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Time for one more Best of 2010 list before the year’s out: some of my favorite episodes of the year.
Now, a list of my actual 10 favorite episodes would draw heavily from the shows that made my lists of the best new or returning series of the year – “The Suitcase” from “Mad Men,” “One Minute” from “Breaking Bad,” “Modern Warfare” from “Community,” etc. – so in the interest of both spreading the wealth and acknowledging that less-than-perfect series can sometimes have perfect episodes, I’m going to restrict this list to shows that didn’t quite make the cut for my other lists. (Though shows that I listed as Tough Omissions were eligible.)
If you listened to the Firewall & Iceberg Podcast a couple of weeks ago, some of these choices will sound familiar, but others weren’t discussed in that show. Because I’ve already added a few qualifiers, these are listed alphabetically, rather than trying to subjectively rank them in order of greatness. Clips included where available, as well as links to my original reviews.
“30 Rock,” “When It Rains, It Pours” (NBC, September 30): The fourth season of “30 Rock” was by far the show’s weakest, and the mediocre fifth season premiere had me bracing myself for another year of lowered expectations. Then came this hilarious second episode – in which Tracy had to take the “Cash Cab” to get to the hospital for the birth of his daughter, Jack began recording video messages to his own unborn child, and Liz basked in the desirability that comes from being in a healthy relationship – which felt very much like vintage “30 Rock.” It was hilarious, but it also didn’t sell out its characters for the sake of the joke.
“Better Off Ted,” “Beating a Dead Workforce” (ABC, January 5): I didn’t find the second season of the low-rated corporate satire quite as strong as the first. But this episode – in which the company used the memory of an employee who literally worked himself to death as a religious-style symbol to goad the rest of the staff to burn the candle at both ends – was as smart, funny and scary an episode of comedy as you’ll find. (NOTE: I couldn’t find a clip from this one, so instead I’m including an NSFW outtake from the other episode I might have put here, in which a memo’s typo leads to an outbreak of pottymouth at Veridian Dynamics.)
“Chuck,” “Chuck vs. the Honeymooners” (NBC, April 26): The next time some idiot tells me that a show with a big Unresolved Sexual Tension component will be ruined if the main couple gets together, I’m going to sit him down in front of this episode of “Chuck” – the first after Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) officially became a couple – and show them just how funny and sexy and exciting it is, and how foolish it can be to stall for years when this sort of fun is a real possibility.
“Fringe,” “Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?” (FOX, October 14): “Fringe” really found itself last spring, setting up a war between two parallel universes and a switcheroo between two Olivias (Anna Torv) that turned even standalone-style episodes into arc episodes. Case in point: this scary, moving Monster of the Week show about a shapeshifter (Marcus Giamatti) who’s become too attached to the life he stole, and how the actions of the Fauxlivia unravel his cozy family life.
“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Sanctuary/Death and All His Friends” (ABC, May 20): Drama episodes where a gunman terrorizes the workplace – and particularly ones where the only people killed off are characters nobody cares about – are usually a sign that the shark is circling below. With “Grey’s,” it was a sign that the show had rediscovered itself after a bunch of uneven-to-bad seasons. Yes, the assault on Seattle Grace was melodramatic and manipulative as all get-out, but that’s what Shonda Rhimes does – and in the two-hour season six finale, she did it as powerfully as she ever has, getting heart-tugging performances from Chandra Wilson, Sandra Oh, Ellen Pompeo, and everyone on down to guest star Mandy freakin’ Moore. And where many shows try this kind of stunt and forget it quickly, the seventh season has been all about the doctors trying to cope with the horrors they saw that day, and that fallout only makes the finale even stronger in hindsight.
“How I Met Your Mother,” “Natural History” (CBS, November 8): “HIMYM” followed a terrible season in the spring with an uneven one in the fall. That’s an improvement, as half the episodes have been at least pretty good, and this one – in which the gang had some major life revelations while attending a black tie museum gala – hearkened back to the series’ better days with the way it played with time and narrative and took the characters’ emotions very seriously, even as it told funny jokes.
