clock and being amazed that it hadn't dropped the ball yet. It used short cutaways and a plethora of self-referential jokes the writers must have stockpiled for years about the animation quality, voice quality, and structure of the pilot to every possible advantage." He continued, "It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and it's not on the same level as the occasional brilliance that South Park reaches on about one occasion per season nowadays, but it's the most fun I've had watching the show that didn't involve a Star Wars parody in many years." McFarland concluded his review by giving the episode a grade of A−. Kate Moon of TV Fanatic also enjoyed the episode, noting, "'Back to the Pilot' was a great meta episode of Family Guy. From poking fun at its own flaws in the original series to acknowledging how silly the cutaway gags can be, Family Guy shone at its layered best tonight." She continued, "Treating its animated characters like real actors was a nice touch as well. Watching the original family showed how much the characters evolved and changed throughout the series' long run." Moon concluded her review by giving the episode a 4.2 out of 5. Tom Eames of entertainment website Digital Spy placed the episode at number two on his listing of the best Family Guy episodes in order of "yukyukyuks" and described the episode as "pure genius". He added, "Not only was the episode hilarious with amazing Brian and Stewie moments, but it was genuinely quite clever in the time-travel stakes, which is impressive on a nerd level." The episode was also the subject of criticism for its portrayal of the September 11 attacks, in which Brian and Stewie go back in time to make the attacks happen again, ultimately resulting in a high five when they are successful (despite Stewie immediately remarking that would sound terrible out of context). Terri Pous of Time wrote of the episode, "It sounds custom-made for a 'too soon' label, and it probably is. But avid Family Guy viewers live for "too soon" moments, no matter how sensitive the material." Other news organizations, including Aly Semigran of Entertainment Weekly, also thought the show had gone too far with the reference. Nellie Andreeva of Deadline also commented that it "squeaked past the Fox standards and practices department but is sure to raise as many eyebrows." MacFarlane