MASH - 1.15 Tuttle
I figure MASH is one of my stranger television indulgences, everyone my age knows about it but no one else has actually seen every episode (except my cousin, but hey we're practically the same person). What I love about MASH is that it is able to embody complex and intense emotions with a level of realism and depth that I find is rare of any TV programming but especially comedies. However, Tuttle is my favorite episode because of its comedy, not emotion. If I were to recommend and episode to get someone hooked on MASH, this would be it.
"We can all be comforted by the thought that he's not really gone, there's a little Tuttle left in all of us, in fact you might say that all of us together made up Tuttle."Misfits - 2.03 Episode 2.03
I think this is everyone's favorite Misfits episode. I'm not sure I need to explain anything here. I will say that if e4 had asked me to write an episode and told me to make it as perfect as I could, it would not have come close to how perfect this episode is. I would have written an episode I thought was perfect and then watched this and have been upset by how far from that I was.
"He's like a handsome shark." & "You think I risked my life traveling through the dimensions of time so I could sniff your knickers?""I don't know did you?"NCIS - 3.21 Bloodbath
Procedural dramas are a dime a dozen. Anyone who watches them has something specific that draws them to certain programs above others. Often it is the dynamic of the team. I have two choice procedural dramas, Criminal Minds and NCIS, and I love them because the characters are family, not associates. Aside from the overall team, NCIS has numerous internal relationships that I love, actually I think I love every character combination. However, Abby and Gibbs are my favorite. I had a major existential crisis when Abby considered filing her report on Pedro Hernandez, it shook the foundations of what I love about the show. Thankfully I've recently been able to repress season seven. I digress. Bloodbath was all about the Abby and Gibbs father-daughter dynamic in the best way possible. It also included the interactions I love between the other team members - humor, banter and genuine love. I haven't watched it in a while so I'm not sure how I would feel about the episode now, but I'm fairly certain I still love it. This is another one of those episodes where I could not have written a more perfect plot line myself. Also it randomly has an amazing soundtrack.
"Why didn't you come to me, Abby?""Because, Gibbs, I wanted him restrained. Not beaten to a pulp with a baseball bat."Doctor Who - 5.10 Vincent & the Doctor
David Tennant is my favorite Doctor but Matt Smith gets my favorite episode. This episode had me crying and I have only cried three times in television (Grey's Anatomy and Criminal Minds [which was apparently pointless but thankfully I never lost hope that CBS would fix their horrible mistake and I am absolutely ecstatic today]). Although there were a lot of brilliant sad moments in this episode, Van Gogh was such a tortured artist and Amy had just lost Rory, I actually cried when Bill Nighy was telling Vincent how influential he is within modern culture. Even though that fact did not save him I still think it was important and beautiful that he knew.
"The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant."Fawlty Towers - 1.06 The Germans
Like all Fawlty Towers episodes, The Germans takes a bunch of random and hilarious plot lines, one liners and seemingly pointless asides and weaves them into something of unmatched brilliance. This episode however, does this even better than the others. It at first appears to be set apart into three very different acts but in hindsight they come together to form a complete story line. The separate plots in this episode are more distinctive than other episodes and, I believe, that to compensate for this the jokes became more eccentric.
"Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right."The Office - 2.12 The Injury
It took me a while to get into the humor in The Office, which is strange because it is very similar to many of my other favorite comedies. One of my friends recommended the show to me and I watched several episodes before seeing this one. The Injury was the episode that made me decide to watch the entire show, or rather the episode decided for me because, after watching it, I don't think it's possible to not become a fan. It is so over the top ridiculous, but in a realistic way that only The Office (and Arrested Development) can achieve.
"You can't fire me! I don't work in this van!"Criminal Minds - 4.20 Amplification
Spencer Reid. That covers it.
"Hi Mom, this is Spencer. I just really wanted you to know that I love you, and I need you to know that I spend every day of my life proud to be your son."Criminal Minds - 4.24 Conflicted
Jackson Rathbone is a brilliant actor (and musician) and I wish more people recognized him for his talent rather than his role in Twlight. This episode was so well done. I believe it had been two seasons since the last dissociative identity disorder episode and Adam Jackson was such an interesting unsub. The focus of an episode is usually deciphering and catching the unsub but this episode directly addressed the ambiguous level of responsibility that often accompanies crime and the mentally ill. Criminal Minds centers around psychopathology so it was nice that they took an episode to address that their cases are, despite how they seem, not always polarized.
"Stephen King once said- "Monsters are real. Ghosts are real, too. They live inside us and sometimes, they win."Friends - 3.02 The One Where No One's Ready
This is my favorite Friends episode. Every season the show had at least one episode that was character driven, set entirely in the apartments, removing any excuse for cutting corners with the standard of the dialogue, humor or acting. This episode was brilliantly written and absolutely hilarious. The quality and originality of Friends is what makes it my favorite American comedy; this episode raised the standard for a show that was already above par. I have seen every episode of Friends and I find this one the funniest and the most re-watchable.
"Here it is, buddy boy. You hide my clothes, I'm wearing everything you own.""Oh my God, that is so not the opposite of taking someone's underwear!""Look at me, I'm Chandler, could I *be* wearing any more clothes?"Full House - 6.23 & 6.24 The House Meets the Mouse
Confession: I am a Disney addict. Aside from the setting, this is a fairly normal episode of Full House. It does have a lot of very special guests though. The highlight is beyond a doubt D.J. hallucinating that Steve is Aladdin.
"I don't know. You know, I've been drivin' myself crazy just thinkin' about it. What I'm gonna do is, I'm just gonna follow my heart and just bypass my brain entirely." "I never use my brain. Trust me. After a while, you won't even miss it." "Can't miss what you never had."Firefly - 1.04 Jaynestown
Every time I re-watch Firefly my favorite episodes change. During my most recent re-watch Jaynestown and Our Mrs. Reynolds were my favorites (and Ariel and War Stories; this show was too brilliant to handle, obviously). This episode was a great balance of great story lines and humor and emotion. A few years passed between my first viewing of Firefly and when I bought the box set and an element that always stuck with me was the Shepherd's hair. The only thing that upset me a little was that it seemed as if Jayne gained a lot of character in this episode, but we see in Ariel, he didn't. But hey change doesn't always happen over night.
"I tore these out of your symbol and they turned into paper, but I wanna put them back."Lost - 1.04 Walkabout
Some thoughts on Lost: 1. Charlie Pace was my favorite character and Greatest Hits (3.21) is my second favorite Lost episode. 2. Basically this show was perfect. I know my assistant manager hated season two and my lovely cousin didn't like season three (my personal favorite), and I can't argue the show always had direction; actually the producers and writers even admit they did not have a solid plot line for the series for a long time. Regardless, I still worshiped the show and enjoyed every episode. One of my favorite things about J.J. Abrams programming they make you think (I am also a huge fan of Fringe and Alias) and Lost always made me think.
The reason I love this episode has nothing to do with thinking, it is about feeling. Locke was always doing what he thought was right, even when it seemed wrong to everyone else, and sometimes the results of that were disastrous. He just wanted two things, not to be told what to do and to have a purpose. I felt so much pain and sympathy for Locke, he was nearly as broken as possible and found redemption and purpose on the island. This episode was definitely the best use of flashbacks.
"Hey... Hey don't you walk away from me! You don't know who you're dealing with! Don't ever tell me what I can't do, ever! This is destiny, this is destiny... This is my destiny! I'm supposed to do this, dammit! Don't tell me what I can't do! Don't tell me what I can't do!"
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