“Luther,” “Episode One” (BBC America, October 17): This British police drama about an unstable homicide cop (Idris Elba from “The Wire”) went off the rails after a few episodes, with the end of its brief first season consumed by an out-of-left-field new villain. But the debut episode was a tense, riveting duet between Elba and Ruth Wilson, as the beautiful sociopath Luther was chasing.
“Modern Family,” “Manny Get Your Gun” (ABC, November 17): I’m sometimes accused of being too hard on “Modern Family,” and episodes like this one, or last year’s “Fizbo,” are why. The family comedy has so many great pieces, but they only occasionally all fit together to create a cohesive, entirely satisfying picture. (The rest of the time, the show just has to settle for being one of the funnier shows on television; tough life.) This episode, in which all the families raced to be on time for Manny’s birthday, took the idea of everything coming together literally – the half-hour climaxed with everyone narrowly missing a four-way head-on collision – but in its separate subplots and their combined relationship, it represented what this show is capable of being at its best.
“Sons of Anarchy,” “NS” (FX, Nov. 30): Can a bad season of TV be redeemed by a great last episode? Not really, but the “Sons” season 3 finale left a much better taste in my mouth than most of the 12 episodes leading up to it. After a year in which the Sons had been pawns in the games of other characters we barely knew or cared about, they finally took control of their own destinies in a “Godfather”-style maneuver that settled all family business in one clever, lethal afternoon. And the finale left everyone in a very interesting place for the start of season 4.
“The Walking Dead,” “Days Gone Bye” (AMC, Oct. 31): The rest of this zombie epic’s brief first season had its ups and downs, but that unevenness should take nothing away from the haunting, devastating first episode, in which Kentucky cop Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) woke up from a coma to discover that the world he knew had been replaced by an unrelenting nightmare. Just a magnificent use of mood and silence by writer/director Frank Darabont, and featuring a stunning guest performance by Lennie James as a man with a daily reminder of the personal cost of the zombie apocalypse.
I’m sure you have your favorite episodes from the year, and you don’t have to be restricted by my “nothing from the Top 10 lists” rule, so feel free to nominate some of your own choices (and it can be 1 or 2; doesn’t have to be 10). Explanations preferred but not necessary.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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Doctor Who – Vincent and the Doctor – The Doctor meets Vincent Van Gogh and tries to find a monster and help Van Gogh with his depression. Written by Richard Curtis of Blackadder/Love Actually fame. The kind of tear jerker you dont often see in “family TV”/Science Fiction.
I’m a big Doctor Who fan myself, but that episode was on a whole different level. Unbelieveable performance by Tony Curran. Everything just came together perfectly, but Curran’s performance was brilliant. And bringing Van Gogh to the future just seemed so sweet…perfect episode of television.
Shoot! I don’t watch Dr. Who, but I would love an episode of anything good with Van Gogh in it.
I stopped watching Sci-Fi after Star Trek, :) and then only again for BSG. Still pondering if I’m up for another Science Fiction/fairy tale show. I watched one recent episode of Dr. Who, but didn’t do a thing for me. The Christmas episode sure sounded great though!
Off the top of my head, the best hour on TV this year was the episode “One Minute” from Breaking Bad. Talk about a heart stopping, intense hour of television.
Since otherwise I’d be listing half of Mad Men, I’ll go with two Starz series (thanks, Netflix!).
Party Down – “Constance Carmell Wedding.” The unexpectedly sweet finale.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand – “Kill Them All.” I think Spartacus is tremendously entertaining trash, and the season’s penultimate episode brought so many plotlines together in such a satisfying way.
Great choices!
The episode “Asunder” from Terriers. Very different from every other episode we’d seen, Zeitlin goes from slight irritant to the evil guy, and that last exchange between Hank & Britt always gives me goosebumps.
Britt: I need a drink…more than ever in my life
Hank: I don’t
(It’s much more effective in context)
I just rewatched “Asunder” last night – great episode.
