VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton WRITTEN BY: Nathan Sharp
This cartoon may be a lot deeper than it appears. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top ten craziest fan theories about “Family Guy.” For this list, we’ll be looking at the wildest, most insane, and most bizarre fan theories surrounding “Family Guy,” its characters, and its universe. Now, we aren’t saying that these theories are legitimate. But they certainly are fun!
#10: Post Cancellation “Family Guy” Is a Different Universe
There’s no denying that post-cancellation “Family Guy” feels a little…different. The characters are meaner and flanderized beyond belief, the jokes are darker, and the storylines more bizarre and outlandish. But maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe it takes place in a whole different universe! Thanks to “Road to the Multiverse,” it’s clear that multiverses DO exist in the world of “Family Guy.” Maybe the family seen in season four is just a wackier and meaner version of the family seen in season three. And maybe Brian and Stewie didn’t go back in time in “Back to the Pilot” – they went to the original universe!
#9: Joe Swanson Was The Tick
This theory from Reddit user r/MrDeez444 states that Joe Swanson was, and maybe still is, The Tick. “The Tick” aired on Fox between 2001 and 2002 and starred Patrick Warburton, the same man who voices Joe. The Tick shares a lot in common with Joe, including a muscular frame, a big chin, a dramatic personality, and obviously the exact same voice. This led r/MrDeez444 into thinking that they are in fact one and the same! Maybe Joe wasn’t doling out enough justice as a cop, so he became The Tick on the side! The Tick costume may even grant the wearer superhuman abilities, as he has super strength and never gets injured. Maybe it also has the power to heal Joe’s paralysis!
#8: Stewie Is a Former Dictator
Stewie is obviously very aggressive in the early seasons and dictatorial in his machinations. The reason for this behavior could be that Stewie is a former dictator who has either been de-aged through magic or reincarnated as a baby. This could explain why Stewie is so smart and ahead of his age, how he can talk, and why he has a British accent. Maybe he’s the reincarnated spirit of Oliver Cromwell or something! It also helps explain how Stewie has calmed down throughout the seasons – as time has passed, he has forgotten his dictatorial ways and simply embraced being a child.
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#7: “Da Boom” Is Canon
Season two’s “Da Boom” is obviously not canon. After all, Y2K destroys the world via a nuclear holocaust, Stewie turns into a tentacled creature, and the ending reveals that it was all a dream of “Dallas’s” Pam Ewing. But what if it is? What if “Da Boom” was the official ending of the “Family Guy” story, and all the following episodes are just delusions concocted by the traumatized family? This could explain the show’s declining quality and wildly different tone, as the characters are slowly losing sight of their past realities and veering further and further into imagination. It could also help explain why the characters never age. Talk about depressing…
#6: “Family Guy” Is a Fictional Show Within the “American Dad!” Universe
There’s a reason “Family Guy” is so outlandish – it’s a fictional TV show! Well, yeah, but we mean it’s a fictional TV show WITHIN a fictional TV show! There are a few hints scattered across the series. The obvious one is the episode “Inside Family Guy,” which takes the form of a behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of the show. There’s also the fact that Brian and Stewie travel back to the pilot and comment on its crude animation quality. Not to mention Stan specifically mentions Brian in “American Dad!,” calling him his number one favorite fictional dog. So, is “Family Guy” a fictional show within the “American Dad!” universe? All signs point to yes…
#5: We See Through the Eyes of Stewie
It’s easy to do the whole “this show takes place within a character’s head” theory, but this one actually has some merit. The theory posits that the events of “Family Guy” are merely Stewie’s perception of the world. Peter and Chris act goofy and childish towards Stewie, so Stewie thinks they’re stupid buffoons. Lois is the strict disciplinarian, so Stewie sees her as shrewd and humorless. Meg is an older teenager and often fights with her parents, so Stewie thinks they all hate and abuse her. And Brian doesn’t actually talk. That would be ridiculous. No, his barks and whimpers are simply constructed as human speech in Stewie’s mind, just like his nonsensical baby noises.
#4: Meg Is Stewie’s Biological Mother
One popular theory floating around the internet is that Meg is actually Stewie’s biological mother. According to the theory, Meg became pregnant at a very young age after sleeping with an ex-boyfriend, and both Lois and Brian helped cover up the pregnancy. Why? We don’t know. Maybe to spare Meg the embarrassment and shame? Or to spare Meg’s boyfriend, who would have been subjected to Peter’s wrath? This theory is seemingly legitimized in “Partial Terms of Endearment,” when Lois outright states that Meg gave birth to Stewie. This kind of crude joke should have elicited a response from Meg, but she doesn’t say anything about it. Could this be because Lois was actually telling the truth?
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#3: Brian Writes “Family Guy”
We all know that Brian is a writer. So, what if he writes “Family Guy,” as an exaggerated version of his real family? This could help explain the rampant flanderization and general wackiness – he began writing relatively down-to-Earth stories, but when these didn’t sell, he made them more exaggerated and outlandish to help encourage sales. It’s also possible that his increased alcoholism has turned him into a sloppy writer, turning a once-good story into the mess it is now. This also explains why Brian and Stewie are often given their own episodes – he has actually lived these adventures firsthand and has more detail to draw on and exaggerate.
#2: Brian’s Brain
Have you ever wondered why Brian doesn’t really act like a dog? According to this theory, it’s because he is a human trapped inside a dog! Well, a human brain inside a dog’s body, anyway. In “American Dad!,” Klaus is a German ski jumper whose brain was implanted into a goldfish by the CIA. If these two shows share the same universe, it’s entirely possible that the exact same thing happened to Brian. This could explain how he can talk and write, why he was the only puppy from his litter to act like a person, and how he is able to have a 13-year-old human son. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Stewie Constantly De-Ages Everyone Peter’s Brain Is Decaying Time Travel Is Responsible for the Declining Quality Lois Gets Money from Her Father Lois Is Leaving Peter
#1: Peter’s Heightened Reality
Reddit user r/bblank0308 came up with a very compelling theory. Unfortunately, it is completely and totally depressing. Bear with us. One night, Meg and Chris both died in a drunk driving accident after coming home from a school party. A pregnant Lois then committed suicide out of grief. Driven to insanity, Peter created the heightened reality of “Family Guy” within his head. Meg is treated poorly because he still resents her for driving drunk and crashing the car. He also makes Stewie highly intelligent, as he likes to believe that his unborn son had great potential. And he makes Stewie hate Lois because she took his life. Finally, a combination of insanity and extreme guilt caused Peter to mentally regress into the man child he is today.
