For the past two decades, Family Guy has pushed the boundaries of animated television. Focusing on the everyday (yet strange) middle class Griffin family from Quahog, Rhode Island, this series is known for its outrageous humor, some of the raunchiest in animation. Coming from the genius mind of Seth MacFarlane, who has been an animator since the early animation days of Johnny Bravo, we’ve come to know and love these characters in all their offensive glory. From the very first episode in 1999, there have been a plethora of raunchy comments, cutaways, and clashes with network standards. However, that is what's helped make Family Guy run this long.

As one of the best animated shows for adults, Family Guy has had many golden episodes that have crossed a moral line or two. Some celebrities may have been thrown into the line of comedic fire, and some major events in history have been parodied and glorified, but it is all in good fun. The show has always been light-hearted and could relate to anyone and everyone. MacFarlane’s brilliant use of a variety of characters (who all come from a real place), allow the viewers to see themselves in at least one… aside from perhaps the evil baby genius, Stewie Griffin.

Along with its major characters, there have been a variety of episodes that continue to have a long-lasting impact on viewers, along with being some of the most controversial on television. Here are just a few of those fantastic feats of animation.

8 Brian and Stewie

Stewie and Brian
20th Television

The 150th episode of the series came with a powerhouse of raw emotion. Without any music, it just focuses on the titular characters in the episode. While Brian and Stewie are trapped inside a bank vault, we find out so much about them internally. It is by far a raunchy and outrageous episode, but it has an incredible amount of heart and expresses how far each of these characters will go for their friendship.

Related: Nicholas Hoult Had to Imitate Stewie from Family Guy to Win X-Men Role

It is not off-the-wall hilarious, but it is still incredibly entertaining because the audience gets to see these characters be human for a while. Sure, Stewie and Brian are far from human (in that one is an evil baby and the other is a talking dog), but we can connect with them on an intellectual and heartbreaking level, as true and dark intentions are revealed throughout its extra-long duration.

7 Back to the Pilot

Family Guy weird CGI
20th Television

It all started to find a tennis ball. Brian’s hubris is completely exploited in this expedition back to the beginning. The fifth episode of season 10 takes Brian and Stewie back to the very first episode. What makes this episode both hilarious and ambitious is that it alters the past in an unconventional way. The shocking twist of preventing 9/11 did raise eyebrows in that it was presented in a comedic way. However, it represents the importance of history. It can not and should not be erased.

Seth MacFarlane’s potential involvement in the national disaster makes this episode hit a little harder in that he could have been one of the thousands if he had not had a bit too much to drink on the 10th of September. He explains the controversy in the episode during an interview with Rove LA:

"You know, it's all there in the structure. You know, it's post 'All in the Family' America. We can't watch anything on television without having this knee-jerk reaction. Taken in context if this were the early 70s on television people would say 'Alright [this is] the structure of the story.' But it could have been a lot worse, actually."

Context is truly everything when it comes to comedy. Especially in an episode where Stewie and Brian high-five because they made 9/11 happen. However, with these ridiculously dark comedic elements shrouded by playful banter and a lighthearted exploration into the series’ beginning, “Back to the Pilot” was a major homerun.

6 And Then There Were Fewer

Well-dressed Family Guy cast is angry
20th Television

Parodying Agatha Christie’s 1939 crime novel And Then There Were None, along with movie murder mysteries from the golden age of cinema, “And Then There Were Fewer” plays the game with the audience just as it does with the characters. This is one of the most ambitious episodes in the series because it kills off major players. From James Woods and Muriel Goldman to Diane Simmons, the characters' deaths came as a major surprise. This episode, while hilarious, takes itself rather seriously and is in fact a mystery. We truly have no idea who the killer is until the big reveal at the episode’s conclusion. Making Diane the killer was a shocking twist not many saw coming. The clever writing brought this episode into the group of highly acclaimed episodes of animated television.

5 The Simpsons Guy

Family Guy meets the Simpsons
20th Television

We asked for it, and they delivered. It was a crossover episode that we never thought would ever happen, but by the genius of Seth MacFarlane and The Simpsons showrunner Matt Groening, it happened. "The Simpsons Guy" is the first episode of the 13th season, and it delivers on every level. The character dynamics work brilliantly and the writing in this episode is outstanding.

What makes this episode truly impactful is its satisfying way of pairing characters from both worlds. Bringing ignorant Peter Griffin and clumsy Homer Simpson together for most of the episode, having an all-out brawl was a real highlight here. But pairing Stewie and Bart together became a great piece of television history. These characters see themselves in one another and their desire to cause their own level of chaos was a fantastic choice. The episode as a whole was not just fan service, it was a well written story about two families under the same roof.

4 I Dream of Jesus

Jesus in a tux at the door in Family Guy
20th Television

The second episode of the second season started out as a simple story about Peter Griffin enjoying (and repeating) Surfin Bird by The Trashmen over and over again. The song became associated with this exact episode and the hilarious dance. However, when Peter meets Jesus himself in a record store, the episode takes on a more metaphorical turn. While its presentation is a bit silly and over the top, it actually tells a grounded story about fame in this modern world. The religiously controversial message which it presents is that no one is safe from the dark side of fame, not even Jesus Christ. It makes us ask how we are as a society to where celebrities are chewed up by the entertainment world and spit out into the streets.

Related: Real-Life Peter Griffin Responds to Family Guy Shoutout

3 Road to the North Pole

Stewie, Brian, and Santa in the snow
20th Television

A Family Guy Christmas Special of the highest caliber for the show. The seventh episode from season nine told a surprisingly heartfelt story about the meaning of Christmas, though it features one of the funniest moments in the series as Stewie and Brian attempt to be Santa Claus while he’s out of commission, and it goes horribly wrong. What can be taken from this is that the holiday season is not just about gifts. This message of gratitude and familial bond is a sophisticated one indeed, and it's presented in a hilarious way which gathers the audience's attention from the very beginning.

2 Stewie Kills Lois/Lois Kills Stewie

Stewie hangs from something and points a gun
20th Television

This dual episode answers the question we asked ourselves since we first saw Stewie’s homicidal hatred for Lois: “What if he actually did it?” Well, in episode four of season six, he actually did. It was a groundbreaking episode at its air date in 2007, where we actually see Stewie kill his own mother. The trials and tribulations that follow make Stewie the character and villain he has always aspired to be. It was entertaining to say the least, however, its ending was a huge sigh of relief. The self-aware conclusion of it all being a simulation shows that Stewie would never truly do harm to Lois, or would he?

1 PTV

Stewie on the toilet, Brian in a tux, Peter watching
20th Television

The 14th episode of season four was a nod, or in this case a poke, at the standards set by officials at the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). Censorship has plagued Family Guy since its very first season. Being shown on basic cable makes its raunchy material a bit difficult to reach its audience. This episode parodies the idea of censorship in comedy in a way that is rather on the nose, but effective in its message.

What this episode achieves is how it literally shows how over the past four seasons it has barely crossed the line set by the FCC. While standing on top of the line, it brilliantly presents almost every single raunchy and outrageous moment through a montage, making a nice cherry on top moment for the series up until that point. The series as a whole has always been butting heads with network standards, but that doesn’t stop MacFarlane and his incredible writing team from getting closer and closer to crossing lines in the best way possible.