The whole shift of arcs with Hank & Britt in that episode was pretty amazing. Hank finally seeming to have a purpose to latch on to. Britt’s life being thrown into a tailspin by those he loved. That final exchange was amazing, just Britt wanting a drink to numb himself and Hank steeling himself and finding a purpose in the wake of his ex-wife’s wedding.
Man, I’m going to miss that show. If we keep bringing up how great it was, can FX bring it back or sell it to AMC or something?
-Cheers
The problem with choosing a best episode from Terriers is that at least half the season would have to be in the running in my view, “Change Partners”, “Ring a Ding-Ding,” and “Pimp Daddy” were excellent standalones, and all 4 of the final arc-based episodes were exceptional as well. RIP Terriers.
Not that I wasn’t already a fan, but the episode that nailed it for me was “Change Partners.” That last scene with Hank and the bank manager was some brilliant, if not a bit off-putting, television.
Unholy Diver, Same here regarding Change Partners. I read that someone couldn’t watch Terriers after seeing Hank do what he did at the bank, but it actually hooked me.
Mad Men – The Suitcase. That made me love, not just like, that series again.
I can’t say enough good things about that episode. It might have been the best episode of any TV show I’ve seen.
I can’t say that episodes with Ron Butterfield (?) stalking the hospital shooting people thrill me – but I love the season 7 that has come out of it. Scrubs and ER are gone and I’ve not yet watched House (and the DVR probably ate it) so I’m glad there’s a bit more medicine, a lot less sex, and whatever else is going on on Grey’s this season.
Chuck isn’t bad, but Grey’s is great (and that fight scene on the Chuck rerun the other night was super)
I’ll have to think of what else I loved. I did love Scott on Chuck, more and more right up to the moment they killed him. I loved him more in season 3 than in season 2 and more than in Men of a Certain Age, which is a great show – and a great show for him to be in, except the only character I really like is… Owen.
The DVR is on death’s door, in a way it only can be when it’s almost New year’s but i will scan.
I didn’t listen to the podcast. I try, but by the time I get them downloaded, my mind has gone on to somewhere else. I just don’t do well with podcasts.
For me, on Grey’s, and I don’t know if it was this year or last, the ep where she had to give her father some liver – probably last year – I loved it more after I learned that the entire ep was rewritten after Ellen Pompeo said that Meredith would only do it for Lexie. Not for her father. I love it when actors know their characters. I also loved the ep where she risked her job for the little girl and the Chief apologized to her. But I’m biased.
“One Minute” from Breaking Bad, “The Candidate” and “The End” from Lost, “Home” from Boardwalk Empire, and “Blowing Smoke” from Mad Men were probably my favorites for dramas. Totally agree with “Natural History from HIMYM and I’d add “Modern Warfare” (no doubt only excluded because of the “spread the wealth” rule) from Community for comedies.
Justified’s “Bulletville” was the most viscerally satisfying episode I watched all year. I know it wasn’t exactly keeping in theme with the episodes leading up to it, but this was the most entertaining hour of TV I saw all year.
I’d like to give a shout out to the outstanding Doctor Who finale “The Big Bang”. With it, Steven Moffat did what Russel T. Davies never could, and built to an amazingly epic climax without losing sight of the characters at the heart of it.
Party Down- Steve Guttenberg’s birthday easily could have been a series of cheap jokes about The Gut’s career, but instead it was the funniest most oddly moving episode of a show I’ll miss.
Community- The most recent week. Whenever I talk about this show, I’m always convinced that the most recent episode I watched is the best. Right now it’s Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas, but other standouts are Certified Mixology, Modern Warfare, the bubble episode and of course, Modern Warfare. What a damn good show.
And since you mentioned Fringe, you got me thinking about my all time favorite episode, White Tulip, about the MIT professor who could time travel. Another fine episode.
I’m not saying these are the best. Just some I thought were excellent and deserved a mention.
