One awesome Family Guy moment: Peter fighting the giant chicken. Pure insanity, and utter win.
The best part is how each battle utterly tops the last. Case in point.
Who could forget Mayor Adam West's brutal and bloodthirsty murder of the Noid?
"Perhaps it was the Noid who should have avoided me."
Every time a character from another series or a celebrity other than Adam West is either mentioned or shows up in a cutaway or brought to a scene to help progress the story line (i.e. Stewie managing to get Seymour Krelborn to explain what happened to Mort Goldman in "Road to Germany").
Brian got one for not only standing up for Meg, but for completely disassembling Connie D'Amico in "Barely Legal":
Connie D'Amico: You know, Meg, there's no dogs allowed here, so you're gonna have to leave, but Brian can stay. (She and another couple laugh) Brian: (slurring a bit) You know, Connie, I think I have a theory about why you're such a bitch. Connie D'Amico: Excuse me?! Meg: Brian, let's just go. Brian: No, no, no, no, no, hang on. Hang on, Meg, hang on. You see, Connie, you're popular because you developed early and started giving handjobs when you were 12. But now you can't stand to look at yourself in the mirror because all you see is a whore. So you pick on Meg to avoid the inevitable realization that once your body's used up by age 19 you're gonna be a worn-out, chalky-skinned burlap sack that even your stepdad won't want. How's that, am I in the ballpark? Connie: (runs off in tears)
Meg gets a rather slight one in "Stew-Roids." When Connie D'Amico has been ruined socially by Chris, she turns to Meg for help. Meg tells her off rather pointedly.
Meg got another one in "Road to Rupert." After putting up with the crap of Peter and his friends, she stops the car she's driving them in and immediately gets rear-ended. When confronted by the hostile driver of the vehicle behind her, she proceeds to beat the living hell out of the guy. Even Peter admits it was awesome.
Quagmire: You wanna know, Brian. I'll tell you: You are the worst person I know. You constantly hit on your best friend's wife; the man pays for your food and rescued you from certain death and that is how you repay him? And to add insult to injury, you defecate all over his yard. And you're such a sponge. You pay for nothing and always say, "Oh, I'll get you later," but later never comes! And what really bothers me is you pretend that you're this deep guy who loves women for their souls when all you do is date bimbos. Yeah, I date women for their bodies, but at least I'm honest about it. I don't buy them a copy of The Catcher in The Rye and lecture them with some 7th grade interpretation about how Holden Caulfield is some profound intellectual. He wasn't! He was a spoiled brat, and that's why you like him so much. He's you! God, you're pretentious. And you delude yourself into thinking you're some great writer even though you're terrible. You know, I should have known Cheryl Tiegs didn't write me that note. She would've known there's no "a" in the word "definite." And I think what I hate most about you is your textbook liberal agenda - how we should "legalize pot, man", how big business is crushing the underclass and homelessness is the biggest tragedy in America. Well what have you done to help? I worked down at the soup kitchen Brian. Never seenyoudown there! You wanna help? GRAB A LADLE! Oh, and driving a Prius doesn't make you Jesus Christ. Oh wait, you don't believe in Jesus Christ or any religion for that matter because "religion is for idiots!" Well, who the hell are you to talk down to anyone? You failed college twice, which isn't nearly as bad as your failure as a father. How is that son of yours you never see? But you know what? I could forgive all of that - all of it - if you weren't such a bore! That's the worst of it, Brian. You're just a big, sad, alcoholic bore! *sighs* Well, I'll see you later Brian. *gets up and leaves* Thanks for the fucking steak.
It gets better when you realize that Seth MacFarlane himself is the real winner of the CMOA. Consider that Brian is confirmed to be Seth's Author Avatar and then that he voices both Brian and Quagmire. Seth MacFarlane is quite literally launching a tirade against himself for his own irritating qualities. Something like that brutally honest really takes guts to do for yourself to say nothing of being in front of your entire audience.
