Why does Stewie have British accent?

A better question might be why does their dog Brian walk around on two legs and talk.

That is an excellent question, one does not run into too many bipedal dogs who can talk.

An even better question could be why does the baby talk in the first place?

…I think the reason they didn’t give him a typical American accent like the rest of the family have is because it is just funnier for a cartoon infant, not just to speak, but to speak with such a posh sophisticated English accent.

jonno, i agree, it’s just funny!

jonno’s got it spot on. Stewie’s all the funnier for his accent.

Because Family Guy is a mediocre TV show that in fact isn’t funny at all.

yep it’s pretty funny. and because he’s all proper, like a little evil genius baby.
or something.

I always thought of it as a pompous New England accent.

Because for some reason all (well maybe not all, but quite a lot of) the best baddies in Hollywood movies have been played by British actors and Stewie was supposed to be a super villain type plotting to take over the world (or something).

I find it funny with the accent. It is definitely a certain type of humor. Some don’t like it.

there a term for it in humor – humorous dichotomy or something, when the leather clad biker turns out to have a PhD in astrophysics. that’s what’s going on here – you don’t expect the child of a very TV blasted american family to be so erudite.

I knew a LOT of astrophysicists and boy, were they odd – a few leather-clad bikers might have livened up those Thursday afternoon seminars. No humor, much less humorous dichotomy.But I like learning about the concept. Thanks, Doc.

Because T.V. presupposes that all genius is borne of British lineage. If you look back to any sitcom in which a British character was part of the cast, you’ll notice that many play a vital role in reminding the viewers just how ridiculous the rest of the cast is. Ironic yes…but do they know that?

Some examples:
Mr. Belvedere
The butler from The Nanny
The butler from Soap
Mr. French from Family Affair

Is the irony lost on anyone…..Subordinates with more intelligence then those they work for/under? They’re all males too. Yikes

Because English (as in British) is like the best language ever (I’m English)

Particularly like when used real well. It is true, at least in my experience, that the plummy British voice of the BBC or the Oxbridgians convince me more easily of something that may or may not be true

(welcome back, Mrs._D. Have a nice summer?)

@gail: this isn’t really Mrs_D, don’t you remember? She quit. She is letting me use her account

Stewie comes out with a number of British idioms of speech
Such as in the “cool whip” incident and the use of the word handbag
Stewie would make a splendid Lady Bracknell

Because there is a tendency amongst certain elements in Hollywood give the villain a British accent. They believe that the British Empire is the cause of all the ills of the world. Mel Gibson for example is more specific and blames the English as in Braveheart and the Patriot. He seems to forget that it were the Scots who probably made the biggest fortunes out of the empire (e.g. Dunlop, the Argyle Group, Jardine Mathis, North British Locomotive Company)