I share everyone’s admiration for “One Minute,” but the Breaking Bad episode that stands out for me is the one just before it, “Sunset.” Scenes of Walt and Jesse scrambling to avoid disaster are always riveting, but the scene where Hank had Walt and Jesse trapped like rats in the RV had stakes that were so high and a threat that was so imminent that my roommate and I were literally gasping at their predicament.
I had expected Hank’s pursuit of Heisenberg and the blue meth to culminate at the end of the season, but no – the showdown occurred in just episode 6. Other shows might have turned that confrontation into a big cliffhanger ending, but, in typical “Breaking Bad” fashion, the writers wouldn’t let the characters off the hook that easily and let the conflict play out for another act or two. And the resolution to the standoff (the devastating fake phone call) was worthy of the tremendous setup.
“Sunset” emphatically reemphasized for me that this is a show that is not afraid to upend my expectations of how a television drama should proceed, and that is a very liberating feeling.
completly agree i think people shortchange this ep because of how great one minute was
I agree with the first episodes of “Luther” and “Walking Dead”. I’ll admit that I am a bad TV watcher–I don’t like Breaking Bad or Mad Men. Dexter was uneven and I still like Lumen even if no one else did- Episode 10 “Hop A Freighter” had me on the edge of my seat.
episode that stood out from shows not really top 10 worthy:
dee reynolds: shaping america’s youth from its always sunny (i.e. lethal weapon 5)
the anniversary party from the league
skytanic from archer
ab eterno from lost (i.e. the richard alpert story)
200/201 from south park
the pilots from the walking dead and justified
debbies mom/escape artist from the life and times of tim
classy christmas from the office
road to north pole from family guy (yea seriously they really did a good episode)
and 2 entries from late night:
-conans final tonight show
-the recent episode of craig ferguson where he had that french dude on who stole all of his bits and music from him…id think you want to focus on the dr. who episode but im not a total geek so i dont watch endless british time travel detective shows
Vincent & the Doctor — seconded! Could’ve been crudely manipulative but instead was fantasy done well.
The Lost final episode got me, after I’d quit watching it for the last 2 years, finding it pointlessly strange.
Re: Grey’s Anatomy — early-ish on they did a bomb-in-the-hospital episode that was really good, emotional, affecting. So they’ve done something similar to this year’s epic. I quit watching shortly after the bomb episode, as I thought it was turning into a lame soap opera. But the bomb episode remains one of my favorites.
Is this US TV only? The Misfits episode where Future Simon is revealed was fantastic. And Thorne with David Morrissey, specifically the third episode was serious drama. And the 3rd episode of The Trip, supposedly a comedy but more a kind of touching story of two bickering friends, combined with excellent music & beautiful scenery.
I can’t disagree with the Fringe episode, though I really loved the Peter-centric episode set in the northwest. I heart Olivia, but for me Peter’s the heart of the series.
1st episode of Sherlock was great, as was the 1st episode of Doctor Who, making David Tennant yesterday’s news for a lot of fans, me included.
I don’t know if anyone here watches Delocated (it has a pretty tiny audience), but the episode “David’s Girlfriend” made me laugh harder than just about anything on TV this year.
The season finale of Tru Blood, but just because it meant the awful season was finally over.
I’m going with the two-part season finale for ‘Doctor Who’ – “The Pandorica Opens” and “The Big Bang”. Silly, exciting, funny, moving, romantic, a roller coaster of a fairy tale……
Some standouts for me, and in no particular order:
Mad Men – “The Suitcase”: ‘Nuff said. Fantastic showcase for Hamm and Moss.
Rubicon – “The Outsider”: When this show finally really started to click for me. Will’s team gets a healthy dose of development and we are treated to the wonder that is Truxton Spangler.
Doctor Who – “The Eleventh Hour”: Who was back and better than ever. Matt Smith squashed any doubt that he could pull off the Doctor within the first quarter of the episode. That kitchen table scene with Amelia was fantastic.