And just in case you feel Quagmire takes it too far, Brian dishes a mini dose back at Quagmire in "Tiegs For Two", labelling him a shallow, half-Polish know-it-all.
In the same episode, when Lois talks to him Peter actually acknowledges that he has been a jackass and tries to make amends.
Kicks the crap out of her father not once, but twice (and makes him punch Stewie),
Beats up the popular kids with a pillow case full of unopened sodas, all the while ignoring their name-calling and,
When Connie D'Amico is beaten senseless, gives her a very deep and thorough french kiss, all in front of the entire school during lunchtime to humiliate her further.
And then this all results in one for Brian, eventually he's forced to drive Meg down to Goldsmith's pharmacy so she can rob it, then take her to the airport... and she has a gun. However, as she's holding up the pharmacy, Brian steps in and grabs a magazine he had written an article for earlier on in the show. The subject? Teenagers... and in the case of who Brian wrote it about, Meg. Now thats a mini Heartwarming moment in and of itself, but he uses the article and his words to convince her to stand down and go back to being her normal self instead of the abusive person she has been... both an awesome one, and a CMOH
Sorry about the mess in the bathroom, Lois. My post-sex pee stream forked and it got everywhere.
The edited-for-TV version had Peter (with Patrick Stewart's voice) naming off three famous Armenian-Americans.
Stewie's first birthday party, where he comes to believe the "Man in White" who birthed him is planning to imprison him in the womb again. Circumstances lead to a Jim Jones-esque cult leader entering the house wearing his white robe, and Stewie Mind Screws with him a bit before showing himself and announcing "It's a boy!" before gunning the leader down.
In the episode where James Woods steals Peter's identity, Peter gets revenge by stealing his, then proceeds to to utterly destroy the man's reputation as an actor and as a human being in under five minutes on national TV.
The one-hour season nine premiere "And Then There Were Fewer" had one at the end of the episode.
Stewie:(after saving Lois from Diane Simmons by shooting her with a sniper rifle) "If anyone's going to take that bitch out, it's gonna be me."
That whole episode was awesome. What looked like it might be another excuse for bad writing and mystery parody was actually a tight, well-written, funny, well-done mystery.
Lois has a minor one in the most recent episode, where Brian becomes a Conservative Republican, acting just as much of a strawman as he did as a Liberal Democrat. She basically chews him out and tells him he's only doing this because he likes to go against the popular opinion, and once the popular idea is something else, he switches.
In "Stew-roids," Lois gets another one. When she sees Stewie all buffed out thanks to steroids, she asks Peter what the hell he was thinking. He tells her, completely nonchalantly, that someone suggested it was the best way, and that "Of course I believed him. I believe what everyone tells me anywhere." Lois decks him--quite rightfully and spectacularly.
In "The Kiss Seen Around the World," Meg and Tom Tucker (who she has a crush on), go to City Hall where Neil Goldman threatens to jump off due to Meg rejecting him. Meg sees that Tom does not really want to save Neil and is only filming him for ratings, and calls him a horrible man to his face. After Neil jumps, Meg saves his life by breaking his fall, and tells him that even though she will not reciprocate to him, that doesn't mean she wants him to die. These just go to show that Meg does have morals, has a lot of common sense, and actually is an awesome character.
In addition to that, Hugh Downs saving them both from an assassin in hand to hand combat.
The opening scene of PTV: Stewie fends off a bunch of Afghanistanian terrorists including Osama Bin Laden, and when asked who he is, says, "I'm Stewie Griffin. And don't ever let me catch you guys in Quahog!" But then he falls down and onto his trike, where he goes through a montage parodying many classic movies and video game scenes like The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars, which happens to be a shoutout to the opening to The Naked Gun.
Peter's own revenge on Connie in "Peter's Daughter".
Peter: Say, could you take a look at that fire extinguisher over there...
When Peter pretends to be Jewish so he can avoid work on Saturday, he dresses up like a Hassidic Jew & makes anti-Semitic jokes at a Synagogue. A real Hassidic Jew quickly gives him a Groin Attack.
