It aired on Fox in the United States on November 24, 2013, and is written by Alex Carter and directed by Joseph Lee.

[1] The episode revolves around the death of Brian Griffin, after being struck by a car, and the family coping with the loss by adopting a replacement dog, Vinny.

While picking up the broken pieces of the hockey net, Stewie blames himself and the time machine for Brian's death.

Stewie tries to rebuild the time machine and use it to save Brian, but finds that his dealer is unable to supply him with needed parts due to his connection being killed for accidentally drawing Muhammad.

Vinny offers some comfort, talking about the death of his previous owner Leo, and proving he knows what it is like to lose a best friend.

about why they decided to kill off Brian in the episode, saying: "Well, this was an idea that got pitched in the writer's room and it caught fire, and we thought it could be a fun way to shake things up.

"[2] He also explained why they decided to kill off Brian and not one of the other characters, saying: "It seemed more in the realm of a reality that a dog would get hit by a car than if one of the kids died.

"[2] He also discussed how the other Family Guy actors reacted when they heard Brian would be killed in the episode, saying: "I think they were glad it wasn't them.

So by losing Brian, it felt like a void needed to be filled both comically and for the interpersonal relationships between all the characters.

He's a big fan of The Sopranos and always loved Tony Sirico in particular and he thought it would be fun to write a character based around his voice and his personality and just who he is as an actor.

[4] Within hours of the episode's air on November 24, 2013, a petition for the resurrection of Brian Griffin directed towards series creator Seth MacFarlane and Fox emerged on Change.org.

This made it the second most watched show on Animation Domination that night, beating American Dad!