Community – “Modern Warfare”: Probably the funniest episode of television all year. Annie popping out of the trash can with the lid on her head, double-fisting paint guns was a hilarious image.
Fringe – “Olivia”: This is when I really started to care about the show’s central character. Torv really made me feel for Olivia and her nightmarish situation.
Terriers – “Fustercluck”: Hard to pick a singular episode from this fantastic series, but this one certainly had the best title.
Boardwalk Empire – “Anastasia”: Great stuff with Margarat in this one. Also, Chaulky’s interrogation/history lesson was amazing.
Solid list. I’ve still been hanging on to Rescue Me and Weeds, both had nice rebound seasons and the season finale in each was real good.
I haven’t seen much love for HBO’s How to Make it in America during the year end recap season. Thought it was a real good show, and one that exposed many of Entourage’s flaws.
Lastly, I know the 30 for 30 made the list, but this season of Hard Knocks on HBO was terrific, case of finding the right team at the right time. Same goes for Penguins/Capitals 24-7
I’d nominate a great episode from a once-great show, Rescue Me. The episode “blackout” brought Tommy back through the complicated relationships and black humor that once was the hallmark of the show.
I’d probably take “Chuck vs. Phase Three” as its best episode of the year.
Grey’s Anatomy? I didn’t realize that show was still on. Sorry to rant, but my wife and I watched that show in the beginning. What annoys me about the show is they set up some legitimately decent dramatic or tense situations, then throw in the most ridiculous “comedy” (and I use that term lightly) to break the mood. It was the most unnatural transition from emotions I can easily recall. Plus, they had characters doing the stupidest, most illogical things. The type of things that would get people fired in any real life situation, a/o socially ostracized, but in Grey’s Anatomy everybody took it all in stride. It became painful to watch, but fortunately my wife decided to stop watching it because it was so bad about the time I began finding it more painful than merely mind-numbing. We had been watching it out of habit for a while, in part because it seemed like they were capable of some legitimately powerful episodes, or at least scenes.
Sandra Oh is great though. She deserves better.
-Cheers
Dave, those are the same reasons I’ve grown very frustrated with Grey’s in the past, but trust me: the season 6 finale dispensed with all the stupid comedy stuff and maintained the tension throughout.
Sandra Oh was this year’s Thorne: Scaredy Cat on Sky in the UK. I’m sure you can find a copy somewhere, if you are a fan of hers :) She played a cop, and tried on an English accent, though I’m in no position to judge how well. Well worth watching, Sandra or no Sandra.
The Doctor Who Christmas episode was great … loved the first and third episodes of Sherlock … South Park’s 3-part Coon and Friends … the Office Christmas episode … Lost finale … not the Mad Men finale … Some Pizza Shooters, Shrimp Poppers, or Extreme Fajitas? … the Walking Dead Pilot … the entire season of Fringe … not Top Chef Just Desserts … shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried … Bravo’s Work of Art … not the Christmas ep of Community … nothing from Modern Family this season … Lethal Weapon 5 from Always Sunny … 12th ep of Rubicon … most of Parks and Rec … not the Decision … and Boom Goes the Dynamite … wow, I watch too much TV
One Minute gets all the buzz for Breaking Bad(and rightfully so), but the best episode of Season 3 for me was Fly. I joke around that my two favorite episodes of the television season happened on this night, the epic Lost series finale and this episode of Breaking Bad, which features two guys sitting in a room talking for an hour.
Fly was fantastic, too.