When Stewie is about to drink from Peter's tobacco spit cup (in the episode "Airport 07") Brian is about to warn him not to, but then has a flashback to an earlier episode when Stewie beat him and demanded money. Brian says, "never mind" and lets him drink it.
From the episode "Quagmire's Dad":
Brian: Hey... I FUCKED your dad.
This is even more awesome because Brian has just been beaten up, big time, just for doing it, and Quagmire threatened to kill him.
Lois in Round 6 of her last Boxing Match in 'Baby, You Knock Me Out.'
From "Halloween on Spooner Street": Quagmire's prank.
Also from that episode, Lois getting Stewie's candy back, and then forcing the kid's mom to give Stewie the kid's candy and forty dollars as well.
Stewie's duel with Bertram in Renaissance-era Italy, and with Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines.
The recent “Seahorse Seashell Party” episode ia the ultimate Throw the Dog a Bone to Meg, where she finally lashes out at Chris, Lois and Peter for all the crap they've put her through.
Meg herself really. She takes everything her family dishes out on her and she still stands tall. She pretty much sucks up all the dysfunction of the family and everyone's happy because of it. Brian calls her a noble human being for how she gives up her one chance to rid herself of her Butt Monkey status and be the center of the family's aggression for the sake of making sure everyone doesn't turn on everyone else like a pack of wolves. Meg is arguably the strongest, most compassionate member of the family.
"Quagmire? Fire up the bi-plane. My son needs my help." This is PETER saying this! And then awesomeness ensues.
To elaborate, Quagmire's sister's abusive boyfriend Jeff almost choked him to death, then he says the above line right before he chases after Jeff in his car and kills him by smashing him against a tree. Few character deaths have been as well deserved and satisfying as this one.
And this small one from Peter...
Peter: Hilarious, but you know what? I was thinking this afternoon, what the hell happened to the days where a guy does something like that to a girl, and a bunch of us guys get together and just go kick his fucking ass?
When Quagmire plots to kill Jeff, Joe refuses to go through with it, since it would be murder. But once he hears Jeff abusing Brenda next door, Joe responds with this...
In "Trading Places", Chris and Meg say they could be better parents than Peter and Lois, who gladly oblige. The kids are 100% correct: Peter and Lois screw up in school and get bullied, Chris does so well at work that he gets promoted and hired to replace Peter for real, and Meg prepares a delicious dinner and manages the house better than Lois, complete with a miniature Reason You Suck Speech when she points out that it takes Lois so long to clean house because she's lazy and whiny.
Stewie gets a smaller one before Meg's dinner: Peter and Lois are snarking about how terrible it's going to be (in other words, their usual "Meg sucks" stuff). Stewie responds "Hey. How about fucking trying it first?"
Modern technology vs. Amish technology. The Amish won!
Joe: You took an oath just the same as me, sheriff. To protect and serve, not to harass and douche. Just 'cause you have a badge doesn't mean you can treat people any way you like. As a law enforcement professional, you have an obligation to be more ethnically upstanding than the average man, not less. Now get the Hell out of my town.
For the record: Any legal argument that the Southern sheriff had in going to Rhode Island died when their legally ordered sentence expired. It would become a case of whether or not the sheriff knew about that...and if he did, then he's a flat-out criminal and is lucky that Joe didn't haul him off to jail. Fortunately, I don't think that a case this absurd will ever occur.
Anytime Lois is a bitch and Peter of all people calls her out on her bullshit. Brothers and Sisters is a good example of this, Lois is being a bitch about her sister falling for Mayor West and points out the major flaws of their marriage.
Peter: Well, nobody believed that we would make it and look at us now. I drink and you use sex as a weapon. That seems to me like a successful New England marriage.
To elaborate, the FCC began censoring everything in real life and Peter got angry at Lois (the only supporter) for starting it by having Peter's TV station shut down. Lois defends her actions, but they come back to bite her in the ass when the FCC prohibited her from having sex, making her switch to Peter's side and get the FCC out (an awesome moment in itself).
