There are many moving parts that make Family Guy such an amazing animated sitcom and one of those is the cutaway gag. A few such scenes are often included in every episode to help elaborate a one-liner or burn by a character. The cutaways also serve as mini-breaks from the episode's main storyline since they take the viewer to a different location altogether.
Throughout its 19 seasons, the sitcom has had many brilliant cutaways, from Peter flying to a KFC and demanding to meet its (dead) founder Colonel Sanders, to Officer Reeses discovering the recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. However, a couple of cutaway gags have simply towered above the rest.
Will Smith's Clean Rap Song
Will Smith is mostly known for being an actor but back in the '90s and early 2000s, he was also a rapper. He composed simple and clean rap songs, unlike his peers whose songs were often full of profanities.
In Season 6's "McStroke", Stewie tries to fit in with the cool kids. He then boasts that he has become more popular with the kids than Will Smith's clean rap songs. A cutaway then shows Smith recording a song that addresses wiping your feet on the mat before you get in the house because someone just cleaned the floor.
The Truth About Popeye's Arms
In Season 5's "You May Now Kiss the...Uh...Guy Who Receives," popular cartoon character Popeye makes an appearance. Feeling sick, he visits Dr. Hartman who gives him the shock of his life.
Hartman tells him that the lumps on his arms that have made him famous are actually tumors. The doctor also has an explanation for why Popeye speaks the way he does. He says that this is a result of a stroke he suffered many years ago. Popeye doubts it, but Hartman isn't done with the bad news. He tells him that he has only two months to live. Well, it's surprising that Popeye is still alive.
Brian Doesn't Know That His Reflection Isn't Another Dog
Stewie tries to shoot trick-or-treaters in Season 9's "Halloween on Spooner Street" since he thinks they are ghosts, monsters, and intruders. Brian stops him (thankfully) and wonders how he doesn't know anything about Halloween. Stewie retaliates by reminding Brian that he also doesn't know that his own reflection isn't another dog.
The cutaway reveals Brian walking past a mirror while holding a coffee mug. When he sees the reflection, he yells at it to "get out of the house." He then runs to confront it only to knock himself out in the mirror. Peter then shows up, asking Brian who did that to him. When he sees his own reflection in the mirror, he also confronts it, only to knock himself out too.
Peter's Timed Farts
Joe invites Peter to his bingo in Season 14's "Road To India" but he'd rather stay in the house and dress up in costumes. Lois pushes him to go since it means a lot to Joe but Peter insists that staying in the house is the only thing he's ever been good at. That and timing his farts to thunderstorms so that no one notices.
A cutaway then shows Peter at a conference meeting as it's raining outside. As the boss explains the company's sales, Peter makes sure to fart whenever thunder strikes. It turns out he isn't so good at that either, as he claims. He mistimes one of his farts, making his associates stare at him in disgust.
The Canadian Alcatraz
In Season 6's "The Secret Life Of Brian," Brian's ex Tracy Flannigan gets tired of taking care of their child so she asks him to do the parenting. Brian tries to come up with a plan to trick Tracy into taking care of the baby, rather than doing it himself. Quagmire tells Brian not to worry, because fooling his Tracy is a lot easier than fleeing from the Canadian Alcatraz. A cutaway then shows the prison.
The American Alcatraz is known for its tight security, but the Canadian Alcatraz is shown to be quite the opposite. An inmate approaches a guard and asks if he can walk out. The guard tells him it's okay so long as he is back by bedtime. The man then walks out, never to be seen again.
Peter Gets Hungry On Mount Everest
While going to climb Mount Everest with his family in Season 11's "Into Fat Air," Peter insists that he is very hungry. He adds that he needs to eat the same way birds need to fly.
The scene then cuts to two birds arguing with an airport attendant. Apparently, the birds need to head south but it's too far so they insist that they have to get on a plane. Unfortunately, they don't have any documentation. They are also too tired to use their wings hence it becomes a dilemma. They have to fly at all costs.
Kevin Bacon Wasn't In Footloose
In Season 5's "Boys Do Cry," Stewie starts throwing up after drinking too much at communion. The entire town of Quahog thinks he is possessed so they ask the priest to exorcise him. The Griffin family is against this so they escape to Carol’s home in Texas. Brian struggles to fit in Texas and claims that the residents are as stubborn as a mule.
A cutaway takes viewers to a living room where a talking mule is literally arguing with a man. The man claims that Kevin Bacon was in the movie Footloose but the mule disagrees. The mule evens starts crying when the man insists that yes, it's true that Kevin Bacon indeed starred in the 1984 musical drama film.
Alan Rickman's Answering Machine Drink
Peter and his friends, are eager to meet Cleveland's fortune teller cousin Madame Claude in Season 7's "Peter's Progress." They order drinks for everyone at a bar as they wait for Cleveland to show up, but he takes forever. Peter jokes that Cleveland's drink is lonelier than Alan Rickman's answering machine.
The cutaway then takes viewers to the house of Rickman, who is best known for playing the menacing villain Hans Gruber in Die Hard. All the calls go into voicemail, with the answering machine set up with Rickman's iconic voice. Rickman even calls his own home, to remind himself to move the pork chops from the freezer. He goes ahead to threaten himself: "Do not disappoint me!".
Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet
Meg finds herself stressed in Season 13's "Out Idiot Brian." She is worried that she will fail her SAT and fail to go to college. She isn't normally one to cheat but when her friends influence her with the end-justifies-means theory and advise her to get a smart person to take the test for her, she does as told. She gets Brian, and to his surprise, no one notices that he is a dog.
A happy Brian reveals that he was worried about sticking out like the one guy in Abraham Lincoln's cabinet without a beard (since beards were common in the era). Lincoln is then shown discussing war ideas with his cabinet. The with beards come up with plans but when the single cabinet secretary without a beard says something better, he is dismissed for being a baby.
Peter Quits His Job After Winning The Lottery
Peter quits his job after winning $150 million at the Powerball premiere in Season 10's premiere. Lois comes home to find him relaxing and watching TV while naked. He narrates to her how he insulted his boss Angela for the mistreatment she gave him before leaving the office for good.
However, the cutaway shows Peter talking to Angela very nicely. He thanks her for her well she has always treated him. He adds that working there has been the best time of his life. But there's a twist. Peter concludes by telling Angela that he has left a mountain of poop on her desk.