Season 4 · Episode 15 · First aired 13 November 2005

Brian Goes Back to College

Episode 15 of Family Guy season 4 (S04E15), the 65th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Matt Fleckenstein and directed by Greg Colton. First broadcast on 13 November 2005.

Story

Dressed as The A-Team, Peter, Quagmire, Joe and Cleveland win a costume contest. Brian's report on it earns him a job offer from The New Yorker. The magazine sacks him on day one, when he admits he never finished college. Lois sends Brian back to Brown University, with Stewie tagging along in secret. His professor dislikes him until a high test score, copied from Stewie with Stewie's consent, changes that. When Brian tries to confess, the professor says the result has lifted him out of a suicidal depression. Meanwhile the four form their own A-Team, but disband after chatting with builders instead of saving a park from demolition. Facing a final exam he can only pass by cheating, Brian goes home; Lois sends him back. The A-Team reunite and drive him to the exam. Brian fails but is proud he did not cheat, which disappoints the family.

Production and reception

Ron Jones, who had scored the original The A-Team in the 1980s, wrote the music for the scene in which Peter's team helps a man in a bar. Wikipedia, Brian Goes Back to College
The professor and his wife were voiced by a computer speech system rather than actors; the wheelchair-using professor had appeared before in "Ready, Willing, and Disabled" and "Brian the Bachelor". Wikipedia, Brian Goes Back to College
Several viewers contacted director Greg Colton to ask whether Roger Williams Park in Rhode Island was really to be demolished, one couple because they planned to marry there. Wikipedia, Brian Goes Back to College
The working title was much longer, also mentioning Stewie going along, but it was shortened for length. Wikipedia, Brian Goes Back to College
The New Yorker responded with a friendly article about the episode, and TV Squad's Ryan J. Budke praised the episode's 30-second remake of the opening titles of The A-Team. Wikipedia, Brian Goes Back to College

Voices

Voice	Characters
Seth MacFarlane	Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin
Alex Borstein	Lois Griffin, Amelia Bedford-Furthington-Chesterhill, Kelly McGillis
Seth Green	Chris Griffin
Mila Kunis	Meg Griffin
John G. Brennan	Horace
Ralph Garman	Father
Mike Henry	Cleveland Brown, Male Student #1
Mark Hentemann	Livingston Winstofford, Kaleb
Phil LaMarr	Gary Coleman
Anne-Michelle Barrett	Female Student

Principal voice credits as recorded by IMDb, which lists up to ten credits per episode, so recurring characters can be missing here. Guest voices below come from Wikipedia and TVmaze.

Guest voices

Ralph Garman
Mark Hentemann
Phil LaMarr as Gary Coleman
Dolph Lundgren (stock footage)
Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
Chris Sheridan as James William Bottomtooth
John Viener as Emcee

Season 4: episode 15 of 30

Season hub with air dates and credits for all 30 episodes

SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 4 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.

Provenance

Facts only

Sources: Wikipedia: Brian Goes Back to College
Wikidata Q4035410
IMDb
TVmaze
Data refreshed: 6 September 2026
Verification: Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
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Licence: Facts are not copyrightable. Source text on Wikipedia is CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikidata is CC0; IMDb data is used for verification under its non-commercial terms.
Note: The story summary and notes were written for this site from the sources listed, by Claude in Claude Code on 2026-09-08, awaiting editorial review. Facts only; no dialogue is reproduced. Voice credits: Information courtesy of IMDb (https://www.imdb.com). Used with permission. Guest cast data from TVmaze (https://www.tvmaze.com), CC BY-SA.