In "Quagmire And Meg" when Peter and Lois finally show that they actually care about Meg(like they did in seasons 1-3, and seasons 4 and 5) by going Papa Wolf and Mama Bear on Quagmire for trying to have sex with her.
Peter: Meg, get in the car, we’re going home. Meg: I’m not going home! I’m 18, and you can’t tell me what to do anymore! Peter: Meg, I’m only going to say this once. You may be an adult, but you’re still my daughter, and it’s my job to protect you from errant wieners. So, I don’t care how old you are, you’re going to do what I say and get in the damn car! Meg: ... Yes, Daddy.
Followed by Lois threatening to cut off Quagmire's penis and feed it to Brian if he ever tries anything with Meg again.
In "The Tan Aquatic With Steve Zissou", Peter has become a bully and is about to cross a Moral Event Horizon by punching a man with multiple sclerosis (who had bullied him in school). Chris earns his CMOA by tackling Peter to stop him and knocking some sense into him.
Chris: You told me to stand up to a bully...SO I DID!!!
Peter gets a mild one, in the early episode "Love Thy Trophy" after a failed attempt to get Stewie back from his new adopted parents (after a series of misunderstandings leads to him being taken away), when an explanation fails and the new guardians boast the law is on their side, Peter tells them to "go kiss the biggest, fattest, smelliest part of my ass" and assuring Stewie they'll come back for him.
In "I Dream of Jesus", Brian and Stewie steal Peter's Surfin' Bird record and then destroy it Office Space style.
In "Extra Large Medium", Chris dates Ellen, who has Down Syndrome. On their date, she turns out to be a demanding bitch and eventually pushes Chris to his limit. He explodes at her and tells her off, saying that he used to think disabled people were simple-minded and soft-spoken, but now he knows that they can be total jerkasses just like everybody else.
Meta-example in "Livin' on a Prayer," where Lois manages to respectfully convince a Christian Scientist family to allow their seriously-ill son to receive medical treatment. Given the show's track record toward organized religion - indeed, given some of the indications earlier in that same episode - this is a great, understated Moment of Awesome, showing the ability to convince someone of one's own point of view without belittling the other person's.
Stewie saving Chris from his strangler in "Killer Queen", by showing him the News Of The Worldalbum cover, giving him a heart attack, killing him.
Meg saving Peter's life in "You Can't Do That On Television, Peter". Though you can probably expect the thanks she gets.
The mob of children beating the crap out of Lois. DEFINITELY made up for a few Karma Houdini moments.
Bonus point for Stewie whacking her with a golf club.
In Brain Writes A Bestseller, he lets the fame go to his head after intentionally writing a crappy self-help book just to prove he could, espousing that he's written a "best-selling phenomenon" and treating Stewie like crap. He then guest stars on Real Time with Bill Maher along with Ariana Huffington and Dana Gould, where he starts belittling Ariana and Dana while praising his own genius. Bill, Ariana, and Dana all effortlessly tear down Brian's over-inflated ego whilst telling him that his "book" is just doing more damage to people by pandering to lazy idiots with resources that only a few people actually have. Brian, flustered, finally admits he thinks the book is crap too, at which point Bill tells Brian that he has no respect for him, which leads to Brian peeing himself and being ordered offstage.
Rush Limbaugh in "Excellence in Broadcasting" for being willing to make fun of himself.
Stewie fighting Penelope in "Mr. and Mrs. Stewie". Two toddlers trying to kill each other with knives and rayguns in another Badass moment from Stewie.
Pretty much everything Stewie and Brian do in Leggo My Meg-O to try and find Meg.
Seth Macfarlene singing Everything I Do (I Do It For You) as Stewie in the episode Joe's daughter is born, say what you want about the Griffin family, but damn, the musical numbers are always done well vocal wise.
Peter singlehandedly restoring a balanced government in Quahog.
