#90. Gay Witch Hunt
The Office, Season 3, Episode 1 |
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After waiting the two weeks or
whatever between devouring the Office Seasons 1 and 2 and the premiere,
I thought this episode was hilarious and exciting (Jim and Pam!).
Jim at Stamford is great for introducing Karen and Andy ("I went to
Cornell. Ever heard of it?"), this one featuring the return of the
jello-stapler. And of course Michael outs Oscar, and Oscar's
talking head was so authentic. Creed talks about possibly having
sex with men in the '60s outside in the rain, the word "faggy" gets
thrown around (along with Queer as Fuck), and Angela starts using
sanitizer. Of course, Pam spends her time missing Jim, we see
Roy's mug shot, Ryan becomes not a temp, and Jan offers Oscar a huge
bonus.
Michael: You don't call retarded people
"retards." It's bad taste. You call your friends "retards"
when they're acting retarded. |
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#89. Shindig
Firefly, Season 1, Episode 4 |
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Shindig shows us that we're not
just seeing Old West planets but antebellum ones too. I completely
loved the world, especially Kaylee's arc. She wanted a dress, Mal
made fun of her, he bought her the dress, the snobs made fun of her, Old
Beardy awesomely ridiculed the snobs, and Kaylee became the talk of the
men. Of course, the story is about Mal and Inara trying to join
each other's worlds, and they are amazing, both together and apart.
I like how Inara fits in perfectly in both worlds (see Trash), but Mal's
the one with trouble integrating. And I especially liked that
Inara doesn't even try to hide that she's completely in love with him by
now, and their final conversation is beautiful. I have to say, I
appreciate the continuity with the cattle too (See Safe). And
don't forget, River speaks in an accent to Badger and completely owns
him too!
Mal: Mercy is the mark of a great man.
Guess I'm just a good man. Well, I'm all right. |
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#88. Exodus
Entourage, Season 2, Episode 13 |
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For once Entourage became less
of a fantasy and more of a drama, and things do not end up all right for
either Vince or Ari. Vince and Mandy Moore finally break up,
throwing the future of Aquaman in doubt, but the story is unquestionably
Ari's. After trying to call a secret meeting of agents and facing
the return of Terrance to the agency, Ari is unceremoniously fired and
nobody but Lloyd goes with him. He has one client left, like Jerry
Maguire, and Vince wants out of Aquaman now. What sells this
episode is Jeremy Piven, and the other agents, and Lloyd's pep talk, and
my favorite thing in television: overwhelming misfortune (See Not
Pictured, 33, Pittsburgh, Happy).
Ari: I will be starting my own agency.
Two very important goals will apply: To make everyone who is in at
the ground floor rich, and to burn this motherfucking place to the
ground. |
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#87. The Avengers
The O.C., Season 4, Episode 1 |
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Season 4 immediately
reinvigorated The OC, and while the first few episodes are spent in the
shadow of Marissa's death, they make the best of it. We open five
months later, Ryan living on his own and cage-fighting, Julie numb with
pills, Summer drowning in environmentalism. The title refers to
the comic Seth and the Cohens make for Ryan to entice him back, which
works, but my favorite parts of the episode are the beginning and the
end. It's the first example of Season 4's great structuring,
starting out with a montage and flashing back, and we close with "A Bad
Dream," while we see Summer's grief and Julie at Marissa's grave.
Kaitlin's mini-scenes were very endearing as well, and the awkward
reunion of Seth and Summer was genuinely played. Not surprisingly,
Marissa's death is the best thing that happened to The OC.
