. [33]
The seventh episode was announced at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. The episode involves Brian and Stewie teleporting to Las Vegas. Except something goes wrong with the machine and Brian and Stewie get cloned. One pair has the best possible time in Las Vegas, the other two have the worst possible time. The episode, titled "Roads to Vegas", aired as the show's eleventh-season finale in May 2013. [34]
"When Brian and Stewie are paired together for an on the road adventure, the results are usually side-splittingly hilarious. This first "Road to" episode is a perfect example of how great these two characters can be when paired together. We get to learn about Brian's origins and also see a bit more Stewie's slow transformation from evil genius to the insecure and desperate homosexual that we've reluctantly grown accustomed to seeing in recent episodes."
Ahsan Haque, IGN on "Road to Rhode Island" [11]
The "Road to" episodes are often among the most critically acclaimed episodes of the series. In a 2009 review of "Road to Rhode Island", Ahsan Haque of IGN gave the episode a perfect score of ten out of ten, praising the episode for its "great writing, hilarious jokes, a catchy musical, and a story that's both hilarious and touching at the same time". [11] In a subsequent review by IGN of "Road to Germany", Haque again gave the episode high marks for its "exciting storyline, and some hilariously offensive humor". [13] Similarly, "Road to the Multiverse" was received very positively by television credits, who called the episode "the best of the early episodes we've seen on the series". [35] In addition, "Road to the Multiverse" was the highest rated episode of the eighth season, in terms of total viewership. [7]
The episodes are generally praised by critics for the connection between Brian and Stewie. IGN stated that when Stewie and Brian are paired together for adventures in the series it becomes hilarious, also mentioning that it was great that they could learn more deeply Brian and see Stewie's transformation of character. [11] TV Squad critic Brett Love has stated that he enjoys the episodes, especially the parts that show Stewie and Brian relationship, in his review of "Road to Rupert" he commented that Stewie and Brian's story made the episode for him. [36] Both IGN and TV Squad have praised "Road to Germany", "Road to Rupert" and "Road to Rhode Island" for having that type of connection in their respective reviews. [11] [12]
Despite the praise, reviews of some episodes were more critical. During her review of Road to Germany, Alex Rocha of TV Guide wrote, "it seemed that the show has taken a slight fall back. After having great episodes the past few weeks to get this current season started on a roll, we have witnessed another average, even sub-par episode. [37] Brett Love of TV Squad praised "Road to Rupert", though noted that he did not like the episode's B-story. [36]
In 2000, "Road to Rhode Island" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)" category, but ultimately lost to The Simpsons episode "Behind the Laughter". [38] In 2009, "Road to Germany", along with two other episodes from the seventh season, were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Comedy Series" category, the first time in 48 years an animated series was nominated for the same award. [39] The show lost to the NBC series 30 Rock , who had won the award in both 2007 and 2008. [40] In 2011, "Road to the North Pole" won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation. [41]
In IGN's top ten list of Stewie and Brian's Greatest Adventures, the "Road to" episodes gains each spot on the top five with "Road to Europe" in spot number five, "Road to Germany" in number four, "Road to Rupert" in number three, "Road to the Multiverse" in number two, and the first episode, "Road to Rhode Island", in the number-one spot in the list. Other episodes in the list included "Saving Private Brian", "Stuck Together, Torn Apart" and "Movin' Out (Brian's Song)". [42]
StewartGilligan "Stewie" Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by the series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Stewie was created and designed by MacFarlane himself, who was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company, based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane featuring a middle-aged man named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve.
Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on Larry & Steve, a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. For the series, Larry was renamed Peter.
Lois Patrice Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Lois was originally created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane for his 1995 student film, The Life of Larry.
Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom Family Guy. He is one of the main characters of the series and a member of the Griffin family. Created, designed, and voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is an anthropomorphic white labrador retriever who is the best friend of both Peter and Stewie and comic foil with the ability to speak, drive, and stand on two legs.
"PTV" is the fourteenth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 2005. The episode sees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) censor the shows on television after a controversial wardrobe malfunction at the Emmy Awards. Peter starts to create his own TV network which he calls PTV, broadcasting classic shows unedited and uncut, as well as original programming. PTV is a big success, and Stewie and Brian join him, creating shows for the network. Lois calls the FCC to close PTV as she is concerned how children would be influenced by Peter's programming. Not only do the FCC close down the network, but they also start censoring the citizens of Quahog, so the Griffin family travels to Washington, D.C., and convince the Congress to have the FCC's rules reversed.
"Road to Rhode Island" is the 13th episode of the second season, and the first episode of the Road to ... series, of the American animated television series Family Guy, and the 20th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 30, 2000. In the episode, Brian volunteers to bring Stewie home from his grandparents' house in Palm Springs, but the pair miss their flight and must embark on a cross-country journey home. Meanwhile, Peter becomes addicted to watching a series of marriage counseling videos hosted by an adult film star.
"Road to Europe" is the 20th episode of the third season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, and the 48th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 7, 2002. The episode follows baby Stewie, who becomes obsessed with the fictional British children's television series "Jolly Farm Revue". He decides to run away from home to become part of the cast and his anthropomorphic dog Brian decides to chase him down in an attempt to bring him back home. Meanwhile, Peter and Lois go to a Kiss concert, where Lois reveals she knows nothing about the band, much to Peter's embarrassment.
