'Family Guy' shocks fans with death of major character - New York Daily News

Warning: Spoiler alert for Sunday night's "Family Guy."

Brian may have lived a human life, but he died a dog's death.

In a move that sent shock waves woofing through the animation universe Sunday night, Fox's "Family Guy" killed off Brian Griffin, the beloved family dog.

He was run over by a car and died of his injuries after telling the Griffins they had given him a wonderful life.

FOX

Stewie decides to destroy his time machine after too many close calls with altering the course of mankind when he and Brian travel back to 17th Century Jamestown in the shocking ‘Life of Brian’ episode.

It was as close as any moment gets to sentimental in a show written by Seth MacFarlane, who also happened to do Brian's voice.

By mid-day Monday, a petition had popped up on Change.org ^[2] calling for Brian to be brought back to life. Launched by “Family Guy” fan Aaron Thompson of Tuscaloosa, Ala., it had more than 1,500 signatures. Brian was pretty much a human who happened to wear a fur coat and (occasionally) walked on four legs.

He described himself as a liberal and a writer, though his writing was terrible.

He was also an alcoholic, which didn't prevent him from being best pals with his two-legged siblings Peter and Stewie.

FOX

Writer Steve Callaghan told E! Online that Brian's fate was sealed before the season began.

His death followed a complicated buildup wherein Stewie destroyed the time machine that had taken him and Brian on multiple adventures.

When Stewie threw the remains of the machine away at the junkyard, they found a street hockey net. They were setting it up in the street when Brian got flattened by a bad driver.

Stewie tried to reassemble the time machine so he could go back and save Brian, but he couldn't get the parts.

A month or so later, the still-mourning Griffins decided to get a new dog: Vinny, voiced by Tony Sirico from "The Sopranos."

FOX

The family dog’s departure could change several key dynamics on the show.

Vinny won over most of the family by cooking dinner. Stewie held out, but Vinny eventually won him over by talking about how he had lost his owner, so he could understand how Stewie felt.

Writer Steve Callaghan told E! Online ^[5] that Brian's fate was sealed before the season began, when the writers decided killing a character would provide a valuable shakeup.

Callaghan said that however much the characters and viewers loved Brian, the show felt it would be easier to weather his loss than the loss of a two-legged family member.

Brian's departure could potentially change several key dynamics on the show, since he was a sounding board and frequent skeptic about family schemes.

Brian was 11.

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