Julie: I'm here every day. |
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#86. Lower Decks
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7, Episode 15 |
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One of the most innovative
episodes, it's told from the eyes of the lower-ranked officers:
Nurse Ogawa, Ensign Sito (who'd only been in one episode prior), and two
new characters. And it's not in a Their Story or My Intern's Eyes
kind of way where the main characters are still the stars; these four
characters, for one episode, drive the stories. Their daily
struggles to get noticed and advance in rank are compelling, especially
when they shed light on Riker or Worf. But their camaraderie
echoes that of the senior staff, their poker game the perfect
connection. Sito ends up taking a dangerous mission, and it's one
of the most gripping away missions of the series. With humor, 24th
century ideals, fraternity, and a fair amount of excitement, this works
perfectly as a standalone, and it's easily one of the best episodes of
any Star Trek. Worf: Perhaps the
next time you are judged unfairly, it will not take so many bruises for
you to protest. |
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#85. My Old Lady
Scrubs, Season 1, Episode 4 |
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The episode of Scrubs that
proved I was watching something special was early and marked by a great
concept. One in three patients dies at the hospital, so the three
leads get three patients. JD's Old Lady is both incredible and
fresh off her West Wing stint as the fabulous Mrs. Landingham (where she
also died in one of the best episodes). Turk's operating on a
fun-loving young guy, and Elliot and Carla are working with an old
Latina. The ending is perfect, with JD's list of things to do
before you die, the inevitable death montage, and the coda where they
all lay outside on the grass on a nice day. Add to that the
opening to "Dracula from Houston," Turk bowling his patient in a
wheelchair, and the fantasy sequences with Death and a ton of bricks and
you've got an immediate classic.
Elliot: So, no English, huh? I'm a
chunky monkey from Funky Town. |
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#84. Plan B
Veronica Mars, Season 2, Episode 17 |
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This is one of the most
thematically cohesive episodes of this show, with everyone making the
wrong ethical choice for the "greater good." It starts when Weevil
hires Veronica to find out who killed Felix, and that whole hiring
sequence is both hilarious and self-deprecating (it makes fun of the
traditional Veronica Mars gets a case scene). Logan starts working
for Woody, who is obviously really creepy already, and Keith
investigates the tapes Woody receives of his house. It all builds
to the hilarious and emotional Sadie Hawkins dance where Logan has to
work with Gia all night until Veronica rescues him! Beaver and Mac
get sad and weird as "Sway" begins, the lyrics perfect, and then we cut
to Veronica and Logan rekindling. In the finale, Beaver and Mac
break up, Weevil gets Thumper killed, and Shark Stadium blows up.
Veronica: You see this face? This face
right here? This is my over-the-moon face. |
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#83. Amigos!
Arrested Development, Season 2, Episode 3 |
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Since it's Arrested
Development, I am limited by room so I will proceed to list my favorite
things: Every time Gene Parmesan surprises Lucille, the schematic
of a Blue George, Starla's small copies, everything about Ann,
particularly calling her Egg and Plant and leaving her in Mexico (and my
favorite of all-time: "Ann-hog's coming?"), GOB doing the chicken
dance, Buster thinking Lupe lives in Mexico and Lupe calling him "retardo,"
Tobias blueing himself, Buster foreshadowing with his hand chair,
illegal immigrants using the Stair-car to hop the fence, Gene never
finding out anything about George's infidelity, all references to the
Cornballer, Ice also working as a party planner, circumvent ("the old
reach around"), and "Make love in your own hand, mother!"
Tobias: I know you're the big marriage
expert. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. Your wife is dead!
|
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#82. Dennis and
Dee Go on Welfare
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 2, Episode
3 |
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Frank keeps interfering in the
business, so Dennis and Dee decide to quit and go on welfare. So
we start out with an awesome encounter with the Welfare Lady (I don't
know) where Dee awesomely pretends to be retarded. Of course,
that's not enough, so they decide to actually get addicted to drugs in
order to score welfare, which starts out with them sitting on the steps
drinking beer in the morning and ends up with them asking for one crack
rock. And finally, they actually get addicted and Frank, Charlie,
and Mac leave them. Dennis and Dee are incredible in this episode,
and it's got more laughs than most episodes of the show. I'm not
doing it justice here, but it is my second favorite episode of It's
Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Dennis: Hi, I'm a recovering crack-head.
This is my retarded sister that I take care of. I'd like some
welfare, please. |
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#81. Twenty-Two
The Twilight Zone, Season 2, Episode 17 |
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This one feels like perhaps an
acquired taste, but I saw it in just the right conditions. First
of all, I've seen it before, so it's kind of a childhood favorite, but
this is the kind of episode that is best watched when it comes on late
at night and you weren't expecting it. The budget seems extremely
low, with grainy footage and B-movie acting, but the story is
nevertheless awesome to me. It's about an actress spending the
night in the hospital, and she keeps dreaming that she follows someone
to the elevator and down to the morgue, and then a nurse opens the door
and says the iconic line below. Of course the story takes off
from there but like I said, when it's late at night and you let your
imagination go is when The Twilight Zone works best, and this is a
splendid example.
Nurse: Room for one more, honey. |
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