This is a page for any hour-long episodes (or episode pairings) of "Family Guy." I decided to start the page in 2014, after the season 13 premiere. And now I don't remember any of the older episodes well enough to say much about them, but I did feel they should have a special mention, anyway. Any of the Road to... episodes might be considered "special," but most of them are just a half hour, so I don't include them here (with one exception).
Laugh It Up, Fuzzball, FOX (seasons 6, 8, and 9)
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This is a trilogy of special "Family Guy" episodes which retell the story of the original "Star Wars" trilogy of movies. The first episode is Blue Harvest, from season 6, which parodies A New Hope. The second episode is Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, from season 8, which parodies The Empire Strikes Back. The third episode is It's a Trap!, from season 9, which parodies Return of the Jedi. While "Blue Harvest" originated on TV, the sequels each debuted on DVD and Blu-ray several months prior to airing on TV (in edited form).
Um... I haven't seen any of the episodes in their unedited form, but I did see them all when they first aired, and I enjoyed them well enough. But I didn't write reviews at the time, and now I can't remember them. But I finally decided I should have a page for them, and any other Family Guy special episodes. Someday I may get them on DVD and write proper reviews, but then again... I really don't feel like there's much to say. They are basically just the story of the movies (which I'm sure you've seen) told using Family Guy characters in the roles of the Star Wars characters, and with Family Guy's irreverent sense of humor (but also with a great love for the source material). So, you know... they're funny episodes. And I don't think there's really any point in saying anything more specific, even if I do ever get around to watching them again. (I should also note that the Adult Swim series Robot Chicken also did its own trilogy of Star Wars parody episodes, and I enjoyed a reference to that in the first of these episodes.)
Brian & Stewie, FOX (season 8)
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Brian and Stewie get locked in a bank vault together. And stuff. I don't remember it well now, but I guess it was more dramatic than most of the show's episodes. Actually, this episode itself wasn't an hour long, but it was paired with a clip-show of musical numbers from old episodes. Or something. And I guess the whole hour was hosted by Brian and Stewie.
And Then There Were Fewer, FOX (season 9)
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The ninth season premiere, and the first episode broadcast in HD. I remember it being a big deal at the time, with better animation than usual (whether for the whole episode or just part, I forget... but I definitely remember thinking the opening sequence looked amazing). And just... in lots of ways it was of higher quality than usual. I don't remember much specifically about it now (apart from it being an Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery), but I know I was quite impressed at the time.
Road to the North Pole, FOX (season 9)
A Christmas special with its own page.
200 Episodes Later, FOX (season 11)
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This was a half hour special that aired immediately after the 200th episode, Yug Ylimaf. Series creator Seth MacFarlane and other people talked about the series, and stuff. Apparently they did something similar for the 100th episode, but I don't have any recollection of that (I may or may not have seen it). I'm fairly sure that I saw this special, but I barely remember it at all. Still, it was a special, and since this is a page for Family Guy specials, I figure I might as well mention that I saw it. I think.
The Simpsons Guy, FOX (season 13)
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The thirteenth season premiere, in which the Griffins flee Quahog (for reasons), and end up in Springfield, where they meet many of the characters from The Simpsons. It's mostly about Peter spending time with Homer, but also Stewie hangs out with Bart, Meg hangs with Lisa, Brian is forced to take Santa's Little Helper for a walk (and loses him), Chris... I guess he vaguely bonds with Maggie, as well as doing stuff with Brian or whatever. And Lois spends time with Marge, though we don't so much see that as hear them mention it in passing. And... other characters are involved. I don't really want to spoil any specifics of the plot, but on the whole I found it a pretty funny (and self-aware) episode. The main thing I'd read about prior to actually watching it was the fight between Homer and Peter (which is modeled on the random and epic fights Peter sometimes has with a man-sized chicken, but in this case makes excellent use of the Springfield setting, including some Treehouse of Horror type stuff). The fight doesn't actually happen until the end of the episode, right about the time I was thinking "Hey, that fight I read about hasn't happened yet. There isn't much time left. How epic could it be?" But there was more time than I thought. It was a long fight. It was about the most epic thing ever, and I feel like it should win an MTV Movie Award for best fight, in spite of not technically being from a movie. (I shall try to remember to watch the ceremony next year just to see if my prediction comes true.) Anyway... all in all, I'd say the episode had a few slightly awkward bits, but mostly it was kind of awesome.
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater, Hulu (season 23)
A Halloween web special with its own page.