The pilot episode of Family Guy has been unearthed nearly three decades later after being ‘lost’ to the archives.
The cartoon’s fans had previously only ever seen seven out of the 16 minutes of the original episode after it was featured as bonus content on the Family Guy Volume 2 DVD in 2003.
But now the full-length pilot has been discovered on animator Robert Paulsen’s website, as he previously worked on the long-running show about the misadventures of the Griffin family.
On YouTube, viewers including @blameitongeoge said it was an ‘insane find’, while @dailydoseofinternet declared: ‘This is internet history.’
After watching the pilot, @Xen8008 commented: ‘Seeing Proto Quagmire is like looking at one of those English bulldogs after hundreds of years of inbreeding.’
@MeHarrington-n2l said: ‘Lois being blonde makes a lot more sense. Especially since Chris is blond.’
@mchrome3366 added: ‘Gives good insight to how FG developed the characters and what changes they made for the better. Probably a good idea changing the voice for Chris.’
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane produced the pilot in 1998 after being granted $50,000 (£38,950) by Fox executives. The broadcaster later agreed on a full series order, and it premiered in 1999 after the Super Bowl.
In 2002, Family Guy was cancelled, but impressive DVD sales and high ratings from syndicated reruns compelled Fox to revive the show, and it returned in 2005.
Since then, Family Guy has been on air, producing 23 seasons and more than 400 episodes.
Set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, the show centres on the dysfunctional Griffins family, consisting of parents Peter and Lois, their children Meg, Chris and baby Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog, Brian.
Seth recently said in an interview with The LA Times that there were no plans to end Family Guy.
He said: ‘At this point, I don’t see a good reason to stop.
‘People still love it. It makes people happy and it funds some good causes. It’s a lot of extraneous cash that you can donate to Rainforest Trust, and you can still go out to dinner that night.’
Seth also added: ‘There was a time when I thought, it’s time to wrap it up. At this point, we’ve reached escape velocity. I don’t know that there’s any reason to stop at this point unless people get sick of it. Unless the numbers show that people just are, “Eh, we don’t care about Family Guy anymore.” But that hasn’t happened yet.’
Family Guy is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
