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Best Episode Ever

December 11, 2008 -

Watching a recent episode of The Totally Rad Show, I got to thinking - what are the best episodes of TV shows that I've ever seen? One immediately sprang to mind, but I had to do some thinking to come up with the rest. The fact that I knew the episode names of every one of these by heart really says something.

I'll be listing these in alphabetical order, since it's hard to prioritize them.

"33" - The series premiere of Battlestar Galactica was amazing. Still in my opinion the best BSG episode there is. The Cylons were using tactics that totally make sense for a machine to use - machines do not need to sleep. Humans do. The episode did what I wished Terminator 3 or The Matrix had done and really emphasized that. A brilliant and logical tactic for an intelligent machine.

"The Best of Both Worlds" - This Next Generation cliffhanger was huge, and is credited with bringing the series back from the brink of cancellation. Locutus announces himself, and Riker prepares to destroy the Borg ship with Picard aboard. Cut to black.

"Company Man" - When I think of good television episodes, this season 1 episode of Heroes is what immediately came to mind. We see Mr. Bennett's history with The Company and observe his relationship with his daughter and the mysterious invisible man. It really brought humanity to the characters. Absolutely fantastic.

"Eat Me" - Season 3 was the season where Farscape really got amazing. Sure, season 1 was good, and season 2 was great, but 3 and 4 were fantastic. In this episode, Farscape did what dozens of other sci-fi TV shows have done before: it cloned characters. But then it did what no other show I know has done: left a clone alive, and actually created an entirely new character. The whole notion is simply mind-blowing.

I'd have loved to include an episode of The 4400, Journeyman, or Dexter, but no single episode jumps out as me as better than all others.

Comments on Best Episode Ever
 
Comment Thu, December 11 - 11:16 PM by pmd
I'm really liking the American version of Life On Mars. If I had to pick my favorite episode, it would have to be "Things To Do In New York When You Think You're Dead." In it, Sam bumps into his future police captain and close friend. It resonated the same way Back to the Future did when Marty met someone close to him before Marty existed. I also liked the two plot twists that came at the end too.

I'm also a big Dr. Who fan and it's difficult for me to pick a favorite from the new series since the program (sorry, programme) changes mood from episode to episode. It's usually a mix, but it could be comedy, mystery, horror, action, or even a romance. Having said that, I'd pick "The Empty Child" for horror, "The Girl in the Fireplace" for romance, and "Love and Monsters" for comedy. Love an Monsters even has one of those silly "Scooby Doo" monster chase scenes where people enter one room only to exit a different one. I really wanted to mention "Blink" for horror... but I thought "The Empty Child" was better.

I also watch Dexter. I agree it's hard to pick the best episode. I think they're all so consistently good, it's impossible to pick "The Best"


 
Comment Fri, December 12 - 9:52 AM by Frank
My favorite X-Files episode of all time is "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose", from Season 3. It starred a brilliant Peter Boyle as a reluctant psychic and some truly great twists throughout the episode.

I'd say my second favorite episode is "The Post-Modern Prometheus". Shot all in black and white, it's just one of those quirky X-Files episodes that didn't take itself too seriously. Plus the Cher rendition at the end was hilarious.
 
Comment Fri, December 12 - 1:58 PM by tagger
You don't specify a time limit, so I'd be thinking about the final episode of "The Fugitive," where Richard Kimball finally catches up with the "one-armed man." Unfortunately, when the show aired on August 29, 1967 I was otherwise occupied outside the U.S. I finally managed to catch a rerun sometime in the 1970s.

Another was a pair of "Twilight Zone" episodes. The first was called "The Obsolete Man (6/2/1961)." The second was called "The Encounter (5/1/1964)," which you never see on TV any more. Read the synopsis at www.tv.com/the-twilight-zone/the-encounter/episode/12737/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;6 and you'll see why.
 
Comment Fri, December 12 - 4:26 PM by Frank
I remember The Obsolete Man, Burgess Meredith has always been a favorite of mine.
 
Comment Fri, December 12 - 4:40 PM by Greg
Burgess Meredith is awesome. Clash of the Titans FTW!
 
Comment Fri, December 12 - 5:22 PM by tagger
Serling really did like to preach.

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