I have two put forth two nominations, just because it’s in my heart that I need to:
1) Ab Aeterno – LOST – Not only was this a fantastic episode of lost, and one that we’ve all been waiting for since we first met Richard Alpert seasons ago, but it was also one of the most brilliantly epic and sweeping stories I’ve ever seen on television. It was a one-hour movie. And a good one, to boot. On top of its technical achievements, it also sheds a lot of light on the history of the issues between MiB and Jacob, moreso than the sub-par Across the Sea, in my opinion, and much more deftly. What we’re actually seeing is the MiBs first, simple, basic attempt at having Jacob killed. His plan is much more straightforward with Richard. And it fails. So I imagine the next time, it got more complicated. And continued to fail. Over and over, infinitely more complicated schemes, until 815. Which I think is considerably more interesting than most other aspects of the other revelations later in the season. But even without the mythology, its one of the most impressive episodes of tv ever, right up there with “Pilot”
The End – LOST – Just have to. Someone has to say it. I appreciated the boldness of killing MiB, and the mythology, with a full hour left in the show, so we could just say goodbye to the characters. I know a lot of people didn’t like it, but I thought it was all quite beautiful. For freakish fans like me, who cared more about the people than the mysteries, which still mostly satisfied, not entirely, but mostly, I appreciated that they constructed an episode that allowed me to let go of it. It had become such a fixture in so many people’s live. They made an episode that was almost a mushy kind of therapy, and I personally liked it. It was good. It’s a great episode even before all the ending too.
Great points on two great episodes; well written by you. I’ve watched The End about six times and I cry my eyes out every time. Loved it.
It’s so sad that SouthLand doesn’t get a lot of buzz, but it’s an amazing show and “What Makes Sammy Run” was its finest episode this year.
I strongly disliked the shoot-em-up season finale of Grey’s last year. I thought it was emotionally manipulative and deliberately overwrought to the point of absurdity.
In its place, I would have chosen the Grey’s episode this season where the staff was interviewed documentary style in the aftermath of the shooting. I found it to be a much superior showing.
The Lost finale.
Because: (1) It was great, and (2) its mere mention will throw some people into a tizzy.
Great list, but in a year full of great Fringe episodes, “White Tulip” was head and shoulders above the rest.
No Mad Men or Breaking Bad? Really? But there’s room for Grey’s Anatomy and several mediocre sitcoms. Dislike, disagree. At least mentioning Better Off Ted makes up for the lack of the two best shows on TV a bit.
Read.
“Peter” from Fringe, especially the awesome 1985 era re-doing of the title sequence.
Where is “The Son” from Friday Night Lights. Single best episode of TV this year.
A)Read the intro.
B)”The Son” aired on DorecTV in 2009, so even without the “best of the rest” framework, I wouldn’t be including it for a list about 2010.
Still, it really was the best episode! Thanks for reminding me.
Breaking Bad – The Fly. Probably the best episode of Breaking Bad.
Boardwalk Empire – Paris Green or Home.
Mad Men – The Suitcase.
My top three favorite shows with my top episodes of the year.
There were several moments from “Breaking Bad.”
The zombie/Halloween episode of “Community.”
South Park’s 200th & 201st episodes.
I don’t watch “HIMYM,” “Modern Family” or “Better off Ted,” as a rule. The only one I have watched regularly is “Walking Dead,” and the only one I want to watch more of is “Fringe.”
MODERN WARFARE
“The next time some idiot tells me that a show with a big Unresolved Sexual Tension component will be ruined if the main couple gets together, I’m going to sit him down in front of this episode of “Chuck” – the first after Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) officially became a couple – and show them just how funny and sexy and exciting it is, and how foolish it can be to stall for years when this sort of fun is a real possibility.”
Great plan. Just don’t show them most of season 4.
Definitely agree with the HIMYM and Fringe picks. For Chuck, I’d pick the S3 finale, and for Better Off Ted, I’d pick “The Great Repression,” if only because the concept of sexual harassment disease still makes me laugh.
“Great plan. Just don’t show them most of season 4.”
Whatever issues season 4 has had, Chuck and Sarah’s togetherness hasn’t been one of them – and, in fact, led to the season’s best episode, “Chuck vs. Phase Three.”
It isn’t the fact that they’re together that’s the problem; it’s how they’ve been written. So much of this season (especially the early episodes) has been overwhelmed by pointless or uninteresting Chuck/Sarah nonsense that nothing interesting has been allowed to happen.
