Back to the Pilot  "Back to the Pilot" is the fifth episode of the tenth season of the animated comedy series "Family Guy". It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 13, 2011. In "Back to the Pilot", two of the show's main characters, baby genius Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian, both voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, use a time machine to travel back in time to the first episode of the series, "Death Has a Shadow". Trouble ensues however, when Brian tells his former self about the September 11 attacks, causing the present to be dramatically changed, and ultimately resulting in a second civil war. The two must then prevent themselves from going back to the past in the first place, but soon realize that it will be much more difficult than they had originally thought. The episode was written by Mark Hentemann and directed by Dominic Bianchi. It received high praise from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving some criticism for its portrayal of the September 11 attacks, an example of 9/11 humor despite being self-aware. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed by 6.01 million people in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Lacey Chabert, Chris Cox, Ralph Garman, Christine Lakin, Phil LaMarr and Fred Tatasciore, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. When Brian approaches Stewie about helping him find a tennis ball he had buried, Stewie asks if Brian remembers the date that he lost it. Brian tells him that he buried it on January 31, 1999 (the day of the series' premiere on Fox). Using Stewie's time machine to travel back to that date, the two soon come upon the Griffin family, but notice that their past looks more strange than they remembered it: the family continually pauses for cutaways, and Meg's voice sounds different. Stewie also points out that this may be his first memory and that is the day Peter made his eye go over his nose (an animation glitch that actually occurred in the pilot). Telling Brian that he must not alter the past by getting the tennis ball and that he should instead memorize its location, Stewie goes into his room to set up their return to the present before Past Stewie suddenly enters. The two Stewies then meet, and Stewie tells Brian to come out from his hiding place after explaining himself to Past Stewie. However, hanging outside the window, Brian falls onto Past Peter's car as he drives to the bachelor party at past Glenn Quagmire's house.