Ah, Family Guy.  This dysfunctional family brings me back to my television night after night to take part in laughter and smiles.  It’s controversial, vulgar, rude and yet I can’t tear my eyes away.  We welcome Family Guy back for its ninth season.

In “Road to the Multiverse,” Stewie (Seth MacFarlane) has invented a remote that can transport himself to parallel universes.  He and Brian (also Seth MacFarlane) travel from universe to universe including a universe where Christianity “was never invented,” a Flinstone’s universe, an ice age universe where Brian saves the day by cutting through the ice with his wagging tail and a Disney drawn universe where they sing “It’s a Wonderful Day for Pie.”

They finally land in a universe where the dog/master role is reversed and humans are kept as pets by dogs.  Brian, in an effort to stop Stewie from leaving, accidentally breaks the remote.  He leashes baby Stewie and they meet the dog equivalent of the Griffins.  Puppy Stewie tells baby Stewie he has a remote as well and will help them, but baby Stewie bites dog Peter and gets taken to the pound to be put down.  Human Brian and dog Brian along with puppy Stewie rescue baby Stewie from the pound and human Brian decides to go with them to their own universe.  They get home, human Brian goes off to be his own man… and gets hit by a car.

The cutaway gags were strong and the show was as offensive and funny as ever.  The social commentary in this show truly pushes the watcher to be able to laugh at yourself.  If you can’t, you’ll have a hard time understanding the humor.