And for the record, I did very much enjoy “Honeymooners.”
(Darn. No edit feature.)
As wonderful as “Modern Warfare” was, I think I loved Community’s “Cooperative Calligraphy” episode at least as much.
For all the issues The Office has had lately, I sure loved their Christmas episode.
Finally, while I liked your Chuck pick (and I agree with your stance on unresolved sexual tension), I really got into the 2 hour finale last spring.
Co-sign to most of the above, but I want to second the nomination of “South Park’s 3-part Coon and Friends”–a show that still, after 14 seasons, has the capacity to surprise. Without saying too much more, there’s an astonishing payoff of something they’ve been doing for a long time that I was completely blindsided by.
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”: Who Got Dee Pregnant?
Like a dirty episode of HIMYM haha.
“Party Down”: Steve Guttenberg’s Birthday Party
Random choice, “The Simpsons”: Elementary School Musical. Mostly for the awesome Flight of the Conchords guest spot.
Hamm and Moss — a horrible sandwich, a great episode.
I think “Chuck vs. the First Fight” was a better episode than Honeymooners, though I can’t fault your selection or reasoning. It’s just that First Fight was equally valid proof, after the novelty of RST had worn off, and showed that Charah had legs. On top of that, Ana Gasteyer’s performance was jaw-clenchingly entertaining, and Timothy Dalton’s presence really didn’t need any further justification other than, “Oh, COOL! A tiny weapons fight!” but got it anyway.
“Modern Warfare” was equal parts engrossing and gut-bustingly hilarious. That the show managed pastiches like this without using a framing device (two other such episodes that unquestionably worked, “Contemporary American Poultry” and “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,” had to be done from Abed’s POV; “Epidemiology” is also on this list but wasn’t quite as hilarious) is proof that the show can have its cake (a gimmick episode) and eat it too (somehow legitimizing the gimmick in an uncontrived manner). That it managed this in it’s freshman season is just pure madness. Here’s hoping it continues the hot streak it’s managed for a season and a half!
Glee’s episode “Furt” will probably invalidate my opinion amongst some of the other readers, but I’m a sucker for well-done schmaltz, and this was that. “Dream On” would be my other choice.
Justified’s “Long in the Tooth” sold the series for me. No Walton Goggins, but Alan Ruck’s Rolly made for a fantastic foil for Raylan. If I could go for one scene, though, it’d be Gunnerson reauisitionig chicken in “Blowback.”
I’ll offer up the final episode of the Sunil arc on ‘In Treatment’. During each of Sunil’s episodes, I felt a growing dread about what Sunil was going to do. I had a bad feeling all along that he was going to dispatch Julia with an honor killing. To find out that he had built all of this up so that Paul would be the instrument to get Sunil sent home was a surprise and a welcome one to be sure. The performances were great and I really enjoyed watching Byrne and Khan play off each other. Great fun!
Funny, I seem to remember series better than episodes. I’m terrible with names of books too. For instance, with book in hand, someone will ask what I’m reading and I have to check the book cover. In my defense I will know the author. :)
So the only 2 that come to mind are The Fly in Breaking Bad, (who could forget?), the finale of Breaking Bad, and the second to last episode of Rubicon.
If I had watched The Pacific yet, I bet one of the episodes would be here too.
Two more, as mentioned, the finale of SOA. How could Kurt turn a show around so completely in one episode? Simply amazing work.
And Luther. I loved all of it, but the last episode was the one that made me love it forever.
HBO’s In Treatment – best writing, acting, directing on TV. No other show comes close.
I agree with Merve on the way Chuck and Sarah have been written in S4. It’s pure fluff for the most part. Season 4 is just not good, sadly.
As a big Chuck fan, I think the best eps from last year were Other Guy and the Season 3 finale. Those are IMO in the top 5 best eps in the whole series. Honeymooners was good but too cheesy and fluffy to my tastes.
What about “Community”‘s paintball episode? It was a mini movie!