Family Guy: 10 Best Season 5 Episodes, According To IMDb
Family Guy has cemented its place in adult animation television history alongside shows such as South Park and The Simpsons but it had to be resurrected in order for that accomplishment to happen.
After the series was brought back from cancellation following its third season, the Griffins gave it their all and delivered one of their best seasons to date. They followed up said performance with an equally strong season 5 and the ball just kept on rolling from there.
10 Hell Comes to Quahog, Episode 3 (7.6)
In an episode that took a shot at gigantic superstores about how they're essentially draining small towns in America, the Griffins are left to deal with a 'Superstore USA' that opens in town and proceeds to use up all of Quahog's resources. Meg begins working there (as the staff are the only ones who have ever shown her any respect) and Peter ends up taking a job alongside her simply because the store has air-conditioning. Eventually, Brian and Stewie take matters into their own hands and destroy the superstore with a tank that Peter purchased at the beginning of the episode, restoring power to the citizens.
9 Saving Private Brian, Episode 4 (7.7)
The Brian/Stewie stories are always some of the funniest and this episode was no different. When Brian heads to the Army recruitment office to give one of the officers a piece of his mind, things take quite a turn when Stewie signs them both up for the Army and they ship out immediately to boot camp. Brian struggles at first, but manages to be the last one to finish the obstacle course that is used as their final test. Another twist occurs when Brian and Stewie are then immediately shipped off to Iraq to be on the front lines of the war. Once overseas, they both shoot each other in the foot to get discharged, but it doesn't matter as the episode ends with democracy sweeping across the Middle East.
8 Whistle While Your Wife Works, Episode 5 (7.7)
Peter had found his new calling as a desk worker at the Pawtucket Brewery, but when he injured his hand he had to have Lois come in and help him do his paperwork. Peter takes the opportunity to try and seduce his wife in his office while she does his work for him, and to her surprise, she actually enjoys the thrill of it. Meanwhile, Brian has a new girlfriend that he won't let anyone in the family meet - so Stewie does some snooping and follows Brian to her apartment, whereupon he finds out that the woman is far from intelligent.
7 Peter's Two Dads, Episode 10 (7.7)
Audiences were introduced to Peter's overly-religious father in season 2 and it was clear that Peter couldn't have been more different than his dad. That's why it made much more sense when Peter's dad admitted that he wasn't actually Peter's biological father. Peter confronts his mother for the truth and she reveals that she had an affair with an Irish man named Mickey McFinnigan who is Peter's true father.
Peter and Brian then fly over to Ireland to meet Mickey, who immediately says there's no chance Peter is his child - that is, until Peter beats him in a game of "Drink" and Mickey admits that only his own spawn could achieve such a feat.
6 The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Episode 11 (7.7)
Peter was never the best parent in the world, but he created a monster when he kept Stewie out in the sun for too long which resulted in Stewie getting incredibly tanned. Stewie decided he loved this new look and started living a lifestyle stereotypically associated with the painfully over-tanned. Unfortunately, he starts using a tanning bed and makes the mistake of asking Brian to wake him up after 15 minutes - which Brian does after 6 hours. Meanwhile, Peter develops a sense of empowerment from beating up a child that was bullying Chris which leads to Peter becoming a bully for all of his own friends.
5 Airport '07, Episode 12 (7.7)
It was perfectly understandable that Peter wanted to use fuel for a plane to make his pick-up truck fly, just like it was understandable that Quagmire got fired from being a pilot when his plane crash-landed due to the fact that it ran out of fuel (thanks Peter). The guys spend the rest of the episode trying to come up with a way to get Quagmire his job back, coming up with a plan to knock out the pilots of an existing plane and let Quagmire save the day by landing the aircraft safely. Sadly, the plan hits a snag when the plane takes off without Quagmire on it, but he manages to instruct Peter on how to safely land the plane through the radio.
4 Barely Legal, Episode 8 (7.9)
It's hard to say whether this episode would fly today (Family Guy is known for being inappropriate, but this is pushing it). Meg threatens to kill herself due to her not having a date to the school dance so Brian offers to take her as a friend. Inappropriately, Brian gets hammered at the dance and ends up making out with Meg, resulting in her thinking that they're now dating.
Brian then has to inform her that they aren't dating and it was a drunken impulse, but Meg becomes obsessed with her pet and kidnaps him with the intent to molest him. Luckily, Peter and the guys show up just in time to stop her and Quagmire (of all people) helps her realize how inappropriate and crazy she's being.
3 Road to Rupert, Episode 9 (7.9)
Despite returning from being canceled and having 30 episodes in its fourth season, Family Guy opted not to do a "Road To" episode in season 4. That's why audiences were so pleased when the writers brought back the classic Brian/Stewie staple with this episode following the duo on their journey to rescue Rupert, Stewie's stuffed animal, from a man who took it during a yard sale. They track the man down and find him in Colorado, where Stewie challenges him to a ski-off and the winner will get Rupert. Stewie ultimately loses the race, but he takes Rupert back anyway and he and Brian hijack a car before heading home.
2 Stewie Loves Lois, Episode 1 (8.2)
As just mentioned, Stewie loved his stuffed animal Rupert so much that he traversed more than half the country to get him back. So, when Losi saves Rupert from being mauled by a rabid dog, Stewie immediately begins to smother her with love and affection. Meanwhile, Peter goes to the doctor for a prostate exam and then insists that he was raped when Dr. Hartman carries out the procedure. Peter then spends the episode getting Dr. Hartman fired and his medical license removed, but then ends up needing to ask Hartman for help when it appears that Peter might have prostate cancer (spoilers, he doesn't).
1 Meet the Quagmires, Episode 18 (8.4)
In an episode that brought back the recurring character of Death, Peter feels he has missed out on a "single life" by marrying Lois when he was so young and asks Death to send him back to 1984 for just one night. Death fulfills the request, but Peter ends up messing up the timeline of his life and when he returns to the present he winds up in a parallel reality where he's married to Molly Ringwald - and Lois is married to Quagmire! Peter has Death send him back to 1984 where he has to retrace his steps and fix all of the problems that he caused which resulted in the alternate reality and try to win Lois back from Quagmire.