*stoic announcer voice* ON SUNDAY’S EPISODE OF AMC’S Breaking Bad: the world was confused by a packet of cigarettes. Huell’s graceful pickpocketing was the source of much next-day debate and that-day rewinding. But fan reexamination isn’t anything new for Breaking Bad: there are dozens of scenes that get better or make more sense with every view, from Walt knocking to Jesse dancing to Gus exploding.
In honor of the visual scrutiny that Breaking Bad gets every week, I guessed what the most replayed scene from 10 other great shows is. Some, like the action in “Confessions,” are studied because they’re begging to be studied; others are just because DENTAL PLAN.
1. The Sopranos: “Best in the state”
Six hundred people have clicked the dreaded “thumb down” button for this video. They’re all monsters. No scene in TV history has been as replayed and argued over as the final one in “Made in America,” the Sopranos‘ last episode. There are entire websites dedicated to the man in the Members Only jacket and hell, even I went to Holsten’s once and checked to see if there was anywhere to hide a gun in their bathroom. It’s obvious that Tony [BLAH BLAH BLAH], but at least 600 people disagree.
2. Seinfeld: the Marine Biologist speech
A favorite amongst the Peter King crowd, who quote “the sea was angry…” incessantly. Jason Alexander gives a great performance (though I think it’s so popular because it’s a monologue that builds, whereas most “Seinfeld-isms” are visual gags or cute descriptions), but it’s got nothing on Kramer and Newman cooking sausage together.
3. Lost: “Not Penny’s Boat”
A close second: that time Hurley threw a burrito at Ben.
4. Arrested Development: the chicken dance
According to YouTube view counts, the most popular moment from Arrested Development is “BEES?!?” That doesn’t feel right, though — I think that if you included DVD rewinds and streaming replays, the actual answer would either be Gob and Franklin’s “It Ain’t Easy Being White” or, more likely, the entire family doing their version of a chicken dance.
5. Freaks and Geeks: Bill’s dance
In which a nation (of 47 people) learned to NEVER cut someone off mid-funk.
6. The Simpsons: “DENTAL PLAN”
DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces, DENTAL PLAN, Lisa needs braces…
7. Game of Thrones: “Baelor”
Dany’s reign of fire, the Battle at Blackwater and the Red Wedding may have made the Internet explode with parodies and reaction videos, but that’s only because the action at the end of season one’s “Baelor” laid the groundwork for Game of Thrones to pull off completely unexpected and/or totally METAL moments the likes of which TV had never seen before.
8. Futurama: “I can’t believe everybody’s just ad-libbing”
Only because “Jurassic Bark” is too damn depressing to watch more than once, maybe twice.
9. Mad Men: “Zou Bisou Bisou”
For roughly the same reason why Basic Instinct is the most paused Netflix movie of all-time.
10. The Soup: “Spaghetti Cat”
The Soup has been on for 500 episodes, and in all that time, Joel McHale has only completely lost it once.
