Family Guy Kills Off Brian Griffin

[key2win]

'Family Guy' fans protest death of Brian the dog

They will bring him back. It is all a publicity stunt to get more viewers in. Protests means news means more viewers means more ratings.

Los Angeles (AFP) - Fans of hit US television show "Family Guy" launched a protest petition Monday after Brian the dog, a main character since the series' 1999 launch, was killed off.

The unexpected plot twist in Sunday night's episode, "Life of Brian," triggered a flood of comments on social media, including 120,000 Likes for a Facebook page "RIP Brian Griffin from Family Guy."

"Brian Griffin was an important part of our viewing experience. He added a witty and sophisticated element to the show," said a petition on the change.org website, after the animated canine was run over by a car.

"'Family Guy' and Fox Broadcasting will lose viewers if Brian Griffin is not brought back to the show."

The petition, addressed to TV company Fox and "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, was signed by over 2,000 people within hours of being launched.

In the latest episode of the animated show, Brian was run over by a car and died at the local vet's office, surrounded by his family. He thanked them for giving him a wonderful life, before expiring.

Fellow cult animated show "The Simpsons" has said that one of its characters will die during the current 25th season, which premiered in September, triggering a surge of laments and speculation about who will go in Springfield.

[key2win]

Family Guy: Brian Set to Return Very Soon - IGN

Last month the world was rocked, or at the very least gently nudged, by the sudden demise of one of Family Guy's most beloved characters, Brian.

The faithful hound had been with the show since it started, was voiced by creator Seth MacFarlane, and was as popular for his singing as his dialogue. Following the death, we polled you guys about what you thought and the overwhelming consensus was that it's a bad idea.

It appears the Family Guy writers were listening, as Entertainment Weekly reports that Brian is set to return to the cast full time on December 15.*

While the network declined to comment on the speculation, the site has discovered that an episode slated for next autumn has him falling in love with a character played by Maya Rudolph... something that'd be pretty difficult if he's six feet under.

The official logline for the upcoming episode on December 15, called 'Christmas Guy, explains that "Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas," while Brian's name is included in the cast. Quite how Brian will return or what state he'll be in remains to be seen, but by all accounts it seems the death was just a stunt, as a chunk of the internet suspected.

In case you missed the episode on November 24 where the popular pooch carked it, he was promptly buried after being run over a car. Stewie was unable to save him at the time due to his time machine having been destroyed.

Will he now manage to build another one and reverse the events, and what does this mean for the Griffin's new dog Vinny, voiced by Tony Sirico? We'll find out a week from Sunday.

[key2win]

Family Guy Brings Brian Back From the Dead - Yahoo TV

The Griffins got the best Christmas present ever on Sunday's episode of Family Guy, when beloved dog Brian — who was hit by a car and killed in an episode that aired last month — was brought back from the dead.

Though the episode opened with Brian's replacement, Vinnie, still included in the opening credits, an uncharacteristically emotional Stewie later told a mall Santa that his biggest wish for Christmas was to have Brian back.

Vinnie dresses up as Brian to try to cheer his new owner up, but when that doesn't work, he takes him to the mall to pick out something else. While there, Vinnie sees Past Stewie, who still has the time machine Stewie was using in the episode where Brian was killed. Vinnie and Stewie hatch a plan to use the time machine to go back in time and save Brian before he was hit by a car.

The resurrected Brian thanks Stewie, saying "a lot of other families would have just gotten another dog and moved on." Ha.

Fans of the Seth MacFarlane cartoon were outraged when the show appeared to have killed Brian off, and had even started a petition to bring the character back to life. But apparently the entire arc was part of a well thought-out plan, according to MacFarlane.

"And thus endeth our warm, fuzzy holiday lesson: Never take those you love for granted, for they can be gone in a flash," MacFarlane tweeted after the episode airs.

He later added: "I mean, you didn't really think we'd kill off Brian, did you? We'd have to be high. ... Oh and hey... thanks for caring so much about the canine Griffin. He is overcome with gratitude."

[jsab4807]

Thank God. Vinny was AWFUL.