The Family Guy "Road To. . ." episodes provided a great source of entertainment due to their storylines, Brian and Stewie's friendship, and, for a few, cheerful musical numbers. These segments are rooted in Seth MacFarlane's love of musical films while adding adventure to the Family Guy narrative.
Currently, eight episodes have been produced, and for the sake of fun and nostalgia, I hope there's one in the future. It's been nearly a decade since Family Guy rolled out a "Road To. . ." episode, and it's high time to return them to regular rotation as they're a fan favorite and engaging to watch.
Until we get another "Road To. . ." installment, we're ranking all eight episodes from good to sweet. For clarity, the rankings are based on storylines and reactions and zero animosity toward the producers and writers.
Ranking all 8 Family Guy "Road To. . ." episodes from good to sweet
"Roads To Vegas"
Season 11
Brian and Stewie head to Las Vegas after the former wins tickets to see Celine Dion in concert. To get there, Stewie convinces Brian to try out his new teleporter device instead of the plane. It doesn't sound too bad and is a far more convenient way to travel.
Yet, the friends believe the machine didn't work, as they still stand on its platform. What they didn't know was that the device made duplicates of them, and they arrived in Vegas in just a matter of seconds. The original Brian and Stewie wind up flying in a lower-class section, much to their discomfort and disgust.
Meanwhile, duplicate Brian and Stewie are living it up in Vegas as they hit the jackpot, partying on the Strip, and tasting the culinary masterpieces you only find in Sin City.
The original pair has experienced lousy luck since arriving, with loan sharks after them and facing the possibility of being unable to return home. Luck changes (somewhat) when the original Stewie accidently grabs Duplicate Stewie's bag of cash. Yet, the duplicate dies for not paying the loan shark, and Original Brian commits suicide as he and Original Stewie seem to run out of options. Stewie finds the money and uses some of it to return to Quahog. He meets Duplicate Brian at the bus terminal and explains that the teleporter did work in a weird way.
While I like most of "Roads To Vegas," it would have fare better without the suicide pact written in. It just placed a bad reaction in me as it was sensitive, and Brian and Stewie could have thought of better way to handle the issue.
Rating: Good
"Road To India"
Season 14
Brian falls in love with a tech support woman, Padma, and travels to India with Stewie to find there. Once there, the two find that the country isn't what they expected to be, but aside from the disappointment, it doesn't stop Brian from seeking out Padma.
When Brian and Padma meet, it's love for the two of them, and she takes him to meet her family. Yet, Brian learns that she's already engaged to another man through an arranged marriage and is hurt. Padma breaks off her engagement, despite that her father has already paid a dowry to her ex-groom's family.
After failing at a game show, things get worse when Padma decides not to marry Brian, but is grateful for him, as he saved her from an unhappy life.
"Road To India" has racial undertones and stereotyped examples of South Asian culture. Because of this, the episode was hard to watch at time, but it did have its hilarious points.
Rating: Good
"Road To Europe"
Season 3
When Stewie prefers the idyllic life on his favorite TV show, Jolly Farm, rather than his family, he sets off to Europe, where the children's program is filmed in England. Being a baby, Brian tows after him, and man, did they have some pretty neat encounters while in the eastern continent. The friends even meet the Pope at the Vatican, but that's small beans compared to Mother Maggie- the star of Jolly Farm and Stewie's idol.
After finally meeting Mother Maggie, Stewie gets a disappointment to last a lifetime, as she's nothing like how she presented herself on TV. And to top it off, Stewie even learns that Jolly Farm is fake, too.
The European trip wasn't all in vain though, as Brian did comforted Stewie by suggesting revenge on Mother Maggie.
Rating: Good
"Road To Rupert"
Season 5
After Brian accidentally sells Rupert at the family's garage sale, Stewie is determined to get his beloved teddy bear back. So, you know what that means. Another trip, but this time, it's across the United States.