Patriot Games is the 20th episode of the 4th season of the animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on January 29, 2006, a week before Super Bowl XL, fitting the theme of the episode. In it, Peter goes to his high school reunion and meets Tom Brady. After Peter runs to the bathroom and tackles most of the people in his way, Brady hires him for the New England Patriots. Peter wins many games for the Patriots but is fired for showboating and is traded to a team in London called the Sillinannies. Peter plays versus the Patriots and loses, but still receives Brady's respect before he and the Griffin family return home. Meanwhile, Stewie becomes a bookie who violently attacks Brian until he pays off his debt.
"Road to Rupert" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 28, 2007. It is the third episode in the Road to... series of episodes in Family Guy. The episode follows Stewie after Brian accidentally sells Stewie's beloved teddy bear, Rupert, during a yard sale. In an attempt to retrieve him, Stewie and Brian discover that the family Rupert was sold to are former neighbours who had since moved to Aspen, Colorado. As a result, Stewie and Brian travel across the United States to get Rupert back. Meanwhile, Peter has his driving license revoked for careless driving and is forced to be driven around by Meg, which annoys him.
The first season of Family Guy aired on Fox from January 31 to May 16, 1999, and consisted of only seven episodes, making it the shortest season to date. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, son Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog, a fictional city in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Lacey Chabert in the roles of the Griffin family. The executive producers for the first season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane. It is also the only full season to feature Chabert, before she was replaced by Mila Kunis for the rest of the series' run, starting with the season two episode "Da Boom".
John Herbert, nicknamed "Herbert the Pervert", is a fictional character in the animated television series Family Guy, created and voiced by Mike Henry. Herbert is an elderly neighbor of the Griffin family who first appeared in the season 3 episode "To Love and Die in Dixie". He is a pedophile who is attracted to young boys, and he harbors unrequited love for Chris Griffin.
"I Dream of Jesus" is the second episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 5, 2008. The episode makes prominent use of the song "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen and features Peter finding Jesus Christ, voiced by Alec Sulkin, working at a record shop and convincing him to make his second coming. Directed by Mike Kim and written by Brian Scully, the title of the episode refers to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. The episode guest starred Chris Cox, Ike Barinholtz, Amanda MacDonald, Niecy Nash, Sulkin and Paris and Perez Hilton.
"Road to Germany" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 19, 2008. In the episode, Mort accidentally enters Stewie's time machine and is sent to Warsaw, Poland, on September 1, 1939. Brian and Stewie realize Mort has gone back in time, and use the time machine to save him.
The fifth season of Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 10, 2006, to May 20, 2007, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It premiered with the episode "Stewie Loves Lois" and finished with "Meet the Quagmires". The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and Brian, the family pet, who reside in their hometown of Quahog, a fictional city in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The executive producers for the fifth season were David Goodman, Chris Sheridan, Danny Smith and series creator Seth MacFarlane. Sheridan and Goodman served as showrunners for the fifth season.
"Family Gay" is the eighth episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 8, 2009. In the episode, Peter becomes temporarily gay after participating in a medical drug test.
The seventh season of Family Guy first aired on the Fox network from September 28, 2008, to May 17, 2009, before being released as two DVD box sets and syndicated. The animated television series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family, who reside in the fictional town of Quahog, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Mila Kunis in the roles of the Griffin family.
The eighth season of animated television series Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in twenty-one episodes from September 27, 2009, to May 23, 2010, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It ran on Sunday nights between May and July 2010 on BBC Three in the UK. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog.
"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009, along with the series premiere of The Cleveland Show. In "Road to the Multiverse", two of the show's main characters, baby genius Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian, both voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, use an "out-of-this-world" remote control to travel through a series of parallel universes. They eventually end up in a world where dogs rule and humans obey. Brian becomes reluctant to return to his own universe, and he ultimately ends up breaking the remote, much to the dismay of Stewie, who soon seeks a replacement. The "Road to" episodes which have aired throughout various seasons of Family Guy were inspired by the Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, though this episode was not originally conceived as a "Road to" show.
"Spies Reminiscent of Us" is the third episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 11, 2009. The episode pays homage to the 1985 comedy film Spies Like Us, featuring baby Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian as they discover that American spies Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd have moved into their neighbor Cleveland Brown's old house; they eventually follow them on a secret mission to Russia. Meanwhile, Peter, Joe, and Quagmire attempt to start an improv comedy group with very little success.
"Dog Gone" is the eighth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 29, 2009. The episode features Brian, the family pet, attempting to prove that a dog's life is just as important as that of a human, after he accidentally kills another dog with no consequences. Meanwhile, the Griffin family hires Consuela, a stereotypical Hispanic woman, as the household maid, which they each end up regretting once she takes advantage of the family's home.
The show kicked off its eighth season with another entry in the now-classic "Road to …" series, which allows for many different sight gags and opportunities for a wide range of humor.
The "Road to..." episodes of Family Guy have always been special events and the latest season premiere is no exception, and is certainly the most ambitious adventure yet ...
The FG team went back to familiar territory this week, bringing us another "Road to" episode.