A surprisingly poignant and emotional Family Guy

I knew that this week's episode of Family Guy, entitled "Brian and Stewie", was likely to be another of their duo episodes. I was at first surprised when I read the episode description on Wikipedia before the airing, which noted that it was an extra-long episode that took place entirely inside of a bank vault, with no cutaways, flashbacks or manatee jokes.

However, I went from surprised to shocked as the episode unfolded. Family Guy isn't a show known for its dramatic moments, but Sunday night's episode featured some very mature back-and-forth between Stewie and Brian about Brian's life. While there was still the usual gross out humor - Stewie made Brian eat the poop out of his diaper, and Stewie begs to have his ears pierced - it was well balanced by Brian explaining to Stewie why he has a gun, a copy of David Copperfield and a bottle of good old scotch.

Without commercials, the episode runs about 25 minutes, and all of them do indeed run in the bank vault except for a short intro. It is a different sort of episode, but I found it really interesting and enjoyable. I like when shows are risky, and willing to do this kind of concept show. And if you're not into the serious nature of it, feel free to fast forward to the end, when the final 15 minutes of the hour are replays of about five songs from the show.

Grade: A+