Brian and Stewie finally arrive n Colorado, where Rupert is "living" with his new family. To win Rupert back, Stewie and Stanford, the man who brought the bear, engage in a ski-off, since the latter resides in Aspen. Okay, so he has bank, if he's able to live there as a normal resident and not as a tourist.
Stewie loses the ski-off, but still gets Rupert (and Brian) back in his life, thanks to his butler acting not so butler-ly toward Stanford's boy. And so, Brian and Stewie head back to Rhode Island and back to their normal family life.
What I loved about "Road To Rupert" is how Stewie was edited in to make it like he was dancing with Gene Kelly in the MGM 1945 musical, Anchors Away. The segment alone is what gave this season 5 episode its charm
Rating: Very good
"Road To Germany"
Season 7
"Road To Germany" was another great episode and it allowed us to travel back to September 1st, 1939- the day Axis Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. And poor Mort Goldman, had to witness the tragic events, as he though Stewie's time machine was a port-a-potty and it transported him to that particular era.
The guys don't have much time to get back, as soldiers (and not the good kind) are everywhere. Because Mort's Jewish, they're after him. Plus, the time machine's return pad broke down and needs uranium to be powered up again. So, you have all of these issues and a war happening.
Suffice to say, it's not a great day for Stewie, Brian, and Mort.
With all that happening, Stewie and his friends need to get to Berlin, the German capital with the most considerable uranium supply. Of all the people they encounter during this historic trip, they encounter Hitler, and yeah, that's going to be a problem. Fortunately, the uranium was acquired, and the guys were able to transport to the present day.
"Road To Germany" was a masterpiece, filled with history with classic Family Guy humor, and just the right of amount of offense that will raise eyebrows, but will project a laugh.
Rating: Very good
"Road To The Multiverse"
Season 8
Another "Road To. . ." masterpiece is "Road To The Multiverse." Stewie shows Brian that parallel universes are happening at the same time as theirs, and each one offers something extremely different. For example, if Christianity had never existed and were just an imaginative concept, the world would have been far more technically advanced.
One of the more bizarre visits was the Flintstones universe, where Peter and Lois were conceived as Fred and Wilma, and the term "rock" was utilized several times in place of other words. If you watched the classic Flintstones from the 1960s, prehistoric terminology was heavy.
Then, of course, you have the Disney Universe, and everyone bursts out singing, "It's A Wonderful Day For Pie." It's the cherry on top, and even better, the track became legendary in Family Guy's lore.
Rating: Sweet
"Road To The North Pole"
Season 9
Following an epic fail of meeting Santa at the mall, Stewie decides to take a journey to the North Pole to give the toy maker a piece of his mind. As always, Brian tags along for the ride, despite his arguments that Santa isn't real. Stewie, being naive, as he's still very much a child, pursues his journey and refuses to believe him.
The Canadian wilderness is brutal, but Brian and Stewie finally reach the North Pole, only to find the once-magical place in ruins and Santa at Death's Door. To help him out, they embark to deliver the presents, but it's more complicated than it looks. Defeated, the two announce that if viewers wanted to save Christmas, they could only receive one present.
"Road To The North Pole" reflected commercialism and materialism of the holiday season, and the writers were right on target. Additionally, the episode provided two awesome musical numbers that made it to my annual Christmas playlist.
Rating: Very sweet
"Road To Rhode Island"
Season 2
The "Road To. . .episode that started it all. It was a perfect projection to introduce the future installments, with lots of the Brian and Stewie friendship we all know and love. In context, Brian volunteers to bring Stewie home from Carter and Babs' place in California, and the two have somewhat of a problematic road back to Rhode Island.
But we did learn more about Brian's past life on a farm and how he was able to reunite (and say goodbye) to his mother. The act gave him closure on a psychological issue he was having, and was able to move forward.
And who can forget the performance of "Road To Rhode Island?," where MacFarlane's immeasurable singing talent is brought into light? Absolutely phenomenal.