There was a point Family Guy went off the deep end and tried to be super dramatic with their scripts and play the serious stuff straight.

>Brian dies (Temporarily)
>Quagmire's sister is being abused
>Quagmire is being abused by a woman
>Meg goes on a rant and takes it all out on her family

Was there a reason for this sudden shift in tone? Were they trying to win an emmy or something? Were they making fun of when sitcoms get really serious around the later seasons? Were they being experimental and just trying something new?

I don't get it, if there was something to get.