Family Guy went away, then it came back, but was that a smart thing?

Family has had solid rating since its return, often scoring higher than The Simpsons, but in the opinions of many reviewers and fans it has never been as good as it once was, it has been funny, but never like it was.

In the season 9 hour long premier The Griffins arrive at a large mansion believing that they are at a party honouring Peter, only to find out that most of the cast of Family Guy have received the same invitation but concerning them. The story unfolds to reveal that James Woods, a newly born again Christian, has hosted this dinner to make amen’s for all of the errors he has done. James explains he has wronged each guest at this party.

After Quagmire’s date is suddenly murdered, followed by the death of James Woods, the guests find themselves stuck in a mansion with a killer, no cell reception and no way out.

The story is brilliant with exceptional writing. The episode, which avoids the cut away gags all together, ends with the death of four show regulars. The humour, instead of relying on their normal cut away fill in the black jokes, uses clever writing and strongly developed characters. We see the likes of Jillian, Adam West, Herbert, Diane and Tom Tucker, Dr. Hartman, Seamus, Carl and Consuela all in one episode.

Overal this was an amazing episode, better then we have seen from Family Guy in ages, maybe even its best episode ever. The wild shake-up of the supporting cast will leave room for a set of new, hopefully interesting, characters.

If this is what Family Guy is going to be in the future then finally I give you the Welcome Back you deserve.